[obol] Reason for WB Nuthatch decline?

[DAVID IRONS]

Like Lars, my perspective is arguably brief (in the grand scheme) and 
anecdotal.  While I would agree that long term there has been a significant 
decline in White-breasted Nuthatches, over the past 2-3 years I feel like 
they have rebounded slightly in the Eugene area.  I have been encountering 
them with a little greater frequency and most encouraging to me, I have seen 
them in none oak habitats (although this could be bad news) on several 
occasions over the past two years.  Last winter the Weds. AM group (Larry 
McQueen et al.) had a group of 5-6 W-B Nuthatches along the Amazon Canal 
just w. of Greenhill Rd.  There are groves of oaks just n. or there, but we 
saw this group in cottonwoods (if I remember correctly) along the south side 
of the canal.  Also, before I moved last Nov. I twice had single W-B 
Nuthatches in a large elm tree across the street from my house at 27th and 
Adams, far removed from any quality oak habitat.

I hear them frequently while working in the Veneta/Elmira area and other 
sites around the perimeter of Fern Ridge.  I've also heard them in patches 
of oaks and madrones in the south hills of Eugene, particularly in the area 
south of Lane Community College.  I've also found them on several occasions 
in stands of Oregon Ash.

Despite my perception of increased detections, I still wonder about the 
long-term prognosis for this bird.  The rampant "Californication" of the 
south hills in Eugene (and the foothills surrounding most Willamette Valley, 
Umpqua and Rogue communities) is butchering (to put it mildly) some 
beautiful stands of oaks along with associated open spaces.  There is 
unfortunately a substantial percentage of the population who think every 
hillside should be covered with oversized mini-mansions built cheek to jowl. 
  Oops, there went the Home Builders Assoc. vote when I run for office.

Dave Irons
Eugene, OR




>From: Norgren Family <gnorgren at earthlink.net>
>To: Brandon Green <bjgreen34 at yahoo.com>
>CC: obol <obol at lists.oregonstate.edu>
>Subject: Re: [obol] Reason for WB Nuthatch decline?
>Date: Sun, 2 Sep 2007 17:57:21 -0700
>
>       Ah yes! The Perkins Penninsula nuthatches.
>I was on the CBC team that covered that area
>two years ago, and arguably our primary mission
>was to count that species as they might be the
>only individuals recorded in the circle that
>day. My family used to moor a sailboat at Orchard
>Point in the seventies and I saw every bit of Fern
>Ridge Resevoir's shore summer after summer. The
>strongest impression I took away from that Christmas
>Count day two winters ago was how incredibly overgrown
>all shores of the pond had become. In some places
>oak saplings have carpeted the landscape, turning
>it into an impenetrable thicket. In others the Douglas-
>firs have over-topped the oaks and consigned the spot
>to perpetual gloom.
>      That day we recorded numerous Wrentits at multiple
>locations. Such sightings a quarter century ago
>in this part of the Eugene Count circle were a distinct
>novelty, while one year tallied 86 White-breasted
>Nuthatches for the circle as a whole. For someone
>newly arrived to the Willamette Valley, the landscape
>appears open. But from the perspective of a half-century's
>observations, the encroachment of Coast Range inspired
>vegetation is alarming. Not too long ago Chipping
>and Vesper Sparrows were not considered noteworthy
>species in NW Oregon. Now I hear of people making
>dedicated efforts to find them.
>      This issue of habitat shift has come up repeatedly
>on Obol. Oak Savannah and grassland in the Willamette
>Basin is almost entirely anthropogenic. Indians
>set fires annually to keep the landscape open.
>Grazing by livestock of the European culture that
>supplanted the indigenous one forestalled
>afforestation. Ranchettes on the fringe of Eugene
>have in turn supplanted animal husbandry. Benign
>neglect rather than malicious intent have driven
>the nuthatches out. An impressive program of
>savannah restoration is underway at Finley NWR.
>Its long term success is dependent on continued
>funding.
>      Much as I welcome such a program on a widescale,
>I can't imagine where the money would come from
>to restore a significant acreage of private land.
>Lars Norgren
>On Sep 2, 2007, at 4:33 PM, Brandon Green wrote:
>
> > OBOL,
> >
> > While reading through "Birds of Lane County," I came across the part
> > that discusses the decline of the White-breasted Nuthatch over the
> > past 15 or so years in the Eugene area.  Indeed, the only place that
> > I've seen them (outside of a few rare visitors to my yard) even
> > semi-regularly is the Perkins Peninsula section of Fern Ridge.  I was
> > wondering if anybody knows what has caused this decline.  It seems to
> > me that the traditional "loss of habitat" reason wouldn't come into
> > play here, as there should be more than enough Oak growth in the
> > area.  Despite massive suburban sprawl/loss of habitat in the
> > Northeast and Midwest, they're still MUCH more common there than
> > here.  Is there a lack of a particular food source out here, or
> > something else that I'm not considering?
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Brandon
> > Eugene
> >
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