Wings and Wine

This is a topic that “found me.” I learned a lot in the process and am delighted to share this piece about birds and vineyards that appeared in the April 2024 issue of the Oregon Wine Press.

photo courtesy of alina blankenship

About a third of American adults – over 96 million people – engaged in some form of birdwatching in 2022.  That surprising figure from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reveals an uptick in ornithological interest since the pandemic.

If you don’t consider yourself part of the boom, maybe you should.  Recent studies reported by The Washington Post linked interaction with nature – and the sound of birdsong specifically – with improved mental health.  Reduced levels of stress and anxiety, and even improved cognition were found among study participants.

Birds are everywhere and invite us to deepen our understanding of nature and its benefits.  This is especially true in Oregon’s wine country where they not only live alongside the vines but even take up roles as avian vineyard workers.

AVIAN NEIGHBORS

Partners in life as well as in their business, Malia Myers and Melaney Schmidt recently moved their sparkling wine-focused winery, Landmass Wines, to the Columbia Gorge.  The new location has reduced costs and facilitated the sourcing of fruit from both Oregon and eastern Washington vineyards.  Proximity to the river also offers them a front-row seat to the activity of the Columbia’s birds.  Nesting osprey and circling turkey vultures are fair-weather friends while winter brings sightings of bald eagles.  Heron and other waterfowl are present year-round according to the women.  Eager to share, they welcome groups of six or more for wine tastings by appointment.

West of Salem, near Dallas, the Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge provides habitat for many bird species in its nearly 2500 acres in the Willamette Valley. Named for the original landowner, George J. Baskett, the Slough offers trails, observation decks and access roads that permit a visit any time of year.  The preserve was established in 1965 to provide wintering habitat for dusky Canada geese, but now bald eagles, kestrels, owls, pintails and streaked horned larks all flourish there.

Waterfowl turn up in the winter, and spring brings other migratory birds to the area.  “The big migration is late April [and] early May when the warblers are coming through,” reported Frank Kolwicz, a local photographer who has spent countless hours capturing images of the Slough’s avian visitors.

Where the wetlands give way to cleared farmlands northwest of Baskett Slough, the vineyards of the Van Duzer Corridor AVA appear.  Andante Vineyard’s inviting tasting room and production facility rests on a knoll between the wildlife refuge and a preserved oak savannah that borders the surrounding vines.  Their portfolio of small-production wines reflects a serious commitment to white wine and includes Sauvignon Blanc, Aligoté and Chardonnay in addition to Pinot Noir and other red varieties.  Enticing food pairings, prepared by Executive Chef Caleb Warner, make this a delicious stop for hungry wine lovers visiting Baskett Slough.

Egrets are frequently seen on Andante’s pond and a walking path invites guests to explore the site.  Brandon Correa, Wine to Vine Principal, recalls hearing the hoots of Great Horned Owls while walking the path on his first day on the job. “You just feel it in your bones,” he said.   

Further south, in the Umpqua Valley, Ford’s Pond offers municipal park-like amenities alongside hiking trails, wetlands and oak savanna.  Over 200 species of birds have been sighted here, including migratory populations.  The 95-acre pond was created in the 1950s for the storage needs of a logging company.  Since then, the city of Sutherlin purchased the 202-acre site and, in cooperation with the enthusiastic advocacy of the non-profit Friends of Ford’s Pond, has added accessible features that include paved parking and a playground.

Nearby, amid the antique shops of historic downtown Oakland, nestles the tasting room of Triple Oak Vineyards. Owner Betty Tamm’s two acres of vines, located a few miles away, grow alongside a mixed oak woodland.  Triple Oak’s award-winning wines include red and white blends, Gewürtztraminer, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir, with Tempranillo as the brand’s “signature.”

“I’ve always been interested in birds in oak woodland,” Tamm said.  “You get a lot of birds that thrive in that habitat.”  She seeks to share her interest by depicting birds on her wine labels and delights in the conservation efforts underway at Ford’s Pond.  A visit to the historic town could be followed by a picnic at the pond. “It’s a wonderful outing,” she said. And by booking her adjacent Airbnb, “people could make a weekend of it.”

WORKING BIRDS

Some Oregon vineyards rely on birds to help control insect and rodent pests, reducing the need for chemicals and contributing to a sustainable farming environment.

Newberg’s Raptor Ridge Winery, in the Laurelwood District AVA, frequently hosts local birdwatchers as they taste wine on the property’s appropriately named “Flight Deck.”  Red-tailed hawks, bald eagles and owls are among the birds of prey that Raptor Ridge encourages to hunt between the vines, according to their Director of Marketing and Membership, Tanya Zumach.  “We are a sustainability-focused winery, and as such, encourage our birds of prey neighbors to live here and provide a natural balance to the environment,” she wrote.

Alina Blankenship is a master falconer committed to education about birds of prey through her non-profit organizations, PERCH and Wings Over Wine, which partner with wineries, schools and community groups.  “When you're a hair's breadth away from my great horned owl and her giant yellow eyes, it's transformative for a lot of people,” she said.

In addition to consulting with vineyards like Raptor Ridge about how to encourage birds to naturally stay around and hunt for rodents, she also offers a service, Sky Guardian, that employs trained falcons to discourage smaller birds from eating grapes at harvest time. “When I have 10,000 starlings over a grape crop, I put up what I call my border collie,” she explained. “And she follows them up and pushes them down the row.  Takes them right off the property.”  Blankenship was profiled in the cover story of the October 2021 issue of Oregon Wine Press.

Sokol Blosser Winery is among the Oregon vineyards employing birds to control insect pests while also sustaining endangered species.  In partnership with the Prescott Bluebird Recovery Project (PBRP), the winery offers shelter to the Western Bluebird, listed as a “sensitive species” by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.  For over 20 years, bluebird houses on the property have provided nesting shelter for the birds who return the favor by helping to control insects and thus reduce the need for insecticides.  The numbers of nests, eggs, chicks and fledglings are tracked annually and reported to PBRP.

“They're really gorgeous little birds. And one of the reasons why it's important to target them for nesting is that they're pretty shy,” according to Susan Sokol Blosser, Founder and Garden Advisor.  “They don't eat the grapes, they eat the insects, which is really lovely because we are a certified organic vineyard.”

The longstanding commitment is celebrated each June (the bluebird’s nesting month) with the Bluebird Rosé.  A portion of the month’s tasting room sales of this traditional-method sparkler are donated to PBRP.  The Project enjoys similar partnerships with other vineyards in the upper Willamette Valley.

LOOKING UP

As an agricultural product, wine links us to nature with stories of vineyard lifecycles, weather and geology.  The activity of birds intertwines with cultivated crops and reveals the web of life that encompasses us all.  The interconnections urge us to care for our shared home.

So on your next adventure into Oregon’s wine country, look up.  You may spot an avian neighbor – a soaring bald eagle above a riverside highway, the flash of a bluebird among the vines, or a bird of prey on the hunt.