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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (April 15, 2015)
A18 Sports/Outdoors wallowa.com April 15, 2015 Turkey vultures play a key role Wallowa golfers struggle at Wildhorse BIRD- WATCHING EH Van Blaricom As a connoisseur of song birds, why am I sending in such an ugly picture of a turkey vulture? I’ve had this photo in my collection for a long time without using it, but since these repulsive looking scavengers have a role to play in the complexities of nature, I decided to write about them as they will be coming north over our skies in a few more weeks. They are most noticeable when you see them circling up high without ÀDSSLQJ WKHLU ZLQJV DQG ULJKW DZD\ you start wondering, what’s dead around here? When you ever get a chance to see them up close, you will know why they are named “turkey vultures” as they resemble a turkey with their red head and no feathers. But their beaks are curved down like hawks so they can rip apart their food which consists of road-kills since the invention of the automobile. Follow- ing nighttime when headlights blind so many animals, in the mornings there are quite a lot of dead and man- gled animals such as rabbits, opos- sums, skunks and sometimes deer to be found along the highways. That’s ZKHQ WKHVH YXOWXUHV JR RXW WR ¿QG their breakfast. Nor do these scaven- gers just eat fresh road-kills; no dead, maggot-infested creature is too repul- sive to a vulture. Sometimes one can see several Courtesy photo/EH Van Blaricom Are you feeling stressed and overwhelmed? Do you feel hopeless or has the joy gone out of your life? I can help! The Wallowa golf team traveled to the Wildhorse golf course last Friday and slipped a little on its scores from the previous week. Wallowa coach Marvin Gibbs said, “The kids have their favorite courses and Wildhorse isn’t one of them. The sand and the water got ’em.” Claire Wellens kept her card the same as last week carding a 103. Karl Wellens shot a 91, up two strokes from the previ- ous week with Alex Coutant shooting a 101 after he tied with Karl last week. Kai Ol- iver shot a 101 with Caevan Murray posting the next best card at 116. Thomas Jamerson shot a round of 127. The Wallowa boys team ¿QLVKHG¿IWKRXWRIVL[WHDPV Coach Gibbs added,”Over- all we’re looking pretty good. If we could get a little bit bet- ter weather we could get more practice. We’re focusing on getting to district and state.” On Friday the team will be in John Day. Increasing numbers of turkey vultures are likely to be seen in Wallowa County in the coming weeks. of them crowding out the ravens and magpies to feed on a dead deer along the roadside. Speaking of crowding, YXOWXUHV URRVW LQ KXJH ÀRFNV PRVW- ly in dead trees. But there is a steel tower with numerous braces down at French Glen, Ore., where I have seen as many as 40 or 50 vultures roost at Are you struggling to make your marriage work? A few sessions can make a big difference. Jeff Harman, MA., LPC Professional Counseling In A Private Setting www.jharmancounseling.com To schedule an appointment call Jeff Harman (541) 426-3067 Preferred Provider for Regence Blue Cross, ODS, Cascade Centers and many other private insurance and employee assistance programs. night on this tower. One other odd- ity of these huge birds is they are like pigeons and doves in that they only lay two eggs which take more than a month to hatch. It also takes more than a month and a half before WKHQHVWOLQJVFDQÀ\,QVSLWHRIWKHLU repulsive diet, these vultures are the janitors that provide a valuable ser- vice by cleaning up the dead and rotting animals that would otherwise take a month or more for the maggots to consume. Next month I will get back to tell- ing about the beauty and habits of songbirds. SHOOTER: Egg shoot coming up Enterprise boys golfers lower their team score individuals did play. For the boys, Cody Irish led the way with a tally of Over the last two weeks 95. Brycen Locke was next, the Enterprise boys golf team carding a 99. Gotro Thanadkit lowered their team score by completed the course in 101 45 strokes. The boys placed strokes, and Christian Ruck- third out of six teams at the dashel shot a 104. Isaac Row- Wildhorse Golf Course last ley, alternate for the team, Friday. Coach Mike Crawford slipped a little from week ago said he didn’t’ have enough with a total of 112. JLUOV WR ¿HOG D WHDP EXW WZR Coach Crawford, who has By Rich Rautenstrauch Wallowa County Chieftain Wallowa County Chieftain Continued from Page A11 This Saturday the associa- tion will hold its annual Egg Shoot. The event will feature three classes of shooters: pro, amateur, and novice, with dif- taken his team to district for ferent entry fees for the three the last 16 years straight, felt categories. The Egg Shoot is aptly a little better about this squad ZLWK WKH WKLUGSODFH ¿QLVK RQ named after the trophy design, which features an ostrich egg the weekend. Among the girls, Carsen with a shooter on top. The Sajonia shot a 98, slipping three trophy roams and different shots from last week. Emma sponsors in the county display Hall improved her score mea- it for a year with the title hold- er’s name and picture on it. surably shooting a 137. Next up for the team is a Eggs are also used as targets in the shoot. trip to John Day. MM 55 STIHL YARD BOSS ® $ 359 95 “I love this tool. I was very surprised at how much power it has.” Shown with optional wheel kit. – user Streetglide Attachments sold separately. FREE WHEEL KIT WITH MM 55 OR MM 55 C-E PURCHASE A $59.95 SNW-SRP value! Offer valid through 7/5/15 at participating dealers while supplies last. 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