Clark's Nutcrackers moving south along the cascade Crest
17 September 2000

A conspicuous southbound movement of Clark's Nutcrackers is occuring now
along the crest of the Cascades. Yesterday (17 September) small groups were
noted moving south right at the crest north of Chinook Pass in the Sourdough
Gap area. The Clark's Nutcracker is a pint-sized , boldly patterned member
of the jay family that specializes in harvesting and caching the large seeds
of the whitebark pine, a timberline tree found from the Coast Mountains of
British Columbia south through the Cascades of Washington and Oregon to the
Sierra Nevadas of California. One study found that a single nutcracker
cached more than 30,000 seed in one fall, for use later in the winter. Most
seeds are probably stored in crevices in wind-blown rocks (thus mostly
snow-free in the winter), making them available for use throughout the
winter. Further, this study found the nutcracker remembered the location of
many (but not all) caches. Caches not retrieved are apparently form an
important aid in propagating this species of pine.


Hope this helps.

Andy
----- Original Message -----
From: <osprey at nwinfo.net>
To: <TWEETERS at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Sunday, September 17, 2000 9:00 PM
Subject: WANTED: Yakima County sighting reports


> Hi Tweets,
>
> The Yakima Herald-Republic newspaper has started putting a bird alert
column
> in their Thursday Ourdoors section. It is an attempt by a new (to Yakima)
> reporter to counterbalance the hunting and fishing articles with another
way
> to enjoy the outdoors and wildlife. I am his contact with the birding
> community. Every Monday evening I send him a report of the birds being
> seen, what people can expect to see and where to see them.
>
> I am hoping that people who bird in Yakima County will either post their
> sightings to Tweeters or send them to me directly. I am having a hard
time
> filling the space with just Andy's and my sightings.
>
> If you can send e-mails by early Monday evening it will be a great help
for me.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Denny
> * * * * * * * * * * *
> * Denny Granstrand *
> * Yakima, WA *
> * osprey at nwinfo.net *
> * * * * * * * * * * *
>
>
>