Upper Klamath Lake Banding Station Visit
?!?! These were my sentiments during my most recent visit to the Upper Klamath Lake banding station. The exclamation marks express my pure delight to see, up close, the precious, black-buttoned, bright-eyed, brilliantly yellow, diminutive avian friends’ faces, which I wanted to kiss. The question marks symbolized how mystified I felt watching the numerous indistinguishable birds, and how stupefied I was, marveling at the banders’ skill in discriminating the often-unrecognizable specimens to be inspected, especially since this was a hatch year (HY) for, seemingly, the majority. The recent fledglings stumped my novice birding skills, considering their missing distinguishing coloration, bands, bars, etc., to which even the knowledgeable banders required returning to their tabbed pages in their Peter Pyle Identification Guide to North American Birds, or laminated diagrams of feathers, cranial development (a.k.a. cranial pneumatization), all of which they had already dedicated thousands of hours poring over. However, as a consolation prize for my failed earnest identification attempts, one species that I confidently and happily identified was a Wilson’s Warbler, donning his black toupee!
With the start of Fall migration, the banders experienced a huge influx of birds to examine, and one of the most frequent was the Hermit Warbler, a species I wasn’t even aware of. Unwittingly, and even a bit arrogantly, I kept thinking that those referring to the warbler were in error, since I only knew of the Hermit Thrush. What a surprising and joyful revelation it was to me when I finally looked it up on the Cornell Lab “All About Birds” website! Another new species for me to learn about! I threw off and away the horse blinders! Another species that I had been introduced to during the recent field day, but had seen in a few bird identification books, was the MacGillivray’s Warbler, fondly referred to by the banding crew as the “Mac and Cheese”. I initially thought that it was a juvenile Common Yellowthroat, with the commencement of a distinct black line through the lores, but stopping at the eyes, and not through them to create the full mask.
In closing, the beautiful sights at the banding station extend the ride. There is no clear stopping point or border to these rich, breathtaking, awe-inspiring sights. The expansive, majestic mountains, open fields, and trees are part of our community, and we humans are not mere observers but members; our awareness and conscientious choices in our interactions within the web of life can positively impact it.
Join us for this extraordinary final family-friendly bird banding outing of the year! This fundraiser for our renowned banding program includes an opportunity to meet and chat with KBO’s new Banding Program Manager, Lucinda Zawadski, PhD., Martín López Aguilar from Mexico, and the KBO interns. You will learn about the importance and unique contribution of bird banding to science and see some of Oregon’s birds up close. You will also get to experience one of our field stations on beautiful Upper Klamath Lake and observe science in action, including mist netting and data collection, AND interact with the biologists. After the field station visit, we have a unique opportunity to bird from the deck of Rocky Point Resort with Lucinda and Martín, with light refreshments provided by Rocky Point.
Join KBO’s bird banding team in the field this fall for a bird banding experience. This is a unique opportunity to meet some of our scientists in a small group setting, learn about bird banding, and see some of Oregon’s birds up close. You will experience a beautiful Upper Klamath Lake field station and observe live-action science, including mist netting and data collection. This is an excellent introduction to science in the field for kids and young adults (as well as great for non-birders, almost birders, and fully-fledged birders). Come and have fun in the field with us!
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.