Bird Surveys

ECBA and the Deschutes Land Trust (DLT) have partnered since 2000 on a long-term project to survey birds at DLT-protected lands. Over the years, thousands of hours have been logged by volunteers who conduct regular bird surveys to help monitor loc...

Since 2011, volunteers have gathered to count migrating Vaux’s Swifts (Chaetura vauxi) roosting in chimney sites in Bend. They begin counting early to mid-April (northward migration) and again in early to mid-August (southward migration). They s...

Lake Abert, located in Lake County, is a unique inland saline lake that is critical migratory bird habitat for an estimated 3.25 million bird-use days per year. Some years, a quarter of the world’s population of Wilson’s Phalarope (Phalaropus ...

Since 2009, 15 to 20 volunteers have gathered each spring at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) Summer Lake Wildlife Area (SLWA) to count breeding waterbirds. Begun as a shorebird survey, it now includes all breeding waterbirds (gre...

With the help of volunteers, two ECBA members, Kevin Smith and Ken Hashagen, began banding Pinyon Jays (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) in Crooked River and Sisters in 2012. These locations are among the most regular sites visited by Pinyon Jays. Becau...

Winter raptor surveys began in November 2004, with a total of 79 routes, all in Oregon. During the 2021-22 season, 500+ raptor routes were run in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and in small portions of north central California, NE Utah, and SW Montana...