Birder's Checklist

Birding the Klamath Basin

Many people come to the Klamath Basin because of the fabulous opportunities to see birds during spring and fall migrations, but winter also offers great birding. The Klamath Basin hosts the largest wintering population of Bald Eagles in the continental United States, as well as an impressive diversity and abundance of other raptors and waterfowl.

East Cascades Bird Conservancy has just (12/26/09) released a completely updated Checklist (PDF) of Klamath County birds. The well over 300 species that have been found in our area will astound you!

A summary of the data submitted to eBird during the festival in 2009, includes a list of the 82 species reported. This summary should give you a sense of what you can expect to see during the festival. We will continue to partner with the Klamath Bird Observatory in contributing bird observations during the festival to eBird in 2010.

The Klamath Basin Birding Trail web site is a great resource for birding in the Basin. It includes maps and directions to the best birding sites as well as a comprehensive bird checklist.

You can also visit the web site of Klamath Basin Audubon Society and check recent bird sightings reported to Klamath Basin Bird News. This informal listserv and web archive will let you know what birds are being seen before and during the festival; numerous local birders actively contribute sightings during the lead-up to Winter Wings.