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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 13, 2016)
A10 Community wallowa.com Behold the ravenous goshawk BIRD- WATCHING January 13, 2016 The pleasantry, the beauty of this county Barrie Qualle EH Van Blaricom OPEN RANGE For The Chieftain I have here a photo of a female Goshawk. Goshawks are the largest of the accipiters. The other two are Coopers hawks and Sharp-shinned hawks. These three species of hawks Ày e[tremely fast when pursuing their prey, which are mostly birds. I have watched Sharp-shinned hawks catch Mourning Doves right out of the air even though they are both about the same size. The Coopers hawks are the most common here in this part of Oregon and they feed almost entirely on song birds, but they won’t pass up a chipmunk. But the Northern Goshawk is fairly rare and they tend to prey on larger birds such as grouse, chukkars and quail. I have seen goshawks in winter where they would just about wipe out every ruffed grouse along a brushy canyon. The females are somewhat larger than the males but the males are very helpful in feeding the chicks. Their nests are always quite high in an evergreen tree and are dif¿cult to see from the ground. They tend to have four chicks in their nests and they have gluttonous appetites. E.H. Van Blaricom Goshawks come down from the northern forests in the winter to feed. The parents have to hunt continuously to bring in game birds, cottontail rabbits and squirrels. Like all hawks, their keen eyesight allows them to spot even the most camouÀaged prey. They tend to live in the northern forests but we will see more of them in winter when they migrate down where there are more birds and small game. The ones I see in winter are usually perched at the very top of an evergreen tree where they can watch for their ne[t meal. When I was a teenager I hated Coopers hawks and Goshawks because they would kill and eat my pet pigeons. HURRY IN FOR SAVINGS ON HOME ESSENTIALS! 9 9 1 14 4 99 3-Dra wer W o ven Storage T ower o Opaque dra wers with easy-pull handles. 1 5-in. D x 1 2 5 / 8 in. W x 24-in. H. W 205 212 B2 While supplies last. 3 7 79 9 1 0-Oz. Glass Cook T op o 1 2-Oz. Goo Gonee ® Cleaner W 462 047 B6 Gel Spray W 631 390 F6 While supplies last. 1 7 17 9 9 99 Compact Ceramic Heater 2 hea t settings plus fan-only setting. W 180 111 B6 While supplies last. While supplies last. 5 9 9 99 Y OUR CHOICE YOUR 20-Ct. 33-Gal. T rash r Bags W 696 211 B6 45-Ct. 1 3-Gal. Kitchen rash Bags with Odor T ras r Block W 594 074 B6 1 8-Ct. 39-Gal. La wn & Leaf Bags W 685 034 B6 While supplies last. 011 M-F 8AM-6PM • SAT 8AM-5PM • SUN 9AM-3PM Upon meeting people here in Wallowa County I often ask how they came to live here. I am continually sur- prised at how often the an- swer is something like: “My great-grandfather walked in here from Kentucky in 1878.” There are a great number of people descended from pioneer families living in this county. Others, like myself, stum- bled on this oasis accidental- ly. In my case, I was summer- ing steers in Saskatchewan, where I lived until 1953, and after checking the cattle in June I was returning to my home in California. I left the ranch in Saskatchewan and drove to Lewiston and spent the night. The ne[t day I looked at a map and saw a road that ran south that I had never been on. Not being encumbered with my wife, who hates shortcuts I sometimes take, I took it and after the horror of Rattlesnake Grade I dis- covered the most beautiful place I had ever seen. Be- ing June, all the creeks were full, the grass was green and Barrie Qualle there was still snow on the Wallowas. The country sure had its Sunday clothes on. I pulled over near the Top Hand Cafe and just looked. I remember thinking that I had been to all the pretty places west of the Mississippi and this topped all of them. It re- minded me of Gardnerville, Nev., in the 1950s before it ¿lled up with people, or Jack- son Hole, Wyo., when it was the size of Enterprise. It was always in the back of my mind to somehow live here. It took 10 more years to accomplish the feat and come up with the wherewithal to make it work. At one time there was no better place than California, but that was no longer the case — too many rats in the cage. It was not just the uncrowded beauty of Wallowa County; I was to discover many other reasons to love living here. Visit the Social Security Of¿ce in Modesto, Calif., NS you will go to the counter and get ticket number 256 as they SA A VE V 30% or mor SAVE more e 9 9 2 99 Are you feeling stressed and overwhelmed? Do you feel hopeless or has the joy gone out of your life? Are you struggling to make your marriage work? I can help! A few sessions can make a big difference. Jeff Harman, MA., LPC Professional Counseling In A Private Setting www.jharmancounseling.com Sale Ends 01/31/2014 1/31/2015 Sale ends Sale ends 01/31/2013 ® Company. ©2012 by True Value All ©2013 True Value Company. All rights rights reserved. reserved. ® ® Company. All rights reserved. ©2012 True by True Value ©2013 Value Company. All rights reserved. ® Wallowa County Chieftain 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. are serving number 34. At the same of¿ce in La Grande I was told by the guard I had to get a ticket prior to being served. I wondered why, if I was the only one there, that I needed a ticket. I got one and was promptly served by a pleasant civil servant. Last week I renewed my tags for one of the vehicles at the lo- cal DMV and was again at the front of the line and had a pleasant visit with the girl working there. Contrast this to the last time I got my drivers license renewed in California. I trapped my brother into go- ing with me for company. There was a serpentine line at all the windows and after a 30-minute wait I got the test to take. I answered all the questions and had an- other 40-minute line to get it graded by a cranky clerk. I passed, and then got in the 40-minute line to have my picture taken. My brother’s mood had deteriorated to the point that I wished I had left him at home. We were 15 minutes from the camera when I decided to enjoy some bladder relief. I handed brother Bill my pa- pers and told him to hold the place in line while I went to ¿nd el baxo. The line at the men’s room wasn’t that long and I headed back to get back in the photo line. My brother intercepted me on the way and said “let’s go.” Apparently the line had sped up and for si[ years I had my brothers picture on my drivers license. Since he was younger and better looking than me I was OK with it. I also noticed that cops don’t really look at driv- er’s license pictures. Columnist Barrie Qualle is a working cowboy in Wal- lowa County.
