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Western Forest
Redwood and Douglas-fir forests of the Pacific Coast are some of
the tallest forests in the world. Western forests also
include conifer, pine-oak, and pinyon-juniper forests of the
mountains, riparian ribbons of deciduous forest along major rivers, and
oak woodlands. Photo by Gerrit
Vyn
Birds in Trouble
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| Lewis's Woodpecker by Kenneth V. Rosenberg |
Marbled Murrelet, (Northern) Spotted Owl, (Mexican) Spotted Owl, (Southwestern) Willow Flycatcher.
Several groups of western forest birds are declining:
- Specialized permanent residents, such as Pinyon Jay (threatened by
massive die-off of pinyon pines), Oak Titmouse (threatened by loss of
California oak woodlands), and Yellow-billed Magpie (threatened by loss
of oaks and by West Nile virus).
- Temperate migrants dependent on mature pine forests, including
Lewis’s Woodpecker, Plumbeous Vireo, Grace’s Warbler, and Cassin’s
Finch.
- Neotropical migrants such as Black Swift, Western Wood-Pewee, and
Black-throated Gray Warbler. The steeply declining Black Swift is
vulnerable to increasing drought conditions because it nests behind
waterfalls.
- Many Pacific forest birds, including Marbled Murrelet, Spotted Owl, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Varied Thrush, Band-tailed Pigeon, Rufous Hummingbird, and Chestnut-backed Chickadee. Murrelets and Spotted Owls require structurally diverse old-growth forests.
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| Spotted Owl by James Livaudais |
Reasons for Hope
Vast areas of western forests on public lands are protected from permanent conversion to other land uses. Improved forest management, such as restoring natural fire regimes and fencing riparian areas to prevent overgrazing, can benefit many forest birds.
See next page for information about boreal forests.
