B2
SPORTS
East Oregonian
OUTDOORS
Saturday, June 18, 2022
Catbird:
Continued from Page B1
Lisa Britton/EO Media Group
U.S. Forest Service offi cials are reminding visitors to the Wal-
lowa-Whitman, Umatilla and Malheur national forests to fol-
low precautions when building campfi res.
USFS reminds
visitors about
campfi re safety
Forest officials recom-
mend the following campfi re
BAKER CITY — U.S. safety precautions:
Forest Service offi cials are • Only adults should build
and maintain campfi res.
reminding visitors to the
Wallowa-Whitman, Umatilla • Find a shady spot away
and Malheur national forests
from dry logs, overhang-
to follow precautions when
ing branches, bushes,
building campfi res.
needles or leaves.
All campfi res should be • Use existing fire rings
in a fi re pit surrounded by
where it is safe to do so.
dirt, rock or a metal ring, in
Don’t build fi re-rings in
areas cleared of all fl amma-
roads. (Note: within the
ble material within a three-
Grande Ronde Scenic
foot radius from the edge of
Waterway, campfires
the pit, and free of overhang-
must be contained in a
fi reproof container (such
ing material.
Campers should also
as a fi re pan) with sides
carry a shovel and at least one
tall enough to contain all
gallon of water while build-
ash and debris, and all
ing and tending campfi res.
ashes and debris must be
These guidelines apply to the
removed from the river
use of charcoal briquettes as
corridor. Do not use or
well.
construct fire pits or
Although lightning starts
rock fi re rings within the
most wildfi res in the Blue
Scenic Waterway.)
Mountains, human-caused • Keep campfi re rings small
and use wood no bigger
fi res are unpredictable and
P
than the ring.
can stretch firefighting
resources thin,
V I H especially
t u o b a g n i k l • a t Keep
y B . n tents
o i t a and
c i d other
e m f burn-
o p l e h
when lightning-caused fi res
able materials away from
require fi refi ghters’ attention
the fi re.
at the same time.
• Never leave a campfire
As fire danger levels
unattended. Those leav-
increase this summer,
ing campfi res unattended
can be billed for the cost
the three national forests
of fi re suppression.
in the Blue Mountains
will announce Public Use • Drown the campfi re with
water and stir charred
Restrictions, also known
material.
as PURs, which limit the
use of campfires, chain- • When leaving, make sure
saws, smoking and off -road
your fi re is dead out. Very
motorized travel. PURs are
carefully feel all sticks and
imposed in phases, based on
charred remains. Make
increased fi re danger, hot and
sure no roots are smolder-
dry weather conditions and
ing. If it’s too hot to touch,
concern for public safety.
it’s too hot to leave.
EO Media Group
Imnaha, Wallowa rivers
open for Chinook June 25
The Observer
ENTERPRISE — For the
fi rst time since 2016, anglers
will be able to fi sh for spring
Chinook in the Imnaha and
Wallowa rivers.
“All current projections
indicate this year’s run will
exceed our preseason forecast
and provide an opportunity
to harvest spring Chinook
locally,” said Kyle Bratcher,
an Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife district
fi sh biologist in Enterprise,
in a press release. “In the
past, these have been popular
fi sheries and we’re glad to see
numbers that allow anglers to
get out there.”
Adult Chinook passage
at Bonneville Dam through
June 1 totals 149,031 fish,
which is 129% of the 10-year
(2012-21) average cumula-
tive count and 210% of the
5-year (2017-21) average for
the date.
The Imnaha River opens
from June 25 to July 10 from
the conf luence with the
Snake River upstream to the
Summit Creek Bridge.
The open season on the
Wallowa River is from June
25 to July 24 from the lower
fence of Minam State Park
upstream to the confl uence
with the Lostine River.
Bag limits are two adult
hatchery spring Chinook per
day with fi ve hatchery jacks.
Anglers must cease fi shing
for salmon for the day when
they retain two adult salmon
and may not continue to
angle for jacks.
Hook gaps may not exceed
three-quarters of an inch, and
all other statewide and zone
regulations apply.
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unsure if it would return.
When I purchased the
property in 2016, cattle had
been grazing the meager
acreage and kept the brush
tamped down in the now
lush creek corridor and the
birds have taken notice of
the vegetation rebound.
Bullock’s orioles, yellow
warblers, and even a varied
thrush all appeared last
spring, but their appear-
ance in 2022 was uncer-
tain.
I had stalked the catbird
with my Nikon for a week
and it proved formidable
in the predator avoidance
department. Wary and
cunning, it would toler-
ate only fl eeting glimpses,
bolting the moment it
realized I had established
line-of-sight. The bird left
me to log dozens of useless
photos as my target acquisi-
tion skills had rusted since
the upland bird hunting
season closed.
I knew its namesake
cat-like call, but the variety
of other voices I thought
I was hearing was the
catbird proudly showcas-
ing its robust vocal array.
Kneeling by the paddock
fence and peering through
the lichen-encrusted rails
and tree branches fi nally
provided a couple moments
to observe the wary bird.
Male catbirds sing a
tune that can be minutes
long and comprised of bits
of other bird songs, even
those of domestic chick-
ens and frog ribbits. Tones
of the American robin,
red-winged blackbird,
lesser goldfi nch, House
fi nch and House wren
projected from the catbird’s
powerful vocal cords as I
John Benson/Contributed Photo
An excellent photo of the gray catbird exercising its vocal
cords while perched on a branch.
photographed. All of these
species were simultane-
ously present on the home-
stead, but had I never laid
eyes on them, I would have
been left to assume the
catbird was putting me on.
While not as showy
as beauties like the Bull-
ock’s oriole, the catbird is
a beauty in its own right. If
you believe the color gray
can be rich and deep, then
you’ve probably spied the
catbird at some point in
time. Their plumage boasts
a tinge of stormy blue with
a coal-black cap and tail
feather tips punctuating
their otherwise modest
appearance.
My diffi culty in pinning
down the bird for a few
photos educated me to their
elusiveness being partially
owed to their dark coloring
and propensity to inhabit
the densest, shadiest parts
of the riparian. Catbirds
prefer shrubby trees like
dogwood, hawthorn,
cherry, elderberry and viny
plants like honeysuckle
and blackberry for nesting.
Their summer food sources
consist of insects, fruits
and berries, and I assume
the increase in chokecherry
and blackberry on the
homestead have been the
main draw to the catbird in
recent years.
According to the
Cornell Lab of Ornithol-
ogy, females build open-
cup nests made of twigs,
straw, bark, and mud
which have a fi nely woven
inner lining of grass, hair,
rootlets, and pine needles.
Clutch sizes range from
one to six and females can
have two to three clutches
per year. Eggs are turquoise
in color and occasionally
have red spots (which I
have unfortunately never
seen). Males aggressively
defend their territory, even
in winter, which is unusual
among songbirds.
Next time you fi nd
yourself up a brushy Blue
Mountain draw, keep an
eye peeled for a fl ash of
gray and an ear out for a
raspy “mew.” Aside from
being unassumingly stun-
ning, the catbird’s photog-
raphy challenge is worth
pursuing as they move
from tree to tree and branch
to branch. If you stick with
them, you just might nab
a passable photo and hear
their complex song long
enough to realize you’ve
been had by a master of
mimicry.
———
Brad Trumbo is a fish
and wildlife biologist and
outdoor writer in Waits-
burg, Washington. For
tips and tales of outdoor
pursuits and conservation,
visit www.bradtrumbo.com.
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