Burns Llama Trailblazers Champion Working Llamas
Burns Llama Trailblazers Champion Working Llamas


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John Scharff Bird Festival Tours take one into closed portions of the refuge.

Burns Llama Trailblazers Birding and Photography Tours

Check out our new Double O Uplands Tour

Friday: Hiking the Double O Lakes
Saturday: Scenic Uplands Hike of the Double O
Sunday: Ranch Visit


Every year as winter turns to spring, the birds return to Harney Basin in SE Oregon and Burns Llama Trailblazers leads a tour to see them. The tour provides an excellent opportunity view and photograph the birds while experiencing a unique landscape. Our tour is a part of the annual Harney County Migratory Bird Festival in honor of John Scharff that is hosted by the Harney County Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with the Malheur Wildlife Refuge. The four day festival includes many types of tours, lectures, and special activities. It is an exciting time for the local population as well as visitors who arrive from near and far. (Detailed information and registration for tours can be found at http://www.migratorybirdfestival.com)

Double 00 Llama Birding and Photography Hikes
On Friday and Saturday of the festival, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge managers give Burns Llama Trailblazers special permission to escort a small group into areas normally closed to the public. We will visit hidden lakes and experience the uplands of the famous Double O Ranch. Back to Top Basic

Snowy Owl assist on the Burns Llama Trailblazers' bird festival tourThe llamas are happy to be out on an easy hike after a long winter plowing through snowdrifts to stay in condition. Birds are always present. From swallows to ducks to swans and eagles, the list can often reach twenty-five species.

This is more than just a walk to see the birds. Each participant chooses a llama to be theirs for the day. They are encouraged to work with the llama as much as they like. This can include saddling and unsaddling, loading, and leading. Tory helps his person find the cinnamon tealAll necessary aspects of handling the llamas are clearly demonstrated and supervised. Each llama carries his person's gear during the day. At midday we stop to take our lunch in a location well chosen for viewing and photography. Well away from roads, the hike offers excellent opportunities for these activities. It is also an exceptional change to see a desert rich in water. It is an area that has changed little in centuries. Your guides, besides helping with bird identification will describe the geological and historical features you see.

Weather can be very changeable on these outings. We can experience everything from warm sun to blowing snow in one trip. Fortunately all the locations we choose provide some cover, whether it be a rocky ridge or bank of sheltering willows. The hiking distance is about four miles over gentle terrain.

Sid looks for swans, a Burns Llama Trailblazers Bird Festival favorite. Steens Mountain is a beautiful backdrop for the Burns Llama Trailblazers Bird Festival Tours
Hidden Lakes of the Double O
Tucked away deep in the marshlands intimate Mary Lake keeps the birds close to you. As we sneak around the enclosing bluff, the birds have little notice of our presence. Dabblers and divers, maybe even swans paddle along the lake margings. After viewing to our heart's content we make our way to long Derrick lake. Swallows glide overhead from the rimrock cliffs. Rafts of waterfowl glide over the water. We walk follow the gentle jeep track through sagebrush near the shore until we pick a cozy spot for lunch and more birding before hiking back through sagebrush flats, across a dry playa to the springs canal. etc.
Views from the Double O Uplands
After birding along the Goulding Canal, an old jeep track leads us up the sheltering bluff to the top of the world. There is no better view to be had of the Harney Basintc. Belwo us the Warm Springs Valley stretch out in all its watery glory. Steens mountain graces the southwest horizon while the distant white cap of Snow Mountain anchors the north. The basin and range geology that created this extraordinary country is on full view.

Llama Ranch Visit on the Wild Goose Meadows
Our female and baby llamas live on a ranch During the Ranch Tour Burns Llama Trailblazers you will work with the llamaslocated in the meadow lands three miles north of Burns. Here birds and llamas mix in a tremendous spring delight. Curlews, ibises, and cranes, fly low over head, while Canada geese nest on the haystack. Snow geese by the thousands gather in the fields.

Amid the excitement, we present a three-hour tour during which you will have the opportunity to groom llamas, lead them through obstacles and go for a walk with them. If the babies have arrived, you will meet them personally and have a chance to pet and hold them. The activities provide great photographic opportunities.

During the tour we will also present you with a complete background on the care, history, breeding and uses of these fascinating animals. Collectively we have nearly sixty years of experience that covers all manner of llama activities, ranging from leading a 4H club, to training llamas to pull carts, and taking lengthy wilderness pack trips. The tour provides an excellent opportunity to answer your questions at length.

You will meet Burns Llama Trailblazers crias Burns Llama Trialblazers ranch visit is a hands-on experience

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Website update: 12FEB2024
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