La Grande Sewage Ponds
Seasons
Checklists
Location
From La Grande, take Adams Avenue east until you leave town. This road becomes the La Grande-Baker Hwy or Hwy 203. The sewage ponds are located off of Hwy 203 about 1.6 miles after 203 passes under I-84. Stop by the office and ask permission to view the ponds. You can also access the ponds by taking I-84 exit 265 south of La Grande and following the above directions.
DirectionsHabitat and Birds
Like many sewage ponds, waterfowl are plentiful. Unusual species like Ross’s Geese or Greater Scaup are possible. Scoters and Harlequin Ducks would be very unusual. Horned, Eared, Red-necked, Pied-billed, Clark’s, and Western Grebes are all possible. The usual gulls are Ring-billed and California, but Bonaparte’s, Herring, Franklin’s, and Glaucous-winged are all possible. Caspian, Forster’s, and Black Terns sometimes show up and a rare tern like Common or Arctic is always possible. Most recently, an Arctic Tern was present for a week, first being observed August 29, 2022. Shorebirds are mostly mixed peeps like Least and Western Sandpipers but you might find Baird’s or Pectoral Sandpipers if you’re lucky. Yellowlegs and dowitchers are here too. Wilson’s and Red-necked Phalaropes are sometimes seen. American White Pelicans can show up here and a Peregrine Falcon is not out of the question. Say’s Phoebes might visit in migration and swallows are usually abundant in summer.
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