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parasitic plants

Darwin Day Celebration in Grants Pass

We will celebrate Charles Darwin’s birthday with a special public program on mycorrhizal relationships of coralroot orchids.

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The Salmonfly Cicada or Orchard Cicada (Platypedia

The Salmonfly Cicada or Orchard Cicada (Platypedia areolata) has chestnut colored front thighs and is active March to May to July. It is a "wing-banger," meaning the males strike their wings against a substrate to attract females. Other cicadas are louder, with some approaching 100 decibels, the loudness of some chainsaws. This is near the point where permanent damage to human ears can occur in part by the breaking of long hairs that detect high frequencies. Even male Orchard Cicadas have to disable their own “ears,” while singing, to prevent damaging them. Cicadas have ears on their abdomens, while crickets have ears on their knees and hawkmoths have ears on their mouths.
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Young cicadas develop underground, where they suck the sap from roots. This food source has so little nutrition that it takes many years for these cicadas to mature. All cicadas have multi-year life cycles ranging from 3 to 17 years, often prime number years that may reduce the ability of predators to adapt to the cycle and take advantage of mass emergences. Adults feed on plant sap (xylem) aboveground. Like aphids, they get rid of excess liquid by excreting little drops of "honeydew".

✨ Thank you to SFI instructor John Roth for compiling this and other phenological notes about the K-S bioregion! ✨

#nature #gooutside #southernoregon #illinoisvalley #siskiyoufieldinstitute

The Oregon Caves National Monument & Preserve rang

The Oregon Caves National Monument & Preserve rangers have tested out their iconic bounce house to great success!

While the adults are enjoying the bands and a pint, we'll have plenty of activities for the kids this Saturday at Birds & Brews too. Along with the Caves bounce house we'll have birdhouse building, kids' songs and puppet show with Jerry & Friends, take-home owl pellet dissection kits, and avian friends to meet from Wildlife Images.

Join us June 3rd, 1-6 PM at SFI. You can get your Tickets or Pay It Forward Tickets online now! https://thesfi.org/product/birds-brews-2023-ticket/

#BirdsandBrews #southernoregon #illinoisvalley #nature #siskiyoufieldinstitute

Sometimes a polarizing visitor, the Canada Goose (

Sometimes a polarizing visitor, the Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) normally lays five to six eggs in March, April, or May. Eggs are incubated by the goose (female) while the gander (male) stands guard nearby. Populations of resident birds (i.e. ones that don't migrate) have greatly increased over the past few decades, particularly in urbanizing areas where there is year-round food and little hunting.
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Canada Geese can fly for an amazing sixteen hours without stopping. As a bird flaps, the air at the tip of the wing spins off, resulting in a vortex wave. A following bird can benefit from the upwash by an increase in lift without having to flap as hard. Each bird flies slightly above the bird in front of them, resulting in a reduction of wind resistance. The birds take turns being in the front, falling back when they tire. Usually only large birds fly in this formation since smaller birds create more complex wind currents that are hard for the birds in the back to take advantage of. Their double honks, with the second one of higher pitch, are duet songs between males and females.

✨ Thank you to SFI instructor John Roth for compiling this and other phenological notes about the K-S bioregion! ✨

#nature #gooutside #southernoregon #illinoisvalley #siskiyoufieldinstitute

📣 Birds & Brews "Artist" Spotlight on...the Avi

📣 Birds & Brews "Artist" Spotlight on...the Avian Animal Ambassadors! 🦅

One of the most exciting acts gracing the Birds & Brews stage this year will be the Avian Animal Ambassadors of Wildlife Images Rehabilitation & Education Center! These divas of the sky are a veteran act with hundreds of performances under their belts. Their commanding stage presence, always stylish plumage, and pure animal magnetism have made them a hit with crowds of every age. We're thrilled that this group will not only be performing on the Birds & Brews main stage (from 2:30-3:00 PM), but will also be holding a more intimate show where fans can enjoy a front-row experience seeing the artists up close (off stage from 3:00-3:30 PM). You can't beat that folks!

Get your Tickets or Pay It Forward Tickets now! https://thesfi.org/product/birds-brews-2023-ticket/

#BirdsandBrews #illinoisvalley #southernoregon #siskiyoufieldinstitute

Coastal or Pacific Giant Salamander (Dicamptodon t

Coastal or Pacific Giant Salamander (Dicamptodon tenebrosus) females appear to lay their eggs mostly during early to mid-May, which they then guard closely until hatching. The few nests that have been discovered have been in subterranean habitats in running water. These salamanders have one of the longest incubation periods of any salamander - hatchlings won't appear until the winter, six to seven months after egg laying. It then takes 5-6 years for Pacific Giant salamanders to reach maturity. They are also one of the few, or only, salamanders to “bark.”
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Karuk believed that the Coastal Giant Salamander purified water and was a sacred sign of high water quality of springs, creeks, rivers and ponds. The resemblance of Pacific Giant Salamander’s eggs to acorns may have given rise to a Karuk tale in which the amphibian gathers and caches acorns by building pyramids of them and covering the acorns with straw so that they will be dry when eaten in winter. A woman was running late and gathered some of the salamander’s “acorns” to supplement her own acorns. Known as Poof-Poof, the amphibian followed her home and apparently made that noise until she left all the acorns outside. In the morning only Poof-Poof’s acorns were gone.

✨ Thank you to SFI instructor John Roth for compiling this and other phenological notes about the K-S bioregion! ✨

#nature #southernoregon #gooutside #siskiyoufieldinstitute

Interested in learning the benefits and uses of th

Interested in learning the benefits and uses of the plants and herbs around you? Join herbalist Lauren Kemple in "Medicinal Plants of Early Summer" Sunday June 18th and learn first hand!
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You'll traverse some gorgeous terrain in the east Applegate Valley and hills of Jacksonville, while getting to know many native and naturalized medicinal plants. This class is especially for the frazzled and frayed among us. We’ll focus in on nervines and adaptogens, herbs that nourish and support us in times of stress and exhaustion. We’ll end the day making a tincture and sun tea of plants we saw in the field, so you can try the plants out yourself!

See details and book your space at the LinkTree in our bio under 'Field Courses'!

#medicinalplants #nature #southernoregon #illinoisvalley #siskiyoufieldinstitute

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Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday from
9 AM to 4 PM. Closed Wednesday.

(541) 597-8530

Siskiyou Field Institute , PO Box 207,
Selma, OR 97538

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