[obol] Wrentit expansion, blackberry table-pounding

[Joel Geier]

Hello folks,

I'll confess that, when I posted my blackberry-focused postscript to the
Wrentit topic, one thought in the back of my mind was, "This should
reveal if Fix is alive & alert down in Humbolshun Land."

Himalayan/Armenian blackberries are still (as they were four years or so
ago the last time this topic got flogged to death on OBOL) in no peril
of imminent eradication from the Oregon landscape. This despite the
appearance in recent years of an imported rust from down under which is
said to "reduce their vigor." The rust has been found in Benton County
since spreading northward from Coos, but its effects are hard to notice.

Himalayan blackberries are certainly excellent habitat for our wintering
Fox Sparrows, and in varying degrees, other sparrows. In that respect, I
am not convinced that our native wild roses, snowberries,
serviceberries, poison oak, salmonberries and thimbleberries would not
serve just as well. Comparisons to our native blackberry (woodland
trailing blackberry) are not especially relevant, because this prostrate
plant occupies a very different position in the landscape.

So far as Himalaya blackberries serve as a nursery for Douglas-fir, I'm
not sure that's a plus unless you're a Steller's Jay, a species that has
expanded its presence in the Willamette Valley by most old-timers'
accounts in recent decades. Blackberry corridors provide excellent cover
to other nest predators including raccoons and the introduced Virginia
opossum. I have found raccoons far out in grass habitats, making use of
these corridors.

If you look at native Willamette Valley bird species of concern -- e.g.
Streaked Horned Lark, Oregon Vesper Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow,
Chipping Sparrow, Slender-billed (White-breasted) Nuthatch, Western
Meadowlark (and did I mention Yellow-billed Cuckoo?) -- not many if any
benefit from Himalaya blackberries. The Western Bluebird flock that has
visited our property the past several days would not have used the
blackberry thickets that were there a year ago.

Himalaya blackberry clumps do provide some good birding, no doubt about
it. They may even benefit some herps and mammals (I have found ensatina
and jumping mouse in the process of clearing some thickets). 

But there is no shortage of this particular habitat in the Willamette
Valley today. Efforts by public agencies and private individuals to
remove Himalaya blackberries in favor of native plants will benefit our
most imperiled species, and -- because Himalaya blackberries are so
difficult to stamp out -- pose precious little risk to species that do
benefit from blackberries.

So there's my own bit of table-pounding for the day. I'll continue to
clear blackberries in favor of native grassland plants, secure in the
knowledge that there is no way, no how that Himalaya blackberries are
likely to disappear from the landscape of western Oregon.

If Humboldt is short on Himalaya blackberries, I will be glad to ship a
few robust plants from Camp Adair down to the Himalaya Blackberry
Preservation Society of Del Norte County ;)

Good birding,
Joel

--
Joel Geier
joel.geier at peak.org