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Who Was Douglas?
© Idie Ulsh
Both Douglas squirrels and the firs they call home bear the name of David Douglas. In 1825 and 1826, the Scotsman Douglas tramped and canoed over 6000 miles of the Pacific Northwest, documenting plants and collecting seeds and cuttings. In 1827, Douglas traveled to the Royal Horticultural Society in England and delivered botanical samples that he had collected. Learn more about David Douglas. And learn a little about the Douglas squirrel.
BirdNote®
Who Was David Douglas?
Written by Bob Sundstrom
This is BirdNote!
[Douglas Squirrel chatter]
Two sprightly Douglas Squirrels chatter as they scamper up a tree trunk. Perching on a bare branch, they nibble Douglas-fir cones, holding them like children munching ears of corn.
[More Douglas Squirrel chattering]
Both the squirrels and the firs they call home bear the name of David Douglas.
In 1825 and 1826, the Scotsman Douglas tramped and canoed over 6000 miles of the Northwest, documenting plants and collecting seeds and cuttings. His main human contacts were with Indians, who called him the “Grass Doctor,” and thought him a bit crazy.
In 1827, Douglas traveled east across the Canadian Rockies, shipped out of Hudson Bay, and delivered his collection to the Royal Horticultural Society in England. Later botanic travels took him to California and Hawaii.
Although no birds are named for Douglas, he was a pioneer in describing the plants of their Western habitats. And given his prodigious backwoods wanderings, his fortitude, and self-reliance, one author suggests that “David Douglas should be canonized as the patron saint of Northwest backpackers (Mathews 1988:18).”
[Douglas Squirrel chatter]
Learn more about David Douglas on our web site, birdnote.org.
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Chatter of Douglas Squirrels recorded by C. Peterson
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson
© Seattle Audubon 03/31/06 © 2009 Tune In to Nature.org Rev. for Mar. 2009
douglas-01-2009-03-07-
