We are very grateful to be able to participate in the Ashland Co-op’s Change for Good Program. The last day to round up is Friday, March 31st. This is the week to forget that onion, run to the store for a late-night snack, or treat yourself to that afternoon coffee. When checking out, tell your cashier you want to round up for bird conservation.
Join KBO for an evening of photography. Kirk Gooding takes us on a journey to see beauty and richness from a new perspective. The photography selected for viewing focuses on nature and birds. After a brief introduction, we ask you to sit back and connect to the sights and sounds created in this presentation. We will then look at each photo individually and discuss the bird or the landscape as a way of learning about places in Oregon, local birds, and what you might expect to find—the perfect way to prepare you for spring migration.
The presentation will take place on March 28th at 6 pm. This is a hybrid presentation, and the in-person portion will be at the KBO office in Ashland, OR. Follow this link to register for this free event, https://klamathbird.org/callnote/contemplative-photography/.
Join KBO for a migration south to Brazil. Brazil is known for its astonishing bird diversity, with over 1800 species registered. You will travel with local scientists and founders of Mantiqueira Bird Observatory (OAMa), Luiza Figueira and Pedro Martins, and KBO’s Director of Conservation, Jaime Stephens. OAMa has planned a 9-day immersive trip that you won’t want to miss exploring Brazil’s biodiverse cloud forests, photography workshop, and delicious Brazilian food. There is still one spot available!
This trip is more than a memorable vacation. It is an opportunity to support bird conservation across borders. The trip fee will fund OAMa’s bird banding program for a whole year and the Bird Banders Beyond Borders intern exchange program.
The trip is taking place on April 12th-20th, 2023. The trip fee is $5,000 and covers hotels, food, and transportation in Brazil. For more information and to register, click HERE.
Contemplative photography combined with nature photography can be deeply soul-soothing, educational, and plays an important part in conservation. It details the appearance or behavior of birds and has resulted in the protection of landscapes and species. The inspiration for this presentation was William Finley. Finley was a conservation photographer that prompted Roosevelt to set aside land as refuges for birds. His photos of the mass slaughter of herons and egrets led to the creation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
This presentation on March 28th, at 6 pm, celebrates the power of photography and our love for birds. Kirk Gooding selected some of his favorite nature photos and created this series set to music. After a brief introduction, we ask you to sit back and connect to the sights and sounds created in this presentation. After the slide show, we will look at each photo one by one and discuss the bird or the landscape as a way of learning about places in Oregon, local birds, and what you might expect to find—the perfect way to prepare you for spring migration.
The presentation will be hosted in person at the Klamath Bird Observatory office in Ashland, OR, and via Zoom. There is a limit of 20 attendees in person.
Klamath Bird Observatory (KBO) follows Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines and as such, KBO events are offered with COVID-19 safety as a primary concern. Proof of “up-to-date” vaccination will be required for all in-person participants. All individuals attending an in-person event must also fill out KBO’s COVID Release Form and Waiver of Liability upon registration. Paper copies may also be available at an event upon advanced request. Please do not attend the event if you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
About the Photographer and Presenter
Kirk Gooding is an amateur photographer who enjoys being open to the forms and patterns of nature. He especially enjoys his forays with his wife, Shannon Rio, out into the wide, open spaces of their favorite haunts, The Shasta Valley and the Lower Klamath Wildlife Refuge: sitting there, watching and listening. Not too long ago, while Shannon was volunteering at Badger Run Wildlife Rehab Center they drove weekly for a year to the Refuge after returning home by way of Shasta Valley. Most of the photos in the short montage entitled, Contemplative Photography, were taken during those trips.
Shannon Rio is the board president of the Klamath Bird Observatory because of its work to preserve birds and wild places in nature. She is a wildlife educator with a goal to connect people (and herself) with nature so that they will want to protect what they love. She teaches classes in various settings and also teaches yoga, works as a nurse practitioner, is devoted to family and friends and community, and loves learning anything about the natural world through hiking and birding and sitting quietly observing the wonder of it all.
Klamath Bird Observatory is seeking seasonal Field Technicians for the 2023 breeding season to complete avian point count surveys from May 1st through July 21st throughout the ecologically diverse and beautiful regions of southern Oregon, eastern Oregon, and/or northern California. Technicians will conduct work related to multiple projects, including monitoring the effects of conifer forest restoration on species distributions and long-term monitoring on private and public lands. Surveyors will work in northeastern Oregon conifer forests, eastern Oregon sagebrush habitat, northern California oak-conifer and riparian woodlands, Redwood National and State Parks, and/or Lava Beds National Monument. Applicants should be able to identify a wide variety of western bird species as they may work in a range of habitats, including coniferous forests, oak woodlands, riparian, montane meadows, and shrub-steppe. Primary responsibilities will include conducting multispecies avian point count surveys and vegetation sampling along off-road transects following standard protocols and associated data entry. Other tasks may be assigned if time permits. Field training on protocol methodology and distance estimation will be provided at the season’s onset. Camping independently, often at undeveloped or dispersed sites, will be required for most work. A small number of sites also require overnight backcountry camping. Experience and comfort with backpacking to sites will be discussed and agreed upon before the field season and are not required for every position. Several field vehicles are available, but in certain cases, surveyors may need to use a personal vehicle to travel to work sites. If technicians are required to drive their personal vehicle, mileage reimbursement will be provided at the federal mileage rate.
We are additionally seeking one of the Field Technicians to take the lead on a small training program for local Tribal biologists for three weeks of the point count season. This will involve spending one training week with two Tribal biologists in the field, leading practice of bird ID and point count and vegetation survey protocols (this would occur after your training period with KBO), then spending an additional two weeks completing two rounds of co-surveys in the Scott Valley in northern California along with the Tribal biologists. This will involve completing simultaneous surveys in oak-conifer and riparian habitats, and then offering time for questions and discussion; routes will be slightly shorter to accommodate the extra time needed for training. The rest of your field season would be spent on regular point count duties like the other point count technicians. For this position, we seek someone with more substantial experience in point count methods and Western U.S. bird identification, and the interest and ability to teach others.
Salary
$3256/month, plus reimbursement for mileage at the federal rate if required to drive a personal vehicle. An additional completion bonus of $1000 will be provided at the end of the field season.
To Apply
Send cover letter (including dates of availability and vehicle type), resume, and contact information for three references in a single PDF document to Tom McLaren (thm@klamathbird.org). Hiring will be ongoing until all positions have been filled. Offers are contingent on the status of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent health and safety mandates throughout the field season.
Starting March 1st thru the 31st, you can round up your change at the Ashland Food Coop to support Klamath Bird Observatory. Just ask your cashier!
Klamath Bird Observatory achieves bird conservation in the Pacific Northwest and throughout the ranges of our migratory birds. Emphasizing high-caliber science and the role of birds as indicators, we inform and improve natural resource management. Recognizing that conservation occurs across many fronts, we nurture an environmental ethic through community outreach and education. We owe our success to committed donors, volunteers, staff, and partners who demonstrate that each of us can contribute to a legacy of abundant bird populations and healthy land, air, and water.
If you need to use the discount code, you can contact Elva at ejm@klamathbird.org.
We are looking forward to a productive, engaging meeting. Let me know if you have any questions about meeting logistics or the agenda: Jennifer Davis at jdavis@abcbirds.org
La reunión de primavera de 2023 del Grupo de Trabajo Occidental Compañeros En Vuelo (PIF WWG) se celebrará del 25 al 27 de abril en el Desert National Wildlife Refuge Corn Creek Visitor Center. Puede encontrar más información y la agenda de la reunión AQUÍ.
Si desea usar un código de descuento, puede ponerse en contacto con Elva al ejm@klamathbird.org.
Esperamos que la reunión sea productiva e interesante. Hágame saber si tiene alguna pregunta sobre la logística de la reunión o el orden del día: Jennifer Davis en jdavis@abcbirds.org
Join KBO board members Amanda Alford and Dick Ashford for an all-day outing on March 18th, where we’ll look at everything the Klamath Basin has to offer. Dick and Amanda will plan a route that will give us our best chances of seeing the varied birdlife for which “the basin” is famous. And, we’ll have lots of fun doing it!
You aren’t going to want to miss this waterfowl and raptor adventure!
This trip will be limited to 14 registrants, and we will carpool in 4 vehicles (max). The cost is $40 per participant, register below.
Klamath Bird Observatory (KBO) follows Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines and as such, KBO events are offered with COVID-19 safety as a primary concern. Proof of “up-to-date” vaccination will be required for all in-person participants. All individuals attending an event must also fill out KBO’s COVID Release Form and Waiver of Liability upon registration. Paper copies may also be available at an event upon advanced request. Please do not attend the event if you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
Klamath Bird Observatory is seeking to fill a Crew Leader position in our Oregon Vesper Sparrow demography research program. We are contributing to a range-wide study to understand causes of decline in this imperiled subspecies. Primary duties will be nest-searching and monitoring, color-band resighting, target-netting, and data entry. The Crew Leader will also assist in supervising one Intern. Previous nest-searching experience is required, and well-qualified applicants will also have experience with target-netting and bird banding. Western grass and forb identification skills would also be viewed favorably. Training in specific protocols will be provided. Ability to use your own vehicle (typically on paved or improved dirt roads; 4WD is not necessary), and willingness to camp for the duration of the field season with the other crew member is required.
Pay Rate: $3256/mo. Duration: ~April 24 – July 28, 2023 (exact dates TBD) Primary Location: 40 minutes east of Ashland, OR.
Seasonal staff must be willing and able to adhere to health and safety guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the duration of hire. Effective June 21, 2021, and until further notice, KBO will require that all Employees and Volunteer Interns be fully vaccinated for COVID‐19, and be able to provide proof of vaccination status.
TO APPLY: Send a cover letter including your dates of availability and vehicle type, résumé, and contact info for 3 references by email to Dr. Sarah Rockwell (smr@klamathbird.org). We will review applications on a rolling basis, starting at once and continuing until the position is filled.
Klamath Bird Observatory seeks to fill a Bird Banding Program Manager position with primary responsibilities to support ongoing avian long-term monitoring and applied ecology studies that advance bird conservation. The Program Manager will oversee all aspects of our long-term (>25 years) bird banding program, which currently includes the operation of six constant-effort bird banding sites from May through October and the application of a regional dataset that represents decades of demographic data collection at over 50 locations. In addition, the Program Manager will provide project support for species-specific studies that include auxiliary marking (e.g., color-bands, data loggers, transmitters, etc.) and biological sampling (e.g., feathers, blood, cloacal swabs). Job duties include personnel management (e.g., recruitment, supervision, and ongoing banding training for a seasonal crew of domestic and international student interns); management of KBO’s multi-facility Upper Klamath Field Station; data management and quality control; statistical analyses; report and manuscript writing; community and scientific presentation; program development and grant writing, and ongoing partnership building. KBO’s banding field crew is based in the Upper Klamath Basin, Oregon, and fieldwork requires regular camping at remote banding sites. This position has split duty stations (six months in the Klamath Basin, Oregon, and six months in Ashland, Oregon) and requires regular travel throughout southern Oregon and northern California.
Job Title: Bird Banding Program Manager (Full Time) Salary: $49,500 to $53,000 &15% cash benefit (in lieu of health coverage) Location: Ashland, Oregon Application Date: Posted February 1, 2023; Accepting applications until filled
To Apply
Please send a cover letter, resume, writing sample (report or manuscript), and three professional references to Jacob McNab (jmm@klamathbird.org).