Those of us living in the Pacific Northwest of the United States are quite accustomed to seeing ghost birds while we are walking in the forest during wintertime. While strolling among the massive trunks of the Douglas Firs and the Western Hemlocks we not infrequently get a quick glimpse of what we think is a […]
John E. Riutta
About John E. Riutta
Posts by John E. Riutta, MA, MBA, FLS, MemRES:
Photos from the Snow Storm II
A year-round resident of the Pacific Northwest, primarily of the higher altitude evergreen forests, the Varied Thrush, Ixoreus naevius, is a regular visitor to the lowlands during the coldest months of winter While many may wax poetic over the flame orange color of the male Blackburnian Warbler, and justly so, I’ll take the glowing ember […]
Lucky Hummingbird
Among the Haida people of the Pacific Northwest, the hummingbird is considered to be a symbol of good luck or good fortune. Spotting a hummingbird just before undertaking a new endeavor was thought to be an auspicious omen. As the Anna’s Hummingbird, Calypte anna, overwinters in northwest Oregon, we have the opportunity to partake in […]
Photos from the Snow Storm I
If you follow the weather news, you might have noticed reports indicating that the snow here in the Pacific Northwest has been piling up, as we say in Scappoose, “nose deep on the Buddha.” (Well, actually I’m the only one who says that but I’m trying to start a trend.) As a result, we have […]