Forwarding to OBOL, about a fun birding weekend. Reply to Steve,
birdidiot@xxxxxxxxx and not to me if you are interested. Judy,
jmeredit@xxxxxxxxxxx
From: steve dougill
Sent: Friday, April 17, 2015 9:02 AM
To: cobol
Subject: [COBOL] The Summer Lake annual count
The summer seems to be racing our way and I just realized I should put out a
call for volunteers for the Summer Lake shorebird survey. This will be the 8th
year that ECAS has helped to coordinate volunteers and it is always held the
weekend after Memorial Day:
When: The weekend of May 30-31 … most people arrive the day / evening before
Why: ODF&W uses the information collected to help prioritize areas to manage
for shorebird habitat and to assess their management activities.
Who: You … anyone can come. Kids are welcome. Unfortunately dogs are not
allowed on the wildlife refuge. You do not need to be an experienced birder as
you can always carry out the survey with someone who is.
Where: We carry out the survey on the Wildlife Refuge at Summer Lake. This is
about 2 hours SE of Bend
Accommodation: You can help out for the day but most people stay on or close to
the refuge. There are lots of options available. There is a bunk house and
several trailers that we can use for free. Expect basic amenities but there is
a shower, toilet, refrigerator, and stove etc … Other people camp next to the
bunk house on a grassy lawn. There are areas to park RV’s on the refuge and
there are hotels / guesthouses close by.
What to expect: Very casual atmosphere … The surveys are a matter of small
groups of volunteers being assigned an area and they count the different
species of shorebirds (mostly Avocets, stilts, Curlew, snowy plover, killdeer
and Wilsons Phalaropes). We have dry-landers who keep to the main trails; more
adventurous people who will get their boots wet … and then a few of us (and
mostly the kids) who get really muddy and wallow around in the marsh to get to
some of the more hidden spots. Generally we will do the surveys up to lunch
time on the Saturday and Sunday and take a birding trip up onto Winter Ridge in
the afternoon. There is always a chance to look for the Yellow Rails before
the surveys too … and of course birding all day long whilst counting the
Avocets.
Everyone brings their own food except for a common pot-luck on Saturday night
The birds: Lots. All sorts of Marsh birds on the refuge (Bittern, Night Heron,
Egrets, rails, ducks), sage-brush birds close by (Thrasher, sparrows ..) and
forest birds up on Winter Ridge. Over the last few years we have found some
fun unusual species including Great-tailed Grackle, Red phalarope, Sanderling,
Whimbrel, Wandering Tattler, Yellow Rail….
How to sign up: Just e-mail me for more info / any questions and to sign up.
... Steve Dougill, birdidiot@xxxxxxxxx
