American Avocets by Barbara Wheeler
In May 2027, reviving an Eastside Audubon tradition, Andy McCormick and Jeremy Lucas will co-lead a trip to Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon. The trip begins on Monday, May 24 with a drive to the refuge south of Burns, OR and ends on Friday, May 28 with a drive home. We will spend four nights at the renovated E-dorm lodging at the Malheur Field Station, which is just outside the refuge. So, we will be close to the birds all day.
A full itinerary will be arranged with field station staff and will include sunrise birding, breakfast, birding after breakfast, lunch in the field, and return to the field station for dinner. Also included will be at least one evening of birding for owls and other evening birds. The trip includes dinner on the night of our arrival and breakfast on the day of departure.
The trip offers a full package of lodging for four nights in the E-Dorm (The dorm is separated for men and women with 5 rooms each for men and women. Rooms have two or three new beds; separate men and women showers have curtain separations; linens can be rented for $15 for the week, or bring your own, or sleeping bag). The trip includes three home-cooked meals per day in the renovated dining area (box lunch to take in the field), van or small bus transportation around the refuge and neighboring locations including the Steens Mountains, and a tour leader from the refuge. The cost is approximately $950 per person plus ride share costs and any personal expenses.
The refuge lies in southeastern Oregon, about 30 miles south of Burns, at an elevation of 4,100 feet. Burns is about 500 miles from Bellevue. WA. The refuge, 183,000 acres, is composed of meadows, ponds and extensive wetlands surrounded by sage uplands and basalt rimrock. It is a major resting, nesting, and feeding area on the Pacific Flyway and is on Roger Tory Peterson’s list of the ten best birding areas in the U.S. More than 320 species of birds and many species of mammals have been observed on the refuge. We will visit the main birding areas within the refuge, and usually see 100-130 species.
The car trip to the refuge takes about 10-11 hours driving time including the stops. Those traveling together will make one or two stops each way on the drive for breaks and birding. We will spend 3 full days (four nights) at the refuge. The driving costs per passenger will be $100 for the trip to and from the Malheur Field Station (1000 miles).
We would like to keep the trip to 12 participants, but we have some flexibility. No deposit is required at this time. We would like to know who is interested in this trip now, so we can plan with the field station staff.
Please, email Andy directly at amccormick@eastsideaudubon.org and let us know your interest: Yes, definitely; or Maybe. We will then send a request for a deposit and a date for when final payment is due.
We hope to see you in Malheur next May!