We are thrilled to be out in the community today bringing people together in support of bird conservation. Spreading awareness of this year’s message about protecting birds and protecting insects. Birds play crucial roles in pollination and pest control, and a lack of insects disrupts these ecosystem functions. Overpopulation of certain insects, without natural predators from birds, can also cause outbreaks that damage plant health and agriculture.
You can help us by donating to KBO today. Your donation supports not only our community outreach but also our high-caliber science. There are several different ways that you can donate to KBO.
KBO is excited to be at not one but two World Migratory Bird Day events this year. We will be at Rogue Valley Bird Day this Saturday, May 11th, 8 am – 12 pm at North Mountain Park in Ashland. The day will be chock-full of activities to participate in, with organizers offering bird walks every 15 to 30 minutes from the nature center pavilion; adult’s and children’s binoculars will be available for loan. Check out an article in the Rogue Valley Times about this weekend’s event or visit the Rogue Valley Bird Day website.
The second World Migratory Bird Day event is on May 18th, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at Veterans Park, in Klamath Falls. See you there!
Klamath Bird Observatory and The Institute for Bird Populations are excited to announce the release of the first half of The Identification Guide to North American Birds or Pyle Guide in Spanish. Making this hugely informative book more accessible to bird banders throughout North America. Join us for a Zoom presentation on April 4th at 5:30 pm PST to learn more about the translation process and the guide itself. The book will be available for pre-order starting on April 4th. The presentation is free, and an English/Spanish translator will be available.
El Observatorio de Aves de Klamath (Klamath Bird Observatory) y el Instituto para Poblaciones de Aves (Institute for Bird Populations) se complacen en anunciar el lanzamiento de la primera parte de La Guía de identificación de aves de América del Norte o Guía Pyle en español. La versión en español hará que sea más accesible para los anilladores de aves de toda América del Norte. La presentación por Zoom será el 4 de abril a las 5:30 p.m…
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.
