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17 Jan2018

Citizen Scientists Needed for Short-eared Owl Surveys

January 17, 2018. Written by Klamath Bird Observatory. Posted in Announcements, Citizen Science, Conservation, Partners, Science

Klamath Bird Observatory is partnering with Intermountain Bird Observatory to launch the pilot year of the Western Asio Flammeus Landscape Study (WAfLS) in Oregon. This citizen science project, now spanning eight western states, is designed to gather information to better evaluate the population status of the Short-eared Owl. The Oregon Conservation Strategy has identified the Short-eared Owl as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need and the National Audubon Society Climate Initiative has identified the species as Climate Endangered. This pilot survey is a critical starting point to fill information gaps for this species in Oregon. Results will directly influence high-value conservation actions by state and federal agencies. We are looking to recruit dedicated volunteers to help complete this state-wide survey.

Short-eared Owl (c) Jim Livaudais 2018

WAfLS volunteers will enjoy rural Oregon at twilight while completing two road-based surveys during late winter and early spring. The surveys consist of driving on secondary roads, stopping at 8 to 11 points to complete a five-minute survey. At each point volunteers will record detections of Short-eared Owl as well as some brief habitat information. The entire survey is completed within 90 minutes. Training material will be provided and no experience is necessary to volunteer. Participants will need to follow field and data entry protocols, have use of a vehicle, smartphone or GPS device, and be able to identify a Short-eared Owl.

CLICK HERE to visit the WAfLS project website for more details including the protocol, survey maps, past years’ reports and publications and how to sign-up.

Contact Ellie Armstrong at eea@KlamathBird.org for any questions regarding the Oregon surveys.

Help fill these information gaps by signing up for a survey!

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01 Jan2018

Upcoming Talk with Harry Fuller

January 1, 2018. Written by Klamath Bird Observatory. Posted in Announcements, Education, Trips & Events

The Romance and Wonder of the Sandhill Crane

January 23rd, 2018
Tuesday Evening 6:30-8:00
At KBO Headquarters, 320 Beach Street, Ashland

 

The tallest bird in Oregon, the Sandhill Crane comes from an ancient lineage that may be among the earliest warm-blooded animals still found on earth. How do they live? We will explore the mechanics of their amazing trumpeting calls. We’ll discuss where they nest in Jackson County and other parts of the western U.S. and where you can see them in winter and early spring.

Harry Fuller is past president of the Klamath Bird Observatory, bird guide and author or several books on birds and the natural history of the San Francisco Bay. His books will be for sale at this talk.

To sign up, contact Shannon Rio at shannonrio@aol.com or call 541 840-4655. Cost is $15 and you can pay the night of the talk.

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24 Dec2017

Merry Everything from KBO!

December 24, 2017. Written by Klamath Bird Observatory. Posted in Uncategorized

Winter Trees
By William Carlos Williams

All the complicated details
of the attiring and
the disattiring are completed!
A liquid moon
moves gently among
the long branches.
Thus having prepared their buds
against a sure winter
the wise trees
stand sleeping in the cold.

 

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19 Dec2017

KBO Online Store Clearance Sale!

December 19, 2017. Written by Klamath Bird Observatory. Posted in Uncategorized

We have reduced prices for many items at our Online Store. Hats, t-shirts, and more …

Click here to visit KBO’s Online Store.

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18 Dec2017

KBO Scientists Answer Questions about Oak Woodland Conservation Efforts

December 18, 2017. Written by Klamath Bird Observatory. Posted in Uncategorized

Oak woodland in Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. Photo by Frank Lospalluto

KBO’s Science Director Jaime Stephens and Research Biologist and Klamath Siskiyou Oak Network Coordinator Caitlyn Gillespie were guests on Jefferson Public Radio’s Jefferson Exchange program recently. The discussion ranged from the plight of disappearing oak woodlands in our region to recent Klamath Siskiyou Oak Network partnership-driven conservation successes.

Click here to listen to the interview.

Click here to visit and learn more about the Klamath Siskiyou Oak Network.

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12 Dec2017

NEWS RELEASE: Birds Teach Scientists How to Improve Streamside Restoration

December 12, 2017. Written by Klamath Bird Observatory. Posted in Announcements, Press Room

***News Release: December 12, 2017***

Contact: Sarah Rockwell, Research Biologist, Klamath Bird Observatory, 541-201-0866, smr@KlamathBird.org

Birds Teach Scientists How to Improve Streamside Restoration

Ashland, OR—Restoring river health in the western United States is important for addressing drought and water quality issues in support of restoring endangered salmon populations, but it is often challenging to understand how best to restore wildlife habitat along stream banks. A new study by a team of researchers from Klamath Bird Observatory (KBO), in partnership with the Trinity River Restoration Program (TRRP), sheds light on how best to understand the success of river restoration efforts: follow the birds.

Researchers studied a series of sites along the Trinity River in northern California for four years to figure out how best to restore vegetation along streambanks following river restoration. Creating new side channels and lowering the floodplain next to streams is good for fish spawning and rearing, but creating more salmon habitat sometimes requires a bulldozer. Removing lush, dense bank vegetation in the process may seem like bad news for birds, but the TRRP replants portions of the riverside with native trees and shrubs, and the birds come back. Still, it is important to monitor the newly created floodplains to ensure they are providing good habitat for wildlife – just in case this human assistance isn’t working the way we expect it to. The research team found that there are ways to plan river restoration and replant vegetation that encourage the birds to return, which can help improve restoration projects in the future.

The Yellow-breasted Chat, one of the focal bird species used in the study, prefers areas with dense shrubs (Photo Credit James Livaudais).

To learn how birds respond to restoration, scientists studied four key bird species that are common in riverside habitats (Black-headed Grosbeak, Song Sparrow, Yellow-breasted Chat, and Yellow Warbler) at a set of sites that have undergone restoration by the TRRP and a set of sites that were left as remnant mature forest. Birds are good indicators of healthy, functioning ecosystems, in part because they have a diverse range of habitat needs and respond quickly to changes in their environment. The authors compared vegetation on the recently restored sites to the remnant mature forest, and monitored which vegetation features were preferentially used by birds. Birds in the study overall chose to use areas with features of mature forest that were less abundant on new floodplains in the early stages of revegetation (planted just 3-10 years ago). Birds used the newly restored sites too, particularly the remnant patches of undisturbed habitat on those sites. Looking at where birds choose to raise their young reveals why: birds generally placed their territories and/or nests in areas with more canopy cover, taller trees, greater tree species diversity, and multiple layers of vegetation at different heights – all habitat features that may take decades to develop on restored areas. Knowing that these habitat features are important helps land managers recreate the best quality habitat for terrestrial wildlife and informs restoration planning. For example, future projects may benefit birds by leaving patches of mature vegetation within or near restoration sites whenever possible.

One result was unexpected. “We were really interested in the fact that Yellow-breasted Chats and Yellow Warblers frequently placed their territories or nests in areas with more Himalayan blackberry,” says Dr. Sarah Rockwell, KBO Research Biologist and lead author of the study. “Himalayan blackberry is a non-native, invasive shrub that land managers spend a lot of time and money removing – an important restoration practice – but the removal may have unintended consequences for birds.” She suggests that replanting with similarly structured native shrubs may be important in order to provide good nesting habitat for these birds following restoration.

Click here to view the abstract of Habitat selection of riparian birds at restoration sites along the Trinity River, California. Published in Restoration Ecology (Early View online) DOI: 10.1111/rec.12624.

Click here to download a zipped press package: News Release – Birds Teach Scientists

Click here to download a PDF of this news release: News Release – Birds Teach Scientists How to Improve Streamside Restoration

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About Klamath Bird Observatory:
Klamath Bird Observatory advances bird and habitat conservation through science, education, and partnerships. We achieve bird conservation in the Pacific Northwest and throughout the migratory ranges of birds native to our region. We developed our award-winning conservation model in the ruggedly beautiful and wildlife-rich Klamath-Siskiyou Bioregion of southern Oregon and northern California. Emphasizing high-caliber science and the role of birds as indicators of the health of the land, we specialize in cost-effective bird monitoring and research projects that improve natural resource management. Also, recognizing that conservation occurs across many fronts, we nurture a conservation ethic in our communities through our outreach and educational programs. Visit Klamath Bird Observatory at www.KlamathBird.org.

About Trinity River Restoration Program:
Created by a Record of Decision from Congress in 2000, the TRRP is an inter-agency partnership (including National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Reclamation, California Natural Resources Agency, Hoopa Valley Tribe, Yurok Tribe, and Trinity County) with funding from Bureau of Reclamation appropriations, Central Valley Project Improvement Act funds, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service funds. Its creation was motivated by drastic declines in salmonid fish populations observed in the Trinity River since the installation of two dams in the early 1960s, which slowed and stabilized the river flow, causing changes in the shape of the river channel and hydrology that were detrimental to salmonids. The TRRP is tasked with returning salmon fisheries to pre-dam levels by restoring the river’s physical processes – through techniques such as watershed restoration, managed flows, channel rehabilitation including construction of floodplain habitat scaled to restoration flow levels, gravel augmentation, and addition of large woody debris. These efforts are managed by the Trinity Management Council Partners, and advised by the Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group and a Science Advisory Board. Visit TRRP at www.trrp.net.

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07 Dec2017

BIRDING THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST with Harry Fuller and Shannon Rio March 2—6, 2018

December 7, 2017. Written by Klamath Bird Observatory. Posted in Announcements, Birds and Birding, Trips & Events

This birding adventure will focus on wintering birds of the Pacific Northwest that spend the summer in nesting territories further north. 

Barrow’s Goldeneye (c) 2017 Jim Livaudais

We will bird in and around Puget Sound, including Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, then travel along the Hood Canal and north to the upper tip of the Olympic Peninsula. A ferry will take us from Port Townsend to Whidbey Island. Plan to see Trumpeter Swan, Harlequin and Long-tailed ducks, Rhinoceros Auklet, Pacific Loon, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Brant, Black and White-Winged scoters, Northern Shrike, Short-eared Owl, Rough-legged Hawk, and many others. Some of the Pacific Northwest’s most beautiful landscapes will be the backdrop for fantastic birding. We may also get to see an orca pod on the ferry!

Costs: Early-bird fee is $569 per person if paid by January 1, 2018. The fee includes four nights’ hotel accommodation and travel to and from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SeaTac – airport code SEA). Also included is the expertise of master bird guide Harry Fuller. The group will travel by van and ferry during the adventure. $300 of the fee is a tax deductible donation to the Klamath Bird Observatory. After January 1, 2018 cost of the trip is $619 so sign up early as it will make plane flights cheaper and easier to obtain. Reasonably-priced early-morning flights from Medford (MFR), Eugene (EUG), or San Francisco (SFO) to SeaTac are available on a few major airlines (Alaska, Delta, and American—and Southwest Airlines out of Oakland (OAK)).

Rough-legged Hawk (c) 2017 Jim Livaudais

Participants pay for their meals and travel to and from SeaTac airport where the trip begins and ends. Due to logistics and to maximize everyone’s adventure experience the group will be limited to 10 participants. Arrangements have been made for double-occupancy rooms in the towns of Lacey, Sequim (2 nights), and Burlington, WA where we will be stopping overnights.

To sign up for or more information about this sure-to-be-memorable birding adventure, contact Shannon Rio at shannonrio@aol.com or by phone (541) 840-4655. You will have the double pleasure of taking a special birding trip along with contributing to conservation as you support KBO.

 

Northern Shrike (c) 2017 Jim Livaudais

***Please note—after January 1, 2018 cost of this trip will be non-refundable. Shannon Rio will help with coordinating arrival times as we gather in Seattle and any other details.

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30 Nov2017

NEW TALK & WALK: RAPTORS OF THE KLAMATH BASIN!

November 30, 2017. Written by Klamath Bird Observatory. Posted in Announcements, Trips & Events

Northern Harrier (c) 2017 Jim Livaudais

TALK: February 2nd, Friday 6:30pm—8:30pm

WALK: February 3rd, Saturday or February 10, Saturday

Early February is a perfect time of year to enjoy raptor viewing in the picturesque Klamath Basin! Please join longtime KBO board member Dick Ashford, who will share his enthusiasm and knowledge during an informative Hawk ID classroom session on the evening of Feb 2nd. Then, enjoy a fun, day-long hawk watching outing to the Klamath Basin. In order to optimize your experience, half the class will be in the field on Feb 3rd, the other half on Feb 10th. The classroom session will be limited to 30 people and each of the two field trips to 15. This will allow us to carpool (a must!) in four vehicles.

Dick Ashford – the Raptor Master

Because this workshop is so popular, participants should enroll in the class as well as one of the field sessions. No “outing-only” signups, please. Please indicate what day you would like for your field trip, and we’ll look forward to seeing you in the Field Of Wonder!

To sign up or obtain more information, contact Shannon Rio at shannonrio@aol.com or 541-840-4655. The $30 cost includes the talk, outing and a classy handout on raptor identification.

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27 Nov2017

You Can Make a Difference! – KBO Annual Appeal

November 27, 2017. Written by Klamath Bird Observatory. Posted in Announcements, Conservation

Click here to donate to Klamath Bird Observatory’s Annual Appeal

Each time I step outside into nature, especially wild places, I am grateful. Golden-crowned and White-crowned sparrows herald the season with their fall arrival. As I wander through higher-elevation pine forests or the oak woodland around the valley, I am filled with awe and deep appreciation for the miracle of trees. Western Screech-Owls sing a nighttime sound. The day brings bird calls and young birds singing some fragment of the song that they will belt out when next spring arrives. Being outside is a gift, one that I want to preserve, cherish, protect, and pass on in its fullness to the next generation. I look to ways to give back to nature.

My association with the Klamath Bird Observatory has spanned many years. During that time, my awareness and appreciation for the part that science plays in protecting birds and wild places has deepened. By visiting the banding station where information related to migratory birds is gathered, I have understood the hard work of data collection. I have learned that it directly results in protection of birds and migratory pathways. When I meet the scientists and interns who come to Klamath Bird Observatory to do this meaningful work, the essence of conservation becomes REAL to me.

Members of the board of KBO give our time, energy, and money because we want to give back for all that we get from this organization. Though each board member has made significant contributions to KBO this year, each one of us plans during our annual appeal to do it again. Join us in giving, in cherishing the land and enjoying the birds. The next time you walk in the woods, feel good that you are a member of our conservation family and that YOU make a difference.

Shannon Rio
President, Board of Directors

Click here to donate to Klamath Bird Observatory’s Annual Appeal

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27 Nov2017

Upcoming Climate Change Presentations

November 27, 2017. Written by Klamath Bird Observatory. Posted in Announcements, Trips & Events

Dr. John Alexander, Executive Director of the Klamath Bird Observatory, will speak about climate change at two upcoming events. He will be the featured speaker at next Rogue Valley Audubon Society (RVAS) monthly meeting November 28, 2017 and will join other local scientists at Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center’s (KS Wild) “Your Climate Refuge: hotter, drier, and no less wild” event November 29, 2017.

Dr. John Alexander, KBO Executive Director

John will share what critical impacts climate change is having on regional and national bird populations, and summarize research that KBO is undertaking in his talk “Climate Change: A Bird’s Eye View”. Recent research suggests that the challenges bird communities already face are exacerbated by climate change. As climate change brings shifts of habitats, birds can be among the first to tell the story of climate trends. Just like the canary in a coal mine they may alert us to what is happening and what the future holds, if we are paying attention. The U.S. Department of Interior’s 2010 State of the Birds Report on Climate Change, to which Klamath Bird Observatory contributed, addressed this critical issue.

Both meetings are open to the public—join us to learn about international, national, and regional efforts to adapt bird conservation and natural resource management strategies to effectively meet the most urgent needs in the face of climate change.

The RVAS’s monthly meetings are held at the Medford Congregational Church Lidgate Hall at 1801 E. Jackson Street in Medford beginning at 7 pm. Their next meeting is November 28, 2017. Click here to learn more about RVAS and their upcoming events.

 

KS Wild’s “Your Climate Refuge: hotter, drier, and no less wild” event takes place at Southern Oregon University’s Stevenson Union, Room 330 on November 29, 2017 6 pm – 8 pm. Click here to learn more about this and other upcoming KS Wild events.

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