From south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] Tue Apr 1 10:39:48 2003 Received: from www.plaidworks.com (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.8/8.12.2) with ESMTP id h31Ianit029977 for <[[email protected]]>; Tue, 1 Apr 2003 10:36:49 -0800 (PST) Received: from imo-d06.mx.aol.com (imo-d06.mx.aol.com [205.188.157.38]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.8/8.12.2) with ESMTP id h31Ia6ZQ029941 for <[[email protected]]>; Tue, 1 Apr 2003 10:36:07 -0800 (PST) Received: from [[email protected]] by imo-d06.mx.aol.com (mail_out_v34.21.) id t.10c.21ddb9e8 (4560) for <[[email protected]]>; Tue, 1 Apr 2003 13:35:59 -0500 (EST) From: [[email protected]] Message-ID: <[[email protected]]> Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 13:35:59 EST Subject: Re: [SBB] Oak dependent species? To: [[email protected]] MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: 6.0 sub 10581 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Content-Filtered-By: Mailman/MimeDel 2.1.1+ X-BeenThere: [[email protected]] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1+ Precedence: list List-Id: South Bay Birding List-Unsubscribe: , List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Sender: south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] Errors-To: south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] In a message dated 4/1/03 9:55:06 AM Pacific Standard Time, [[email protected]] writes: > So, here's the question I should perhaps have posed when I first raised the > Bushtit issue: which of our other native species could be considered > "dependent" on various species of oaks, either for nesting or food or > shelter? > > This is an interesting question, but dependence is hard to demonstrate and preference seems to sometimes be more to the point. And even some species that have a strong association with oak woodlands or forests, might also be regular in other forests without any live oaks. Even the Hutton's Vireo, which Mike M. rightly pointed out is commonly associated with live oaks, is widely found in conifer forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains where live oaks are absent or but a minor component of the forest. The California Partners in Flight Bird Conservation Plan for oak woodlands has some good information on bird associations with oaks. It can be downloaded from < http://www.prbo.org/calpif/plans.html> I'd say the only species which is, strictly speaking, dependent on _Quercus_ oaks (and tan oaks) in our area is the Acorn Woodpecker. But there are certainly others that show a strong association with oaks and may be more or less dependent on them for certain aspects of their life history. Among these are Nuttall's Woodpecker, Oak Titmouse (naturally), Hutton's Vireo, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Bullock's Oriole, White-breasted Nuthatch, Western Bluebird, Black-throated Gray Warbler, and others. The question of changes in local bird populations in response to changing habitat resources, whether by Sudden Oak Death or for other reasons, is one which interests me a great deal. To that end, it should be noted that there is a dearth of information on actual population trends in forest birds in our local region. To be sure there have been various studies, but in general these have been very local, or short term, or sporadic in annual occurrence. Long term info from extensive surveys is lacking. If there is any such out there for the Santa Cruz Mountains I'd love to learn more about it. The Palo Alto summer bird count is but one area on one day each year. The Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) routes that cover forests in these mountains are important but are too few to draw much in the way of firm local conclusions, and are more interesting in a broader context for which they were intended. Here in Santa Cruz County I initiated a project last year to help fill the gap. It is the Santa Cruz County Forest Bird Monitoring Project. It is patterned somewhat after the BBS, using point counts along routes. Last year members of the Santa Cruz Bird Club surveyed 851 points along 36 routes spread throughout the county's forest lands, and coverage is planned to be expanded this year. I hope this can grow to become a long term project. David Suddjian Capitola, CA [[email protected]] _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. south-bay-birds mailing list ([[email protected]]) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://www.plaidworks.com/mailman/options/south-bay-birds/south-bay-birds-archive%40plaidworks.com This email sent to [[email protected]]