Sisters Country birds
By Douglas Beall
Correspondent
The mountain quail
(Oreortyx pictus) is the
largest quail in the United
States. I found these colour-
ful quail on the shoulders
of Mt. Jefferson, and while
waiting for a good oppor-
tunity to capture an image
from my truck, had one sit-
ting on a log staring at me
and he did not blink for 40
minutes.
In foothills and moun-
tains of the far west, cov-
eys of these striking birds
scurry through the man-
zanita thickets. Mountain
quail are often overlooked,
because they keep to dense
cover; when approached,
they often sit motionless in
the brush, where they are
very difficult to spot. The
nest is a simple scrape made
by the male, concealed in
vegetation, often at the base
of a tree and usually close
to water. Breeding among
mountain quail is monoga-
mous and the female lays
8-15 creamy pinkish eggs.
Incubation lasts 21-25 days,
usually performed by the
female, rarely by the male.
The chicks begin feeding
immediately, with insects
being the majority of their
diet until they slowly add
vegetation.
They have a wide vari-
ety of foraging techniques.
They often pick up items
from the ground, scratch-
ing among leaf litter and
use their feet to dig for
bulbs, also they climb in
shrubs and trees to pick
berries.
Although their secretive
nature makes it difficult
to accurately census, they
have clearly experienced a
great decline in the past 50
years in parts of their range.
A group of quails has
many collective nouns,
including a <battery,=
<drift,= <flush,= <rout,= and
<shake= of quails.
To view more images of
the mountain quail, please
visit my website and enjoy
the small things: www.
abirdsingsbecauseithas
asong.com/recent-journeys.
Wednesday, February 5, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
STARS: Visit Oregon
Observatory to learn
about astronomy
Mercury stands 11 degrees
above the southwestern hori-
zon half an hour after sunset.
This will be the best time to
see the planet all year. Venus
is there too, of course, as it is
the brightest object in the sky
after the sun and moon.
The three remaining supe-
rior planets are all morning
objects. Mars rises first just
before 4 a.m. local time at
the beginning of the month.
Jupiter pops up around 90
minutes before the sun, fol-
lowed by Saturn 40 minutes
later. By the end of February
all three planets rise before
twilight begins.
Let9s not forget about the
earth9s closest natural body in
space. Our moon will become
the Full Snow Moon on the
8th, last quarter on February
15 and new moon on February
23. Additionally, the moon
will be closest to the earth
(perigee) on February 10 at
223,980 miles and farthest
away (apogee) on February
26 at 252,450 miles.
If you want to learn
more about astronomy, con-
sider a visit to the Oregon
Observatory at Sunriver.
During February the facil-
ity is open for solar view-
ing Friday through Sunday
from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and
Wednesday and Saturday
nights 7 to 9 p.m. The obser-
vatory has the largest collec-
tion of public viewing tele-
scopes in the country.
PHOTO BY DOUGLAS BEALL
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Deadline looms for
writing contest
Continued from page 7
The mountain quail.
Holistic Mental Health Solutions
Medication Management
Counseling • Functional Medicine
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Connie Boyle
541-508-1500
Box 615 Sisters, OR 97759
Tick tock! Waterston
Desert Writing Prize submis-
sions for the 2020 prize are
due by midnight, April 1. If
you are planning to submit,
it9s time to get serious about
applying. Find all the guide-
lines and a link for submis-
sions at www.waterstondeser-
twritingprize.org.
The prize honors creative
nonfiction that illustrates
artistic excellence, sensitivity
to place, and desert literacy,
with the desert as both subject
and setting. Inspired by author
and poet Ellen Waterston9s
love of the high desert of
Central Oregon, a region that
has been her muse for over 30
years, the prize recognizes the
vital role deserts play world-
wide in the ecosystem and the
human narrative.
The prize-winner will
receive a $2,500 cash award,
a reading and reception at
the High Desert Museum in
Bend, Oregon, and a resi-
dency at PLAYA at Summer
Lake, Oregon. The win-
ner and finalists will be
announced in April. The
award event, including
<A Desert Conversation,=
will take place Wednesday,
June 24, at the High Desert
Museum.
The prize is funded from
an endowment managed
by the Oregon Community
Foundation, with the impetus
for the creation of the endow-
ment provided by actor Sam
Waterston, after whom the
prize is named.
For more information
about the Waterston Desert
Writing Prize, visit www.
waterstondesertwriting
prize.org or email info@
waterstondesertwritingprize.
org or call 541-480-3933 or
541-419-0414.
