Birds
Wings & Wine Festival Birds
Fern Ridge is located 10 miles west of Eugene, in Oregon’s southern Willamette Valley. The extensive wetlands provide unique habitats for a variety of wildlife, including an unusual array of breeding birds. The reservoir is managed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineeers and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and provides thousands of acres of habitat for raptors, upland birds, shorebirds, passerines and woodpeckers. Other wildlife include deer, river otter, western pond turtle and red-legged frogs.
Fern Ridge offers a large variety of birding opportunities from advanced shorebird identification to enjoying the many species of ducks. As always, timing makes a big difference but spring is a fun and exciting time at Fern Ridge, when you may see a wonderful mixture of north bound neotropical migrants and early breeders. By April, many geese already have nests or chicks and Stilts have usually arrived. Come May, the breeders are in full force and include Stilts, Phalaropes, Yellow-headed Blackbird, American Bittern, Redhead, and the list goes on.
Click here (Excel) to download and print a complete checklist of Fern Ridge birds
Birds observed at the Wings & Wine Festival
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2007 birds 2010 birds
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Fern Ridge Wildlife Area - Bird Watching
These birding areas cover most habitat types that are easily accessible. There are additional access points surrounding the reservoir that also provide excellent wildlife viewing and birding opportunities. Please note any regulatory signs, as some units may have seasonal closures in effect to protect wintering waterfowl. Dogs must be leashed outside of licensed hunting activities.
Kirk Park/Pond - Parking and pit toilets are available on both the west and east ends of Kirk Pond along Clear Lake Road. North of the west parking lot is a road bordered by the outlet canal and a small pond. On the north side of the pond a trail leads east into an old orchard and a large mixed wooded area with much undergrowth. The east end of Kirk Park is a good place to find wrentits and many other songbirds. Pied-billed grebes, wood ducks, diving ducks plus American and Eurasian wigeon are often found on Kirk Pond adjacent to Clear Lake Road. Bonaparte's gulls can be found feeding in the outlet canal in late October and early November.
West End of Dam, Orchard Point Park and Shore Lane - These locations are great for searching the open water for gulls, great egrets, and migrating and wintering water birds in the proper season. The birds are usually some distance away, so bring a scope or binoculars. Bald eagles are often seen from here in winter along with cormorants, western grebes and massive flocks of wintering dunlin. During the winter, morning and evening flights of waterfowl provide spectacular viewing opportunities as flocks of ducks, geese, and swans enter and depart the area.
Royal Avenue - Drive to the west end of the road and park in the gravel parking lot just before the gate. Acorn woodpeckers are fairly common in the large oaks east of the parking lot. Tall shrubs, shrubby fields, and grasslands make this an excellent area for sparrows. West of the gate, the road leads into canary grass and cattail marsh, and eventually into bulrush. Virginia rail, sora, American bittern, mallard, American coot, Canada geese, pied-billed grebes, common yellowthroat, white-tailed kite, marsh wren, short eared owl, and northern harrier are birds that can be seen here. During the winter and at low water levels the expanses of exposed mudflat provide shorebird viewing, especially for the massive flocks of dunlin that winter here. Old gravel roads provide access to Gibson Island during low pool conditions in winter, however boots are recommended for this lengthy hike.
Fisher Butte Parking Lot - Just west of Fisher Road is a gated gravel road heading north from 126 (West 11th) towards Fisher Butte. A marked trail leads the hiker down the road to a small viewing platform, through wet low prairie and by flooded impoundments. Western meadowlark, snipe, and black-necked stilts are a few of the birds that nest here. During the winter one can see concentrations of waterfowl, shrikes, raptors, and large flocks of sparrows. Winter waterfowl viewing is best as birds move to and from the lake in morning and evening. Canada geese using the area from November through April include rare dusky Canada geese. Please be aware that this unit is frequented by waterfowl hunters in the fall, and winter closures may be in effect. The parking area and viewing platform provide viewing year-round.
Nielson Road and Cantrell Road - Two parking areas are found along this stretch of road and provide bird and wildlife viewing. The cropland and moist soil units adjacent to the parking lots are excellent for all kinds of wintering waterfowl. Planted cropland areas provide wildlife food crops. Raptors, sparrows, shrikes, goldfinches, and blackbirds are common. Late in the season, wintering flocks of waterfowl, including swans, can often be found in the wet grass fields adjacent to the roads. Please note that waterfowl hunters may be present in the fall, and winter waterfowl and raptor viewing from the parking areas can be amazing, particularly near dawn and dusk. A viewing platform at the eastern parking area is open year round.
Coyote Creek - Park on either side of the Coyote Creek bridge where it crosses on Cantrell Road. On the east side, a nature trail leads through the riparian woodland where wood ducks and a variety of woodland species can be found along the creek and near the exposed treeline. On the west side of Coyote Creek is a picnic area and canoe access site. The waterway provides meandering access to the lake leading through wood duck habitat and out to the lake near osprey nests and purple martin colonies. When the reservoir is full, the creek is excellent for flat-water canoeing. However Coyote Creek is not navigable from mid-October through March because of high flows and dangerous currents. Please check for regulatory signs that may indicate winter closures.
Perkins Peninsula Park - This park is located on a small peninsula that offers an excellent view of the reservoir in the summer and mudflats in the winter. This is also a good place to view osprey nests and marsh to the east and west. There are large oaks, apple trees, willows, pines, and Douglas-fir which are good places to find migratory song birds. A boardwalk leads out into a marshy bay on the west side of the park. Picnic tables and restrooms are available. The park is closed to motor vehicles during winter months but remains open year-round for foot traffic.
Hwy 126 (West 11th) viewing area - West of Perkins Peninsula Park (2/3 mi) is a pullout on the north side of the highway overlooking the lake. Nesting yellow-headed blackbirds and purple martins using the nest boxes on snags can be observed from here. Both species breed at other locations on the lake but these areas generally are inaccessible except by boat. American coots, great egrets, red-winged blackbirds, and a variety of waterfowl are frequently visible from this site.
Zuwalt Park - Several parking areas provide access along Jeans Road. A variety of habitats are available here: marsh, grasslands, shrubs, willows, mixed hardwoods, and Douglas fir, as well as the lake shoreline. Pileated woodpeckers utilize the older stands of firs towards the north end of this unit and wild turkeys may be seen in the vicinity.
Applegate Unit - Long Tom River - Located half way between Veneta and Elmira on Territorial Road a parking lot on the east side of the road provides canoe and hiking access to the Long Tom River. A hiking trail leads from the parking lot and meanders along the river and through the woodlands and open meadows, providing excellent wildflower and forest bird viewing. Canoeing down the main river channel provides access to the lake though large log jams may present a challenge difficulty on the channels.
The old river channel that forks to the left shortly downstream from the access point meanders through a dense woodland understory. Wood ducks, turkeys, osprey, and thrushes may be found in this area.
Applegate Unit - North Elmira Site - Immediately north of Elmira on the east side of Territorial Road is a parking area that provides access a wide area of open and woodland wildlife habitats as well as hiking access to the Long Tom River channels. Great blue herons forage in the shallow swales near the lake and marsh wrens and red-winged blackbirds can be found in the cattail marshes during the summer. Snipe can be observed in the wet grasslands during the winter months. |
