A Pygmy owl hangs out on a white fir snag in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. Photographer Frank Lospalluto took the shot last month. Bird watchers are out this month looking for birds and recording their observations as part of an annual count conducted by the Rogue Valley Audubon Society.

Rogue Valley Audubon Society members are conducting annual Christmas bird counts, participating in ongoing Bear Creek bird surveys in the wake of the Almeda Fire of 2020 and planning upcoming outings to the Denman Wildlife Area near White City. The public is invited to join them.

Volunteer teams conduct the Christmas counts, which are scheduled for Dec. 17 in the Ashland area and Dec. 30 near Medford. In addition, anyone living in the count area can participate by doing a “feeder watch” for visiting backyard birds.

In a related matter, volunteers are invited to help with the ongoing Bear Creek Community Bird Survey undertaken in the wake of the 2020 Almeda Fire. Birds are an indicator of ecosystem recovery in the fire-ravaged area.

In other news, monthly walks at the Denman Wildlife Area, 1495 East Gregory Road, are set for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 3, Feb. 7 and March 6. Gates will be open 8-8:20 a.m. with the walks starting at 8:30 a.m.

Buy parking passes online at myodfw.com or at area agents, including Bi-Mart and Sportsman’s Warehouse. To get to the wildlife area, take Highway 62 to Antelope Road, turn left and go to the next light. Turn right and continue to the gate on Agate Road.

More information is available at roguevalleyaudubon.org. To help with the Christmas bird counts, contact Cat Gould in the Ashland area at cat.gould@gmail.com or Rebekah Berghoetter in the Medford area at Rebekah.rvas@gmail.com.

Public invited to view forest film screenings

The Lomakatsi Restoration Project of Ashland is inviting the public to online screenings of two short films about forest restoration partnerships. The screenings are set for 1-2 p.m. Thursday, to be followed by a panel discussion.

One film, “Building Forest Resilience in the Rogue Valley” by Blue Forest, shows how collaboration is a key to building fire-adapted forests and communities.

The second film, “Tribal Hands on the Land” by Lomakatsi, highlights the organization’s tribal ecological forestry training program and partnerships with tribal communities.

The panel is scheduled to feature Marko Bey, Lomakatsi executive director; Belinda Brown, Lomakatsi tribal partnerships director; Kelsee Taylor, Blue Forest Project development manager; and Saraya Hamidi, indigenous partnerships manager.

Panelists will discuss partnerships to scale up forest restoration through conservation finance, building community workforce capacity and using prescribed fire, among other topics.

Register free of charge at bit.ly/47UXRMH

Forest Service warns about falling rocks, road conditions

The Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest is warning the public that rocks are starting to fall onto forest roads due to recent rains and that Bear Camp Road in Josephine and Curry counties has recently sustained significant damage from large rocks.

Conditions on the road will continue to deteriorate with winter weather and maintenance will not begin again until late in the spring, according to the agency, which issued an advisory last week via social media.

Bear Camp Road extends over the Coast Range from the Grants Pass area to near Gold Beach. Travel on the route is not recommended.

There’s still time to comment on new Ashland park seating

The Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission is still accepting survey responses through Dec. 17 regarding new seating designed to encourage conversation and connection at three park locations:

• In Lithia Park, on the lower lawn facing Winburn Way, there’s a set of 20 stacking chairs that park users may move around on the lawn.

• In Garfield Park, at East Main and California Street, a semi-circle of three fixed benches has been set up facing Grizzly Peak.

• In Glenwood Park, at Glenwood Drive and Ashland Street, a circle of four fixed benches have been set up.

People are asked to visit one or more of the sites, test the seating and then fill out a survey online at surveymonkey.com/r/ConversationClusters. Call 541-488-5342 to request a paper survey.