Gresham celebrates vulture day

Audubon Society program shared importance of birds to global ecosystem

East Multnomah County residents braved the rain to meet some feathery friends during Portland Audubon's "Welcome Back Vulture Day" on Saturday afternoon, March 18, at Nadaka Nature Park, 17615 N.E. Glisan St.

The event was fun and educational for the whole family, with the star being Ruby, Portland Audubon's turkey vulture.

There were also other education birds, a chance to compare your wingspan to that of a California Condor, arts and crafts, games and cake.

"This event is based on the International Vulture Awareness day," said Deanna Sawtelle, volunteer manager with Portland Audubon. "We are teaching why vultures are important to have around."

All the education birds were taken in and cared for, but circumstances mean they are unable to be released back into the wild. Ruby was found 10 years ago in McMinnville after someone had been raising her illegally.

Vultures are important because they eat and dispose of animal carcasses that otherwise would become sources of disease.

Around the world their populations are dwindling, though in the United States they have remained steady. In Oregon, the only species is the turkey vulture, which is beginning to migrate back to the region with the warmer spring weather.

"There was a turkey vulture sighted in the Portland not too long ago, so we are right on schedule with this event," Sawtelle said.

The event was held at Nadaka Nature Park and the nearby St. Aidan's Episcopal Church for the second year in a row. The location is to help bring environmental education to the entire region.

Many groups partnered with Portland Audubon to visit throughout the day. One such organization was People Places Things, which offers free English classes to immigrants.

"Connecting folks on the margin to make sure they have access to nature is important to us," said Patrik McDade, program director. "We are trying to bridge the gap between our classes and organizations that are doing nature work in our community."

Those interested in volunteering with or donating to Portland Audubon can either email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit www.AudubonPortland.org.