From: Kelly Cassidy <kelly at cqs.washington.edu>
> I am sruprised at this perception that OS Flycatcher are declining.
> I haven't been birding long enough to get an feeling for population
> declines or increases, but my impression of their habitat preference
> is that they like one very tall tree as a perch. If anything, I've
> heard them more often on perches in the midst of patchy forest, but
> occassionally in unbroken forest. My guess would have been that
> logging has not been detrimental and might even have been beneficial
> for them.

Here's a likely spot for more anecdata...
Last year I did a songbird survey for USFS/PIF in the Skokomish Valley.
The point counts were done in patches of old growth and I heard no
Olive-sided Flycatchers. While walking back to our parking place, through
trees probably no more than 15 years old, I saw at least two singing. They
seemed to accept recent near-clearcuts as long as a prominent perch tree is
left standing.
--
Scott Richardson
NE Seattle
salix at halcyon.com