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Plant It and They Will Come: Bird Use of Natives in Seattle Yards.

Donald Norman, Go Natives! Nursery

210 NW 101st Seattle, WA 98177 [206] 297-1978 (Corner 3^rd NW & Holman Rd)

August 2005- Revised March 2008.

Noticing new birds in your yard can be a very satisfying way to judge the success of planting native plants. Not all yards are created equally and the surrounding habitats also greatly influence the use of a yard by birds. It is really important to be realistic about the expectation of what birds you will see in your yard. What I have done is provide you with a list of expected birds in an regular Seattle yard with their monthly occurrence [Table 1]. It is always exciting to see an unusual bird in your yard and creating an oasis in the city offers you the opportunity.

As part of our exercise, I have created some handouts with more details from some simple yard types that we will use to help evaluate which species of birds might increase with actions you take in your yard.

Obviously, there are more species of birds in other habitats, and I have left out the house sparrow and starling and others such as regular flyovers like glaucous-winged gull, bald eagle, great blue heron, and wetland species like marsh wren.

I have also broken down the types of birds you might see in your yard into some categories that will help you understand the transition that has occurred in Seattle as it has urbanized. Much of this information has been based upon only a few sources, but major research is now ongoing at the UW Forestry School at the Urban Ecology Project run by Professor John Marzluff. The major initial emphasis has been to evaluate the patch size needed to retain the naturally occurring species in the area [Donnelley and Marzluff 2004], included in your handouts]. Other sources for the distribution have been Gene Hunn’s Birds of King County [Hunn 1982] and monitoring that I have been doing for the past 12 years at Fort Lewis and in my own backyard.

Recording birds, even in your own backyard, can be an exceeding difficult activity. Some birds are visible and noisy, so they may appear to be common, when they are actually just passing through. Others are quiet and secretive. Most of the research that has been performed has focused upon the breeding season, when birds are singing and easy to map out. But there are many birds that migrate through Seattle and several species that occur only in winter. We still, for example, do not know if the robins here in summer remain into the winter in the same neighborhood. Conversely, I have only had regular use of my yard by Song Sparrows in the winter - I have birds singing in my yard until about April, then none. I know my yard is OK for Song Sparrows because I have had the same individual present for 5 winters in a row, as I have captured it over 14 times in my banding operation. Why this bird does not want to stay into summer is a good question. I have not been able to see whether it was the banded bird singing - I still don’t know if “it” is a he or a she... So, the tasks for my yard have been to complete my bog and increase the quality of the brushy habitat. Hopefully more answers about the urban requirements of many birds will be answered by the research that Kara Whittaker and others are doing for their PhD’s in John Marzluff’s Urban Ecology Program.

The purpose of my presentation is to provide some ways for measuring success using birds after making changes at all scales in an existing landscaping, from yards with no native landscaping to those with major existing features. Because of the variety of birds and use of habitats, tracking different yards can actually help determine how to better “design with nature”. I have put together a worksheet that we can discuss to plan your yard’s progress. There are handouts ranging from bare yards to those with good existing conifer cover.

Urban Natives

Aside from the introduced rock dove, starling, and house sparrow, other researchers have included many other species as human associated. This is because many species are more common in urban than non-urban habitats. I have spent the past 12 summers working in the Fort Lewis-McChord AFB area, the largest patch of non-urbanized habitat in the Puget Sound Lowlands. I have yet to record an Anna’s hummingbird there and I have had days in the field without a crow. The list of urban natives depends upon the context, for Seattle the Anna’s hummingbird, American crow, barn swallow, purple martin, violet-green swallow, house finch and even American robin have been called human associated. The origin of some species is not clear, such as California quail. We know that Anna’s hummingbird has moved north over the past 50 years, up from California. Because they are a resident, they have been associated with the warmer maritime and urbanized areas because of the availability of food year round. The remaining 100,000 acres of natural area at Fort Lewis provides an interesting historical context - in 12 years of operating a banding station near the center of Fort Lewis, I have captured equal numbers of gray jays as Steller’s jays and there have been far more reports of ravens on the banding station daily list than American crows. There have never been house finches and bushtits are rare - a reminder that these species appear to be associated with the fragmented nature of urban areas - the exact reason is not clear.

Actions for Success

For many yards just starting out from a bare slate, removing lawn or invasives, the attraction of swallows and robins is a measure of success. Since you will not have a snag for a nest hole, providing a nest box can easily attract a black-capped chickadee for breeding. Put it up early because they breed as early as April. If you are not successful in attracting them, look for large numbers of birds in your yard starting in June and watch to see if they explore the box. Try moving if you do not see anyone exploring it. The successful use of a nest box is therefore considered the benchmark.

The primary benchmark for success of highly urban species is the presence of nesting areas and food to support the brood. Bewick’s wrens need brushy areas for food but will nest just about anywhere they are safe from predators, including in old hats, garages, etc... Bushtits seem to be really attracted to the big deodar cedars that occur throughout the city, but they need areas for feeding. And finally, with some spring and summer red flowers, the Anna’s hummingbird is becoming a regular in the urban yard.

A note about predators. Crows are everywhere and will watch you watching a nest. Be discreet about watching a nest. The bushtit nest in my yard failed the last two years - probably depredated by crows or possibly by eastern gray squirrels,, but this year, in the same spot, they raised 2 broods. Robins will decide that human disturbance is a lesser problem than crows. When the robins fledge is the best time to visit your neighbors with outdoor cats - bring a dead baby robin for extra effect. During the warm weather is when many cats get outside.

If you know of a successful nest, remove it during the fall or winter so it can be reused next year. This includes making sure to get a bird house that opens up for cleaning.

Woodpeckers

We have 5 species of woodpeckers in Seattle. Few nest. I compiled information from Breeding Bird Atlas [BBA] survey from the Seattle area to provide a review of the breeding status of our woodpeckers [Smith, et al 1997]. I compiled the possible, probable and confirmed breeding codes for 25 census blocks or areas, which are 6 miles x 6 miles in size. The total survey sample in my compilation extends outside of the Seattle area, from Puget Sound to 18 miles east [out into the suburbs] and 48 miles from Edmonds into south of Seattle. The 25th block was the small area of Discovery Park. The most common nesting woodpecker was downy woodpecker, with 40 percent of the blocks having confirmed nesting. Only 28 percent of the blocks had confirmed nesting for flickers and 8 percent for pileated woodpeckers. There was 1 record or 4 percent for Hairy and no confirmed nesting of red-breasted sapsuckers. [A note: the data for this publication is now over 10 years old, and I personally have confirmed records from some of the blocks, but the information provides an good picture of the woodpecker status]. Starlings also play a big role in thwarting flickers and house sparrows for downy woodpeckers. Placement of the nest box in the most forested part of your yard and not out in the open increases its chance of success. I have personally witnessed starlings evict a happy pair of flickers. Remember also to fill the nest box with wood chips and shavings to simulate it being an unused cavity.

Actions for Success

Create snags. Leave the trees as tall as possible. Leave the trunk on the ground. Snags for smaller cavity nesters like downy woodpeckers can be achieved with very small diameter trees. Alder and maple can be easily grown and either coppiced or topped to provide nesting opportunities. In less than 10 years, alders can be large enough to be topped at 12-15 feet and retained for nesting cavities. Remember that some species like red-breasted nuthatches do not readily use nest boxes, so snags as small as 4 inches in diameter may work.

A California wax myrtle (Myrica californica) screen can provide winter food for flickers. Flickers thrive in many urban areas due to their ability to feed on the ground on ants and also to eat a wide variety of fruit. Live with ants.

Swallows

A recent survey of urban areas I performed for John Marzluff in the summer of 2004, where I visited a large number of commercial and industrial sites around King County, determined that violet-green swallows occur in many areas with few apparent sources of food. While no study of the urban survival of these nest box and urban housing utilizing species has been performed, a study of barn swallows has been performed at the Woodland Park Zoo for many years, with over major nesting survey has shown excellent fledging success. Barn swallows occur in summer on every BBA block and had confirmed nesting on 64 percent of the survey areas, compared to only 32 percent for violet-greens. Both should be 100 percent

Actions for Success

Nest boxes for violet-green swallows require holes too small for house sparrows [no bigger than 1 inch in diameter] and thick holes. Placing the hole on the bottom of the box also helps deter sparrows. Try putting out mud and water starting in early April for barn swallows. A simple set of ledges can be made and placed in a variety of places in the first years, then moved to more acceptable locations. Ed Newbold has placed a very nice piece of flat stonework that lies in his parking strip, holds water, with a dollop of mud on the side, and serves as a ground sculpture the rest of the year... You want the water and mud to be in a place accessible by the birds from the air, the more open, the better. The top of a roof or deck can also work.

Migratory Birds

Migrants move through most yards in Seattle if the weather has grounded them, especially in the spring, but such events are rare. On one such day in mid May, I recorded migrants on 31 of the 50 stops I made from Edmonds to Magnolia, on a Breeding Bird Survey [BBS] style survey. The same situation has occurred at the Woodland Park Zoo for International Migratory Bird Day, when a major storm the evening before the event grounded thousands of birds in Seattle. We caught hermit thrushes and orange-crowned warblers that weighed more than 50 percent more than their normal weight, indicating they were in mid-migration. If the weather stays bad and impacts their fat stores, they need to remain longer in yards that offer food, cover, and water. Of the 74 species seem in my yard [not counting those flying over], a total of 17 or 23 percent have been migrants, i.e. birds that do not nest in the urban parks of Seattle. The most commonly detected migrant is Wilson’s warbler, because it often sings continuously. Finding the non-singing females and other migrants in your yard involves getting up early in the morning and patiently watching the best parts of your yard. The only times I have recorded Swainson’s thrush in my yard was when I captured one in a mist net. Migrants are the pinnacle of success of a restored yard. I doubt I would have seen some of the migrants in my yard without my large snag-like tree and my water features. I doubt that a willow flycatcher would have remained in my yard if I did not have a dense thicket next to my water feature.

Actions for Success

There are two important aspects of providing migration habitat for birds in urban Seattle. The first, in spring, is providing a flush of buds, insects, and water for species that happen to be grounded. Oregon ash and red alder are two plant species lacking in the city and used by migrants, as well as big-leaf maple. In the fall, which can start in early August, it is fruit and water that are critical. Setting up dripping stations and having a succession of fruiting native shrubs that provide late summer fruit can be a real lifesaver for the juveniles of many species that do not migrate south high in the mountains. Many urban riparian areas and shorelines are sorely lacking in these two. The increase in impervious surfaces have reduced summer seeps and streams, reducing available water to many birds during the hot months of July and August.

Resident Species Associated with Conifers

The Pacific Northwest is dominated by conifers. Bird diversity is actually lower in conifer forest than mixed or deciduous forests. Nevertheless, the loss of conifers and their associated understory and ground cover in the urban areas has resulted in the loss of many species [See handouts]. Some of our urban parks, especially those with hemlocks still band-tailed pigeon, hairy woodpecker, golden-crowned kinglet, chestnut-backed chickadee, red-breasted nuthatch, winter wren, hutton’s vireo, varied thrush, black-throated gray warbler, western tanager, dark-eyed junco, purple finch and red crossbill. Research at the Urban Ecology program has actually quantified the density and acreage needed for many of these species to begin to appear again. As conifers become more dominant in a neighborhood, these conifer associated species begin to occur, often only in post breeding periods where juveniles are wandering in search of new places to live (the PC code in Table 1) but slowly as regular visitors as the density of conifers increases.

Recent surveys of birds in urban areas by Professor John Marzluff at the UW Forestry School have shown that parks must be well over 32 acres to provide habitat for some of the conifer species like hairy woodpecker, hutton’s vireo, and black-throated gray warbler. As the number of conifers increases, the birds that increasingly show up are, in order of frequency, chestnut-backed chickadee, golden-crowned kinglet, winter wren and red-breasted nuthatch, and finally band-tailed pigeon. This information is provided in the printed handouts.

Planting conifers also provides a major water retention capacity in the winter and in storms, as the needles hold the rain up in the tree prior to allowing it to hit the ground. This dampens the peak of water runoff. The majority of the greenbelts left in Seattle are deciduous and replacing them with conifers could significantly reduce the need for more storm water infrastructure as the city increasing urbanizes. There are excellent new guidelines for integrating native plants in storm water planning and the Puget Sound Action Team has recently funded an excellent document on Low Intensity Development [LID]. A visit to the SEA street project north of the Zoo on 110th just west of Greenwood demonstrates how native plants can be used to help with infiltration and water retention. More work is ongoing in the area with Seattle Public Utility.

Actions for Success

Conifers grow slowly. Digging too small a hole and not enough in depth to get through the hardpan or clay layer is also a problem. Finding inexpensive large conifers is a problem. Prepping the soil with a good mulch that will retain water and air for the roots and a hole that might have to go 4 feet or more is critical to really provide a good start for the tree’s roots. Ensuring that there are no overhead wires or pipes underneath also prevents future problems. Remember to place the tree so it provides some shade duty. Hemlocks and shorepines are the slowest growing. Western red cedars should be planted where there is good water. Remember about snags.

Wintering Sparrows

Any yard in Seattle that offers some cover and has an open ground feeding area (or an area just below a feeder) has juncos and probably golden-crowned sparrows. Juncos do nest, or try to nest in Seattle, but require a decent understory that is associated with the species occurring in conifer forest edge. The winter distribution of golden-crowned sparrows in our urban areas has not been well studied, they seem to be missing in some areas. Both species have major site fidelity, as shown by recaptures of banded birds in urban backyards. Several other sparrows indicate improved habitat quality: spotted towhee and song sparrow, will begin to appear in a recently improved yard, and become resident in yards with a more established native planting. As I explained above, I am still searching for that habitat that attracts a song sparrow in summer, but my yard may just be too small. Likewise, in the winter, my yard may be too small for fox sparrows, though I have recorded them in migration. There is a real preference by fox sparrows in Seattle for Himalayan blackberry (Rubus discolor) , but that is likely due to the lack of good salal patches. Wet grassy areas are a good location for Lincoln’s sparrow, another rare habitat within the city.

Actions for Success

Winter sparrow habitat can be easily prepared. I have been experimenting with using my garden area and now my raspberry patch as a winter foraging area. Both locations are where I can do some winter bird watching from indoors, so I can spread a little bit of bird seed and have a flock of golden-crowns and juncos always visiting. Mixed in will be my song sparrow, and occasionally an over wintering white-crowned sparrow. The best sites are those that face south and have some sun and also have easy escape routes into the thickets, as there are many accipiters and cats that constantly harass the sparrows. Since bare ground works best, using part of the garden or a cane patch is a great idea. To reduce the cats, I am placing some 3 to 4 foot high large mesh fencing, with squares as large as 3 to 4 inches. It comes in a green coating so it can also go in the thickets to prevent cats from easily getting into some areas . The birds easily learn to squirt through the holes.

Grassy patches with perennial plants are really nice wintering habitat for sparrows as they offer additional seed sources. Greg Davis Park over in West Seattle provides a beautiful native flower garden in the spring and summer, with daisies, goldenrod, lupine and other perennials, many of which produce seeds relished by sparrows. Some experimenting with some of these plants can provide a nice source of native seed and the dense roosting areas these sparrows need. Stay tuned.

Providing evening roost habitat is another often forgotten aspect of wintering birds. Providing a dense thicket where birds are safe from predators and also from the cold is critical. It is not clear how often cold impacts wintering species in the Lowlands, but it is a major factor in many areas. A young Cooper’s hawk had a lesson trying to remove itself from a bamboo thicket that was often used by sparrows in the winter for roosting. Certainly the hawk caught no dinner, and may have injured its feathers severely. Again, stay tuned for more information on what birds use what plants for roosting. I do know that the California wax myrtle is a roost site for the golden-crowned sparrows.

Some Specialty Habitats

It would be appropriate to include a short note about threatened habitats in the Puget Sound area. These include wetlands, riparian areas, and madrone forests, especially those on marine sites. Again, most of the emphasis in the protection of these habitats has been with breeding birds, but many other species uses these habitats in migration and winter.

References Cited

Donnelly, R. and J. M. Marzluff. 2004. Importance of Reserve Size and Landscape Context to Urban Bird Conservation. Cons. Biol. 18: 733-745.

Hunn, E. 1982. Birds of King County. Seattle Audubon Society.

Institute for Bird Populations. Fort Lewis MAPS Station. www.birdpop.org

Smith, M., P. W. Mattocks, and K. M. Cassidy. 1997. Breeding Birds of Washington State. Location Data and Predicted Distributions, Including Breeding Bird Atlas Data and Habitat Associations. Seattle Audubon Society, 541pp.