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Klamath Call Note
Bird Banding: Observatory Monitors Bird Populations
Banding birds is an important tool in tracking bird population and, in particular, determining why and how a particular species may be in decline. The Klamath Bird Observatory catches and bands between 50 and 60 distinct bird species during each monitoring season. Many of these are repeat catches, suggesting which areas are successful breeding grounds. […]
Bird Bio: Yellow-breasted Chat
Bird Bio: Yellow-breasted Chat Lauren Kemple, Education Specialist (AmeriCorps) Wandering down the Bear Creek Greenway, a yellow flash of movement caught my eye. Stopping for a better look, I peered deep into the riparian shrubs. Yes, it was still there, skulking but only partially hidden. It had olive-colored wings and back and a yellow throat and breast. The bird’s belly was […]
Tour of Middle Eastern Conservation Professionals to Stop in Upper Klamath Basin
By Ashley Dayer, Klamath Bird Observatory, and Erica Hupp, Fremont-Winema National Forests On June 5-7, 2009, a study tour of Middle Eastern conservation professionals will be visiting the Upper Klamath Basin to learn from Klamath Bird Observatory and Fremont-Winema National Forests’ model of collaboratively advancing bird and habitat conservation through science, education, and partnerships. This […]
Making Room for Our Fair Feathered Friends
Every year in July people gather in the forest along the Long Tom River to celebrate the Oregon Country Fair. Today throughout the Northwest only five percent of the original riparian forest remains, making this an important site. Many migrating and resident birds use this forest as their breeding grounds and are still actively nesting […]
Bird Bio: Rufous Hummingbird
Lauren Kemple, Education Specialist (AmeriCorps) First you hear the high-pitched hum of his two inch wings, flapping 52 to 62 times per second. Then he zips past, a streak of bronze and green, tzzew zupity tzupity tzuping at another bird in aggressive defense of his territory. During the breeding season, this male Rufous Hummingbird will […]
Monitoring the Night Sky
Monitoring the Night Sky Though many of us wake up early with the sun to catch the first glimpse of migratory birds moving through the area, a lot of those birds were even more active a few hours prior. Klamath Bird Observatory and U.S Forest Service’s Redwood Sciences Laboratory are taking an exciting new approach […]
Bird Bio: Tree Swallow
By Anne Seiler, Banding Intern The Tree Swallow is commonly encountered in natural open areas near trees and water throughout much of NorthAmerica during the summer months. They are recognizable from afar by their dark upper parts and white belly, sloped triangular wings, and distinctive swooping flight. A closer look at these aerial insectivores reveals brilliant iridescent purple and teal […]
Bird Bio: Vaux’s Swift
Bird Bio: Vaux’s Swift By Melissa Molzahn, KBO Education Specialist (AmeriCorps) The Vaux’s Swift is often seen flying swiftly overhead, in one direction, then another, at top speed. This small and agile bird rarely perches unless it is nesting or roosting. It can be observed busily hawking all sorts of tiny insects, especially when feeding young. Generally a summer […]
Bird Bio: The Yellow Warbler
Melissa Molzahn, KBO Education Specialist The Yellow Warbler, in comparison to other North American wood-warblers, is brilliant yellow. It is often heard singing a beautiful spring song tucked away among willows. Yellow Warblers breed from Alaska and Canada, south to Baja California, and east throughout central Oklahoma, Arkansas, Georgia, and North Carolina. The winter months are spent from southern California […]
Bird Bio: Spotted Towhee
Bird Bio: Spotted Towhee By: Jonathan Berti, KBO Banding Intern Many of the bird species that grace this area during the summer months and fall migration have disappeared. To the birding enthusiast, the winter slump in bird diversity may bring dismay. However, it does allow us to appreciate species that choose to rough it through the winter here in the Klamath-Siskiyou Bioregion. The […]
