East Cascades Bird Alliance

Birders' Night: Waddle We Do Without Penguins?
2025-10-15 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Worthy Brewing, 495 NE Bellevue Dr, Bend, OR, 97701
Patty McGill will talk about the conservation status of penguins that live at lower latitudes and challenges they face. Of these species, she will emphasize African penguins, found in South Africa and Namibia. Last fall, African penguins were declared Critically Endangered and they could be extinct in the wild in by 2035. Patty serves as the Program Leader for a group of zoos and aquariums focused on saving African penguins, and Patty will tell us about the array of projects the team leads and/or supports; these projects are focused on the most urgent and important conservation priorities.
Background:
Dr. Patty McGill received her PhD from Cornell University, where she studied competition among species of gulls and also other species of seabirds. She spent most of her career working in AZA accredited zoos, in animal (bird) care and conservation. She led the program to manage Humboldt penguins in zoos–and from there began to work with colleagues in South America on conservation & research projects on these penguins. In one way or another Patty has worked with Humboldt penguins for 40 years, and has been working with African penguins for about 10 years.

Birders' Night: Fun with Sapsuckers with Steve Shunk!
2025-11-13 18:00 - 19:30
Fun with Sapsuckers!
Did you know that sapsuckers have a paintbrush-tipped tongue? Did you know that one species is the world’s longest- distance migrant woodpecker? How about that one sapsucker is named for the daughter of German naturalist Johan Kaup, who first described the Flammulated Owl? These are just a few of the fun facts you will learn from naturalist Steve Shunk when he returns to share stories of our amazing sapsuckers. Of course, Steve will also discuss the perplexing puzzle of sapsucker hybridization, with his best tips for identifying the “chupasavias” of Central Oregon.
Steve Shunk learned about sapsuckers during his 27-year stint living on the east slope of the Cascades. His woodpecker research culminated in the publication of the Peterson Reference Guide to Woodpeckers of North America. In 2024, Steve moved to Mexico’s Pacific Slope to live with Mexican naturalist Lizzy Martinez. They enjoy daily encounters with the endemic Golden-cheeked and Gray- crowned Woodpeckers from their backyard at the Rancho Primavera bird sanctuary.
The program will start at 6pm. Note that the start time is 6pm, not 7pm.

Feel free to come early for dinner and a beverage. Worthy Brewing offers a happy hour from 3-6pm. We’re expecting a full house, so please come a bit early to ensure that you get a seat.

Birders' Night: Klamath Refuges
2025-12-11 18:00 - 19:30
Teresa Wicks, the Eastern Oregon Biologist and Program Manager for the Bird Alliance of Oregon, will present on bird productivity in the Klamath Refuges and the management of botulism there.
The program will start at 6pm. Please note the earlier start time.

Feel free to come early for dinner and a beverage. There is typically a nice group there by 5:00pm or so.

Birders' Night--An update on the Central Oregon Pinyon Jay Habitat Ecology Project with Alex Wilson
2026-01-08 18:00 - 19:30
An update on the Central Oregon Pinyon Jay Habitat Ecology Project.
Alex Wilson will discuss how we collected Pinyon Jay Habitat use data during the breeding season across central Oregon. The focus will be on analysis of the backpack transmitter data we collected this year, and what our plans are moving forward to meet the research needs of the region.
Alex Wilson is currently a graduate student at Oregon Tech, pursuing a Masters of Natural Resources. Most recently he was a project manager for the Blue Ridge Bird Observatory. Prior to that, he was part of the recovery and monitoring team for the Mariana Crow and the island of Rota.
The program will start at 6pm. Please note the earlier start time.

Feel free to come early for dinner and a beverage. There is typically a nice group there by 5:00pm or so.

Birders' Night--Central Oregon Christmas Bird Counts
2026-02-12 18:00 - 19:30
More details will be added in the near future.

ECBA Birders' Night--Ospreys and Osprey Watch with Kylie Lanuza and Elise Jackson
2026-03-12 18:00 - 19:30
Ospreys and Osprey Watch
Learn about osprey natural history and how you can get involved in the community science project Osprey Watch. This project helps us monitor these incredible sentinel species and better understand environmental trends across the region. We’ll also be joined by Elise Jackson from Pacific Power, who will share information about Pacific Power’s Avian Protection Program and how community monitoring efforts contribute to the survival of our native birds.
Kylie Lanuza is the Wildlife Community Science Project Coordinator for Think Wild. Elise Jackson is an Associate Environmental Analyst with Pacific Power.
The program will start at 6pm. Feel free to come early for dinner and a beverage. There is typically a nice group there by 5:00pm or so. And Worthy Brewing offers a nice Happy Hour Menu from 3-6pm.

Birders' Night--The Bird–Caterpillar Connection with LeeAnn Kriegh
2026-04-09 18:00 - 19:30
Caterpillars are the single most important insect in the diet of most terrestrial birds, yet our knowledge of these larval marvels often begins and ends with The Very Hungry Caterpillar. So, let’s get caught up on the latest research. We’ll explore the life cycles of each of the 160,000 species of caterpillars (or at least a few of the best-known), discuss why these bristly sausages are so vital to nestling diets, and learn a few simple ways we can boost caterpillar populations in our own backyards. LeeAnn Kriegh is a woolly bear enthusiast and author of The Nature of Bend and The Nature of Portland. She’ll have the 2025 editions of both books available for sale at the talk.
The program will start at 6pm. Feel free to come early for dinner and a beverage. There is typically a nice group there by 5:00pm or so.
Seating is first come, first serve, so come early!
And Worthy Brewing offers a nice Happy Hour Menu from 3-6pm.

Birders' Night: Visions of Desert Life with Alan Contreras
2026-05-14 18:00 - 19:30
Visions of Desert Life with Alan Contreras
Long-time Oregon birder and writer Alan Contreras will present an unusual program of poems, stories and images related to birds, wildlife and the human experience of eastern Oregon. He will read from his own work and the work of other writers including Ursula K. Le Guin, Ada Hastings Hedges, Ellen Waterston, C.E.S. Wood and others. These readings will be accented with images by visual artists and photographers working in eastern Oregon and perhaps excerpts from music inspired by eastern Oregon.
Alan L. Contreras, a fourth-generation Oregonian, has published several books about the natural world as well as professional work in higher education, poetry and essays. His recent work includes A History of Oregon Ornithology (senior editor, OSU Press 2022), Edge of Awe: Experiences of the Malheur-Steens Country (editor, OSU Press 2019), and Collected Poems of Ada Hastings Hedges (ed. with Ulrich Hardt, OSU Press 2020). He is currently working on a book on the Oregon desert as a source of creative inspiration. He will have books for sale at the meeting.
The program will start at 6pm. Feel free to come early for dinner and a beverage. There is typically a nice group there by 5:00pm or so.
Seating is first come, first serve, so come early!
And Worthy Brewing offers a nice Happy Hour Menu from 3-6pm.

Birders' Night: How to count four and a half million raptors… Veracruz and its River of Raptors with Steve Dougill
2026-06-11 18:00 - 19:30
How to count four and a half million raptors… Veracruz and its River of Raptors with Steve Dougill.
North America hosts the largest raptor migration in the world each fall in Veracruz, Mexico. But it’s a lot more than just the birds of prey; there’s millions of migrating songbirds and storks and pelicans and anhinga … and clouds of dragonflies and colorful butterflies. It’s also a compelling story of the biologists who grew up in the small rural communities, and the non-profit that runs the counts, the education programs, forges conservation partnerships with local land owners, and hosts several MOTUS towers. Steve was lucky enough to work here for a season and so he will bring you the story and explain how to count millions of migrating raptors.
About Steve. He grew up birding, as a young kid in the UK, and has been keen on wildlife and conservation ever since. He has worked in many different wildlife positions around the world in both paid and volunteer capacity and now splits his time between getting paid to work with endangered birds in Southern Nevada in the summer and leading birds tours for part of the winter. In between, he bases himself in eastern Washington, close to the Idaho State border. He is very energized to share birds and their conservation with others and has been president of a local Audubon group in Oregon as well as heading up some fun citizen science projects. He does these tours because he loves sharing; he loves birding with an energetic group; and, he loves supporting the local guides and non-profits he partners with. His next goals are to work more directly with kids, to get his book published and to teach a beginning birding class to engage others in the love of birds.
The program will start at 6pm. Feel free to come early for dinner and a beverage. There is typically a nice group there by 5:00pm or so.
Seating is first come, first serve, so come early!
And Worthy Brewing offers a nice Happy Hour Menu from 3-6pm.

Birders' Night: Tracking Lewis’s Woodpecker Migration Using Motus Technology with Kaly Adkins
2026-07-09 18:00 - 19:30
Birders’ Night: Tracking Lewis’s Woodpecker Migration Using Motus Technology with Kaly Adkins
Come learn about how wildlife biologists from the state, a variety of NGOs and Cal Poly Humboldt have collaborated to learn about migratory pathways of Lewis’s Woodpeckers throughout the PNW using Motus wildlife tracking technology. This technology can be expanded to a variety of small-bodied wildlife and is helping to unravel the mystery of migration for many of these species. Kaly Adkins is a Regional Wildlife Diversity Biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in Bend that specializes in species of greatest conservation need east of the crest of the Cascades in Oregon.
If you want to learn more about MOTUS towers before the Birders’ Night, you can listen to a podcast that Kaly did with Northwest Nature Matters on this topic. Here is the link to the podcast episode: http://nwnaturematters.libsyn.com/motus-a-collaborative-research-network-tracking-wildlife-movement
The program will start at 6pm. Feel free to come early for dinner and a beverage. There is typically a nice group there by 5:00pm or so.
Seating is first come, first serve, so come early!
And Worthy Brewing offers a nice Happy Hour Menu from 3-5pm (note that it recently changed to end at 5pm rather than 6pm). Their regular menu is still solid and not unreasonable. See here for their food and beverage menus: https://worthybrewing.com/pub

Birders' Night: Ducks Unlimited Wetland Restoration for Wetland Habitat with Ashley Tunstall
2026-08-13 18:00 - 19:30
Ducks Unlimited Wetland Restoration for Wetland Habitat

Join Ashley Tunstall, Ducks Unlimited Southeast Oregon biologist, to learn more about DU’s wetland restoration work for waterfowl and wetlands in the Oregon SONEC. From stream restoration to dam replacement, Ashley’s work runs the gambit to improve watershed conditions for wetland dependent species in this critical migratory stopover habitat. Learn about the active restoration work going on in your backyard in eastern Oregon on both public and private lands!”

The program will start at 6pm. Feel free to come early for dinner and a beverage. There is typically a nice group there by 5:00pm or so.

Seating is first come, first serve, so come early!

And Worthy Brewing offers a nice Happy Hour Menu from 3-5pm (note that it recently changed to end at 5pm rather than 6pm). Their regular menu is still solid and not unreasonable. See here for their food and beverage menus: https://worthybrewing.com/pub

Birders' Night: Jeff Fleischer on the Winter Raptor Surveys.
2026-09-10 18:00 - 19:30
Birders’ Night: Jeff Fleischer on the Winter Raptor Surveys.
More details will be posted when available.
The program will start at 6pm. Feel free to come early for dinner and a beverage. There is typically a nice group there by 5:00pm or so.
Seating is first come, first serve, so come early!
And Worthy Brewing offers a nice Happy Hour Menu from 3-5pm (note that it recently changed to end at 5pm rather than 6pm). Their regular menu is still solid and not unreasonable. See here for their food and beverage menus: https://worthybrewing.com/pub

Birders' Night: Stu Garrett on Oregon’s Sagebrush Steppe and the birds that live there.
2026-10-08 18:00 - 19:30
Birders’ Night: Stu Garrett on Oregon’s Sagebrush Steppe and the birds that live there. More details will be posted when available.
The program will start at 6pm. Feel free to come early for dinner and a beverage. There is typically a nice group there by 5:00pm or so.
Seating is first come, first serve, so come early!
And Worthy Brewing offers a nice Happy Hour Menu from 3-5pm (note that it recently changed to end at 5pm rather than 6pm). Their regular menu is still solid and not unreasonable. See here for their food and beverage menus: https://worthybrewing.com/pub

Birders' Night: Marina Richie will introduce us to her new book that is scheduled to be released this fall–Feathered Forest: Aloft with Birds in Ancient Trees.
2026-11-12 18:00 - 19:30
Marina Richie will introduce us to her new book that is scheduled to be released this fall–Feathered Forest: Aloft with Birds in Ancient Trees.
More details will be posted when available.
The program will start at 6pm. Feel free to come early for dinner and a beverage. There is typically a nice group there by 5:00pm or so.
Seating is first come, first serve, so come early!
And Worthy Brewing offers a nice Happy Hour Menu from 3-6pm.

Birders' Night: Holiday Gathering!
2026-12-10 18:00 - 19:30
Birders’ Night: Holiday Gathering!
More details will be posted when available.
The program will start at 6pm. Feel free to come early for dinner and a beverage. There is typically a nice group there by 5:00pm or so.
Seating is first come, first serve, so come early!
And Worthy Brewing offers a nice Happy Hour Menu from 3-5pm (note that it recently changed to end at 5pm rather than 6pm). Their regular menu is still solid and not unreasonable. See here for their food and beverage menus: https://worthybrewing.com/pub
