The Friends of Malheur NWR’s annual gathering is going virtual! As part of our Harney@Home campaign and in celebration of Malheur NWR we are bringing you a full week of events designed to engage and entertain you, our Friends!
Saturday 8/22
7:00 PM – Friends Auction!
Items have been generously donated by:
Worthy Brewing, Wildbirds Unlimited (Bend, OR), The Frenchglen Hotel & Drovers’ Inn, The narrows restaurant and RV park, Oard’s Gallery, Portland Audubon, Crane’s Nest Nature Store, Artist Kathy Bowman, FOMR Board Members, & More to come!
All events will be held over Zoom and are FREE but donations to support the Friends of Malheur NWR are strongly encouraged and deeply appreciated.
List compiled by Teresa Wicks/ Photo by Loree Johnson
Portland Audubon’s Eastern Oregon Field Biologist, Teresa Wicks, has been compiling a weekly bird list. We have been sharing that list on the @MalheurFriends Facebook page as a part of our collaborative Harney@Home campaign. For more of Teresa’s observations and field experiences you can follow @RestoreMalheur on Facebook and catch the occasional article from her in our monthly Malheur Musings newsletter.
The combined list for July totals 138 species!
american avocet
american bittern
american coot
american crow
american goldfinch
american kestrel
american robin
american white pelican
american wigeon
ash-throated flycatcher
bald eagle
bank swallow
barn swallow
belted kingfisher
bewick’s wren
black tern
black-billed magpie
black-chinned hummingbird
black-crowned night-heron
black-headed grosbeak
black-necked stilt
black-throated gray warbler
black-throated sparrow
blue-gray gnatcatcher
blue-winged teal
bobolink
brewer’s blackbird
brewer’s sparrow
brown-headed cowbird
bufflehead
bullock’s oriole
burrowing owl
bushtit
california gull
california quail
canada goose
canvasback
canyon wren
caspian tern
cedar waxwing
chipping sparrow
chukar
cinnamon teal
clark’s grebe
cliff swallow
common merganser
common nighthawk
common raven
common yellowthroat
double-crested cormorant
eared grebe
eastern kingbird
eurasian collared-dove
european starling
ferruginous hawk
forster’s tern
franklin’s gull
gadwall
golden eagle
gray flycatcher
great egret
great horned owl
greater yellowlegs
green-winged teal
hooded merganser
horned grebe
house finch
house sparrow
house wren
killdeer
lazuli bunting
least sandpiper
lesser goldfinch
lesser yellowlegs
loggerhead shrike
long-billed curlew
long-billed dowitcher
long-eared owl
mallard
marsh wren
mourning dove
northern flicker
northern harrier
northern pintail
northern rough-winged swallow
northern shoveler
orange-crowned warbler
osprey
peregrine falcon
pied-billed grebe
prairie falcon
red-breasted nuthatch
redhead
red-necked phalarope
red-tailed hawk
red-winged blackbird
ring-billed gull
ring-necked duck
ring-necked pheasant
rock pigeon
rock wren
ruddy duck
rufous hummingbird
sage thrasher
sagebrush sparrow
sandhill crane
savannah sparrow
say’s phoebe
short-eared owl
snowy egret
song sparrow
sora
spotted sandpiper
spotted towhee
swainson’s hawk
tree swallow
trumpeter swan
turkey vulture
vesper sparrow
violet-green swallow
virginia rail
warbling vireo
western bluebird
western grebe
western kingbird
western meadowlark
western sandpiper
western tanager
western wood-pewee
white-faced ibis
willet
willow flycatcher
wilson’s phalarope
wilson’s snipe
wood duck
yellow warbler
yellow-breasted chat
yellow-headed blackbird
For more information about bird sightings and migration through Malheur National Wildlife Refuge please visit our Seasons of Wildlife Page.
Malheur Refuge is celebrated for the incredible quantity and diversity of migratory birds that use its many habitat types through the seasons, but the Refuge is home to many year-round resident species as well. One such bird—commonly seen but seldom appreciated—is the California quail.
Coveys of California quail weave their way among the high-desert shrubs and open woodlands of Harney County, clucking querulously and darting under cover at the slightest hint of danger. (Used as an adjective, “quail” means to shrink in fear.) These small, chunky birds are at home on or near the ground, foraging for seeds and insects. Intricately scaled plumage and a forward-drooping topknot are the best field marks for this widespread species.
In Oregon, these birds are originally native to the counties bordering California and Nevada. Beginning as early as 1870, state game regulators introduced California quail to other parts of the state, and today they are found across most of Oregon in brushy upland habitats. They are year-round residents of Harney County, and are common even in rural developments. In Burns and Hines, Christmas Bird Counts regularly turn up many thousands of quail, which have become dependent on backyard seed-feeders to survive the harsh high-desert winter.
Quail hens nest on the ground, laying as many as 12 eggs per clutch. Being small, ground-dwelling birds, quail and their young fall prey to a variety of predators, including Cooper’s hawks, coyotes, weasels and snakes. Given a choice, quail will usually flee on foot, but are also capable of exploding into direct, high-speed flight when pressed.
In many cases quail are heard before they are seen. The males’ call of “Chi-ca-go!” is given to establish contact with his covey, and the various clucks and pips uttered by females and young provide a constant dialogue between these gregarious birds.
Quail, like a handful of other hardy native species, have managed to adapt to seasonal flux in the challenging environs of southeast Oregon. The fact that they thrive here—to the point of being one of the most numerous bird species found in the winter—should only increase our appreciation of them.
Congratulations to Peyton Kreuger of Drewsey, OR, for being the 2020 recipient of our education award! In the spirit of promoting the conservation and appreciation of natural spaces and public lands such as Malheur NWR, this $1,000 scholarship is available to any Harney County Resident seeking a degree in Conservation, Wildlife, Environmental Sciences, or Natural Resources related fields.
Peyton applied for the scholarship as a senior at Crane/Union High School at the urging of a counselor. He graduated last month and is planning to attend Eastern Oregon University in the fall to study Natural Resources.
“It means a lot to me and will help me out in obtaining my education at the higher level,” Kreuger said.
“I’ve lived my entire life in Drewsey, OR, with my parents and two younger brothers,” Kreuger said. “I love being outdoors. Hunting is a big part of my life, as well as ranching.”
Kreuger added that these activities are “a big reason why I want to pursue a higher level education in the Natural Resource Field to become a Fish and Wildlife Officer.” We at FOMR wish you the best of luck in your academic pursuits, Peyton!
The Friends of Malheur NWR’s annual gathering is going virtual! As part of our Harney@Home campaign and in celebration of Malheur NWR we are bringing you a full week of events designed to engage and entertain you, our Friends!
Additional details and updates will be posted regularly to our Facebook page. You can follow us @MalheurFriends. If you have questions about any of the events please email us, friends@malheurfriends.org
All of the Events listed below are linked directly to their Registration pages. If you do not register in advance you may still have the opportunity to watch LIVE via Facebook!
Details & Registration Links: Trumpeter Swan Presentation Principles & Pitfalls of Bird ID Sandhill Cranes Presentation Birding Malheur & Beyond – LINK Coming Soon Basic Shorebird IDThis may be the birdiest concert you ever have the opportunity to attend! Oregon-based singer-songwriter specializing in poetic piano pop. Stephan is currently working on their next full-length album, Sparkbird, and a young adult novel set at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Eastern Oregon.
This concert will be INTERACTIVE – stay tuned for details.Play for SWAG! I <3 Malheur bumper stickers are on the line!
