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WINGS Birding Tours – Photo Gallery

Oregon: Birds & Theater

The contrast of rugged wilderness in close proximity to a sophisticated cultural scene is the hallmark of this tour. After a morning birding in the mountains…
…we can find ourselves watching a world-class production of a play such as Macbeth. Photo credit: Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Some wonderful birds can be found in southern Oregon, such as Red-breasted Sapsucker…
..and while searching for flocks of migrant passerines we may stumble into a cooperative Northern Pygmy-Owl.
Each morning begins with a picnic breakfast in a lovely surrounding.
As we bird through the morning we may come across a covey of Mountain Quail…
…or get the chance to marvel at a White-headed Woodpecker.
After an early picnic lunch in an equally beautiful setting….
…we’ll return to Ashland for an afternoon play, perhaps a modern interpretation of Shakespeare’s classic A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Photo credit: Oregon Shakespeare Festival
A majority of the plays each season are not Shakespeare and could include something like Alice in Wonderland… Photo credit: Oregon Shakespeare Festival
…or something predating even Shakespeare like The Clay Cart. Photo credit: Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Then the next morning we could be seeing more excellent birds, such as a Sooty Grouse crossing a forest road…
…or the slopes of the stunning Mount Ashland…
…or perhaps a migrant Rufous Hummingbird in a field of horsemint.
The OSF boasts three amazing theaters, including the gorgeous outdoor Allen Elizabethan Theatre… Photo credit: Oregon Shakespeare Festival
…the more traditional Angus Bowmer Theatre…. Photo credit: Oregon Shakespeare Festival
…and the more modern Thomas Theatre. Photo credit: Oregon Shakespeare Festival
On another day in the field we may venture as far as the world’s tallest Western White Pine…
…while in nearby meadows we could see a locally breeding pair of Sandhill Cranes…
…or we could get even luckier with one of several known territories of Great Gray Owl.
If we get a chance to bird chaparral thickets in the valley floor, Wrentit is one of the several possibilities.
Like most of our tours, we have time off in our comfortable rooms before dinner each day. Photo credit: Best Western Bard’s Inn
Our pleasant hotel is just an easy four blocks from all three theaters. Photo credit: Best Western Bard’s Inn
There are many fine restaurants in town, most of them also within walking distance of the theaters and our hotel.
On Mondays there are no plays, so we take the opportunity to visit radically different habitats in the rainshadow of the mountains to the east.
Roadside flowers can have a wonderful variety of butterflies such as this Tailed Copper.
On our return to Ashland we’ll drive around the stunningly beautiful Crater Lake, Oregon’s only national park.
The deepest lake in North America, it really is that blue.
On the way back to Ashland for our next-to-last play and group dinner, we’ll stop at likely spots for American Dipper.
In the end, we will have forged some new friendships and shared some amazing experiences with fellow bird and theater lovers.

 

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