by Dan Streiffert

For the past several years the low accumulation of snowpack and rainfall has resulted in a continual reduction in the size of Malheur Lake, to the point where the lake has nearly disappeared. But this changed in 2025 with a 150% snowpack. As a result, there is now enough deep water at the Narrows for Harney and Malheur Lakes to merge. This is both good and bad news.

The good news is an abundance of waterfowl throughout the spring with an extension of the nesting season to the point where many of the birds have had 2 – 3 broods of chicks.

The bad news is that with water everywhere, the birds are spread out all over the area, much of which has flooded making it hard to reach.  The flooding was so bad that the north end of Burns flooded the week before the Migratory Bird Festival that was ultimately cancelled.

This presentation includes visits from both 2025 and the first two weeks of April 2026 for the spring Migratory Bird Festival.

Migratory Bird Festival | April 16-19, 2026