Applegater Winter 2017
11
BIRD EXPLORER
The bird tree
BY PETER J. THIEMANN
The golden autumn is coming to an
end with all the colorful leaves falling to
the ground. This is the time for many birds
of several species to gather in certain trees
to forage for vertebrates like arthropods.
This story is about one tree in particular:
an Oregon ash on our land. It is a large,
mature tree that had golden leaves just a
few weeks ago, but is now bare, and its
branches are covered with lichen. This is
where the arthropods are, in the lichen and
flying around.
Like a magnet, the Oregon ash attracts
large flocks of birds, often all together.
Here are the most prominent species—
those that can be seen in a single day when
the sun is out: Black-capped Chickadee,
Oregon Junco, Pine Siskin, Bushtit, Oak
Titmouse, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Yellow-
crowned Kinglet, Brown Creeper, and
Downy Woodpecker.
While Chickadees, Juncos, Bushtits, and
Pine Siskins show up in large numbers and
flocks, Kinglets of both species, creepers,
Oak Titmouse
You can’t miss the
supersized Ceanothus Silkmoth
BY LINDA KAPPEN
The Ceanothus Silkmoth (Hyalophora
euryalus) is a moth of the Saturniidae
family. This very large moth has a wingspan
of three and a half to five inches. Its wings
are reddish to brownish-red and rosy-
colored with borders that are black with
white. There are two oval black spots on the
top of the forewing. The hindwing spots
are long and resemble the Nike swoosh or
a boomerang. The underside of the wings
has more of a brownish color, with the rest
of the markings similar to the upper side.
Females will glue their eggs, single or
clumped, on the leaves of host plants.
Cocoons are spun on the host plants. The
larvae are generalist feeders and will feed
on species of ceanothus, willows, madrone,
Douglas fir, cherry, and a variety of woody
shrubs and trees.
Adults are nocturnal and will come
to light. Like other large silkmoths, the
Ceanothus Silkmoth does not feed as
an adult. They can be seen early spring
to late summer. Timing can depend on
local climates, but usually they are seen
in daylight resting with their wings folded
over their back.
The Ceanothus Silkmoth ranges are
from British Columbia throughout the
Pacific Northwest, to extreme western
Idaho and Montana, and down to Baja
California. Habitat for this species include
a variety of forests and rangelands from
low to higher elevations in conifer and
hardwood forests, coastal areas, chaparrals,
riparian areas, and sagebrush steppe, to
name a few.
Many Ceanothus Silkmoths are seen
locally in southern Oregon. Their large
size makes them amazing to see. Many
times over the years, students and staff
at Applegate School have alerted me to a
sighting on the school grounds. The photo
shown here was taken in May 2017. The
smaller children found it sitting in the
bottom of an empty trash container and
were very concerned about it. I brought
it into the classroom to show them that
it was, indeed, all right and healthy. It is
possible they thought it would die since
they also find and bring me many broken
moth wings.
Linda Kappen
humbugkapps@hotmail.com
Side view of silkmoth (left) taken
by Linda Kappen. Hand photo (below)
by Kellie Crowe Halsted.
the Oak Titmouse, and woodpeckers are
small in numbers but nevertheless can be
seen every day. If you are inclined to do
some bird photography, try to find a tree
like our Oregon ash, which will almost
guarantee lots of bird sightings.
But a word of caution about whether
to look for these birds with binoculars or
with a camera: they are very busy picking
up tiny arthropods, which means that they
hardly ever sit still, making it difficult to
follow with binoculars or focus a camera
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Peter J. Thiemann
lens. In addition,
the camera has to
be in a telephoto setting, which reduces
the field of vision. Using autofocus is a
must, as is a sunny day, to allow shooting
with a short shutter speed, like 1/1600
second. Most of the species listed above
are not particularly shy, so it is quite useful
to take a chair, sit down, and let the bird
show unfold.
Peter J. Thiemann
peterjthiemann@yahoo.com
Pine Siskin. All photos courtesy of
Peter J. Thiemann flickr photo stream.
