On February 23rd, Klamath Siskiyou Oak Network was featured in the Rogue Valley Times. A $13-million effort to restore health to oak tree habitat in the Lake Creek area east of White City and near the Table Rocks north of Medford is in its second year.
So far, the thinning of conifers that were competing with oaks has taken place on about 200 acres near Lake Creek and on 100 acres near the Table Rocks. The community of Lake Creek is located about 12 miles east of White City, near the foothills of the Cascade Mountains.
The work, known as the Upper Rogue Oak Initiative, is due to take place on 3,650 acres — nearly 6 square miles — of private and public land, all but 250 acres of it near Lake Creek. Partners include state and federal agencies, along with conservation organizations, functioning under an umbrella group known as the Klamath Siskiyou Oak Initiative.
The project is slated to take six years to complete.
To address the critical knowledge gap of where the Oregon Vesper Sparrow winters, we expanded KBO’s ongoing Oregon Vesper Sparrow research to include using miniaturized archival GPS tags to track the migration of sparrows breeding in the Rogue Basin. In 2020, we captured 10 males via target-netting at our Lily Glen study site, color-banded them, and deployed GPS tags using a leg-loop harness attachment. In 2021, we located and recaptured four of these birds to retrieve tags and stored data. Three of the tags successfully recorded these individuals’ fall migration and/or wintering locations; one also contained the spring migration track! Read this article to learn more about their journey.
Join us at the KBO office on March 15th from 5:30 pm – 7 pm, to hear three talks by the KBO staff. This will be a hybrid event, and the in-person portion will be at the KBO office at 2425 Siskiyou Blvd, Ashland, OR. This is a free event with light refreshments provided. The talks will cover Western Purple Martins, Banding Program, and Point Count Program.
Join Shannon Rio at the Ashland Klamath Bird Observatory office for a series of 3 noon classes (Thursday, Feb 22 and 29th, March 7) and an outing on March 10th.
Topics will include raptors, places to bird, use of guide books and phone apps, and learning about behaviors of our local birds. Winter is a perfect opportunity to learn. A PowerPoint presentation of photos will accompany the talks. No knowledge of birding is necessary. Bring your lunch and your curiosity.
Shannon Rio is president of the board of the Klamath Bird Observatory. As a wildlife educator, she teaches in a style that is informal and welcoming to all knowledge levels. The focus is on having fun and connecting with the natural world.
This is a free event.
Klamath Bird Observatory is going on a 4-day trip to Burbank, California, where we will explore the wonders of Bear Divide led by Dr. Ryan Terrill, April 24th – 27th, 2024. There are only a handful of places in the United States where you get to experience bird migration in a new way. Calling Bear Divide a migratory hot spot would be an understatement. Every year — roughly between March 15 and June 15, with peak migration between April 10 and May 20 — thousands of birds funnel through the narrow pass.
Stationed in Ashland in southern Oregon’s beautiful Rogue Valley, Klamath Bird Observatory utilizes the role of birds as indicators to conduct high-caliber science to inform and improve natural resource management. Through our work conducting avian research, we have a wide variety of field technician positions available for the 2024 field season that span across the Pacific Northwest and range from long-term monitoring to species-specific studies. Our field technician positions offer an exciting opportunity to conduct on the ground research, develop a comprehensive understanding of avian research methods, and contribute to the collective knowledge of bird conservation. Listed below are some of the unique opportunities that we have lined up for our upcoming 2024 season.
Join KBO’s Science Director for an avian awe-inspiring experience, a spectacle of spring bird migration that is on full display at Bear Divide in the western San Gabriel Mountains. Bear Divide’s topography is a funnel for long-distance migratory birds on the Pacific Flyway. Visitors and scientists can see and study migratory birds up close and personal.
Day in a Life of a Point Counter was written by Sam Webb. Join her for a morning at Lava Beds National Park. Exploring a point count route and collecting data for the National Park Service Klamath Inventory and Monitoring Network. Since 2008, KBO has been conducting long term bird monitoring in partnership Klamath Inventory and Monitoring Network. The advantage of long-term monitoring, compared to our other field studies, is that it allows us to detect trends in bird populations, and provides data that will inform future restoration or conservation planning efforts within protected areas.
These gloomy days have us at Klamath Bird Observatory (KBO) looking forward to a sunny summer. Especially during the ten days, we will spend in Brazil exploring the culture, eating local food, hiking through beautiful scenery, and learning about the native fauna. This trip not only will feel good on your skin, but it will make your heart feel good. By traveling to Brazil, you will be supporting Mantiquera Bird Observatory’s (OAMa) banding program for an entire year and KBO’s intern exchange program.
Fly into your New Year resolutions by shopping at the Medford Co-op in January. To start off the year Klamath Bird Observatory will be the Positive Change recipient at the co-op. All you need to do is shop at the co-op and tell your checker you want to round up for KBO.
Thank you to the KBO community for your continued support!
