Subject: Migrant Traps in Washington
Date: Jan 12 17:24:50 1995
From: "Nunnallee, Dave" - DNUN461 at ecy.wa.gov



Twenty-five Western Tanagers; two score Northern Orioles; a dozen Solitary
Vireos! Such sights, not uncommon at Malheur, Oregon, or at other migrant
traps throughout the west during spring migration, are unthinkable in
Washington.

Why doesn't Washington have any good migrant traps? For years I have
wondered this question. A good migrant trap, it seems, usually involves
some geographic feature which funnels migrant birds into a small area of
prime habitat surrounded by miles of poor habitat. A natural area for tired
migrants to settle in for the night.

It doesn't take a keen imagination to identify a number of candidates for
migrant traps in Washington. We have vast areas of desert scrub spotted
with little oasis areas; we have mountain ranges to restrict movement, and
river systems to channel migration. We have marine crossings with
well-defined landfalls. But, to my knowledge, we do not have a single
dependable migrant trap area anywhere in the state, save for shorebirds and
to some extent raptors.

Good fortune occasionally treats us to a small flock of this or that moving
through an area, but are there any locations in Washington where one can go,
year after year, and expect to see sizeable spring flocks of orioles or
tanagers or vireos moving northward? I have become so accustomed to seeing
our migrant birds in little, random family groups or singles that I find
myself gawking in awe on those rare occasions when I see a real migrating
flock.

Any ideas why we are so "trap poor"?

Dave Nunnallee
dnun461 at ecy.wa.gov
Bellevue, WA