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.
