USGS Saline Lake Ecosystems 2025 Update
2025-02-26 10:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
You are invited to join us on a webinar to hear about our upcoming activities in 2025.

The webinar will be on February 26, 2025 from 10-noon PT/11-1 pm MT. We will share our 2025 data collection plans across all five science pillars: Waterbird Movement, Waterbird Aquatic Food Resources and Habitat, Water Quality, Water Quantity, and Remote Sensing. The presentation will be pre-recorded and followed by a live Q&A with the scientists. The presentation will be made available at the Saline Lake Ecosystems IWAA site after the webinar date.

You must register in advance at this site to attend the webinar.

Videos from our 2024 Fall webinar series can be found here.

ECBA Board Meeting
2025-03-04 16:00 - 17:30, 2025-04-01 16:00 - 17:30
East Cascades Bird Alliance Board of Directors meets monthly, on the first Tuesday.

Wednesday Birders
2025-03-05 08:00, 2025-03-12 08:00, 2025-03-19 08:00, 2025-03-26 08:00, 2025-04-02 08:00, 2025-04-09 08:00, 2025-04-16 08:00
Wednesday Birders is a group of birders, birding, but not a traditional field trip with a named leader who always provides a guided field experience. Everyone helps everyone else, shares, learns and enjoys birding together. Usually some advanced birders are there and are so helpful. All are welcomed. We carpool when possible.
As times vary from week to week, please watch COBOL for details and times which are usually announced a few days prior to Wednesday.
All the locations are listed on our website. From the home page, select Birding Resources, and from the drop-down menu, you can choose Birding by County where you will get a list of favorite birding places including directions to the spots and what birds you might hope to find.
One of the goals of Wednesday Birders is to encourage everyone to use the ECBA birding site guides and get used to using those directions and the “how to bird it” tips for the locations. Simply select the county and the hotspots are listed alphabetically.
Important Notes:

Please remember to read COBOL by Tuesday mornings for last minute details and changes to plans in case of adverse weather, road conditions or detours, bird news or better birding opportunities. Watch COBOL for meeting and carpooling times and places or for changes in the plan.
COBOL is Central Oregon Birders Online. It’s free to join.
Remember to dress for the weather. Be prepared with food, sunscreen, etc. and bring a pair of binoculars. Spotting scopes are helpful on many trips.

For questions and for more information contact: ecba@ecbirds.org

La Pine HS STEAM night
2025-03-06 16:00 - 18:30
ECBA is looking for volunteers for this event. We will teach students about birds and convey the joy of birding.

Birding by Ear 2025
2025-03-11 08:00 - 09:30, 2025-03-18 08:00 - 09:30, 2025-03-25 08:00 - 09:30, 2025-04-01 08:00 - 09:30, 2025-04-08 08:00 - 09:30, 2025-04-15 08:00 - 09:30
Birding by Ear is a weekly bird walk led by ECBA volunteer Dave Tracy and will take place every Tuesday through early June.
Meet at Sawyer Park at 8 a.m. Bird walks typically last 1-1.5 hours depending on bird activity. We usually cover about 1/1.5 miles over mostly flat trails.
Depending on the weather, be prepared to dress for cool, breezy conditions. Wear suitable clothing and footwear in case of snow and muddy trails.
New as well as seasoned birders are welcome! Learn to identifiy the birds you hear, hone the skills you have, or share your talent with others!
If you haven’t already, please fill out the ECBA General Activity Waiver. Waivers are required for all ECBA trips. The online waiver takes one minute and you only need to fill one out once per year. Thank you!
General Activity Waiver

DLT Nature Nights - Sailing the Sagebrush Sea
2025-03-12 19:00 - 20:30 | Tower Theatre, 835 NW Wall St., Bend, Oregon, 97703
Deschutes Land Trust program
Event registration opens Feb. 12. There will be links to register for the in-person event as well as the livestream event.
Sailing the Sagebrush Sea – https://www.deschuteslandtrust.org/hikes-events/hikes/031224-nn

Birders' Night: Pinyon Jays in Oregon
2025-03-13 19:00 - 21:00 | Worthy Brewing, 495 NE Bellevue Dr, Bend, OR, 97701
Title: Pinyon Jays in Oregon – Life History, Data, and Monitoring Efforts
Presenter: Claudia Funari, Wildlife Biologist for the USFWS, Bend Field Office
This presentation will give information on the life history of pinyon jays in Oregon, review current data on their distribution and habitat use in Central Oregon, and discuss recent and ongoing monitoring efforts, including efforts supported by the ECBA.
The pinyon jay is a blue-gray jay that is an obligate bird of pinyon-juniper and other pine-juniper woodlands. Pinyon jays are highly social and form colonial flocks throughout the year. These tight-knit flocks can be up to a few hundred of individuals. They nest colonially and range widely for food foraging mainly on pine seeds, insects, and juniper berries depending on the season and availability. While their nomadic lifestyle to follow food resources can make their movements unpredictable, they generally have a local home range and will nest in the same general vicinity from year to year. While no pinyon pine species occur within the breeding range of pinyon jay in Oregon, pinyon jays are known to breed in ponderosa pine and juniper woodlands in central Oregon. The pinyon jay has suffered significant long-term population declines rangewide (over 80%) – the steepest declines of any bird in North America (BBS 2023). The pinyon jay is understudied and poorly known in most areas of its range, and Oregon is no exception. Little is known about their populations here and there are no recent published studies on pinyon jays in Oregon. Most of the available information comes from local birders, biologists, and studies from other states (New Mexico and Arizona mainly). Since August 2023, birders and biologists have put in countless hours trying to collect information on these gregarious birds. Due to this effort, we’ve confirmed locations of nesting colonies and multiple colonial flock areas found around Sisters, Redmond, Tumalo, Bend, and Brothers. ECAS has supported this effort though banding efforts and training members on the use of the new citizen science pinyon jay monitoring app from Great Basin Bird Observatory (GBBO). These and other monitoring efforts are giving us a better understanding of populations, habitat use, and life history of this iconic pine-juniper obligate within central Oregon. Join us for Birders Night to learn more about his magnificent bird in Central Oregon.

Science Pub: Highways & Wildlife Crossings
2025-03-18 17:30 - 19:00
The design and use of wildlife crossing structures along the U.S. Highway 97 corridor will be the topic of Oregon State University – Cascades Science Pub titled “When Worlds Collide: Highways and Wildlife Crossings” on March 18.
Speaker Corrinne Dombrowski is a wildlife biologist and research analyst in the OSU-Cascades Human and Ecosystem and Resilience Lab.

The Science Pub will take place from 5:30 to 7:15 p.m. in the Charles McGrath Family Atrium in Edward J. Ray Hall at OSU-Cascades. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for networking and dining with the presentation to follow at 6 p.m.
Registration is required and on-campus parking is free.
The event is $22 per person, which includes a light, pub-style, pre-lecture dinner. The no-host bar will offer beer, wine, cider and soft drinks.
To register, visit osucascades.edu/science-pubs. Space is limited to 120 attendees.

Pinyon Jay Survey Workshop
2025-03-22 08:00 - 16:00
Pinyon Jay Nesting Site Survey Workshop
The Workshop will be from 8 AM – 4 PM at the USFS Deschutes NF Supervisor’s Office (63095 Deschutes Market Road). Staff from the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Great Basin Bird Observatory (GBBO) will be leading the workshop.

Crooked River Wetlands Saturday Bird Walk
2025-04-05 07:45 - 10:00 | Crooked River Wetlands Complex, 4035 NW Rimrock Acres Loop in Prineville, OR, 4035 NW Rimrock Acres Loop, Prineville, OR, 97754, United States
In 2025, Wetlands Walks will be held on the first and third Saturdays of the month
starting in April and running through September. The first walk will be April 5, 2025 and
the last walk of the year will be September 20, 2025.
Walks will begin at 8:00AM and conclude at 10:00AM. The walks are approximately 2
miles long and last about 2 hours. We gather at 7:45AM at the Crooked River Wetlands
Parking Lot at 4035 NW Rimrock Acres Loop in Prineville.
There is no drinkable water at this facility so bring water and dress for Central Oregon
weather. A 4-person golf cart is available to carry those who can’t walk the distance.
Email Chuck Gates if you would like a seat(s) on the cart. cgates326@gmail.com

Olympic Bird Fest 2025
2025-04-10 - 2025-04-13 | Sequim, WA
Co-sponsored by the Dungeness River Nature Center and the Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society.
Registration is now open.
All the details, including registration, can be found at olympicbirdfest.org and here is the link to the event on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/12DYJyHWoJN/

CANCELED - Harney County Migratory Bird Festival
2025-04-10 - 2025-04-13 | Burns, OR, Burns, OR, 97720, United States
Spend an amazing weekend witnessing the spectacular spring migration in the Harney Basin of Southeast Oregon. View thousands of migratory birds as they rest and feed in the wide-open spaces of Oregon’s high desert. From waterfowl to shorebirds, cranes to raptors, wading birds to songbirds, you’ll see them all! The festival offers non-stop birding activities as well as historical and cultural information sure to entertain you and your family. Whether you’re a beginner or a life-long wildlife enthusiast, the festival has something for everyone. Don’t miss this extraordinary weekend.
Registration opens February 14.
https://migratorybirdfestival.com/

Birders' Night: Identification Workshop - Flycatcher Fun(damentals)
2025-04-10 19:00 - 21:00 | Worthy Brewing, 495 NE Bellevue Dr, Bend, OR, 97701
Join a round table of seasoned local birders (Tom Crabtree, Craig Miller, Mark Gonzalez) for a Bird Identification Workshop — Flycatcher Fun(damentals) on April 10. This will focus on all flycatchers that can normally be seen in Central Oregon with extra emphasis on everyone’s favorites — Empids.

Riverbend Bird Walk
2025-04-12 08:00 - 10:00 | Riverbend, 799 SW Columbia St, Bend, OR, 97702, United States
Join ECBA for a free guided bird walk in the RiverBend Park/Old Mill area. It will be apt for all (beginners to veterans). We’ll start at 8am and go to about 10am depending on what we’re seeing. Expect to walk about 2-3 miles on flat trails. Bring binoculars if you have them. If you don’t, we will bring a few extra pairs just in case.

Crooked River Wetlands Saturday Bird Walk
2025-04-19 07:45 - 10:00

Sunriver Bird Walk
2025-04-19 08:00 - 11:00 | Sunriver Nature Center, 57245 River Rd, Sunriver, OR, 97707, United States
Join ECBA for a free guided bird walk at Sunriver. Meet at the Sunriver Nature Center at 8 am. Walk lasts 3 hours (11am finish). Distance 3-4 miles. Some walking on uneven terrain. Restrooms available midway and at the end. Bring binoculars. Dress for the weather. Walk led by Tom Lawler and Diane Burgess.

Earth Day
2025-04-22

Black Butte Ranch - Intro Birding Group
2025-04-22 08:00
