'Visual naturalist' creates wings and feathers calendar

Douglas Beall has been looking for a second pileated woodpecker nest ever since he first saw the first one in 1970. This year, he found it - populated by mom, pop and three babies - and its photograph is the cover image for Beall's "Oregon Wings & Feathers: Central Oregon 2015" calendar.

This is the fourth year that Beall has produced Oregon Wings & Feathers calendars, and the first one he's created specifically for Central Oregon. All photos were taken in Oregon, and all proceeds from Central Oregon calendar sales will be donated to Elise Wolf's rehabilitation facility, Grebe Acres Wild Bird Care (www.grebeacres.org). Beall has also created a 2015 Oregon Wings & Feathers calendar, with proceeds donated to Turtle Ridge Wildlife Center in Salem.

Beall moved from Salem to Camp Sherman in May, but he's been commuting to this area for many years to enjoy and photograph wildlife. A retired landscape contractor, Beall (pronounced "Bell") has always had a camera at hand. In the 1970s, it was a 4x5 film camera and a lot of black-and-white film; when raising a family with his wife, Marybeth, it was a 35-mm Pentax, and he moved to digital format in the 1990s. As with any hobby, his grew gradually, until a trip to Hawaii in 1999 introduced him to the beauty of birds. Several camera upgrades later, he's dedicating a good portion of his life to that which has become more than a hobby.

Photographing birds requires a lot of time and persistence. Once Beall discovered the nest of the pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) west of Camp Sherman toward Suttle Lake, he went back nine times, spending an average of five hours each time. He calls himself a "visual naturalist" whose interest in birds has grown as he's specialized in trying to capture their many moods and attitudes. Beall loves to photograph dragonflies, butterflies and all sorts of wildlife, but birds are his favorites.

He breaks into a broad grin when describing the cover family of pileated woodpeckers: "They are the greatest parents. They feed one bird at a time, and wait until each nestling comes out from the nest, and then they feed the next."

The cover shot on the calendar was taken with a Canon 1D Mark IV using a 500mm lens and 1.4 extender. The bright green background is courtesy of a gentle wind that came up and blew the branch of maple leaves down behind the birds. Otherwise, it would have been bright blue sky.

The most elusive of birds in this calendar may be the green-tailed towhee (Pipilo chlorurus). With a tail that is a deep olive, lightening to yellow green on the edges, they hide out among low shrubs like manzanita. This bird, a member of the sparrow family, has a gray chest and rufous crown. The green-tailed towhee is June's bird.

With hundreds of photos to choose from, Beall sets about picking those that will ultimately be in each calendar. Beall explains: "The bird of the month has several parameters: seasonal migrations or arrival, average observer recognition, visible weather within the photo that matches each month (snow or leaf colors), and then an attempt to use varied species of birds. If it's a close tie, there's always a coin flip."

Beall also shares his sense of humor, heritage and history by throwing in a few unusual holidays each month. January 2 is First Footing Day in Scotland, where the first person to come through the door is a bringer of good fortune for the coming year,and also may bring gifts.

Photographs of Beall's birds can be viewed and purchased at Sisters Gallery and Frame Shop, as of the Fourth Friday Art Stroll, October 24, from 4 to 7 p.m., and continuing through November. Oregon Wings & Feathers calendars are available at Sisters Gallery and Frame, Paulina Springs Books in Sisters and Redmond, Grebe Acres or by email from [email protected]

Also during November, Beall's series, "Endangered Species," will be on display in the Computer Room of the Sisters Library, sponsored by the Friends of the Sisters Library. These birds were photographed in Oregon, Wisconsin, Florida and Hawaii. All of these birds exist in a precarious balance as their habitat shrinks as a result of human development and climate change.

Visit Beall's website at ww.abirdsingsbecauseithasasong.com.