[Tweeters] mtn/urban birds

[Steve Loitz]

Unfortunately, there is a paucity of research on this issue. Some Seattle
wintering birds are very likely vertical migrants which spend their summers
in the Cascades. Examples are Dark-eyed Junco, Yellow-rumped Warbler,
Townsend's Warbler, Hermit Thrush, both of our Kinglets, White-crowned
Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, American Pipit, Barrow's Goldeneye, Common
Merganser, Harlequin Duck and an occasional Townsend's Solitaire. For some
(most?) of these species, without banding info, it's impossible to say
whether an individual migrated vertically from the mountains or from the
north.

Vertical migrants are more apparent over here east of the Cascades, where
mountain hikers can directly observe summer mountain birds (sometimes in
mixed flocks) working downslope this time of year, some of them (e.g., Pine
Grosbeak, Evening Grosbeak, Mountain Chickadee, Cassin's Finch, Townsend's
Solitaire, White-crowned Sparrows, American Dipper) settling in for the
winter closely east of the Cascades, while others (e.g., Gray-crowned Rosy
Finch) move to the Columbia Plateau for the winter. It's not unusual to see
a Clark's Nutcracker near Roslyn or Winthrop in mid-winter. Again, without
banding info, it is not possible to know where a wintering individual spent
the summer.

There are some wild cards, e.g., Pine Siskins and Red Crossbills, nomadic
species which move unpredictably to food sources but IME seem to tend to
move downslope in winter. Fox Sparrow movement baffles me. They sometimes
turn up in unexpected places in winter. A fellow Kittitas Audubon board
member saw a (rare for Eburg) sooty FOSP at his feeder last week.

Steve Loitz
Ellensburg, WA


> On Sep 26, 2023, at 3:06 PM, David B. Williams <wingate at seanet.com> wrote:

>

> Greetings. I have been thinking about the relationship between urban birds

> and mountains birds. When I am up in the mountains, I often see some of the

> birds of my Seattle yard, such as juncos, robins, and black-capped

> chickadees. It’s my understanding that “my” yard birds do not migrate up to

> the mountains. Is this correct?

>

> In contrast, I believe that the varied thrushes I see in my yard do

> migrate up to the Cascades. Is this correct?

>

> Any insights on the connection between birds seen in the Cascades ones in

> the urban/Puget lowland landscape would be appreciated.

>

> Sincerely,

> David

> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> *David B. Williams*

> www.geologywriter.com

> *Free newsletter: *https://streetsmartnaturalist.substack.com/

> I live and work on the land of the Coast Salish peoples and am trying to

> honor with gratitude the land and those who have inhabited it since time

> immemorial. I know that I have much more to learn and hope to continue that

> journey.

>

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-- 
Steve Loitz
Ellensburg, WA
steveloitz at gmail.com
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