By Karen Povey, WNPF Board of Directors
Do you have a “spark bird?” If you’re a birdwatcher, you’re likely familiar with the term used to describe the species that serves as the catalyst for kindling a birder’s avian obsession. For Chris Williams, an interpretive ranger at North Cascades National Park, his spark was ignited while attending a pre-high school camp in Big Sur and getting his first glimpse of the California condor. Participating in recovery efforts for “this really big, kind of grotesque, but really beautiful and endangered bird” started him down the path of learning and sharing his passion for birds with others through his work as a park ranger.
During a Washington’s National Park Fund Virtual Field Trip, Chris highlighted the diversity of bird life in the North Cascades and offered suggestions of ways we can all help reduce threats to our feathered friends, even if you’re not a serious birder. Chris’ delight for his subject was infectious, stimulating lots of questions and comments during his interactive presentation.
Because the national park straddles the Cascade mountains, it encompasses a variety of distinct ecosystems, each with a specific complement of birds. A total of 217 bird species have been recorded within the park.
On the west side, Douglas firs, hemlocks, and cedars dominate the temperate rain forest landscape laced with rivers and waterfalls.
One of the most easily seen birds in this habitat is the charming Pacific wren, “only a few inches long but with a song that fills up the forest,” says a clearly smitten Chris. This tiny creature proclaims its territory in the spring with a rich, liquid melody while flitting about the forest floor feeding on insects.
Another amazing vocal talent is the Stellar’s jay which tricks other birds by mimicking hawk calls. The alarmed birds retreat, leaving their nests vulnerable to predation of their eggs and offspring by the scheming jays.
The alders and maples along west side rivers provide a delicious bounty to the dazzling red-breasted sapsucker, one of five woodpeckers on the western slopes. It’s easy to tell if sapsuckers are in residence – look for neat lines of tiny, circular holes they drill around tree trunks for feeding on sap.
Climbing up the crest of the Cascades brings us to the Alpine zone, a harsh environment with frigid temperatures and deep snow.
Few creatures can survive the punishing climate and limited food high in the mountains, but several birds specialize in making a lofty living here. The white-tailed ptarmigan transforms from brown to white with the seasons, boasting year-round camouflage while it browses on buds and seeds, sometimes digging deep into the snow for a meal. The small but hardy gray-crowned rosy finch is astonishingly at ease on the highest and windiest slopes and snowfields where it feeds on seeds and ice worms.
The eastern slope ponderosa pine forest and shrub-steppe habitat is much hotter and significantly dryer, due to the rain shadow effect of the Cascade peaks.
Here, the vivid blue lazuli bunting and flame-orange Bullock’s oriole add a bloom of color to the summer landscape. Both birds are insect-eating, part-time residents that head south when the cold kills off their food supply.
The flashy black, white, and blue, black-billed magpie hangs out here year-round, feeding on everything from insects and fruit to roadkill, demonstrating the adaptability common to other members of the corvid (crow) family.
While many of us delight in birds for their beauty and behavior, we should also recognize the essential role birds play in the environment. For example, Clark’s nutcrackers are the main seed disperser of the park’s whitebark pines, currently under threat from disease and attack from pine beetles. (Learn about the Adopt a White-bark Pine project WNPF donors supports.)
Rufous hummingbirds are known to pollinate at least 129 plant species. Pileated woodpeckers excavate large cavities that are used as homes by other birds and mammals. Other species also play the role of pollinators, seed dispersers, and keeping insect pests in check.
Because bird life is so rich and varied, it might be easy to think that all bird species are thriving. However, North Cascades National Park is home to two endangered species, the northern spotted owl and marbled murrelet. Both birds have experienced steep declines in numbers due to the loss of the old growth forest they depend on. The protected forests of the park are critical havens where these species nest high in the oldest and largest trees.
Overall, bird numbers are declining worldwide so they really need our help. It’s easy to take some simple actions to reduce the challenges your neighborhood birds face. Probably the most impactful is keeping your cat indoors or fitting it with a bird-safe collar that prevents hunting. Studies indicate that about 2.4 billion wild birds are killed by housecats annually. Collisions with windows also take a significant toll, killing nearly a billion birds each year. Many companies sell bird-saving stickers to apply to home and office windows to reduce strikes.
Perhaps the best thing you can do for birds is to join the growing worldwide birdwatching movement. Birds are easy to see and discover with your friends and family, whether that’s during a visit to one of Washington’s national parks or watching your backyard feeder. As Chris says, “Birding helps you build a connection to the world.” And the more connection we feel to nature, the greater our urge to protect it. So, grab some binoculars and a bird guide and discover a spark bird of your own!
To learn more about the birds mentioned in this story, visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds website.