Looking out for the birds

Hundreds of acres of wet meadows are being restored at Trout Creek Ranch for sandhill cranes, long-billed curlews, avocets, and other birds in this critical migration and breeding area of the Pacific Flyway. We hosted our first set of volunteer bird surveys to monitor activity and determine how best to manage the area for the diverse species relying on it.

As birds moved through the wet meadows in spring, so did people who tracked them by sight and sound.

“The first birds were snipes winnowing, curlews calling, and lots of blackbirds were pretty loud. That whole orchestra of different birds was really nice to be exposed to,” recalled Alan Mauer. He was one of the ODLT volunteers conducting surveys with regional stewardship lead Brandon Palmer, outreach coordinator Kharli Rose, and Teresa Wicks, a biologist with Bird Alliance of Oregon (formerly Portland Audubon), who developed the survey protocol after visiting the ranch.

“I was very inspired by the landscape and all the birds nesting, and thought… ‘there has to be a way to get people out here because it’s too pretty and too cool to not be connecting people to,'” Teresa shared. She created three sunrise point counts from May to July in the wet meadows and two along Spring Creek at Trout Creek Ranch Headquarters. Volunteers joined walks and also helped install and retrieve autonomous recording units (ARUs). In addition to the in-person counts, these ARUs record calling activity over long periods of time and can provide additional insight into the diversity of birds within the survey area.

The wetlands of Southern Oregon-Northeastern California (SONEC) comprise some of the most important spring and fall staging habitat for waterfowl in North America, supporting more than 70% of the Pacific Flyway’s dabbling ducks in spring migration. Approximately 5,700 acres of Trout Creek Ranch have been identified as SONEC priority areas. They lie only 40 miles south of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, a protected area that supports more than 340 bird species. Like the refuge, ODLT is managing flood-irrigation, haying and grazing to maintain and improve critical habitat for waterfowl, pronghorn antelope and mule deer during their migrations, as well as many other animals throughout the year. These bird surveys will help determine overall abundance of migratory birds and guide our future management efforts.

Surveyors started their mornings at sunrise swashing through wetlands and weaving through branches, then standing quietly at points to absorb and document the sights and sounds coming alive around them. While much data is still being compiled, some initial results are in. Volunteers helped count 44 species (983 individual birds) at the wet meadows and 47 species (184 birds) along Spring Creek in three days, identifying 1,167 birds in a few hours.

During five-minute observation periods, some birds were easier to hear than see. Marsh wrens, soras, snipes, curlew, avocets and western meadowlark burbled, piped and squealed in their hiding spots as red-winged blackbirds called “I’m over heeeeeeere,” over and over. Volunteers scanned blades of grasses and layers of branches to glimpse a colorful yellow-breasted chat, ash-throated flycatcher, black-headed grosbeak and lazuli bunting. They were excited to shuffle through the waters when nearby ponds were full of gadwall, northern pintail, shovelers, mallards, and cinnamon and green-winged teals. Song, sagebrush and savannah sparrows also flitted between grasses as northern harriers, Swainson’s hawks and short-eared owls scanned them on the wing, and coyotes and deer bounced across the meadows. All of this and more happened within a couple hours each morning and we’re grateful people woke up at dawn with us to assist in these special surveys.

Alan was very familiar with conservation planning and appreciated stepping back into it after retiring. He’d been a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for 20 years, and was with the U.S. Forest Service before that. He took part in some bird research, but most time was dedicated to fisheries and riparian management with landowners throughout Lake, Harney, and Malheur counties. Those connections and his fondness for birding since age 10 are what drew him from Bend to Fields for the counts.

“My interest was from past experience working in that part of the state,” explained Alan. “I liked the desert environment and everything that’s going on out there. It’s a tough place to live and I always love visiting it and seeing the work that people did.”

Even though he’d been birding in nearby areas, Alan was pleasantly surprised to see and hear so many species on the counts while also noting the variety of grasses, forbs, sedges and willows they seemed to thrive among. After the group heard the unique song of bobolinks (sometimes likened to having too many notes at once or the robotic voice of R2-D2 from Star Wars) they were tickled to have a pair land and sing from a tree right in front of them before leaving the wetlands. Alan was still giddy remembering it months later, along with starting the survey with a short-eared owl and ending it with a long-eared owl and its chicks. He also recalled tiptoeing over reeds, as if everyone was a Virginia rail, and laughing when water poured inside their rubber boots. “You gotta get your feet wet,” he chuckled.

Coming together with other birders is a joyous part of conservation work and what keeps Alan involved with group efforts of the East Cascades Bird Alliance (formerly Audubon Society).

“That’s what I like best about birding at this point in my life, the camaraderie, the contagion of birding. It really gets me going when other people are excited about it.”

Alan Mauer

Birder, Retired Biologist

Teresa shared similar sentiments before and after planning the counts.

“Connecting people to conservation work is one of my very favorite things.”

Teresa Wicks

Bird Alliance of Oregon Biologist

We feel the same. It’s another important reason we’re interested in hosting more volunteer surveys and other opportunities for people to help the plants and animals within their high desert community. Wildlife cameras help us keep watch throughout the year to discover what birds use the creeks or meadows (even when they’re dry), but we’re excited to venture back out with you again, and even get our feet wet.

Feature image: Craig Miller, left, Jim Greer, and Stu Garrett (not pictured) helped record birds in the wet meadows during a volunteer survey at Trout Creek Ranch. — Brandon Palmer

Published October, 2024

Learn More

Prepare for the annual Harney County Migratory Bird Festival with Friends of Malhuer National Wildlife Refuge and other bird events.
Discover Bird Alliance of Oregon’s related projects in Central and Eastern Oregon.
Check out the Birder Resources of East Cascades Bird Alliance for media resources, blogs, code of birding ethics, and ways to connect with birders, clubs and organizations.
Use the message groups of Central Oregon Birders Online (COBOL) for bird observations, field trips, meetups and central Oregon events. Use Oregon Birders Online (OBOL) to learn of bird sightings and reports, rare bird alerts, bird behavior and birding events within the state through emails or view archives.