Author: Janelle Wicks

white-faced ibis with radio transmitter backpack
Conservation - Wildlife

Ibis Wrangling in the Wild West

Seen commonly in wetlands and flooded agricultural fields throughout the west, the White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi) is easily recognizable by its subtly beautiful iridescent plumage and comically long bill. The ibis has become the poster child for biological diversity among the arid and semi-arid wetland habitats being threatened by climate change.

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Natural History

Species Spotlight: Common Nighthawk

Written by Peter Pearsall/Photo by Dan Streiffert One of the most easily seen bird species at Malheur Refuge each summer is also one of our oddest: the uncommonly distinctive common

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Conservation - Wildlife

Shorebird Migration

Written by Peter Pearsall/Photos by Peter Pearsall and Dan Streiffert As summer draws to a close, the relentless heat of Oregon’s high desert slowly abates—a difference most keenly felt in

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Two Sandhill Crane's in Meadow
Conservation - Wildlife

International Crane Foundation Visits Malheur

During the first week of August 2022, several staff from the North America Programs at the International Crane Foundation (ICF) visited Malheur NWR, as part of a grand tour of Sandhill crane breeding and stopover sites in the Pacific NW.

The ICF works worldwide to conserve cranes and the ecosystems, watersheds, and flyways on which they depend. Most of the world’s cranes are rare, endangered, or in decline; however, the remarkable recovery of Sandhill Cranes is a story of true conservation success.

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Refuge Management

Refuge Water Management Update

Written by Ed Moulton, MNWR Maintenance Supervisor/Photo by Dan Streiffert At Malheur Refuge every spring and summer, water is diverted from the Donner und Blitzen River to irrigate meadows, ponds,

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