Nature

Eastern Fox Squirrel Sciurus niger Jan – Apr, Jul, Sep – Nov A large, orange-tinged tree squirrel from the eastern US, brought west and now common in Oregon towns and orchards. Here it is… Echo Azure Celastrina echo Apr – Jul A small, pale blue butterfly of streams and shrubby trail edges, flying from late winter into fall. Its underside is chalky gray… Elk Cervus canadensis Feb, May – Jun, Aug – Sep, Nov Oregon's biggest member of the deer family. Roosevelt elk live west of the Cascade crest and Rocky Mountain elk east of it. Fairy Slipper Calypso bulbosa Apr – Jun A small pink orchid of shady conifer forests, with one leaf and one slipper-shaped flower that blooms in spring. Fireweed Chamaenerion angustifolium Jun – Sep A tall wildflower with spikes of rose-purple blooms, and one of the first plants to return after a forest fire. Fringe Cups Tellima grandiflora Apr – Jun A shade-loving wildflower with tall, slender spikes of small cup-shaped flowers whose petals are cut into fine fringes. Golden Chinquapin Chrysolepis chrysophylla Apr – Nov An evergreen relative of oaks and chestnuts whose leaves are dusted gold underneath and whose spiny burs take two years to ripen. Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel Callospermophilus lateralis Jun – Oct A stocky ground squirrel with a coppery head and shoulders and a white side stripe edged in black. Unlike a chipmunk, it… Goldenrod Crab Spider Misumena vatia May – Aug A small white or yellow spider that waits on flowers to ambush bees and flies, changing color to match its blossom. Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias Year-round North America's largest heron, a tall gray wader that stalks fish and frogs in shallow water and flies with its neck pulled… Hairy Woodpecker Leuconotopicus villosus Feb – Mar, May – Nov A crisp black-and-white woodpecker of Oregon forests that digs into dead and burned trees for beetle larvae. Males wear a small red… Harsh Paintbrush Castilleja hispida Apr – Jul A hairy paintbrush of grassy slopes and forest openings, with scarlet to orange or yellow bracts and lobed upper leaves. Herb Robert Geranium robertianum Jan, Mar – Nov A small pink-flowered geranium from Europe, listed as a noxious weed in Oregon, that spreads through shady forests and smells sharp when… King Bolete Boletus edulis Jul – Oct A big, meaty bolete with a brown cap, a spongy pore surface instead of gills, and a thick stem with fine white… Lettuce Lichen Lobaria oregana Mar – Jan A big, leafy, yellow-green lichen of old conifer forests that pulls nitrogen from the air and feeds it to the forest. Lewis’ Monkeyflower Erythranthe lewisii Jul – Sep A tall, sticky-leaved wildflower with large rose-pink flowers marked with yellow, growing in bright patches along mountain streams in summer. Licorice Fern Polypodium glycyrrhiza Aug – Jun A fern that often grows on mossy tree trunks and branches, especially bigleaf maple. It is at its best in the wet… Lobster Mushroom Hypomyces lactifluorum Aug – Nov Not really a mushroom of its own but a bright orange parasite that takes over certain white mushrooms and twists them out… Lorquin’s Admiral Limenitis lorquini May – Aug A black butterfly with a white band and orange-brown wingtips that patrols streamsides, chasing off other butterflies. Mallard Anas platyrhynchos Mar – Oct The familiar green-headed duck of lakes, ponds and slow rivers. Females are mottled brown with an orange bill blotched with black. Mount Hood Pussypaws Calyptridium umbellatum Jun – Aug A low mountain wildflower with a rosette of fleshy leaves and fuzzy pink-and-white flower heads that sprawl outward in a ring. Mountain Hemlock Tsuga mertensiana May – Oct The snow-loving conifer of Mt. Hood's high country, with a drooping tip and short needles crowded all around its twigs. Mule Deer Odocoileus hemionus Mar – Oct Mt. Hood sits where two forms of this deer meet: black-tailed deer on the wet west side and mule deer on the… Narrow-collared Snail-eating Beetle Scaphinotus angusticollis May – Jun, Aug – Nov A large, night-active ground beetle with a long, narrow head that it pushes into snail shells to feed on the snail inside.…