Towheeblog

My friends Peter and Eva Thiemann spent some time recently at Summer Lake in southern Lake County. It has water, for now. But there, as in much of the world, agriculture is in conflict with wildlife and the habitat they need. Farming chemicals and the shortage of water in many places is at the center of those conflicts.
Peter’s note: “still water and environment ok at Summer Lake, but if they keep pumping ground water to grow alfalfa to be shipped to Mid East all bets are off.” Click here for my recent blog about pelicans’ problems due to drought.

“Could see quite a number of nests from dike roads.”

“This is the area we found the Snowy Plovers . See large breeding island for White Pelicans, Gulls, Caspian Terns, Foster’s Terns, Cormorants etc.”

“Western Snowy Plovers were  put on Endangered Species list in 1993. Nesting on playa around Summer Lake, also in Alvord Desert near Malheur.”

I’ve become hyper-senstive this drought decade to eastern Oregon birds possibly forced to the west (an anagram for “wets”)…here’s latest from OBOL: “Four American white pelicans flying southbound just over the surf – fighting the wind – near SW 35th in Lincoln City around 3:45. Phil Pickering saw them about a half hour later on the north end of Siletz Bay”