Ashland is truly a place where birds, landscapes, science, and the arts come together in remarkable ways.

Nestled in the valley between the Rogue and Umpqua Rivers and surrounded by the Siskiyou National Forest and nearby wilderness areas, Ashland offers an extraordinary setting for our 50th Annual WFO Conference. Registration is now open!

I recently spent a long spring weekend reconnecting with Ashland and came away even more excited for September. After a morning tea at my favorite tea house, Dobra Tea — known for its exquisite teas from around the world, including my personal favorite, the Chai Masala — I wandered through the blossoms and birds of Lithia Park.

My first bird of the day was an Oak Titmouse, and of course, along the fast-flowing Ashland Creek, an American Dipper bathed and bobbed among the rocks. Steller’s Jays flitted overhead carrying nesting material, while spring seemed to unfold around every corner. A few years ago, a small Japanese garden was added to the park — a tranquil place to pause, catch your breath, and watch the koi glide quietly through the water.

During my visit, I also had the opportunity to spend time with our conference hosts at Klamath Bird Observatory. I met with Senior Biologist Sarah Rockwell and Science Director Ryan Terrill to hear about some of their current research and conservation work across the region. If you have not seen the field trip schedule yet, you will find it hard to choose from the wide variety of enticing locations from meadows to mountains. We are also excited that Jaime Stephens, KBO’s Director of Conservation, will serve as our keynote speaker during the conference. 

I then toured our conference venue on the south end of town, conveniently located with easy access to Interstate 5. The Ashland Hills Hotel & Suites provides an ideal gathering place for our celebration. For those interested in camping, Emigrant Lake County Park is only about 10 minutes away and offers campsites nestled among oak woodlands near the lake, along with a wide range of amenities.

For me, no visit to Ashland is complete without attending performances at the world-renowned Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and this trip was no exception. I saw A Raisin in the Sun and Come From Away, the moving musical about the small town of Gander, Newfoundland, and its extraordinary response to 7,000 stranded airline passengers after September 11. It is a powerful reminder of how communities come together in moments of uncertainty and crisis.

I also attended the premiere of You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World, a raucous and surprisingly thoughtful comedy about one man confronting both a terminal diagnosis and the future of the planet. These productions are only three of the ten plays being staged this year in Ashland, with even more performances to come once the outdoor Elizabethan Stage opens for the summer season.

Even if you are unable to attend a performance during your conference visit, we are excited to share that WFO will host a special conference session featuring a guest speaker from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, bringing a touch of Ashland’s celebrated arts community directly to our gathering.

We cannot wait to welcome you to Ashland, September 17–20, for a memorable celebration of birds, science, community, and inspiring landscapes.

Learn more about conference logistics, including online registration, the conference schedule, field trip and workshop guide, science program, and travel information, on the WFO website: 50th Annual Western Field Ornithologists Conference

June 2026 | Shaun Wilde, Managing Director