Sunnyside Environmental School Visits Steigerwald

By Mae and Ruby

We are middle school students from Sunnyside Environmental School in Portland.  Recently (May 29, 2025) we went on a field trip to Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge with Ken Pitts as our guide.  We learned quite a bit about the birds that live there. The experience was magical. We got to see dozens of swallows gliding through the air performing stunts like loops and dives. Great egrets waded in the marshy land hunting for fish, striking their beaks at the water. Cottonwood floated through the air and landed on the tall grass which looked very cool, but did give a lot of us allergies. It was worth the allergies though, to see all those birds. We also got to learn how to pish in order to attract birds, although we think we may have scared them away with all 26 of us trying to imitate them!  There were lots of people there to enjoy nature, and we were very excited that we got to visit. 

All in all the most unique experience of the field trip was certainly when we did something called sound mapping. Sound mapping is a unique way of studying birds via nature journals, where one closes their eyes or just centers all attention on what they can hear and sketches different sounds and calls, trying to pinpoint where it’s from. Afterwards you look into the kinds of sounds that you hear and you may find that what may have just seemed like a bunch of the same calls, are actually birds that have their own unique personalities that you never would have thought to look for. It’s quite amazing actually and we loved it! 

We highly recommend that you should go to Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge, especially on a tour with Ken.  Trust us, the experience will leave you changed.  Just remember to bring a notebook and try some sound mapping.