Author: Elva Manquera
A Holiday FUNdraiser, Shopping, and Outreach Spetacular
Holiday FUNdraiser — Contemplative Photography
Sunday, December 11th, 5 – 8 PM
Nature photography can be deeply soul-soothing and meditative. It can be educational as it gives details about the appearance or behavior of a bird, and it can result in the protection of birds and landscapes. William Finley was a conservation photographer who presented to Teddy Roosevelt photos showing the mass slaughter of herons and egrets, prompting Roosevelt to set aside land as refuges for birds.
This presentation celebrates the power of photography. Kirk Gooding selected his favorite nature photos and created this inspirational series set to music. After a brief introduction, we ask you to sit back and enjoy the sights and sounds created in this stunning presentation.
This holiday event will be held in a home in Ashland. Appetizers and beverages will be provided. Suggested $100 Donation.
Shop Small and Support Conservation
This holiday season, shop local and support conservation. Check out our Gear Shop and find the perfect gift this holiday season. You will find amazing stocking stuffers like the Conservation Science Stamp Set, t-shirts, hats, or beautiful art from Erin Linton. Local pickup is available, and the cost of shipping is calculated separately. You can also purchase in person at the Northwest Nature Shop on December 2nd, 5:30 – 7:30 PM for First Friday.
For the little one in your life, you can shop at Ashland-based Sunday Afternoon for bird-themed trucker hats. A portion of the purchase goes to KBO. You can find all the varieties HERE.
Northwest Nature Shop Festive First Friday
December 2nd, 5:30 – 8 PM
Join KBO at the Northwest Nature Shop for the First Friday in December. KBO will have an information and merch table. Santa Claus will be visiting us. Sultan’s Delight will offer fresh, delicious falafels, lamb and beef gyros, kabobs and salads for sale, live music, outdoor fire pits, and complimentary hot mulled wine to keep warm and unique homemade goodies for holiday treats. Experience the magic of the holiday season in Ashland during the First Friday celebration. Inside the Northwest Nature Shop, 6-8 pm, meet Michael Kauffmann, author of Klamath Mountains: A Natural History, and Richard Crossley, author of birding guides Crossley’s ID Guide Western Birds.
Sit with us by the fire and enjoy some mulled wine. See you there!
Cocktails for a Cause At Lune Cafe
December 20th, 5 – 8:30 pm
Luna Cafe is hosting Klamath Bird Observatory for Cocktails for a Cause on December 20th. Every month Luna Cafe picks a local non-profit for their Cocktails for a Cause event. It is their way to gather our community to spread awareness about causes we care about over craft cocktails. Join KBO in December for a 50/50 raffle and drinks. Luna Cafe even makes lemonade from scratch for our non-alcoholic supporters. They donate $2 from every specialty cocktail and $1 from every specialty lemonade.
Bird Conmigo
Join Klamath Bird Observatory for bilingual bird walks in Medford. We will be exploring local parks highlighting that you do not need to travel far to enjoy birds. For each bird walk, we will cover the basics of birding and introduce you to birds of the Rogue Valley. Making it perfect for beginner birders. You will be able to take the skills and knowledge learned to bird watch in your own backyard. KBO will be providing binoculars and bird guides during the event. An adventure for the whole family!
A take-home Bird Guide is available.
More Dates Coming Soon.
Acompaña a Klamath Bird Observatory en las caminatas bilingües de observación de aves en Medford. Exploraremos los parques locales para que veas que no es necesario ir muy lejos para apreciar a las aves. En cada paseo, te enseñaremos lo esencial para observar aves e introduciremos a las aves que habitan en el Rogue Valley. Esto hará que sea perfecto para principiantes. Podrás usar lo aprendido y practicar las técnicas y conocimientos en tu propio jardín. KBO ofrecerá binoculares y guía de identificación de aves durante el evento. Sera una aventura para toda la familia!
Un folleto de aves en español disponible.
Ubicación y Fechas
Uncovering the Secrets of the Oregon Vesper Sparrow
The Oregon Vesper Sparrow is a prime example of what birders refer to as “little brown jobs” – those small, drab, hard to identify birds that we sometimes overlook. But this little brown job is an imperiled subspecies unique to the Pacific Northwest. One that serves as an indicator of the health of our grassland ecosystems, and is in need of our attention and protection. With its small population size and declining trend, the Oregon Vesper Sparrow has recently been petitioned for listing under the Endangered Species Act.
Klamath Bird Observatory is undertaking a multi-year, full life cycle study to help determine the causes of its decline – always a challenge for a migratory bird that can be impacted by events on their breeding, migratory stopover, or overwintering grounds. However, new technologies such as miniaturized GPS tags and Motus are starting to uncover the secrets of where these birds go when they’re away from our study sites.
Dr. Sarah Rockwell will share some recent research on this unique at-risk subspecies. Including what we’ve learned from detailed nesting studies and new migration tracking technology. The talk will be held through the Salem Audubon Society over Zoom on February 8th, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm. Click here to register for the talk.
About the Speaker
Dr. Rockwell is a Research Biologist at Klamath Bird Observatory in southern Oregon. She joined KBO in 2013 after completing her doctorate at the University of Maryland and Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. Where she studied the ecology of the then-endangered Kirtland’s Warbler in her home state of Michigan. Currently, she studies avian response to coniferous and riparian habitat restoration, including bird abundance, diversity, and demography, to improve conservation and management. Sarah also leads research on specific imperiled species, including Oregon Vesper Sparrow and Western Purple Martin.
Birding Beyond Borders
Klamath Bird Observatory (KBO) presents Birding Beyond Borders in partnership with Mantiqueira Bird Observatory (OAMa). This evening will feature a presentation by Shannon Rio, KBO board president, celebrating KBO, birds, scientists, conservationists, and people from all over the globe. She will be showing two short videos about KBO’s international work. Highlighting the value of diversity in all aspects that nature provides us: diversity of landscape, people, and culture.
Luiza Figueira, past KBO intern and Executive Director of OAMa, will talk about the development of the bird observatory in Brazil, their research and outreach projects to promote bird conservation. You will also be led through a diversity of local birds and will “walk” the trails in the tropical forests where OAMa does the long-term bird monitoring. We will have the opportunity for a low-key chat with the OAMa crew to ask any questions you have about their work. This presentation is part of OAMa’s fundraising campaign for their 2022 projects and activities, and you are invited to join their collective efforts.
The free online presentation is on February 24th, 6 pm – 7 pm PT. The zoom link will be emailed to you once you have registered.
Friend to the Environment Award
The Klamath Bird Observatory family would like to congratulate Laura Fleming on her Friend to the Environment Award. Laura, owner of the Medford, Wild Birds Unlimited store received the prestigious Friend to the Environment Award in 2019 at the annual meeting of the Wild Birds Unlimited franchisees. This award is presented to one of over three hundred store owners yearly to recognize those who exceed the mission to “bring people and nature together”.
Laura received the award in part due to her leadership role in supporting a wide variety of her community’s nature education activities and conservation organizations. She does so by providing financial support, giving countless hours of volunteer time, promoting and supporting their events and programs, and serving as an officer or board member for a couple of these organizations. Laura recently completed five years of service to the Klamath Bird Observatory as an officer and member of its Board of directors. Currently she is a member of the Board of Directors for the Rogue Valley Audubon Society.
Dr. John Alexander, the Executive Director of the Klamath Bird Observatory stated, “It’s hard to capture the extent of Laura’s leadership and impact. Her quiet, yet focused leadership and her leading by example were incredibly influential and inspiring for our board members and staff. Laura walks the talk.”
Laura attends numerous events throughout the area to promote her store and conservation. A few of these events include: the Rogue Valley Migratory Bird Day; the Klamath Basin’s Winter Wings Bird Festival; Rogue Valley Earth Day Celebration; Klamath Bird Observatory’s Wings and Wine Gala; the Bear Creek Salmon Festival; the Master Gardener Spring Fair; the Vaux’s Happening Fall Carnival and many others. She often “wears several hats” at these events. Promoting her store but also taking the opportunity to promote the Rogue Valley Audubon Society and the Klamath Bird Observatory.
Laura is frequently asked to give talks in her community for garden clubs; libraries; adult education classes; historical societies; retirement centers; rotary clubs; and more. These talks primarily revolve around feeding and identifying birds throughout seasons, designing backyard habitats, nesting tips, attracting hummingbirds, and other topics.
Through educational events at Wild Birds Unlimited, Laura and her staff hold many free events at the store every month. These include: a monthly educational talk which usually hosts a local community expert. The store also hosts a monthly bird walk to various birding “hot spots” in the valley. Post bi-monthly Chickadee Chats which are informal discussions on what is happening in the avian world, generally focusing on a specific bird group.
During the presentation of the Friend to the Environment award, Laura also received recognition for helping to raise awareness of the local Vaux’s Swift population in partnership with Rogue Valley Audubon Society and Southern Oregon Land Conservancy; holding a fundraiser for Badger Run Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, and supporting and partnering with Siskiyou Audubon Society during their nest box building workshops and selling 100 of their pre-made nest boxes each spring.
Wild Birds Unlimited, located in Medford, OR is part of the original and largest franchise system of backyard bird feeding and nature specialty stores. There are more than 300 locations throughout the United States and Canada. They specialize in bringing people and nature together with their bird feeding and nature products, their expert advice, and educational events. Visit our Web site at www.wbu.com.
Don’t Miss — Contemplative Photography Feb. 10th
Valentines Day is a day of love for your fellow humans. Why not have a day to share your love for birds?
Join Shannon Rio on February 10th at 6 pm for a presentation on Contemplative Photography – For the Love of Birds. This hour and a half presentation will include a 30-minute slideshow of Kirk Gooding’s photography where we will share our love for birds and nature through his art. After the slideshow, we will return to the individual pictures and discuss them in more detail.
This event is free and held via Zoom. To get the Zoom link click here to register.
Contemplative Photography — For the Love of Birds
Contemplative photography combined with nature photography can be deeply soul-soothing, educational, and plays an important part in conservation. It gives details about 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. Because of his photos of the mass slaughter of herons and egrets, this led to what is now the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
This presentation on February 10th, 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 to bird, and what you might expect to find.
This online event is free to say thank you for your support of the Klamath Bird Observatory.
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 Siskiyou Oak Network Quarterly Meeting
The Klamath Siskiyou Oak Network (KSON) is holding its first quarterly meeting of 2022 on Thursday, January 27th from 9-10:30 am. This collaborative regional partnership works to conserve oak habitats on private and public lands in southern Oregon and northern California. The upcoming KSON meeting will include an introductory presentation on the partnership and is open to the public. Please email mlm@klamathbird.org for the Zoom link.