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.
GPS-tracking Western Purple Martins to Brazil and back
Dr. Sarah Rockwell will share photos and maps from KBO’s work to GPS-tag and track Western Purple Martins throughout their annual cycle. This research is uncovering migratory stopover and overwintering sites from Oregon to Brazil that will aid in international conservation efforts for this at-risk subspecies. Sarah’s work was recently shared in the Oregonian, you can read the article here.
Dr. Ryan Terrill will discuss this year’s bird banding efforts at six sites throughout southern Oregon. Bird banders from four countries worked with KBO to research populations of local birds at six long-term field sites, all while collecting top-tier data, training other researchers, getting their banders certifications, and conducting public outreach.
Monitoring Bird Communities Through Point Count Surveys
Tom McLaren will give an overview of how Klamath Bird Observatory uses point-count surveys to monitor bird communities’ response to forest health treatments, habitat restoration, and management action. We will highlight how long-term monitoring has provided valuable information about songbird populations. Point count methods provide a cost-effective way to gather conservation-relevant information, which can be used in many ways.
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.
Riparian Bird Monitoring
Klamath Bird Observatory is seeking a Field Technician position in our bird monitoring and research program at riparian restoration sites along the North and South Forks of the Salmon River in northern California. Primary duties are spot-mapping surveys to delineate territories of riparian songbird species, observing pairs to determine the reproductive stage (Vickery Index), conducting vegetation surveys, and data entry. Some training may occur in Ashland, OR, before fieldwork near Sawyers Bar and Forks of Salmon, CA. Field work will start ~April 29th and continue until ~July 12th (exact dates to be determined). More information can be found here.
Vesper Sparrow Field Technician
As part of our Oregon Vesper Sparrow research program, we are conducting an inventory of the size and distribution of Vesper Sparrow populations in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument to assess population status and potential conservation actions for this imperiled subspecies. Klamath Bird Observatory is seeking to fill a Field Technician position to conduct transect surveys in meadow and oak-prairie habitat in the Monument and complete associated data entry. The Field Technician will survey for Vesper Sparrows by sight and sound in different locations in and around the Monument, sampling along off-road transects following standard protocols. Field work will start ~April 29th and continue until ~July 3rd (exact dates to be determined). More information can be found here.
Banding Internship
Klamath Bird Observatory seeks highly motivated individuals to participate in our long-term landbird monitoring program. This position requires independent drive and patience for the travails of fieldwork but also affords a fantastic opportunity to build practical experience in field biology and master a variety of bird monitoring and research skills in a beautiful part of the country. Training and duties will include mist netting and banding of passerines and near passerines; bird surveying; data quality assurance, entry, and management; and public outreach and education participation. Non-field duties include study and discussion of banding curriculum, equipment maintenance, field station upkeep, and data entry. Field work will begin May 1st and continue until October 31st with an option to start August 1st. More information can be found here.
Point Count Technician
We are hiring seasonal field technicians for the 2024 breeding season to complete avian point count surveys throughout the ecologically diverse and beautiful southern Oregon, eastern Oregon, and/or northern California regions. Technicians will conduct work related to multiple projects, including monitoring the effects of oak and conifer forest restoration on species distributions and long-term monitoring on both private and public lands. Primary responsibilities will include conducting multispecies avian point count surveys, vegetation sampling along off-road transects following standard protocols, and associated data entry. Field work will take place April 29th through July 19th. More information can be found here.
Loggerhead Shrike Field Technician
We are also seeking a Field Technician to monitor territories and nests of Loggerhead Shrikes at the Boardman Conservation Area near Boardman, OR. Primary duties include surveying grids in sagebrush habitat to locate shrike territories (up to 8 miles off-trail hiking per day), finding and monitoring shrike nests, completing vegetation surveys at nest sites, and data entry. The best-qualified applicants will also have basic ArcGIS skills (e.g., importing GPS points and creating territory maps). Shared field housing is available in Ione, OR. The field season will take place from April 1 – June 30. Click here to learn more.
Each spring, KBO conducts a large-scale point count surveying effort to collect data on abundance, habitat use, and bird communities. Many species can only be surveyed during their breeding season when they establish territories and are easily detected by their unique songs. To take advantage of this, our point count surveys take place within a narrow window during the spring breeding season. With the help of a fantastic team of seasonal point count technicians, KBO completed another successful season of surveys this year.
This spring, our surveyors conducted a total of 2101 point counts over 214 survey days. Much of this work was related to long-term monitoring of avian populations and ecological restoration projects. These projects align with KBO’s goals to understand changes to bird communities and to provide conservation relevant science to resource managers.
Meadow Lark by Frank Lospalluto
Our long-term monitoring projects include partnerships with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the National Park Service (NPS). Our partnership with the BLM includes ongoing surveys within the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in southern Oregon and large-scale monitoring of bird populations in eastern Oregon as a part of the Integrated Monitoring in Bird Conservation Regions (IMBCR) program. With over 1,000 detections, Western Meadowlarks continue to be one of our most frequently observed species on our IMBCR surveys. Other notable species include Horned Lark, Sagebrush Sparrow, and Gray Flycatcher, each of which was detected several hundred times on our surveys.
Pinyon Jay by Eric Gropp
In partnership with the NPS, we also completed our 15th year of point count surveys in national parks of the Klamath-Siskiyou region. Our surveyors visited the Lava Beds National Monument and Redwoods National and State Parks in northern California. At Redwoods National and State Parks, our most commonly detected species were the Pacific-slope Flycatcher (Western Flycatcher) and the Pacific Wren. Notably, in Lava Beds National Monument, our surveyors had several Pinyon Jay detections. These birds, which are under federal review for listing under the Endangered Species Act, are known for foraging on the seeds of the eponymous pinyon pine and are currently suffering a dramatic population decline. The Pinyon jay’s decline is thought to be the result of a loss of suitable pinyon-juniper habitat.
Veery by Frank Lospalluto
This year, our restoration surveying work took our technicians across Oregon and into Northern California. One of our largest restoration projects in the Northern Blues Mountains included surveys across the Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests of Northeastern Oregon in partnership with the United States Forest Service (USFS). Our surveyors also visited regions of Northern California, southern Oregon, and Portland to survey oak, riparian, and aspen restoration sites. Notably, this year marked the initiation of an oak restoration monitoring project as part of an ongoing partnership with the Upper Rogue Oak Initiative. This partnership is focused on restoring and maintaining healthy oak woodlands within the region. With more than 500 detections each, Western Tanagers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and American Robins were the most frequently seen species on our restoration projects. Our surveyors also had several exciting encounters with more uncommon species, including the American Three-toed Woodpecker, Northern Goshawk (American Goshawk), and Veery.
We’d like to give a big shout-out to our fantastic team of point count surveyors this year. They worked tirelessly to collect high-quality data about our bird communities while navigating life in the field. Our science team is happy to have another successful point count season on the books, and we are looking forward to learning more from the data we have collected.
Lassen National Park Survey Site (c) Frank Lospalluto
Klamath Bird Observatory is looking to fill three, point count technician positions for this summer’s field season. You will have an amazing opportunity to camp and backpack through the beautiful Klamath Siskiyou bioregion. Some of the places visited include Lassen Volcanic National Park, Oregon Caves National Monument, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, and/or Crater Lake National Park.
We are looking for technicians to start May 2nd with the potential to start in June ending July 15th. Pay is $3000/month, plus reimbursement for mileage if required to drive a personal vehicle.
Technicians must be willing and able to adhere to strict health and safety guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the duration of hire. Effective June 21, 2021, and until further notice, KBO will require that all employees and Student Interns be fully vaccinated for COVID‐19, and be able to provide proof of vaccination status.
