Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is a birder’s paradise and a worthy trip for birders.
DATES NOT CONFIRMED: We are coordinating a three to four day trip to Malheur NWR sometime in May. Once we choose our three-day window, we will post them here. Carpooling will be arranged prior to the trip.
We plan to stay at the historic French Glen Hotel and visit the Malheur Field Station. We will gather as a group for most meals.
Target Birds: waterfowl; migratory birds
Level of Difficulty: Lots of caravanning. In and out of the car frequently. Some short walks under 1 mile at a time.
Read member George Sayler’s field report from a 2016 visit to learn more about this special birding destination:
In late April, seventeen CDA Auduboners and their guests made the long drive to Malheur Wildlife Refuge in south-east Oregon. Some of us camped at campgrounds in the area, others stayed at the historic French Glen Hotel where we enjoyed a wonderful communal dinner featuring stuffed Cornish game hens. And no, we did not include them as one of our species seen! Malheur consists of over 185,000 acres of prime habitat, two-thirds of which is wetlands. Consequently it is a prime stopover for migrating waterfowl and shorebirds, as well as many passerines. It is also the breeding area for many species. With a record of over 320 bird species seen there, it is no surprise the trip was a big success. The final tally of species seen was 105. Many were shorebirds, many were various kinds of waterfowl, but many passerines, hawks and owls were also seen. Large numbers of shorebirds and ducks were seen in the flooded field outside of Burns, Oregon, which is a few miles from where Malheur begins. The fields were full of Long- billed Curlews, Black-necked Stilt, Avocet, Willet, Wilson’s Phalarope and eighteen species of swans, geese and ducks and egrets. There were many highlights of other species and examples of bird behavior – too many to list. However, species seen Burrowing Owl, Golden Eagle, Ferruginous Hawk, Sora, American White Pelican, Caspian Tern, Marsh Wren, Ruby- crowned Kinglet, Townsend’s and Wilson Warblers, Savannah Sparrow, Red-naped Sapsucker, Loggerhead Shrike, Cliff Swallow, Bushtit, Lazuli Bunting, and Evening Grosbeak. You can see from the many kinds of species seen that there is suitable habitat for a wide variety of species, which makes Malheur a special and highly recommended place to bird.