Tweeters,

We know that Boreal Chickadees inhabit Washington only near the Canadian
border - from northeastern Whatcom, northern Okanogan, northern Ferry, and
northern Pend Oreille Counties - in high elevation forests with Engelmann
spruce (Smith et al. 1997. Breeding Birds of Washington State: Location
data and predicted distributions. Seattle Audubon). However, as many
observers have experienced, Boreal Chickadees may be met with in nearby
forest types within this region in summer, particularly those mainly
composed of lodgepole pine. This is particularly true in the post-fledging
period, say from mid-July through August. Winter observations from
anywhere in Washington are virtually nil, though.

On 18 October, on a trip along Forest Road 39 west of Conconully in
Okanogan County with Denny Granstrand and Michael Schroeder, we failed to
find any Boreal Chickadees, unprecedented in my experience. On 25 October,
on a solo jaunt, I almost missed this species again, even after a
determined all-day effort. Only on possibly the last possible stop in
fading afternoon light (the densely spruce/fir mantled draw on the north
side of Corral Butte south of Long Swamp) did I finally detect a small
group amongst a flock of Mountain Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches, and
Brown Creepers.

Did a significant proportion of the Boreal Chickadee population in this
region undertake a dispersal away from their breeding haunts this year? If
so, has anyone detected this species in lower forests in northern
Washington this fall, as has been noted in some years in British Columbia
(Cannings et al. 1987. Birds of the Okanagan Valley, BC. Royal BC Prov.
Mus.)?

As I censused FR 39 which traverses at least 20 miles of suitable habitat
for this species, I wondered why it is limited to northernmost Washington,
as Engelmann spruce occurs south throughout the Cascades along the eastern
slopes of the state. I wondered if winter habitat is a limiting factor.
Such habitat might include dense stands of spruce, which may be met only in
northern reaches of the state, and especially those densely festooned with
blackish horsehair lichens (Bryoria spp.). Such dense stands of spruce may
be local of occurrence in Washington. It is possible these stands may be
critical for winter survival of Boreal Chickadees. The interior reaches of
these lichen tufts may harbor a microhabitat (with insect eggs or larvae)
that are important to this chickadee. Additionally, the lichen tufts
amongst dense stands of spruce might provide important thermal cover.

Has this question received study? If not, this would make for a great
excuse to check-out and spend a winter in the boreal forests! We have been
aware of the complexity of microhabitats in tropical forests for some time
now. Recently, this has been found to be true for Pacific Northwest
temperate rain forests. Is it also true in the boreal forests?

Andy Stepniewski
Wapato WA