Friday, February 17

Jeremy will help you understand your camera and learn the fundamentals of taking good wildlife photography images. He will cover the exposure triangle, white balance, and composition techniques to get a good image in wildlife photography. (Rev. 1/4/23)

  Limited to 12 participants
7:00 am – Noon
 $ 60 includes lunch
Favell Museum, 125 Main Street, Klamath Falls

Will you be one of the lucky few to spend a morning with Ray  learning the most creative approaches to bird photography? He will concentrate on proper lighting, foreground/background, bird behavior, and camera settings and local talent will help guide the group to the best spots for capturing those special photos.

Limited to 15 participants
7:30 – 11:30 am
$125 includes lunch
OIT Dow Center entrance

Speaker: Christine Elder

W1 Introduction to Techniques for Sketching Birds in the Field

In this workshop participants will be introduced to quick and easy techniques for capturing the likeness of birds in their field sketchbooks.Then they will practice sketching with a variety of art materials using reference photos of local bird species.No prior drawing experience is necessary. Students will get bonus access to Christine’s online bird sketching course to give them more practice once they return home.

Limited to 40 participants
8:00 am – Noon
$ 40
OIT College Union Crater Lake/Mt Mazama room

The Miller Island unit of the Klamath Wildlife Area is a unique  location that is managed for the protection and improvement of waterfowl habitat. It is a great place to see waterbirds throughout the year, though the highest concentration of waterfowl is usually visible in the winter. We will spend a few hours working our way through the wildlife area to the boat launch and should see birds such as Tundra Swans and Snow and Ross’s Geese in fairly large concentrations, as well as great duck diversity and some wintering songbirds and blackbirds.

Limited to 20 participants
8:00 am – 12:15 pm
 $ 50 includes lunch
Meet at Miller Island Wildlife Area parking lot (carpool field trip) (rev. 1-19-2023)

Wildlife in the Klamath Basin has been significantly affected by human activities, especially since the arrival of European-Americans in the 1800s. Todd will provide an overview of how people have altered the environment of the Klamath Basin, and what efforts have been made over the past century to mitigate the impacts. Following the presentation, the  group will carpool to several key locations in the Klamath Project, including diversion dams, irrigation facilities, and restoration projects. Lunch not included. Bring snacks and drinks.

Limited to 14 participants
8:30 am – 12:30 pm
 $ 25
OIT College Union Sunset room (carpool field trip)

While you may have been lucky enough to see sculptures of nationally renowned bronze artist Stefan Savides  throughout downtown Klamath Falls, you could be one of the fortunate few to personally tour his studio/home with Stefan and “Metal Man” Joe Miller.  You will get to observe the  bronze sculpture design process firsthand. An extra perk is to view his spectacular pond, which nestles right up to the back of his home where by you can see over a dozen Klamath Basin native waterfowl species. Lunch not included. Bring snacks and drinks

Limited to 25 participants
9:00 – 11:30 am
 $ 20
Meet-up at Stefan Savides’s Studio – address will be emailed to registrants

Join Darrel and Tom to look for the Running Y Ranch Resort’s winter bird visitors.  You’ll visit several feeder locations via carpool and walking. Be on the lookout for forest woodpeckers such as the elusive White-headed Woodpecker, nuthatches, pine siskins, chickadees, etc. that sometimes frequent the area. Bird feeding and nest boxes will also be covered.

Limited to 15 participants
9:00 am – Noon
 $ 25 includes snacks
Running Y Resort entrance, 5500 Running Y Road, Klamath Falls

It’s a raptor bird on a post! But what kind of raptor?

You hem and haw at the puffed-up brown blob and wonder what it could be. This workshop will break down the field marks and characteristics as simply as possible, with natural history stories that explain the reasons for the adaptations we see. You’ll get a workbook where you can record all of the characteristics you learn.

Limited to 20 participants
10:30 am – Noon
 $ 15
OIT College Union Mt McLoughlin room

The Klamath Basin is a vast wetland landscape. The abundance of water in an otherwise arid land forged cultures, and an abundance of wildlife and fish communities, through the ebb and flow of water from the mountains to the ocean. Although the modern landscape bears little resemblance to its past, the same ecological processes that supported this unique ecosystem are still in play. However, long term drought, water management policies with the subsequent decline in fish and wildlife populations, and increased ground water extraction have placed the Klamath Basin at the greatest risk of being lost forever unless stakeholders come together with a collective vision for its restoration.

Please join John Vradenburg, Supervisory Biologist for the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex as he discusses the history, challenges, and opportunities that exist to restore this globally unique and iconic wetland landscape.

Limited to 350 participants
12:45 – 2:00 pm
 $ Free but registration required
OIT College Union Auditorium

Klamath River Renewal Corporation (KRRC) is poised to take ownership of and remove four PacifiCorp dams on the Klamath River, restore the formerly inundated land, and implement required mitigation measures.  These actions will reopen 400 stream miles of historic salmon and steelhead habitat and spawning grounds, with the goal of helping to recover  these iconic species. Mark will take you on a virtual tour of the hows and whys of this historic  project.

Limited to 350 particiants
2:15 – 3:00 pm
 $ Free but registration required
OIT College Union Auditorium

Join Dave and Ken to hear what will happen when four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River are removed.  Who will mitigate thousands of acres of  eroding soil in the footprint left behind? How will the area be replanted, and tributaries be reconnected? What will happen to the fish, Bald Eagles, and other wildlife?Who is taking long-term responsibility for the site?

Resource Environmental Solutions (RES) — the nation’s leading ecological restoration firm has been selected to lead landscape scale restoration  following dam removal.After deconstruction RES will work to restore the areas in and around the four reservoir footprints, and several miles of tributaries. This will fully reopen a critical part of historical salmon and steelhead spawning habitats.

Limited to 350 participants
3:15 – 4:00 pm
 $ Free but registration required
OIT College Union Auditorium

The past decade has brought regular drought to the Upper Klamath Basin, resulting in single species management negatively affecting lake and river conditions, agriculture production, waterfowl habitat and overall ecosystems. Klamath Drainage District (KDD) has been on the forefront of pushing back to exercise its rightful claim to water. By doing so, the Lower Klamath Lake area has been some of the only habitat in the Upper Klamath Basin for migrating waterfowl to rest and refuel. Come hear from Scott, KDD’s General Manager, to see what KDD is doing to exercise its rights, and some of the progressive projects they are working on to hang on to a threatened Lower Klamath Lake ecosystem.

Limited to 350 participants
4:15 – 5:00 pm
 $ Free but registration required
OIT College Union Auditorium

Klamath Basin Audubon President Darrel Samuels shares what efforts are underway at the local, Portland Audubon, and National Audubon level to advocate for habitat for migrating birds.

Limited to 350 participants
5:15 – 5:30 pm
$ Free but registration required
OIT College Union Auditorium

A relaxing interlude! Have a drink from the cash bar and mingle with old and new friends.

4:45- 6:00 pm
OIT College Union downstairs

Click here for the menu

Limited to 180 participants
6:00 – 7:00 pm
$27
OIT College Union Crater Lake Complex (upstairs)

Birds inspire us. We are enthralled by their colors and variety. We prick up our ears at their sounds. We wish to join them in the air, and we dream of their journeys. We laugh at their antics. Through Jen’s original music and stories, we’ll celebrate the beauty of birds.

7:15 -8:45 pm
 $ 8
OIT College Union Auditorium