Birds of the Park
Some birds that have occurred in the park in the past, are now seldom or never seen. This is due i to the general decline of bird species in the US as a result of habitat loss and use of pesticides, now being made worse by climate change impacts. Research covering some 44 species that regularly occur in the Seattle area has revealed that particular bird species respond differently to development in the suburbs. “Avoiders” are sensitive to development and tend to be primarily in forest reserves such as Bridle Trails State Park. Obviously, the park is very important to these species, ten of which use the park.
Avoiders can be resident year-round, such as the mouse-like Pacific Wren and the Hairy Woodpecker, or migrants, such as the Swainson’s Thrush, noted for its lovely flute-like song, and the colorful Western Tanager. Other such species sensitive to development include the migrant Pacific Slope Flycatcher and the resident Brown Creeper.
“Exploiters” are those species that do well in urban areas, for example capitalizing on lawns and bird feeders. These include the American Crow and the introduced European Starling. The other, and largest, group of species is the “Adapters”, which can do fairly well in both forest reserves and suburban yards. These include the resident Bewick’s Wren and Chestnut-backed Chickadee, and the migrant Black-headed Grosbeak and Yellow-rumped Warbler.
Raptors.
Both hawks and owls use the park. Red-tailed Hawks and Cooper’s Hawks nest in the park, and Bald Eagles and Sharp-shinned Hawks are seen. All of our owls are residents. The largest is the Great Horned Owl, a fierce predator of animals as large as skunks. The medium-size Barred Owl is the one that attacks pedestrians on the park’s trails and in neighborhoods. Smaller owls that show up sometime include the diurnal Northern Pygmy Owl and the Northern Saw-whet Owl, both of which have tooting calls.
Woodpeckers.
Four species, all residents, regularly occur in the park, the large Pileated Woodpecker, medium-size Hairy Woodpecker, and small Downy Woodpecker, plus Northern Flicker, seen more often in nearby yards. Red-breasted Sapsucker has been observed nesting in the park in recent years, but is declining our area.
Songbirds.
The largest group of birds using the park are the songbirds. This group includes flycatchers, corvids (American Crow, Common Raven, and Stellar’s Jay), chickadees, wrens, warblers, thrushes, swallows, finches, and sparrows. The Olive-sided Flycather gives its “quick, three beers” song from the tops of conifers. A common warbler that uses shrubby habitats is the yellow Wilson’s Warbler. Some of other warblers use the upper canopy and are hard to see. The American Robin is the most common thrush in the park and nearby yards. Swallows are much less common in the area now, but one might see a Tree Swallow, which nests in holes in trees. The once common Barn Swallows are now rarely seen in the park. Purple Finches can be heard singing in the spring, and our most common resident sparrow is the ubiquitous Song Sparrow.
Other species.
Migrant Rufous Hummingbirds use salmonberry and red-flowered currant when they first arrive in March. Band-tailed Pigeons can be seen doing their stiff-winged flight displays above the canopy. Vaux’s Swifts, which now are rarely seen in our area, can be seen in in the thousands in Monroe. Several so-called game birds that used to occur in the park, Ruffed Grouse and California Quail, have not been seen in decades, probably as a result of development.
Links:
Bird Species List for the Park
Photo credits: Jim Erckmann, Wikimedia Commons (V J Anderson, Alan Schmierer, Kameron Pernsovich, Jessica Mertz, Dakota Lynch, Cephas), Flickr (Jacob McGinnis, Becky Matsubara, Henry T McLin, Tyler Ingram, Jerry McFarland, Michael Klotz, D Machado, Ken-ichi Ueda, David A Hofmann, Keith Williams, Linda Tanner, Jamie Chavez), USFWS, Pixabay, Eastside Audubon (Mick Thompson).