Birding around Upper Klamath Lake
Part One
-by Marshal Moser
(Much of this article is the author’s preferences adapted from the information available through the interactive Klamath Basin Birding Trail- http://klamathbirdingtrails.com/sites/indexmap.shtml, a website of Klamath Wingwatchers, Inc., the Klamath Basin Audubon Society- https://www.klamathaudubon.org/, and related resources. The names and numbers for the sites in the article are those on the Klamath Basin Birding Trail above. How to purchase the Birding Trail in booklet form is on the Bird Trail website- https://www.klamathbirdingtrails.com/ Much more information is available and linked to through these sites.)
The Klamath Basin is a very interesting location in North America. It is an old and large area on the earth's crust that was both uplifted, and broken, in such a way to allow a large section to fall between two cracks in the crust of the earth. This is known as a block fault and forms the valley that runs from Crater Lake for over 100 miles south to the Modoc Uplands around Medicine Lake, California.
Yet the floor of the Basin is over 4,000 feet above sea level. The altitude and its situation in the mountains between the Pacific Ocean and the deserts to the east make for an unusual climate with a great range of habitat types from alpine to desert. Because of such factors, the Klamath Basin has a great variety of life forms. This holds true for avian life in the Basin, which is further enhanced by being a funnel for many bird species in the Pacific Flyway.
There are many species to see at any time of the year and the assemblage of species morphs through the seasons. Here is the comprehensive list of birds that have been recorded for the Klamath Basin:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5mSRnuqADHoemdrd2Iwc0JtbUE/view
Following is a written tour around the Klamath Basin north of Klamath Falls. It is not comprehensive but still includes enough to easily spend several days birding around the upper Basin; this means encircling Upper Klamath Lake. Beware, there are lots of different habitats with associated birds to see. You should take your time and not try to do too much.
Other cautions and notes:
With the floor of the Basin over 4,000 feet, people forget that it is much cooler than you might expect and the summer is relatively short. It can snow any day of the year! Dress appropriately! The roads around the rim of the crater at Crater Lake National Park often are not completely open until July 1st. (Wildflowers there peak around the 3rd week of July.) At the lower elevations, the peak of the breeding season for the birds in a “normal” year is around the third week of May; it is much later in the Park.
The Klamath Basin is also big! You could do a trip to some of the top birding sites all the way around Upper Klamath Lake in a single day. However, you should take several days. It's roughly 200 miles round trip. It may be better to choose certain locations that interest you and take several days of trips out and back to see those areas and their settings.
If you wish to see the world famous “rushing” of the Western and Clark’s Grebes your best chances are usually May through June. It is unpredictable but your best chance to see them relatively close to Klamath Falls is Putnam's Point and nearby Moore Park. There is a wonderful sculpture of Rushing Grebes at Putnam’s Point (number 29 on the Birding Trail map).
Mosquitoes can be bad, usually until after mid-July when it gets warm and dry. They haven't been bad for about 5 years due to rather severe drought, but the winter of 2022-2023 provided above average precipitation.
Highlights of some of the birding sites north of Klamath Falls:
Let’s use the Klamath Basin Birding Trail Map to pick out some of the choice spots north of Klamath Falls. Note that the location numbers on the trail map are interactive and you can switch to more detailed local maps, and other information, including possible birds, by clicking on the numbers.
Starting east to west from Klamath Falls circling Upper Klamath Lake clockwise, I will mention some of sites on the Birding Trail map as I take you to some of my favorite sites. I will also mention some of the species I target at those sites. (Again, the numbers on the sites will also mention other species known for those sites.) First stop considered outside of Klamath Falls is:
26. Howards Bay
Take Highway 140 northwest from Klamath Falls about 11 miles, that will be about 4 miles past Running Y Resort. You will be on the bay when you come to where 140 is on top of a dike with the expanse of Upper Klamath Lake on your right. Sometimes a northerly wind can make birding difficult here but watch for a large variety of water birds. This is another good location to see rushing grebes at the right time of the year. There are some excellent wetlands on the opposite side of the road from the open lake where additional wetland birds can be seen. Watch for perched and/or soaring eagles on the mountainside as you come alongside the lake. There is a boat launch parking lot along the base of the mountain that protrudes out into the lake; it is an excellent location to scope the open water for a large variety of waterfowl including White Pelicans. The White Pelican is significantly larger than the Brown Pelican that inhabits the coast; it has a wingspan more than 2 foot greater than our eagles making it the second greatest wingspan in the U.S., after the California Condor. Watch for coordinated groups of the pelicans corralling fish and dunking their heads for them. White Pelicans do not dive from the air as do Brown Pelicans.
25. Shoalwater Bay/Eagle Ridge
This site is 16 miles north and west of Klamath Falls, also on Highway 140, 1/2 mile past Milepost 53. Turn North (right at the sign to Eagle Ridge County Park) onto a gravel road. Travel about 1 mile, staying to the right at the intersection. Turn right, travel about 100 yards, and turn left onto the road to Shoalwater Bay and Eagle Ridge. Continue around the southern tip of the marsh there and go north approximately 2.5 miles to the county park where there is a restroom and boat ramp (and picnic table). The road is gravel the whole way and can be very dusty. You can drive past the county park but that’s not wise unless you have high clearance and can turn around in a small space; it is a dead end, plus rather narrow and primitive. It is best to walk out and back if you want to go past the park.
There are lots of dirt pull offs as you are coming in along the marsh on the way to and from the park. Get out, look, and listen – there is a large variety of birds of brush, deciduous trees, and conifer habitats as well as the wetland birds. Large numbers of Bullock’s Orioles are here seasonally and you may notice lots of their hanging nests if you have sharp eyes.
24. Odessa Creek Campground
Several miles further along Highway 140 past Shoalwater Bay/Eagle Ridge turnoff, take Forest Service Rd. 3639 to the Odessa Creek Campground. Watch closely for the sign on 140 to know where to turn. The road is gravel and takes you to a small campground along a channel that goes out to Upper Klamath Lake. It is much wetter type of coniferous forest dominated by Ponderosa Pine with Douglas Fir and other species as you are approaching the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains. Look for the great variety of forest species here, especially woodpeckers like Lewis’s and White-headed.
14. Westside Road
Like the preceding, you will now be in the heavily forested, deep snow country. Westside Road begins at a sign marking the turn off on Highway 140 to Fort Klamath. This road runs approximately 16 miles north/south along the west side of Upper Klamath Lake to Sevenmile Road at the north end. Much of the road runs through the Klamath Ranger District of the Fremont-Winema National Forests and there are several turn offs onto Forest Service roads that are worth stopping at and looking for birds. The habitat is mostly mixed conifer forest that is dominated by Douglas Fir, White Fir, and Ponderosa Pine. Watch for such Cascade species as Chestnut-backed Chickadees in the brushier forested areas. Much of the route follows the interface between the forest on the west and marsh on the east side of the road. The east side is running along Upper Klamath Lake and Upper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. Watch for Sandhill Cranes with young in the marsh openings along the road. It provides a unique and diverse combination of habitats found nowhere else in the Klamath Basin. This is the greatest area for owl diversity in the Basin and most of the woodpeckers, including a high chance of hearing and seeing Pileated Woodpeckers.
There are several sites from the Klamath Basin Birding Trail Map along Westside Road including the next two sites, 17 and 16.
17. Rocky Point
Roughly 3 miles north on Westside Road turn off at the sign to Rocky Point. Follow the signs to the boat ramp and parking lot to start your birding. There are many birds of big forests to be seen in the area and around the parking lot. Watch for Western Tanagers high in the trees and a good variety of woodpeckers. Also, be sure to look through the openings to the east and walk out onto the dock beside the public boat ramp. Good viewing of a wide variety of waterfowl is available here. A full complement of the grebes is often in the water out from the dock; this is the confluence of Recreation Creek into Pelican Bay off Upper Klamath Lake. Straight across the bay a couple hundred yards, is the southern extension of the Upper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. Here, a tall reed called Tule, dominates the marsh. The refuge extends many miles to the north to the far end of Agency Lake, the northern lobe of Upper Klamath Lake. For the more adventuresome, you can rent canoes or kayaks and follow the Upper Klamath Canoe Trail through a portion of the refuge from Rocky Point.
Due to springs and the more stable water supply of the lake, and the greater impacts of the drought in most other areas, Rocky Point is definitely one of the best places to bird in the Klamath Basin during the years of drought.
If you have a good GPS or side road map on your phone, try birding along the gravel road that extends north from the Rocky Point resort for several miles and back out onto Westside Road. It is mixed mature Ponderosa forest and has a good variety of woodpeckers and other forest species.
16. Malone Springs
If you continue north from Rocky Point about 4 miles on Westside Road you will see the sign to Malone Springs. Follow the short gravel road down to the spring hole where there is a restroom, picnic table, and a crude boat launch into the spring. It is a small area where marsh interfaces with dense, brushy forest. Species I like to look for here are both Ruffed Grouse, especially in and near the Aspen, and Blue (Pacific aka Sooty) Grouse in the denser coniferous forest as you come down the access road. Also, listen for the high pitched and intricate song of the tiny Pacific Wren in the dense underbrush and fallen trees along the access road. If you do not know the song, try playing a recording of it on your phone (you may not have a signal while there) to familiarize yourself. You may be quick and sharp-eyed enough to see one of these diminutive energy balls by following the call!
Other species I like to look for here are the Black Tern, flying out over the marsh, and if I’m fortunate, the always present, hard to see but easy to hear, Sora and Virginia Rails. Watch carefully just within the edge of the marsh grasses and willows around the spring hole.
Stay tuned for Part Two next month...
