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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (April 12, 2017)
30 Wednesday, April 12, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Tales from a Sisters Naturalist by Jim Anderson An unexpected encounter The last thing the staff and customers of Lowe’s in Bend expected to see last week was a lone common poorwill (a bird very closely related to a nighthawk) standing in the middle of the garden center. You have to admit, that bundle of feathers with red eyes just doesn’t fit into a bird category unless some- one knows a little more about birds than “robins eat worms.” One of Lowe’s employ- ees picked it up and thought it was a baby owl. But a customer just happened to see the bird and knew it for what it is. She also knew if it was being carried around without putting up a struggle something was wrong with it and also knew who to call for help: Elise Wolf of Native Bird Care in Sisters. Currently, the poorwill is undergoing an intense bathing regime in an effort to remove some kind of gunk the bird got into while it was exploring Lowe’s gar- den department. The usual method for removing oils is using Dawn detergent. But the stuff on the Lowe’s bird is persistent and sticky, so Elise has to work harder in an attempt to remove it. The bird is also devour- ing hundreds of mealworms and crickets daily, which set Elise and her husband, Whitney, back $40 plus ship- ping for just mealworms. Poorwills are medium- sized nocturnal or crepuscu- lar (the latter a time of sparse light between sunset and darkness and darkness and dawn), and they are equipped with long wings, short, weak legs, very short bills and a BIG mouth. In some areas they’re called goatsuckers, due to ancient folk tales that claimed they sucked milk from goats. Goatsuckers of the New World (our western species) are called night- hawks, others poorwills, and they nest on the ground. In this neck of the woods you have to be careful when driving little-used roads at night as both poorwills and nighthawks stop to rest in the middle of the roads. Both give off a very distinct eye- shine at night, manifested by just two tiny red spots in the darkness. If you see that at night in the road, get your foot off the gas pedal and on the brake; it will probably be a goatsucker. Nightjars have small feet, of little use for walking, and to perch on a limb they must do so lengthways — which also makes them look like a stick, and their soft plum- age is cryptically colored to resemble bark, leaves, and sand and gravel. Now, here comes the real mystery about nightjars, especially poorwills: They (and hummingbirds) are the only birds known to go into a torpor, defined as a state of decreased physiological activity in an animal, usu- ally caused by reduced body temperature and metabolic rate, very similar to hiberna- tion. While hummingbirds can go into torpor for up to 12 hours, common poorwills can do it all through the win- ter — as in hibernation. Which opens the door to the possibility that the poor- will now in Elise’s care may have flown into Lowe’s late last summer and has been there hibernating through winter. Or, perhaps a bet- ter scenario, it was passing through the night before and thought Lowe’s looked like a good motel for a day’s rest. You call it. Elise plans to release Quality Truck-mounted CARPET CLEANING It’s a great time to sell because… Quality Cleaning 16 years in Reasonable Prices Sisters! Inventory Is Scarce! — Credit Cards Accepted — ENVIROTECH 541-771-5048 Stop by. Walk-ins welcome. Licensed • Bonded • Insured • CCB#181062 Your Sisters expert. RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL PHOTO BY JIM ANDERSON Yep, it’s a bird — honest! Look at its eyes. It’s an adtlt common poorwill on the mend at Elise Wolf’s Native Bird Care facility in Sisters. “Sticky” as soon as the night-moving moths and insects are abundant, and since poorwills fly very close to the ground and often rest at night in the middle of the road… Well, you know. HOWELLS REALTY GROUP Phil Arends 541-420-9997 phil@blackbutte.com PEAK PROPERTIES PARTNERSHIP Dick Howells 541-408-6818 Black Butte Ranch, Sisters Area, rahowells@blackbutte.com and Central Oregon Let our 40+ years of combined experience work for you. Whether you are buying or selling, call us for a no-obligation consultation. www.realestateinsisters.com | 220 S. Ash St., Sisters Superior Escrow Execution Ultimate Service Stop by and visit with Tiana Van Landuyt & Shelley Marsh. 220 S. Pine St., Ste. 102 | 541-548-9180 Ali Mayea Principal Broker/Owner Sisters HomeLand Realty 541-588-6007 | 401 E. Main Ave. Let us show you how much you can save this year! SHOP LOCAL Call 541-588-6245, for a free quote! 257 S. Pine St., #101 www.farmersagent.com/jrybka Auto • Home • Life • Business I will return your call Contracting LLC “All About Detail” Ed Cook Carpentry & Painting Sisters-owned • 46 years experience Licensed & Insured 540-454-2040 CCB#212871 The Nugget is brought to you weekly because of our advertisers’ support. t. So we ask you to support the local businesses which help make your community, hometown newspaper possible. ible PHOTO OTO BY GAR GARY Y MILLER MI I LLE LL 3 isters and Cook