BIRDING WITH HARRY FULLER - SEPTEMBER 2023
Join Harry Fuller for a week of birding the Malheur basin and entire Steens Mountain loop. Participants will see Ferruginous and Swainson's Hawks, Prairie Falcon, Golden Eagles, White Pelicans, Short-eared and Great Horned and Burrowing Owls, Sandhill Cranes, Black Terns, Franklin's Gulls, Loggerheasd Shrike, Sage Thrasher White-faced Ibis, Rock & Canyon Wren, Horned Lark, Cinnamon Teal, snipe, Wilson's Phalarope, possible bittern.
There are likely to be usual (Lewis's Woodpecker, Evening Grosbeak) and unusual (any bird that migrates to northern Canada) migrants at the hotspots.
- DATES: September 8 - September 13
- MEALS: Breakfast served at 7 am, sack lunch provided: lunch table is laid out during breakfast where you pack your own lunch to take in the field., dinner at 6 pm
- REGISTRATION: $900 per person
- To register, call the office at 541-493-2629
Led by Harry Fuller
Fall migration is always interesting in Harney County. Harry has lived in Oregon since 2011. He has been leading birding trips and teaching bird classes since the 1980's He annually leads birding trips for Klamath Bird Observatory, Road Scholar and Golden Gate Audubon.
Harry Fuller author of:
San Francisco’s Natural History: Sand Dunes to Streetcars
Great Gray Owls of CA-OR-WA
Freeway Birding
Birding website: http://www.towhee.net
Harry's birding blog: atowhee.wordpress.com
Program Schedule
*Note: Itinerary is subject to change due to weather.
SEPTEMBER 8, FRIDAY
- Arrive at MFS, gather for a meet and greet.
- Introduction and dinner.
- After dinner enjoy a sunset walk around the MFS looking for owls, nighthawks, et al.
SEPTEMBER 9, SATURDAY
- Walk around MFS before breakfast to hear the dawn chorus.
- After breakfast, visit the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters to look for migrants and any vagrants. Then, bird along Sodhouse Lane, the Narrows and along Hwy 205 north of the refuge.
- Return to MFS for a sack lunch and presentation in the classroom.
- After lunch, group will go east on Sodhouse Lane to Princeton, north to Crane and stop at Crystal Crane Hot Springs to observe birds on the pond.
- Return to MFS for a home cooked dinner.
- After dinner, group will look for Short-eared Owls along Center Patrol Road.
SEPTEMBER 10, SUNDAY
- Before breakfast there will be an optional visit to the refuge headquarters (3 mi).
- After breakfast we will head south on Hwy 205, visiting Buena Vista, Krumbo Lake and Benson Pond.
- Enjoy a sack lunch at Krumbo Lake picnic grounds.
- After lunch, bird along the road to Diamond, visit Diamond Craters for Rock Wrens and Canyon Wrens, the French Barn and Dry Lake.
- Return to the MFS for dinner, perhaps an evening visit to the refuge headquarters.
SEPTEMBER 11, MONDAY
- After breakfast, leave MFS and head south on Hwy 205
- We will bird the basalt cliffs along the road, stop at P Ranch and then Page Springs for lunch.
- After lunch, head up into the lower reaches of the Steen Loop. If we can gain access we will also bird Boca Lake.
- Return to MFS for dinner.
SEPTEMBER 12, TUESDAY
- After breakfast, bird our way north on Hwy 205 to Hwy 78. Then to Hwy 20 south to Chickahominy Reservoir.
- Lunch at Sage Hen Rest Area for lunch.
- Back to MFS for dinner.
SEPTEMBER 13, WEDNESDAY
- Breakfast, pack and depart. End of 5 night program!
To register, call the office at 541-493-2629
