Subject: Re: RE-Chicadees
Date: Sep 22 11:56:29 1995
From: Eugene Hunn - hunn at u.washington.edu


I seem to remeber that Boreals and Chestnut-backs (and Black-caps) are
all to be found on the West Fork Pasayten River trail north from Slate
Peak. My impression is that the Mountains are more frequent near
timberline, the Boreals in the valley bottom (at ca 4500 feet) with a few
Chestnut-backs in the valley also in particularly wet forest patches.

By the way, Chestnut-backs occur into NW Montana and adjacent se BC and
even just barely into extreme sw Alberta, along with Varied Thrushes,
intermediate Western Flycatchers, etc.

Gene.

On Fri, 22 Sep 1995, Dennis Paulson wrote:

> Brenda Senturia wrote:
>
> >>Tweeters-
> >>I have been hiking alot the past few weeks at the 3500 - 5000 ft.
> >elevations
> >>on the east side of the Cascades. I have been trying to figure out why I
> >>sometimes see Mountain Chicadees and sometimes Chestnut-backed Chicadees.
> >>While the Mtn. tend to occur at higher elevations and in drier habitats,
> >>I am often surprised by Chestnut-backeds where I don't expect them.
>
> And Jerry Tangren wrote:
>
> >That almost seems the rule with C-bCs. They can occur almost anywhere. Even
> >in the apple tree in our Wenatchee backyard.
> >
> >However, they seem to be most likely, as you suggest, in the more moist,
> >low level forests. The most dependable sites are those dominated by
> >west-side kinds of trees, hemlock and cedar. In other words, they aren't
> >real common in predominatly pine habitats.
>
> Actually, I associate Chestnut-backs in Washington with two habitats: (1)
> the low-altitude wet forests of the west side and the very northeastern
> corner of the state, which are very similar (lots of west-side plants &
> animals in that area); and (2) relatively high-altitude wet conifer forests
> in all the mountain ranges of the state. Where wet forests are continuous
> with high-elevation forests, as in western WA generally, the range is
> continuous, but in the Blue and Wenatchee mountains and Okanogan Highlands,
> CBCHs are found only at higher elevations, essentially isolated as are many
> other high-mountain birds. They are typically in fir, hemlock, and spruce
> rather than pine forests in the mountains.
>
> On the average, CBCHs are found in wetter, denser conifer stands in the
> mountains, Mountain Chickadees in drier, more open stands, but they
> certainly occur together in many areas. Both came to pygmy-owl calls at
> several sites at 4-5,000' above Swauk Pass in the Wenatchee Mountains last
> week.
>
> Mountains and Boreals seem to overlap completely in the northern part of
> the state, but I don't think I've ever found Chestnut-backed and Boreal
> together. Perhaps Chestnut-backed aren't so common in the high-elevation
> spruce and lodgepole pine forests that Boreal frequents. Any comment,
> Andy?
>
> Mountains and Black-caps coexist wherever deciduous and riparian woodlands
> abut conifer forests in eastern WA. I *am* surprised at Chestnut-backs in
> Jerry's apple tree in Wenatchee; I would have thought that was way out of
> their range, or only a destination of the occasional wandering bird in
> winter. Is that a regular phenomenon, Jerry?
>
> Dennis Paulson, Director phone: (206) 756-3798
> Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
> University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
> Tacoma, WA 98416
>
>
>