The
Klamath Basin
Situated near the Southern Oregon/Northern California state line, the Klamath
Basin Birding Trail (KBBT) includes 47 birding locations where birding enthusiasts
can spot more than 350 species among the mountains and marshes of the area. There
are eight state and federal wildlife refuges in the Klamath Basin, and 80 percent
of the waterfowl that travel the Pacific Flyway come through this area (including
one of the largest concentrations of Bald Eagles in the continental US). The Klamath
Basin was rated on Sunset Magazine's list of "Fantastic Five Birding Destinations
in the West."
Summer
Lake Wildlife Refuge
In Lake County to the east, check out the Summer Lake Basin and the thousands
of migratory birds that feed there in the Summer Lake Wildlife Refuge and Chewaucan
Marshes. The Summer Lake Basin supports more than 250 species, including bald
eagles, Canada geese, White Faced Ibis, Yellow-headed blackbirds, Goshawks, Hermit
Thrushes, Red-tail hawks and Great Blue Herons.
Rogue River Plains Preserve
Southern Oregon's landscape of prairie, basalt rimrock, seasonal ponds and oak
woodlands harbors some of the state's most unusual and imperiled plants and wildlife.
At the mouth of the Rogue River, you'll find shorebirds, seabirds, waterfowl,
loons and gulls.
Birding on the Southern Oregon Coast
Here's what you may find at individual locations:
Floras Lake - waterfowl, raptors, sparrows, tundra swans in winter
Blacklock Point - shorebirds, seabirds
Cape Blanco - hummingbirds, passerines, warblers, raptors, shorebirds,
seabirds; one of the best spots in the county with a great variety of species
Garrison Lake - wintering waterfowl, herons and the only bittern in the
county.
Jerry's
Flat - shorebirds in fall, raptors and sparrows in winter, swallows and flycatchers
in summer.
Pistol
River Mouth and Estuary - ducks, grebes, sparrows. Walk south to Crook Point
where tufted puffins and pigeon guillemots are on the off shore rocks during the
summer.
Chetco
River Mouth - black-legged Kittiwakes in winter, ancient murrelets and marbled
murrelets, loons, grebes, cormorants
Bear Camp and Burnt Ridge - woodpeckers, warblers, vireos, western tanager,
hawks, owls at night
Long Ridge Prairies - lazuli bunting, warblers, sparrows, western tanager
Oregon
Dunes National Recreation Area
These sites have good birding almost any time of the year. Not all birds are year-round
residents; most of the shorebirds are here only during the winter, some warblers
only during the summer.
Bluebill Lake - White-tailed Kite, Northern Harrier, Violet-green Swallow,
Downy Woodpecker, Yellow, Townsend's and Hermit Warblers, Great Horned Owl, Great
Egret
South Jetty
Area - Tundra Swan, Marsh Wren, Canada Goose, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Red-tailed
Hawk, Sanderling, Long-billed Curlew, Dunlin, Least Sandpiper
Siltcoos Area
Get
a close look at an American Bittern, hike the Waxmyrtle Trail, which parallels
the south side of the Siltcoos River, then turns south to a marshy area. Look
for Coastal snowy plovers (listed as a threatened species), Great Blue Heron,
American Bittern, Green Heron, Virginia Rail, Cinnamon Teal, Common Yellowthroat,
Common Merganser, Belted Kingfisher
Photo
Credits: Pelican photo by Terri Dippel
