*
Donkey
Basketball
Sandy High teacher John White Hop» finds a
less-than-graceful method of getting off a shot
Meanwhile, the Sandy Fire Department’s Ron
Smith fleft > just tries to stay on the donkey. A
final touchoup on the makeup is necessary for
these two FT'A members (middlei before they go
out on the court and ride as tough as Sandy FFA
leader l^es Geren (right).
photos by Mark Floyd
Bald eagles a rare but impressive sight
F irst I heard a splash. then
I saw the osprey in the water
about 50 yards from the boat.
It was pushing on the surface
of the lake trying to get back
into the a ir after a breakneck
dive on a fish When the bird
did manage to break free
from the water it was ob
vious the dive had been a
success The osprey had a
large fish clasped in its
talons
The fish looked like it
might outweigh the bird The
osprev spiraled slowly up
w ard: w orking to gain
altitude and fly away over
the lodgepole pines that lined
the lake.
Some minutes were in
volved in this struggle, but
finally the bird was high
enough to begin its flight
home
An eagle came out of
nowhere; diving from the
sun with talons extended In
one fluid motion the eagle
forced the osprey to drop its
fish then picked the morsel
off before it hit the water
The osprey, without looking
back, continued its flight
away from the lake
It was luck to be witness to
a bit of natural competition
There are not many places
in Oregon where such a
confrontation can be seen
N either bald eagles or
osprey s are numerous in the
state, but both species shar»-
a preference for the chain of
lakes and reservoirs along
the Century Drive Highwa)
in the Cascades west of Bend
It was on one of these lakes
that the eagle stole the fish,
and on yet another that I saw
an osprey swooping down on
an eagle like a fighter plant1
harassing a bomber
The bald eagle and the
osprey
eat
the same
food — fish. In the chain of
lakes that include Crane
P ra irie
and
W ickiup
reservoirs. Elk lake , Davis
Lake and others, there is an
abundance of fish and many
good nesting sites
OREGON
Fish & Wildlif«
This unbeatable com
bination is why this chunk of
Deschutes and Klam ath
counties is home to more
than one-third of the nesting
ospreys and 17 percent of the
nesting eagles in the state.
A large share of the osprey
nests are located at Crane
Prairie Reservoir. In many
cases, adult ospreys fly in
over fishing boots to reach
nests.
The birds w ill begin
nesting soon on stick nests
perched precariously atop a
dead tree snag or broken
topped pines The osprey will
raise two to three young
annually. The birds w ill often
use the same nest site year
after year
The eagle also prefers the
broken-top trees as a nest
site In a count made in 1979.
24 nesLs were located in the
general area of Century
Drive. Twelve of the sites
were actually being used.
The reason for the d if
ference between nest sites
and eagle numbers is that the
same pair of eagles may
have more than one nest in
an area The turds may
alternate nest use from year
to year.
While ospreys tend to
concentrate in areas like
Crane Prairie, eagles control
a larger territory with nests
scattered
w idely
over
several hundred square
miles.
Accurate information on
nest sites and activity for the
eagle has been slim in the
past. A continuing study of
eagle populations in the
Century Drive area has only
been active for the last two
y e a rs .
C o o p e r a tiv e
agreements between land-
owners and managers have
allowed far reaching in
fo r m a t io n
g a th e r in g
programs to be started
The Department of Fish
and Wildlife may begin to
take an even more active
role in the work when money
becomes available through
the new non-game wildlife
tax
checkoff
program
started this year
In the meantime, the bald
eagle and the osprey shall
continue to share and fight
over their piece of territory
in central Oregon.
BILL TAYLOR
A
ASSOCIATES
V75S E S*nd>
Portland Oregon *>7214
STATEWIDE REALTORS
•
Both populations appear to
be holding their own in the
C entury D rive area. If
further study reveals that is
the case, then that chain of
lakes becomes even more
important The eagle is not
doing too well elsewhere in
the state and the osprey
requires very specific types
of habitat in order to nest and
breed. Good nesting areas
are becoming scarce as other
land and water uses move
these two birds aside
bowling M xrebcm J
Sandy Early Birds
March 10.1980
W
Sandy Shoe Repair
24
Alpine Hut
21
Sandy Lmbr & Hdwe 20
Toni’s
18
Zigzag Inn
18
Deane’s Auto Repair 17
L
12
13
16
18
18
19
Eagle Foundry
16 20
S.J. Pounder
10 26
High Game: Clarene Smith
184
High Series: Tinker Hutchins
482
Team Game: Toni’s 716
Team Series: Sandy Shoe
Repair 2008
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