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Home / Events / Pacific Northwest Trip: Raptor Migration at Green Ridge with Brodie Cass Talbott *4 spots left*

September 23, 2023 - September 24, 2023

Pacific Northwest Trip: Raptor Migration at Green Ridge with Brodie Cass Talbott 4 spots left

Name: Pacific Northwest Trip: Raptor Migration at Green Ridge with Brodie Cass Talbott *4 spots left*
Start: 2023-09-23T00:00:00-08:00
End: 2023-09-24T23:59:59-08:00

*This is a self-catered trip. Lodging, transportation and meals are your responsibility.

*Please take our digital class on Raptors in Flight on September 20 to prepare you nicely for this trip.

We will meet at Indian Ford Campground in Sisters at 8 a.m. on Saturday. We will slowly bird our way around the campground area, looking for local specialties like White-headed Woodpecker, Pygmy Nuthatch, and all three sapsuckers. From Indian Ford, we’ll head up to Green Ridge. We will bird our way along the road and around Green Ridge for the remainder of the morning, hoping for lucky encounters with Sooty Grouse, Black-backed Woodpecker, and fall migrants.

*Lunch (don’t forget to bring one!) will be at the Green Ridge raptor observation point, and then we will spend the rest of the afternoon helping the Hawkwatch team locate and identify a steady stream of accipiters, hawks, eagles, and falcons.

We are scheduled for peak raptor migration, when the team has counted over 300 raptors in a single day, with the majority flying in the afternoon. Overall, the 2018 season had 15 species of raptors, including Broad-winged Hawk and Northern Goshawk, and with a good deal of luck, we may see one of these as well. When the Hawkwatch adjourns at 5 p.m., we will end our day.

On Sunday, we will bird hotspots of the Sisters area, including Calliope Crossing, which has a knack for turning up rare migrants in the fall and is a prime location for Pinyon Jay, a specialty of the region, as well as Camp Sherman, the most enjoyable American Dipper viewing possible. The trip will adjourn by 4 p.m., allowing participants the opportunity to return home the same night.

This is a self-catering trip, and participants will provide their own accommodations and meals. We’ll stop on both days for a picnic lunch along the route.

Important Trip Considerations

- - Sisters’ weather can be highly variable this time of year, from beautiful sunny days to cold and stormy. Please bring ample layers, and know that Green Ridge occasionally cancels their Hawkwatch for the weather – if it is too cloudy, the birds can not be counted.
  - We will be perched on top of a ridge for 3 to 5 hours. Full sun protection is strongly recommended. Participants will be responsible for their own comfort: A folding chair, sufficient water, lunch, and snacks are recommended.
  - The recommended lodging is Sisters Inn & Suites. Other accommodations are plentiful nearby. The town of Sisters is about ten minutes from Indian Ford Campground.
  - For a full description of the Green Ridge Raptor Count, visit the East Cascades Bird Alliance of Oregon Society website.
  - Please bring lunch, water, snacks, and binoculars each day.
  - You will need a NW Forest Pass. Please purchase ahead of time and bring along with you.

Amenities (bathrooms and parking): we will have limited formal bathrooms for much of our birding – maybe every 3 hours. Informal opportunities will abound. At the hawkwatch site there is a portapotty in the parking area, .5 miles from the viewing site.
Parking: A large parking spot with two accessible spots. The parking lot is large, and often quite empty.
Rest Stops: We will be making multiple stops each day. At the raptor watch, participants are encouraged to bring a camp chair to sit in if they don’t want to stand, or sit on rocks.
Exposure: Full for hawkwatch; partial to full for other stops

Accessibility

Distance: We will have 3-4 short to medium-length hikes, of 1-2 miles. The hike to the Green Ridge site is less than a mile from the parking spot – we may also go on a short hike from the hawkwatch site as well.
Pacing: Slow, with frequent stops to view and listen for birds.
Elevation Changes: Most hikes will be flat to slight inclines of less than 50 feet.
Trail Tread and Width: Trails will mostly be single track loose dirt and gravel, uneven, possibly with exposed rocks or roots
Public transit: none

Bald Eagle, photo by Scott Carpenter

Cooper's Hawk, photo by Adam Stunkle

Pinyon Jay, photo by Scott Carpenter

Green Ridge is Oregon’s unsung raptor migration hotspot, with comparable numbers of raptors to the more well-known Bonney Butte, but easier access and more accessible local birding. We will augment an afternoon of raptor counting with birding around the Sisters and Black Butte area.

Trip Details

- Trip Leader: Brodie Cass Talbott
- Fee: $215 members / $265 non-members
- When: September 23-24, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- Group size: Limited to 10 participants.
- What is included: The services of your experienced Bird Alliance of Oregon leader.
- Not included: Transportation, meals, and lodging.

Trip Leader

Brodie Cass Talbott

Brodie works as an educator with Bird Alliance of Oregon. After many years of wildland firefighting and leading river tours, he spent six years living and teaching across Asia, where his interest in birds became his passion. He has birded across five continents, and uses his experience in education and ecotourism to share his love of the outdoors with people from all ages, backgrounds, and abilities, with an eye towards increasing access to wild spaces for people from diverse communities.

Email Brodie

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