Birding season activities are upon us. FOLM and LMWA have several major events coming up in the near future. Please put these dates into your calendar and do not miss out on these opportunities.
Saturday, April 5th will be the Bird Walk for April. We will be back to our earlier morning time schedule, so plan on meeting at the LMWA HQ at 7:00 am. Water is coming up on the marsh and all across the valley bringing with it lots of waterfowl and hopefully early shorebirds and migrants. Cold, wet weather early this week should be replaced with sunnier, warmer weather by the weekend. Let’s take advantage and we just might have a good chance at excellent birding.
The annual Ladd Marsh Bird Festival is on schedule for May 16, 17, and 18. Friday night’s opening event will include guest speaker Ben Vernasco, Whitman College biology professor, talking about his ecological research and population study on the Wallowa Gray Crown Rosy Finch. We have staffed viewing stations around the LMWA on Saturday May 17 and field trips on Sunday the 18th. There will be children’s activities through EOU Go-STEM at their mobile lab station that will be parked in the lot at Tule Lake on Saturday 11 am until 1:00 pm and there is potentially more in the works. Registration for the festival is free and will open on April 7th. It is important to register either online or at the opening event on Friday May 16th in order to get your passport for the event. Festival passports are your entry permit for the LMWA for the festival weekend. Field trips scheduled for May 18th cost $25 per person and again you must register for a spot on any trip. Field trip registration will open on April 14th. Several of the trips fill up fast as there are limited spots available, so we recommend you sign-up as soon as you can to reserve a spot. There will be a small fee assessed for cancellations in order to cover the cost of banking fees for the transactions.
Please remember your ODFW Parking Permit
Directions to Ladd Marsh HQ:
From La Grande: Take the Union Highway (203) to Pierce Road (near B&K Auto Salvage). Turn right (south) on Pierce. Continue for approximately 1.25 miles to HQ on the right.
From Union: Turn left on Pierce Road and continue for approximately 1.25 miles to HQ on the right.
HQ can be reached from I-84: Take exit 268 (Foothill Road) then turn east. At the “T” with pierce Road, turn left (north). Continue about 1.5 miles to HQ on the left.