All trips are full at this time!
Thursday 14 June – The Ochocos and surrounding areas (Full day).
Meeting Place:Powell Butte school, half way between Prineville and Redmond on Hwy 126 ... map
Meeting Time: 6.30am
Number of people: 12
Description:This is a fast pased tour where we will be visiting many different habitats and locations. Most of the birding will be done close to vehicles. In Powell Butte we have a chance for Rails and Bittern, and possibly basin species such as Gray flycatcher, Ash-throated Flycatcher and several sparrow species. Stopping in Prineville we will visit a Tri-colored Blackbird colony and view breeding Clark's and Western Grebes. Other possible birds include Ferruginous and Swainson’s Hawk and Prairie Falcon. Heading up into the forest we will look for Sapsuckers, Pileated Woodpecker and White-headed Woodpecker. There are a lot of other species here too including flycatchers, Dusky Grouse, Lazuli Bunting, MacGilvray’s warbler and possibly Sandhill Cranes. See last year's bird list Click Here
Tour leader: Chuck Gates. Chuck knows the local birds like nobody else. He has developed the birdingoregon web site and is a great tour leader … just see if you can keep up with his enthusiasm.
Friday 15 June – Summer lake and the Great Basin (Full day)
Meeting Place: Bend … Starbucks at the Cascade Shopping Village, north end of Bend ... map
Meeting Time: 6.00am
Number of people: 14
Description: Not many woodpeckers but this is a fantastic day out and some great scenery. We will arrive at Fort Rock on the edge of the Great Basin and search for sparrows (Sage, Brewers, Vesper) as well as Say’s Phoebe, Sage Thrasher, Logger-head Shrike. At the rock there are White-throated Swifts and Canyon Wrens. In the agricultural fields we will see lots of raptors including eagles, Prairie Falcon, Swainson’s and Feruginous Hawks. Continuing on, we will pass great habitat but the next stop will be the oasis of Summer lake. This is full of Egrets, Night Herons, Bitterns, Rails, waterfowl, Curlews, Avocets, Stilts and Snowy Plover …. So many birds. There are chances for Black-throated Sparrow and possibly Yellow Rail. See last year's bird list Click Here
Tour leader: Howard Horvath. Howard is a long time local birder and knows this area well. If there are birds to be found, he will help you find them!
Saturday 16 June – Rooster Rock Burn (full day)
Meeting Place: Sisters Village Green ... map
Number of people: Two tours, 12 people each.
Description: You want woodpeckers … get ready for lots of woodpeckers. We will visit a recent burn focusing on Three-toed and Black-backed Woodpeckers although we can see almost all the 11 species with luck. This is a great area to see the species that prefer more open habitat such as Sooty Grouse, Olive-sided Flycatcher. We will also visit intact forest at higher elevation for more variety. See last year's bird list Click Here
Tour leader: Coming soon.
Saturday 16 June – GW Burn (full day)
Meeting Place: Sisters Village Green ... map
Meeting Time: 7:00am
Number of people: Two tours, 12 people each.
Description: Another fantastic place for woodpeckers. This is an older burn so there is more chance for Lewis’s Woodpecker and although Three-toes are found, they can be hard to see. Other species include Lazuli Bunting, flycatchers, Hermit and Townsend's Warblers, Green-tailed Towhee and Townsend's Solitare. The habitat is very varied with burn, scrub and more dense forest. Depending on snow levels we will visit a new burn, Shadow Lake, which opens up a lot of woodpecker possibilities. To see last year's bird list Click Here
Tour leader: Kim Kathol. Kim has been birding the area for a long time and makes the day enjoyable. Get ready to see lots of birds and have fun
Saturday 16 June – Camp Sherman and Jack Creek (full day)
Meeting Place: Sisters Village Green ... map
Meeting Time: 7:00am
Number of people: 12
Description: This tour will proceed West out of Sisters and head towards Camp Sherman. A stop will be made at Lake Creek Lodge where last year we found a Rufous Himmingbird nest and the female was feeding and caring for the young hummingbirds in the nest. White-headed Woodpeckers were found as were Black-back and Williamson's among other species. Great looks were found for a wide variety of birds including Hermit and Townsend's Warblers, Empid Flycatchers, Green-tailed Towhee, Rufus Hummingbird, Vaux’s Swift, Townsend Solitaire, Lazuli Bunting and Pygmy Owl.
Additionally we will go into some older burn areas and have great looks at Lewis's Woodpeckers among other species. It is possible to find all eleven species of woodpeckers on this tour route. See last year's birds list click here
Tour leader: Judy Meredith will help lead this tour ... another local who has traveled the world birding. You will have to keep an eye on her as she might start looking for mushrooms too!
Saturday 16 June – Black Butte (full day)
Meeting Place: Sisters Village Green ... map
Meeting Time: 7:00am
Number of people: 12 people.
Description: This will be a fun trip and very varied. We will visit a local burn for woodpeckers such as Black-backed, call in at Black Butte Swamp and Glaze Meadow for Sapsuckers, warblers, flycatchers, Calliope Hummingbird and Pygmy Owl. There are a lot of other riparian areas to visit so depending on time we will call in at Calliope Crossing and Cold Springs
Tour leader: To be announced
Saturday 16 June – Night Prowl (Several Hours)
Meeting Place: Sisters Village Green ... map
Meeting Time: 7:30pm
Number of people: Two tours, 12 people each.
Description: We will look for Poor-will as it is getting dark and try for some local owl species such as Great-horned, Saw-whet, Flamulated and Western-Screech Owl. There is a good chance to actually see Poor-wills; less chance to actually see owls although we will hear them.
Tour leader: To be announced
Sunday 17 June – Camp Polk (Half day)
Meeting Place: Sisters Village Green ... map
Meeting Time: 7:00am
Number of people: 12
Description: This is a great meadow with willow, alders and other riparian habitat. Dippers nest on the river, and Virginia and Sora Rails can be found in the ponds. A diversity of Sapsuckers, White-headed Woodpeckers and a variety of warblers and flycatchers are all possible. Pygmy Owls are often seen.
Tour leader: To be announced
Sunday 17 June – Entrada Burn (Half day)
Meeting Place: Bend … Starbucks at the Cascade Shopping Village, north end of Bend ... map
Meeting Time: 7:00am
Number of people: 12
Description: This is a dry Ponderosa Forest with mixed scrub and an old burn. This is the site of a Lewis’s Woodpecker nest box project and you will have great views of these colorful woodpeckers. Other species include Western Bluebird, Green-tailed Towhee, Fox Sparrow and Gray Flycatcher.
Tour leader: Howard Horvath
Sunday 17 June – Catch-up birds (half day)
Meeting Place: Sisters Village Green ... map
Meeting Time: 7:00am
Number of people: group size will be determined by the birds to be found.
Description: We will gather groups together based on their birding wishes and try to find target birds. If a group wants to go out into the desert to find sage birds we will take you. If you missed a White-Headed Woodpecker we will track one down. This is a treasure hunt with expert guides and an open agenda. We prefer to structure the last day like this to avoid unnecessary disturbance to some of the key birds and nests found throughout the weekend.
Tour leader: A variety of the tour leaders from the weekend
All trips are full at this time!
Thursday 14 June – The Ochocos and surrounding areas (Full day).
Meeting Place:Powell Butte school, half way between Prineville and Redmond on Hwy 126 ... map
Meeting Time: 6.30am
Number of people: 12
Description:This is a fast pased tour where we will be visiting many different habitats and locations. Most of the birding will be done close to vehicles. In Powell Butte we have a chance for Rails and Bittern, and possibly basin species such as Gray flycatcher, Ash-throated Flycatcher and several sparrow species. Stopping in Prineville we will visit a Tri-colored Blackbird colony and view breeding Clark's and Western Grebes. Other possible birds include Ferruginous and Swainson’s Hawk and Prairie Falcon. Heading up into the forest we will look for Sapsuckers, Pileated Woodpecker and White-headed Woodpecker. There are a lot of other species here too including flycatchers, Dusky Grouse, Lazuli Bunting, MacGilvray’s warbler and possibly Sandhill Cranes. See last year's bird list Click Here
Tour leader: Chuck Gates. Chuck knows the local birds like nobody else. He has developed the birdingoregon web site and is a great tour leader … just see if you can keep up with his enthusiasm.
Friday 15 June – Summer lake and the Great Basin (Full day)
Meeting Place: Bend … Starbucks at the Cascade Shopping Village, north end of Bend ... map
Meeting Time: 6.00am
Number of people: 14
Description: Not many woodpeckers but this is a fantastic day out and some great scenery. We will arrive at Fort Rock on the edge of the Great Basin and search for sparrows (Sage, Brewers, Vesper) as well as Say’s Phoebe, Sage Thrasher, Logger-head Shrike. At the rock there are White-throated Swifts and Canyon Wrens. In the agricultural fields we will see lots of raptors including eagles, Prairie Falcon, Swainson’s and Feruginous Hawks. Continuing on, we will pass great habitat but the next stop will be the oasis of Summer lake. This is full of Egrets, Night Herons, Bitterns, Rails, waterfowl, Curlews, Avocets, Stilts and Snowy Plover …. So many birds. There are chances for Black-throated Sparrow and possibly Yellow Rail. See last year's bird list Click Here
Tour leader: Howard Horvath. Howard is a long time local birder and knows this area well. If there are birds to be found, he will help you find them!
Saturday 16 June – Rooster Rock Burn (full day)
Meeting Place: Sisters Village Green ... map
Number of people: Two tours, 12 people each.
Description: You want woodpeckers … get ready for lots of woodpeckers. We will visit a recent burn focusing on Three-toed and Black-backed Woodpeckers although we can see almost all the 11 species with luck. This is a great area to see the species that prefer more open habitat such as Sooty Grouse, Olive-sided Flycatcher. We will also visit intact forest at higher elevation for more variety. See last year's bird list Click Here
Tour leader: Coming soon.
Saturday 16 June – GW Burn (full day)
Meeting Place: Sisters Village Green ... map
Meeting Time: 7:00am
Number of people: Two tours, 12 people each.
Description: Another fantastic place for woodpeckers. This is an older burn so there is more chance for Lewis’s Woodpecker and although Three-toes are found, they can be hard to see. Other species include Lazuli Bunting, flycatchers, Hermit and Townsend's Warblers, Green-tailed Towhee and Townsend's Solitare. The habitat is very varied with burn, scrub and more dense forest. Depending on snow levels we will visit a new burn, Shadow Lake, which opens up a lot of woodpecker possibilities. To see last year's bird list Click Here
Tour leader: Kim Kathol. Kim has been birding the area for a long time and makes the day enjoyable. Get ready to see lots of birds and have fun
Saturday 16 June – Camp Sherman and Jack Creek (full day)
Meeting Place: Sisters Village Green ... map
Meeting Time: 7:00am
Number of people: 12
Description: This tour will proceed West out of Sisters and head towards Camp Sherman. A stop will be made at Lake Creek Lodge where last year we found a Rufous Himmingbird nest and the female was feeding and caring for the young hummingbirds in the nest. White-headed Woodpeckers were found as were Black-back and Williamson's among other species. Great looks were found for a wide variety of birds including Hermit and Townsend's Warblers, Empid Flycatchers, Green-tailed Towhee, Rufus Hummingbird, Vaux’s Swift, Townsend Solitaire, Lazuli Bunting and Pygmy Owl.
Additionally we will go into some older burn areas and have great looks at Lewis's Woodpeckers among other species. It is possible to find all eleven species of woodpeckers on this tour route. See last year's birds list click here
Tour leader: Judy Meredith will help lead this tour ... another local who has traveled the world birding. You will have to keep an eye on her as she might start looking for mushrooms too!
Saturday 16 June – Black Butte (full day)
Meeting Place: Sisters Village Green ... map
Meeting Time: 7:00am
Number of people: 12 people.
Description: This will be a fun trip and very varied. We will visit a local burn for woodpeckers such as Black-backed, call in at Black Butte Swamp and Glaze Meadow for Sapsuckers, warblers, flycatchers, Calliope Hummingbird and Pygmy Owl. There are a lot of other riparian areas to visit so depending on time we will call in at Calliope Crossing and Cold Springs
Tour leader: To be announced
Saturday 16 June – Night Prowl (Several Hours)
Meeting Place: Sisters Village Green ... map
Meeting Time: 7:30pm
Number of people: Two tours, 12 people each.
Description: We will look for Poor-will as it is getting dark and try for some local owl species such as Great-horned, Saw-whet, Flamulated and Western-Screech Owl. There is a good chance to actually see Poor-wills; less chance to actually see owls although we will hear them.
Tour leader: To be announced
Sunday 17 June – Camp Polk (Half day)
Meeting Place: Sisters Village Green ... map
Meeting Time: 7:00am
Number of people: 12
Description: This is a great meadow with willow, alders and other riparian habitat. Dippers nest on the river, and Virginia and Sora Rails can be found in the ponds. A diversity of Sapsuckers, White-headed Woodpeckers and a variety of warblers and flycatchers are all possible. Pygmy Owls are often seen.
Tour leader: To be announced
Sunday 17 June – Entrada Burn (Half day)
Meeting Place: Bend … Starbucks at the Cascade Shopping Village, north end of Bend ... map
Meeting Time: 7:00am
Number of people: 12
Description: This is a dry Ponderosa Forest with mixed scrub and an old burn. This is the site of a Lewis’s Woodpecker nest box project and you will have great views of these colorful woodpeckers. Other species include Western Bluebird, Green-tailed Towhee, Fox Sparrow and Gray Flycatcher.
Tour leader: Howard Horvath
Sunday 17 June – Catch-up birds (half day)
Meeting Place: Sisters Village Green ... map
Meeting Time: 7:00am
Number of people: group size will be determined by the birds to be found.
Description: We will gather groups together based on their birding wishes and try to find target birds. If a group wants to go out into the desert to find sage birds we will take you. If you missed a White-Headed Woodpecker we will track one down. This is a treasure hunt with expert guides and an open agenda. We prefer to structure the last day like this to avoid unnecessary disturbance to some of the key birds and nests found throughout the weekend.
Tour leader: A variety of the tour leaders from the weekend