Travel Klamath - Klamath Basin, Klamath Falls Oregon

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Birding in the Basin

Klamath Country is legendary among birdwatchers. Sunset magazine has named the region one of the nation's five best, and for good reason. Located along the Pacific Flyway, birders can see more than 350 different types of birds, including the iconic bald eagles and white pelicans, at several regional state and national refuges.

Details of favorite birding sites are listed in brochures for Klamath Basin Birding Trails, which include sections of Klamath and Lake counties in Oregon and Siskiyou and Modoc counties in northern California. For details, visit their site at www.klamathbirdingtrails.com and follow links to the site for the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges.

Each President's Day Weekend, Klamath Falls hosts the annual four day Winter Wings Festival, a celebration of eagles, hawks and other raptors along with the hundreds of thousands of migrating waterfowl.

Seasonal highlights include:

Birding to the Bard in Southern Oregon

Birders looking for a Southern Oregon/Northern California organized all-inclusive birding tour can attend Birding to the Bard; a wildlife, lodging, dining and theater tour of Southern Oregon. Klamath Falls, Oregon, is in the apex of the Pacific Flyway, and is home to over 350 species of birds and has the largest concentration of bald eagles in the lower 48 states. Every fall the bald eagle makes the long journey to their winter roost in the Klamath Basin – you may see as many as 1,000 of them here, a spectacle unequaled in the contiguous United States.

Noted professional birder, B . J. Matzen, will guide the trip through the Crater Lake National Park region and the Upper Klamath Basin's numerous Wildlife Refuges along the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway – All American Road. Numerous raptors, waterfowl, passerines, and songbirds will be noted as we travel in private vans and do some light hiking to rarer locations. We’ll have lunch at the Historic Crater Lake Lodge, dine at a local restaurant and stay at the Olympic Inn – Klamath Falls.

We will also tour the beautiful Oregon Outback Scenic Byway and Goose Lake and enjoy their birding opportunities and stay at the Fremont Inn in Lakeview. Hunter's Hotsprings and Geyser will also be visited.

This tour originates and concludes from Ashland, Oregon, where the final evening is spent dining at a local restaurant followed by a theater performance at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. This is truly a tour for the theater lover, both which occur in outdoor stages.

Overnight lodging, tours and meal packages are offered from just $179 per night.

Seasonal Highlights

Fall: August and September are peak months for viewing Pelicans, Egrets, Herons, and Grebes. An estimated one to two million ducks and geese migrate through the Basin each October and November.

Winter: From November through February over 500 Bald Eagles - the largest concentration in lower 48 states - winter near Bear Valley Roost in the Klamath Basin.

Spring: March to May brings shorebirds and waterfowl migrating north to Alaska and Canada. Thousands return to nest in Klamath Marshes.

Summer: Brood-rearing by 200,000 ducks, geese, herons, egrets and grebes can be seen from May to August.

American White Pelicans . . .
One of the largest birds in North America, pelicans can soar for long distances and often fly in line or V formations.

Dancing Grebes . . .
While this mating ritual could occur anytime during spring or summer, late April through May is probably the peak time to observe it. Putnam’s Point at the south end of Upper Klamath Lake is normally an excellent place to look.

Bald Eagles . . .
The Klamath Basin also hosts the largest nesting numbers of Bald Eagles in the lower 48 states. Bald Eagles may be observed during the spring and summer months along the West Side of Upper Klamath Lake and at Klamath Marsh National Wildlife Refuge.

The Ride Along . . .
In June and July you can observe the fledging phase as the young ride on the parent’s back when in the water