At Malheur Lake, one thing is abundantly clear: the water is anything but, and the decades-long turbid conditions are impacting ecological health of the lake, which is a crucial area for migratory birds along the Pacific Flyway.
As we slowly drift into spring, with winter dragging its heavy feet, migratory birds of the Pacific Flyway are feeling the Zugunruhe which drives them north from their southern wintering grounds. Southern Oregon and Northeastern California, collectively known as the SONEC wetland region, is a favorite spring staging ground of many migratory birds.
Over the course of a couple weeks, Carey, Karen, and I rolled into K-8 classrooms with carefully packed tubs loaded with art supplies, educational charts, and George, a Great Horned Owl, who since meeting his demise lives on as an ambassador of refuge educational programs, flying into the heart of every Harney County student he meets.
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge was once home to as many as 20+ breeding pairs of Trumpeter Swans. As recently as the 1990’s Refuge biologists have a history of collaborating with and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists and managers from Summer Lake Wildlife Area to capture cygnets from Benson Pond and transfer them over to Summer Lake.
Numbers of migrant Trumpeter Swans moving through eastern Oregon have increased dramatically over the last two decades, particularly at Malheur Refuge and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (ODFW) Summer Lake Wildlife Area. We want to learn more about the origins of these trumpeters and to identify their breeding, stopover, and wintering sites.
