Archive | March, 2014

The First Ever Mountain Bird Festival Is Coming to Ashland, Oregon

Great Gray OwlGreat Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa) courtesy Wikipedia Commons

Have you ever seen a White-headed Woodpecker? How about a Calliope Hummingbird or Great Gray Owl? Would you like a chance to witness these and other spectacular mountain birds while helping advance conservation? If so, the first annual Mountain Bird Festival is for you!

This unique conservation festival will be held in beautiful Ashland, Oregon from May 30th to June 1st, 2014. The Mountain Bird Festival combines a celebration of the region’s mountain birds with the stewardship ethic needed to ensure thriving landscapes for humans and wildlife. Every citizen who participates in this festival will receive an attractive conservation stamp for their significant stewardship of the science that drives bird conservation.

The Mountain Bird Festival offers guided bird walks, keynote presentations, a fine art auction, cocktail parties, music, local foods, and a feel-good community atmosphere. We hope you, and your bird-watching friends, join the fun! To register or learn about sponsorship benefits, visit their website: www.KlamathBird.org/Education/MountainBird.

Klamath Bird Observatory will host this community conservation event in partnership with the City of Ashland, the Ashland Chamber of Commerce, ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum, and many other organizations. Klamath Bird Observatory is an Ashland-based scientific non-profit organization that achieves bird conservation in the Pacific Northwest and throughout the migratory ranges of the birds of our region.

You can see a list of the field trips here and register for the event here.

Winter Wings Festival at Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex

Klamath Basin NWR

To quote the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service “National wildlife refuges make great bird festival locales because they’re bird magnets; many protect important bird habitat along the country’s major flyways.” Their website lists 34 birding festivals for 2014, including the Winter Wings Festival from Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

This festival not only caters to birders but photographers as well. Not knowing much about landscape photography, I began my festival with an awesome field class taught by one of the best professional nature photographers in the Northwest, Jack Graham. Click on photos for full sized images.

Bald Eagle at Klamath Basin NWR

The weather couldn’t have been better for landscape photography, the light was beautiful, and I learned plenty that morning.

Photographers come to Klamath Basin from distant lands to get shots of Bald Eagles which are certain to be found here in large numbers.

Bald Eagle

However, this was the first time I had encountered a leucistic Bald Eagle! Word from the locals was that this bird returns every winter and stays for a few months, then it’s gone. I followed their directions later in the afternoon and got some good shots of this very interesting eagle.

Leucistic Bald Eagle

Heading out on the auto loop at Lower Klamath NWR, just beyond the row of Cottonwoods that support the large Bald Eagle contingent, I spotted this light morph Rough-legged Hawk trying to go unnoticed.

Rough-legged Hawk (Light Morph)

Everywhere you looked were Tundra Swans…

Tundra Swans

and breathtaking views .

Klamath Basin NWR

There were Red-winged Blackbirds of course…

Red-winged Blackbird Male

and one of my favorite ducks, the Bufflehead. The drake shown here in all his spendiferous colors.

Bufflehead Drake

This visit I will leave you with an afternoon view of Stukel Mountain with the clouds rolling in and the reflection in Lower Klamath Lake.

Klamath Basin NWR

If you want to know more about Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge, the nation’s first waterfowl refuge, check out this informative post.