Natural History Wanderings

The annual Tule Lake Migratory Bird Festival will be held at the Tule Lake Wildlife Refuge visitor center on Hill Road on May 12, 2012 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Tule Lake Migratory Bird Festival the public will have a chance to join local wildlife experts and historians on tours to Tule Lake and Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuges. Bus transportation will be provided from the Refuge visitor center near Tulelake, California for most tours.  All festival events are free of charge but space on tours is limited so participants should call 530 667-2231 for reservations as soon as possible.

Other events and opportunities at this Saturday’s festival will include airboat rides through Tule Lake Marsh, children’s activities, food booths, music and a variety of free wildlife information.

Tours are scheduled at the following times:

• MIST NETTING AND BANDING BIRDS – 7: 30 – 11:00This activity will take place throughout the morning at the Tule Lake Refuge visitor center.  Lava Beds National Monument, Wildlife Biologist, David Larson will demonstrate a technique of capturing small birds known as “mist netting.”  Captured birds are then fitted with a small aluminum leg band which then helps document the life histories of each bird species.
• BALD EAGLE NEST OBSERVATION – 9:00 – 2:30Join raptor expert, Charlotte Kisling, for a rare opportunity to view an active bald eagle nest and identify many marsh birds found on two large marsh units on Lower Klamath Refuge.  Maps to the viewing location will be provided at the Festival site.
• LOWER KLAMATH REFUGE WILDLIFE TOUR – 9:30 – 11:30Klamath Basin birding expert, Kevin Spencer, will lead this bus trip to view refuge habitats and birdlife.  This is your chance to experience this world-famous birding area and view a host of waterfowl and other marsh birds.
• WALKING WETLANDS TOUR – 1:00 – 2:30Join Refuge managers and wildlife biologists to see how wildlife benefits from rotating wetlands and farm lands both on and off the refuge.  In the last decade, this technique known as Walking Wetlands has been pioneered in the Klamath Basin.
• HISTORIC CCC CAMP TOUR – 1:30 TO 2:30 AND 2:45 TO 3:45Join Lava Beds Park Ranger, Angela Buckley, to tour a recently stabilized building at the 1930’s Civilian Conservation Corps Camp on Tule Lake Refuge.  This area was recently designated part of a newly established World War II National Monument.

Learn more at:  Tule Lake Migratory Bird Festival | Visit Siskiyou Blog.