Bird Fest | Friends of Ladd Marsh

2026 Ladd Marsh Bird Festival

May 15th thru 17th

Schedule of Events

Friday, May 8

Art Center East has two activities scheduled as a workup to the Bird Festival next week:
2:30 pm – Family Art Open Studio: Paper Feather Decorating Activity (ages 0-18, under 5 must be accompanied by an adult) – Free 6:00 pm – Watercolor Painting: Blue Heron (age 21+) – Entails a fee with registration

Thursday, May 14

The Cook Memorial Library is hosting a two-part, free event today in the Community Room (people are invited to attend either part or both):
4:30 pm – Book discussion about Feathers: A Bird-Hat Wearer’s Journal 5:30 pm – A virtual conversation with the author, Sarah Rose Nordgren

Friday, May 15

2:30 to 5:00 pm	Family Art Open Studio: Paper Feather Decorating Activity (ages 0-18, 5 and under must be accompanied by and adult) – Free at the Art Center East building.
6:00 to 9:00 pm	Lush Canvas: An evening with Charley Harper (ages 21+) – Entails a fee with registration; see Art Center East calendar.
The following activities will be at the Union County Senior Center, 1504 North Albany, La Grande.
6:00 to 8:00 pm	Register or check in and receive your passport with information directing you to staffed birding stations and other “birdy” areas. Register for field trips if you haven’t done so already online. Enjoy appetizers, pick up merchandise from Friends of Ladd Marsh, The Bobolink or Art Center East (ACE), chat with friends, participate in the Paper Feather decorating sponsored by ACE, then listen to the guest speaker, Jay Withgott, a naturalist and birder from Portland, who will talk about 50 years of birding in Oregon..

Saturday, May 16

4:45 am	Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area opens to public access with passport; see the map at the following link for details: Ladd Marsh Bird Festival.
6:00 am	Register at the Festival Information Trailer in the Tule Lake Public Access Area on Peach Road. Register for available spaces on field trips.
6:00 am – 12 Noon	Staffed Birding Stations open.
9:00 – 4:00 pm	Art Center East has several activities scheduled on and off the Marsh – Click here for the Art Center East calendar and more details 6:00 am – Early Bird Photo Walk, second session (ages 18+) – meet at the parking lot of the Peach Road Fishing Pond – Entails a fee with registration, see Art Center East calendar 8:00 am – Ladd Marsh Photo Walk (ages 18+) – meet at the parking lot of the Peach Road Fishing Pond – Entails a fee with registration, see Art Center East calendar 10:00 am – Paper Cranes at the Marsh, sponsored by Art Center East (all ages) – Tule Lake Auto Tour 10:00 am – Yellow-headed Blackbird in Wool: Needle-felting study (ages 10 to 15) – Art Center East building – Free 1:00 pm – Yellow-headed Blackbird in Wool: Needle-felting study (ages 16+) – Art Center East building – Entails a fee with registration, see Art Center East calendar
10:00 am – 12 Noon	EOU Greater Oregon STEM Hub will be in the parking area at Tule Lake Access Area, Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area conducting children’s activities with owl pellet dissecting, bird call activities, and a scavenger hunt.
12 Noon	Registration closes.
8:45 pm	Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area closes to public access.

Sunday, May 17

4:45 am	Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area opens to public access with passport.
4:45 am – 9:00 am	Field trips depart from designated locations as follows. Please plan to be at the meeting places 15 minutes before departure time: 4:45 am – Dawn Chorus – Peach Lane Fishing Pond 6:00 am – Rhinehart Canyon for Early Risers – UC Senior Center 6:30 am – Birds of the Pondera Pine Forest – UC Senior Center 6:30 am – Grande Ronde Valley Hotspots – Peach Lane Registration Area 9:00 am – GROWISER – participants drive on their own to GROWISER.
10:00 – 11:30 am	Art Center East is offering the following activity free at Art Center East building. Colors of Ladd Marsh: Watercolor painting for Families (all ages, adults must be accompanied by a youth) – Free
8:45 pm	Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area is closed to public access.

Festival Passport & Registration Info

While many birders prefer to explore the area on their own, a number of birding stations will be staffed by local birders on Saturday to assist novice birders with finding and identifying birds.

Each group MUST have a Bird Fest Passport, which is your permit to enter the Marsh for the weekend. You will be given a Passport in your registration packet or you can get one from any of the Station Staff or pick one up at the Information Trailer on the Tule Lake Auto-tour.

Also included in the event are an evening presentation, field trips, and other activities of interest for all ages.

Bird Festival registration is cost-free, yet required.

We recommend registering online in advance so we have a head count for attendance.
When you arrive, you will receive a Festival Passport which serves as a permit to be in the area.

Registration for field trips requires payment of a fee.

Field Trips

Printable Field Trip Descriptions (PDF)

Click the links below for detailed information on each field trip, and scroll down to the registration button.

Meet for your field trip 15 minutes prior to start time. Trips will depart on time. If you are attending the GROWISER tour, plan to leave at least 30-40 minutes before the start time.

Dawn Chorus - Sunday, May 17th, 4:45 am - 8:30 am

Experience the awakening of Ladd Marsh with a dawn walk. Led by local experienced birders, Steve Clements and Arlene Blumton, we will listen and look for Virginia and Sora Rails, American Bittern, Black-crowned Night Heron, Common Yellow-throat, Marsh Wren and more. You will meet at the Fishing Pond Parking Lot and then walk along gentle terrain at the edge of the wetland. Participants will drive to the meeting location in their own vehicles.

Meet at the Peach Road fishing pond.

Difficulty level: Easy, though there could be some wet conditions and the total walk is around a mile and a half.

4:45 am to 8:30 am

$25 per participant

Limited to 12 participants

Rhinehart Canyon - Sunday, May 17th, 6:00am - 10:30am

Led by professional birder, Trent Bray, we will spend the morning looking and listening for birds along the Grande Ronde River at the famous birding spot, Rhinehart Canyon (about 18 miles north of La Grande). Over 140 species have been seen at this location. We may need to do some carpooling depending upon participant turnout. Participants will drive to the tour location in their own vehicles following a lead car.

Meet at Union County Senior Center.

Difficulty level: Moderate, a few miles of walking over uneven and rocky terrain.

5:00am – 10:30am

$25 per participant

Limited to 12 participants

Grande Ronde Valley “Hotspots” - Sunday, May 17th, 6:30am – 11:00am

Songbirds, shorebirds, and birds of prey will be the focus of this field trip. Led by local experienced birder, Laura Mahrt, this field trip focuses on birding “hotspots” in the Grande Ronde Valley, including areas at Ladd Marsh and sites on private property in the Valley. Participants will use their own vehicles.

Meet at Peach Road registration trailer.

Difficulty level: Easy; most birding will be from or near a car, or during short walks on level ground.

6:30am – 11:00am

$25 per participant

Limited to 12 participants

Birds of the Ponderosa Pine Forest - Sunday, May 17th, 6:30am - 12:30pm

Please note that this trip is filled as of April 16th.

Led by naturalists, Mike and Susan Daugherty, this half day trip focusses on the fauna of the ponderosa pine forest in the Spring Creek area of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. This area is a good place to see forest habitat birds of the region and is one of the few known nesting areas for Great Gray Owls in Oregon. The owls are reclusive and not often seen. Participants will drive to the location in their own vehicles following a lead car.

Meet at the Union County Senior Center.

Difficulty level: Moderate; approximately 3 to 5 miles of walking, depending on the route chosen for the day, on uneven ground in forested areas and on secondary roads.

6:30am – 12:30pm

$25 per participant

Limited to 12 participants

GROWISER - Sunday, May 17th, 9:00am - 12:00pm

Enjoy the birds and spring flowers at GROWISER/Grande Ronde Overlook Wildflower Institute Serving Ecological Restoration. This 230 acre native plant preserve is 20 miles north of La Grande. It features both forest and prairie ecosystems. To save travel time, participants will meet at the home of the preserve owner at 69512 Pumpkin Ridge Rd, Summerville, OR 97876; look for a “TOUR” banner. The tour will cover about 2 miles. Restrooms and seating areas are present.

Participants will travel to tour location in their own vehicles; please click the following link for driving directions: https://www.growiser.net/directions.html, or email Karen Antel. Website: https://www.growiser.net.

Difficulty level: Moderate; walking up or down gentle to steep grades on gravel trails and dirt paths.

9:00am – 12:00pm

$25 per participant

Limited to 15 participants

What is happening where

Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area is approximately 7 miles SE of La Grande.

It can be reached via Highway 203 from La Grande or Union.
From Interstate 84, take Exit 265 and turn east toward Union.
Instructions to specific sites for the Bird Festival are included in the map below.

Union County Senior Center: 1504 N. Albany, La Grande, Corner of Albany and Cove Avenue

Friday Night Kick-off — snacks, merchandise, vendors and guest speaker.

Peach Road Registration Area: Entrance on Peach Road 1.3 miles north of Hwy 203

Saturday – Registration.
Sunday – Registration. Meeting locations for the field trips differ so please make note of the location of the trip you registered for.

Ladd Marsh Bird Festival: May 15 – 17, 2026

The 2026 Ladd Marsh Bird Festival is happening!!!. Registration for the Festival if free and required so Marsh passports can be provided. Festival registration will open the first week of April 2026, with registration for fee-based field trips opening the second or third week of April.

Scheduled at the height of spring migration and nesting in the Grande Ronde Valley, the annual Ladd Marsh Bird Festival celebrates World Migratory Bird Day with an uncrowded, non-competitive, and inexpensive birding opportunity for the whole family.

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area is located about 7 miles south of La Grande, Oregon, and has one of the the most diverse bird populations in Union County. Over 200 species of birds either visit or live permanently at Ladd Marsh.

On Bird Fest weekend, birders can explore areas of the wildlife area generally closed to the public, providing increased opportunities to see abundant ducks, geese, raptors, passerines, and shore birds.

View the Festival Schedule for 2026 to get an idea of what’s in store: Bird Festival 2026 Schedule (PDF file).

Bird Fest 2026 in planning!

Registration Starts…

April 6th – Festival Registration

April 13th – Field Trip Registration

Bird Festival Partners currently:

Some information about Bird Festival 2026

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Bird Fest Schedule

See what is planned for this year’s Annual Bird Festival.

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Festival Passport

Get details for registration, parking, and logistics.

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Field Trips

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Locations & Map

Get your bearings on where to be for Bird Fest activities.

2026 Ladd Marsh Bird Festival

May 15th thru 17th

Schedule of Events

Friday, May 8

Thursday, May 14

Friday, May 15

Saturday, May 16

Sunday, May 17

Festival Passport & Registration Info

Field Trips

Dawn Chorus - Sunday, May 17th, 4:45 am - 8:30 am

Rhinehart Canyon - Sunday, May 17th, 6:00am - 10:30am

Grande Ronde Valley “Hotspots” - Sunday, May 17th, 6:30am – 11:00am

Birds of the Ponderosa Pine Forest - Sunday, May 17th, 6:30am - 12:30pm

GROWISER - Sunday, May 17th, 9:00am - 12:00pm

What is happening where

Friends of Ladd Marsh

Friends of Ladd Marsh

Ladd Marsh Bird Festival: May 15 – 17, 2026

Bird Fest 2026 in planning!

Registration Starts…

Bird Festival Partners currently:

Some information about Bird Festival 2026

Bird Fest Schedule

Festival Passport

Field Trips

Locations & Map

Quick Links

Contact