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.
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.
KBO is looking to fill two positions Nest-Searching Technician and a Nest-Searching Intern for our Oregon Vesper Sparrow demography research program. We are contributing to a range-wide study to understand the causes of decline in this imperiled subspecies. Primary duties will include nest-searching and color-band resighting in meadows of the western Cascades and occasional data entry or other tasks based.
Oregon Vesper Sparrow with color bands (c) Frank Lospalluto
Over the last several years, KBO field crews spent their spring mornings diligently watching Vesper Sparrows go about their business. The birds typically arrive from their wintering grounds in mid to late April and begin to settle in for the summer breeding season. We have witnessed the males defending their territories and attracting mates, watched as they paired up and the females began nest building, and observed them incubating their eggs and raising their young (for an intern’s account of his experience nest-searching, read his blog on the KBO Call Note). Field crews have located over 100 nests! Preliminary findings suggest nest success is within the expected range for a ground-nesting bird and likely not a cause for concern, although late-season hail and snow in 2021 caused the failure of many nests. Changes in spring weather patterns may exacerbate threats to this species in high-elevation meadows.
Resighting efforts have taken place annually to keep track of how many of these banded birds survive and return to the area year after year. Early findings show lower return rates for juveniles, which is not surprising because young birds are more likely to leave home and disperse to a different site for their first breeding season. After resighting efforts are completed in 2023, we will estimate the annual survivorship of adult males and females and fledglings. Join us in the endeavor to understand the Oregon Vesper Sparrow!
Klamath Bird Observatory is well known for its wide international reach, focusing on partnerships and capacity building across the ranges of our shared birds. KBO’s bird banding internship program has trained over 283 interns from more than 17 countries. The Mantiqueira Bird Observatory (OAMa) is a fruit of this capacity-building program, which is now running its own training program in Brazil. As part of the continued partnership between these two observatories, we are pleased to announce a new internship exchange program! After training in their home country, biologists will have the opportunity to visit and train at the other observatory. KBO will host a student from OAMa for three or six months each year, and OAMa will host a student from KBO for up to three months at their field station in Brazil, joining the local crew at the year-round bird monitoring on the Mantiqueira Highlands.
We are excited to share the first two interns participating in this program!
Otávio Rocha pictured to the left is OAMa’s Science Communication and Outreach Assitant. They will be traveling to KBO to train in the 2023 banding season.
“It is a great honor to participate in this exchange program as an OAMa representative. I am excited to start a new stage in my career and to apply all this rich experience in Brazilian biodiversity conservation initiatives.”
Victor Gonzalez, pictured on the right, was an intern in the 2022 banding season and will be traveling to Brazil to train with the OAMa staff as a KBO representative.
“The opportunity of this exchange internship is a blessing, being able to go to another bird observatory to learn from and work with. As a bird bander, it feels unreal going to a place you don’t know any of the birds, but at the same time, it feels like the best opportunity to try myself and keep improving in my professional career.”
Please help us support these amazing young scientists with a donation that will go to their travel and lodging. You can donate to the Avian Internship Memorial Fund. This fund was set up by the family and friends of Patricia Buettner to help support KBO’s long-running internship program.
These interns will also be supported by the FUNdraiser trip to Brazil happening April 12th-20th, 2023. There are only three spots left for this trip. The total cost is $5,000, due February 10th; this includes hotels, food (breakfast, lunch, dinner), and transportation (to and from the airport and during the trip). You can learn more HERE.
Join KBO’s dynamic duo Director of Conservation Jaime Stephens and Board President Shannon Rio for a memorable 9-day trip to Brazil, April 12th – 20th, 2023. This trip will be guided by past KBO intern and co-founder of Mantiqueira Bird Observatory (OAMa) Luiza Figueira. The cost of this trip includes hotels, food (breakfast, lunch, dinner), and transportation (to and from the airport and during the trip). The total cost of the trip is $5,000, $2500 to reserve your seat, and the total amount is due by February 10th. With 12 people attending these funds will cover a FULL YEAR of OAMa’s banding program. It will also be used to help support a student intern that is participating in KBO OAMa’s intern exchange program.
Looking for a New Years’ resolution? How about learning more about nature? Start by joining Dick Ashford for a talk and outing about hawks, some of nature’s most graceful creatures.
The talk will be hosted in person at the Klamath Bird Observatory office in Ashland, OR on January 5th, 6 pm – 8:30 pm. Then, enjoy a day-long outing to the Klamath Basin on Jan 7th. We’ll depart Ashland at 8 AM and return around 5-ish. To afford everyone the best possible experience, attendance is limited. We will carpool (a must!) in 4 vehicles of 4 people each. Your seat will be confirmed upon receipt of your non-refundable, tax-deductible contribution of $75 per person.
The Spring 2023 PIF WWG meeting will be held on April 25-27th, 2023, at the 
