LIFESTYLES
WEEKEND, APRIL 22-23, 2017
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
A male mallard duck takes flight from one of numerous ponds on the property of
Jack Simons recently outside of Pendleton.
Jack Simons places piles of tree branches strategically across his property to give
small birds a safe place to roost away from predators.
Turn your tiny piece of the
world into an avian oasis
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Jack Simons checks on one of the many wood duck nesting boxes he has placed on his property outside of Pendleton. Simons employs various strategies to attract wild
birds to his property.
Bird watcher Jack Simons uses native plants,
brush piles and feeders to attract variety of birds
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
A male screech owl sites in a wood duck nesting box in a tree
on Jack Simons’ property outside of Pendleton.
Jack Simons doesn’t need
television or a good novel for
high drama. All he needs to do is
step onto his back deck and look
around.
On a recent morning, Simons
stood sipping from a steaming cup
of coffee and noticed an eastern
kingbird carrying something
wiggly in its beak. His interest
was piqued.
“I went and got my binoculars
and looked closer,” Simons said.
“The bird was feeding praying
mantises to its babies.”
He watched entranced for the
next half hour as the parents deliv-
ered 11 praying mantises to their
four offspring.
Other days, Simons might
notice raptors swooping low to
hunt prey or waterfowl landing on
the pond.
All of this activity is by design.
The bird lover, a member of the
Pendleton Bird Club, transformed
his 12 acres into an avian mecca
of sorts. After he placed nesting
boxes, a wood duck set up in one
and a screech owl minded four
eggs in another.
As Simons wandered recently
on his Pendleton-area property,
which butts up against the
Umatilla River, the sound of bird
life ebbed and flowed and eddied
around him. A woodpecker made
drumming noises. A pair of wood
ducks squealed as they shot up
from a pond where they had been
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
A female screech owl makes a nest in a wood duck nesting box.
“It’s important for people to know their little piece
of the world is an important part of the conserva-
tion effort. What they do at home does matter.”
— Doug Tallamy, University of Delaware wildlife ecology professor
swimming. Songbirds twittered.
Canada geese honked as they flew
overhead.
Simons said his strategies to
attract birds include growing
native plants that produce a
variety of berries, seeds and nuts.
He placed perches and brush piles,
set out feeders and kept standing
dead trees. He spreads corn for
the Canada geese. Three ponds
provide water.
His reward? A steady influx of
bird life from kestrels to killdeer,
hummingbirds to hawks, barn
owls to black-capped chickadees.
The most unusual bird was a
snowy egret, normally seen much
farther south.
You might think you need
many acres and a natural source of
water like Simons enjoys to create
your own avian oasis, but you’d
be wrong.
University of Delaware wildlife
ecology professor Doug Tallamy
wrote “Bringing Nature Home” as
a guide for those seeking to attract
birds to the tiniest of yards — even
those in the middle of cities.
“Especially in the middle of the
city,” said Tallamy this week by
phone. “Birds migrate right over
cities. They get tired and come
down to have something to eat.”
Having native plants is key,
See BIRDS/4C