America's Largest Bald Eagle Festival is President's Day Weekend
2007 in the Klamath Basin of South Central Oregon
Press Release
Klamath Falls, Oregon
December 19, 2006
America's national symbol, the bald eagle, will be celebrated
at the Annual Klamath Basin Winter Wings Festival, February
15-18. The nearby National Wildlife Refuges are home to North
America's largest wintering population of bald eagles, and are
renowned for the "dawn flight" when hundreds of nesting pairs
take to the air at once. This high desert region, home to myriad
species of raptors, songbirds and waterfowl, is one of the
country's best sites for bird watching.
The Klamath Basin of South Central Oregon and Northern
California is home to over 350 species of birds throughout the
year. It is world famous for spectacular flocks of waterfowl on
the lakes, numerous raptors and songbirds frequenting the
high-desert mountain region of the nationally known Klamath
Basin National Wildlife Refuges, of which there are six. (www.fws.gov/klamathbasinrefuges/)
But no other time of year is quite so distinctive to visit than
when the wintering bald eagle numbers peak in mid-February, with
the Klamath Basin populations ranking as the largest recorded in
the contiguous United States. (Only Alaska has a larger
population count of bald eagles). It is difficult to imagine
over 1,000 bald eagles choosing to stop for their migratory
winter season in this region just south of Crater Lake National
Park, near the southern Oregon town of Klamath Falls. But with
over 450 wildlife species having been observed in the Basin,
there is much for the wintering eagles to find for food and
resources.
The Annual Klamath Basin Winter Wings Festival coincides with
the ominous presence of wintering waterfowl and eagles. It is
today considered one of America's largest Bald Eagle Festivals
of its kind. Festival participants not only enjoy these
magnificent birds, waterfowl and raptors on outdoor guided
tours, but are able to attend valuable lectures and workshops
led by professionals. The purpose of the Festival is to share
recreational information, increase awareness of this region's
unique Pacific Northwest wildlife resources, and especially to
celebrate the uniqueness of the Klamath Basin at this time of
year.
After 25 years as the Klamath Basin Bald Eagle Conference, the
event has grown to be called the Annual Winter Wings Festival of
Klamath Falls, a four-day event that occurs now every
President's Weekend at Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath
Falls, Oregon -- February 15-18, 2007 (www.winterwingsfest.org).
The event opens Thursday evening in the very walkable downtown
of Klamath Falls, with its geothermally heated sidewalks. From
5-8 p.m., arts, food, music and vendors will give families and
visitors the opportunity to enjoy downtown as part of the Winter
Wings Festival.
In addition, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at OIT, the Festival
will offer workshops, tours, vendors, photography and art
displays, and activities attractive to all ages and levels of
birding experience. Special arrangements for lodging in Klamath
Falls and shuttle transportation from the Rogue Valley
International Airport (Medford, OR) are available by Main Source
Tours & Reservations of Ashland, OR. (www.mainsourcerez.com/winter_wings.asp)
An attendee can witness the magnificence of a red-tailed hawk in
flight or discover the majesty of scores of eagles flying in
unison from their perches at sunlight. You can see white-fronted
and snow geese soaring by the hundreds in the blue skies of the
Klamath Basin, looking like snow blowing through the sky. One
can take a privately guided group tour from local birding
experts as arranged by Main Source Tours.
In addition to the festival there will be tours to: Crater Lake
National Park for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, Klamath
National Wildlife Refuges for birding, and Lava Beds National
Monument for caving and rock art. The Klamath Basin is rich with
things to do in winter and is a winter wonderland of beauty.
For information on the region, contact Bill Silliker, Jr., a
professional photographer and author recently published in
Backpacker, National Wildlife and Outdoor Photographer, has
commented, "The Bald Eagle Conference (Now Winter Wings
Festival) provides the opportunity to not only learn more about
these wondrous birds and the challenges that they face, but also
to watch them in the wild. And both are a sure thing. That's a
rare combination, in my experience. We all need to learn more
about how to protect these special birds, a bird unique to North
America and our national symbol ... so that we may have bald
eagles forever."
Submitted by M. Kim Lewis an avid birder, photographer and
author residing in Ashland, Oregon, with his wife Ginny and
golden lab Reilly. Kim and Ginny are co-owners of Main Source
Tours, creators of the unique "Birding to the Bard" tour
featuring four days of birding capped by an evening of theatre
at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
M. Kim Lewis can be contacted for more information on birding in
the Pacific Northwest region at 541 482-9852.
