Wildlife of the Columbia Basin

Wildlife Subjects

Songbirds

Overview

Yellow-breasted chat (from RBCM; check for permission and credit)

Migratory bird researchers have suspected for some time that certain songbirds - those that live in forests and migrate long distances to winter in Central or South America - are declining across North America (see review by Harding, 1994). The theory is that these species suffer from forest fragmentation (with a multitude of ecosystem ills) in their northern forest breeding range, and wholesale destruction of their tropical forest wintering areas. Evidence for this is varied, and inconclusive, but the last place these effects should be seen are in the Pacific Northwest, British Columbia and Alaska, which still have large tracts of temperate forest. In response, international volunteer organizations and government efforts to monitor songbird populations have been stepped up, with the following surveys increasing in distribution and number of volunteers: Christmas Bird Counts, CBC (not to be confused with the national radio and television corporation of the same acronym), Breeding Bird Surveys, BBS. For British Columbia, researchers have initiated a nest record scheme to document breeding times and places (contact your local birding group to obtain the record forms, or write to: B.C. Nest Record Scheme, P.O. Box 6218 Station C., Victoria, B.C. V8P 5L5).

In the Revelstoke area, a volunteer monitoring group has been organized, under the leadership of Canada Parks Service (with CWS, the Columbia Mountains Institute of Applied Ecology and Columbia Basin Trust funding), to annually capture and band migrating songbirds, and in only a few years have obtained some interesting results. The objective is to monitor land bird populations in a way that involves the public, increases their awareness, provides them with new skills and data previously unavailable. This project will provide information on the natural environment of the area, an opportunity for students and adults to learn about land birds and their migration and will involve the community directly. The data will be an important addition to regional information on land bird populations. Results are found at http://www.cmiae.org.

The Columbia Basin Trust, with the Friends of the Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area, have initiated Operation Bluebird to build over 400 bluebird houses along 15 bluebird viewing trails. These nest boxes also benefit other birds, such as swallows and chickadees, in addition to mountain and western bluebirds.

References 

Campbell, R.W., N.K. Dawe, I. McT.-Cowan, J.M. Cooper, G.W. Kaiser and M.C.E. McNall. 1990. The Birds of British Columbia. Vol. 2. Nonpasserines: Diurnal birds of prey through woodpeckers. Royal BC Museum, Victoria and Can. Wildl. Serv., Delta, BC. 636 pp.

Cannings, R.A., R.J. Cannings, and S.G. Cannings. 1987. Birds of the Okanagan valley, British Columbia. Royal BC Museum, Victoria, BC. 420 pp.

Cannings, R.J. 1998. The birds of British Columbia - a taxonomic catalogue. BC Min. of Environ., Lands and Parks, Victoria, BC. 266 pp.

Cannings, S.G. et al. 1999. Rare Birds of British Columbia. Ministry of Environment, Lands & Parks, Victoria B.C. (In preparation).

Godfrey, W.E. 1986. The Birds of Canada. Revised Edition. National Museum of Natural Science, Ottawa. 595 pp.
Harding, L.E., 1994. Songbirds in decline. IN L.E. Harding and E. McCullum (eds.), 1994. Biodiversity in British Columbia: our changing environment. Environment Canada, Delta, B.C. p. 319-322.

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