Nearest Town: Hamer
Site Size: 10,500 acres
Directions: I-15 Exit #150; E 0.4 mi to Hamer; at T intersection, L (N) for 3 mi; L (W) onto E 2350 N; cross I-15 on overpass; enter Camas NWR in 2 mi; park at refuge office; pick up bird list and map on information board; bird many footpaths near office; paved trail leading to observation deck can be accessed at N edge of parking lot, follow map to drive auto tour.
Description: Camas NWR supports diverse avifauna because of its diverse habitats. The refuge is primarily a waterfowl and waterbird refuge, but also supports sagebrush-steppe fauna. Numerous nesting waterfowl (Redhead, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, Cinnamon Teal, Lesser Scaup, and Canada Goose), waterbirds (Pied-billed and Horned Grebes, American
White Pelican, American Bittern, Sora, American Coot, Sandhill Crane), shorebirds (Killdeer, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Willet, Long-billed Curlew, Wilson’s Snipe and Phalarope) and at least one pair of Trumpeter Swans. Colonial breeders here include Eared, Western, and Clark’s Grebes, Great Blue and Black-crowned Night-Herons, Snowy, Great, and Cattle Egrets, White-faced Ibis, Franklin’s Gull, and Black Tern. A pair of Peregrine Falcons use the hack tower annually. The area is a fall staging area for Sandhill Crane and a wintering area for Bald Eagle. Migrating shorebirds (other than breeders) include: Semipalmated Plover, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, and Western and Least Sandpipers. During migration, Wilson’s, MacGillivray’s, and Orange-crowned Warblers (all common), Northern Waterthrush (uncommon), and various flycatchers can be seen regularly.
More Information:
USFW (208) 662-5423
Rigby Chamber of Commerce (208)745-8473
www.fws.gov/pacific/refuges/field/id_camas.htm