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The Mountain Bird Festival is Back

By on May 23, 2015 in Events

Great Gray Owl

The award winning Mountain Bird Festival is back, celebrating the natural wonders of southern Oregon and northern California. The 2015 Mountain Bird Festival will be held in Ashland, Oregon from May 29th-31st. Registration for the Festival will be available on the Klamath Bird Observatory website at www.klamathbird.org. The Mountain Bird Festival offers guided bird walks, a keynote presentation, fine art galleries, local wine, microbrew and food vendors, and a feel-good community atmosphere. Registration includes half-day or full-day field trips offered on both Saturday and Sunday.

The 2015 Mountain Bird Festival combines a celebration of the Klamath-Siskiyou Bioregion’s spectacular mountain birds and the stewardship ethic needed to ensure thriving landscapes for humans and wildlife. Every citizen who participates in the Festival helps to advance bird and habitat conservation in multiple ways. They contribute to habitat protection through the purchase of a Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp (a.k.a. the Duck Stamp), thereby supporting one of the most successful conservation programs in the United States. Festival attendees also purchase a Conservation Science Stamp with proceeds supporting Klamath Bird Observatory’s regional science and education programs aimed at achieving sustainable natural resource management. Additionally, every Festival goer serves as a citizen scientist contributing field trip bird sightings to eBird Northwest, a rapidly growing database that advances our knowledge about birds and their habitats.

This year’s Mountain Bird Festival features a keynote presentation by Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology’s International eBird project leader, Brian Sullivan. Brian will show us how eBird and its state of the art technologies are revolutionizing birding, making this popular recreation a powerful conservation science activity.

The Klamath-Siskiyou Bioregion of southern Oregon and northern California is one of the most biologically diverse regions in the world, an absolute must-see for birders and naturalists. The 2015 Mountain Bird Festival offers guided bird walks to some of the most beautiful and diverse landscapes of the region. Field trips will target highly sought after mountain birds of the Cascade, Siskiyou, and Klamath Mountains, as well as Klamath Basin specialties. Target birds include Mountain Quail, nesting Sandhill Cranes, dancing Western and Clark’s Grebes, Black Terns, Great Gray Owls, Calliope Hummingbirds, and the bird that will be featured on this year’s Conservation Science Stamp, the White-headed Woodpecker.

The Mountain Bird Festival has received national awards for becoming one of our nation’s leading conservation events. Please join us for the 2015 Mountain Bird Festival and become part of our efforts to elevate bird conservation.

16th Annual Snow Goose Festival of the Pacific Flyway

By on December 12, 2014 in Events
Ross's Geese

Ross’s Geese Taking Off

Birders and nature enthusiasts of all ages are invited to attend the 16th Annual Snow Goose Festival, one of the premier birding events in California. This action-packed 5-day event celebrates the millions of waterfowl migrating along the Pacific Flyway that call the Northern Sacramento Valley their home during the winter months. It also gives our local community an opportunity to rediscover the abundant treasures the North State has to offer all year round, from wholesome foods and delectable wines to inspirational artists and gifted musicians. And with the wide variety of engaging youth activities, there truly is something for everyone at the Snow Goose Festival!

The Pacific Flyway ranks as one of the greatest migratory pathways in the entire world, stretching from the Bering Strait off the coast of Alaska to the steeps of Patagonia in South America. Millions of birds representing hundreds of species use this great avian highway each year, and nowhere is this abundance of wildlife more accessible than right here in the Northern Sacramento Valley.

With an ideal combination of mild winter weather, abundant food and rich quantities of water, the area attracts a huge wintering population of waterfowl and raptors. A local favorite among these is the majestic Snow Goose. With the estimated overall population of Snow Geese exceeding 5 million, as many as one and a half million use the Pacific Flyway. Tens of thousands of these will winter right here in our own backyard.

In Chico and the surrounding communities, we celebrate this magnificent spectacle of nature with the Snow Goose Festival of the Pacific Flyway. Altacal Audubon’s mission unites and energizes all of the many volunteers, artists, trip leaders, workshop presenters, educators, community members and sponsors involved with the Snow Goose Festival. They strive to increase public awareness, understanding, appreciation and conservation of the incredible wildlife and related habitats of the Northern Sacramento Valley.

Get all of the information about this event at their website: http://www.snowgoosefestival.org/

The First Ever Mountain Bird Festival Is Coming to Ashland, Oregon

By on March 29, 2014 in Events

Great Gray OwlGreat Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa) courtesy Wikipedia Commons

Have you ever seen a White-headed Woodpecker? How about a Calliope Hummingbird or Great Gray Owl? Would you like a chance to witness these and other spectacular mountain birds while helping advance conservation? If so, the first annual Mountain Bird Festival is for you!

This unique conservation festival will be held in beautiful Ashland, Oregon from May 30th to June 1st, 2014. The Mountain Bird Festival combines a celebration of the region’s mountain birds with the stewardship ethic needed to ensure thriving landscapes for humans and wildlife. Every citizen who participates in this festival will receive an attractive conservation stamp for their significant stewardship of the science that drives bird conservation.

The Mountain Bird Festival offers guided bird walks, keynote presentations, a fine art auction, cocktail parties, music, local foods, and a feel-good community atmosphere. We hope you, and your bird-watching friends, join the fun! To register or learn about sponsorship benefits, visit their website: www.KlamathBird.org/Education/MountainBird.

Klamath Bird Observatory will host this community conservation event in partnership with the City of Ashland, the Ashland Chamber of Commerce, ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum, and many other organizations. Klamath Bird Observatory is an Ashland-based scientific non-profit organization that achieves bird conservation in the Pacific Northwest and throughout the migratory ranges of the birds of our region.

You can see a list of the field trips here and register for the event here.