High Country Life

Climate change is leading to declines among alpine birds despite their unique adaptations for life in high elevation environments. Retreiving glaciers and diminishing snowpack are diminishing breeding and foraging habitat, creating less suitable breeding and foraging areas for these creatures.

Existing approaches for identifying alpine bird species are limited or do not combine climate, habitat and avian trait data into one comprehensive approach. Our methodology, validated by experts, is the first one that incorporates all these factors.

Allen’s Hummingbird

Allen’s Hummingbird is one of several species of hummingbirds that fly and hover while sipping nectar from flowers, nectar being its main food source, but other food includes insects caught midair by hovering and pollen gathered from plant heads; an important pollinator such as that which protects Western Lilies which are federally endangered species.

This bird is easily identified by its green back and orange throat, coppery tail feathers and eye patch, male Rufous Hummingbirds can be distinguished from them by the width of their outermost tail feathers compared to close relatives such as Selasphorus alleni from Nootka Sound indigenous people’s name for this bird sasin (to bear flame). Charles Andrew Allen collected what would become its type specimen near Fairfax in San Geronimo Valley during late 1800s – becoming its type collector and type collector.

Allen’s Hummingbird nests along a narrow coastal stretch from California to southern Oregon, in coastal forest, scrub, and chaparral habitats. The nominate subspecies (S. sasin) is migratory and spends its winter in south-central Mexico; while its non-migratory population on channel islands and Palos Verdes Peninsula has expanded into much of Los Angeles County, Orange County, and even parts of Riverside County.

Female birds construct nests out of soft materials like moss and other soft substances such as bark flakes or stems from weeds; often recycling materials from an old nest as they do so. When their two tiny eggs hatch after three weeks in incubation, their mother will feed the naked chicks, providing protection and nourishment until their parent takes over caretaking duties again.

Allen’s Hummingbirds migrate very early each year, from January or even February. You can spot them in coastal gardens, meadows, suburban backyards and suburban garden plots across North America. To bring these beauties into your yard more frequently, plant flowers they enjoy feeding from and hang feeders near trees or shrubs where you can spot them – you can also join eBird, a citizen science project that allows people to track wildlife observations across North America in real time!

Blue Jay

Blue Jays are familiar sights in eastern back yards and woodlots, yet are gradually spreading their range into the Northwest. This intelligent and adaptable bird is often seen in pairs or family groups or large flocks; their feathered heads feature a prominent crest of feathers which raises or lowers with its mood, with mostly blue wings with black bars on inner trailing edges featuring white tips, while their faces remain white.

Blue Jays possess a heavy bill which they use to pry open hard husks on nuts and berries, then store in bushes or trees until later consumption. Blue Jays often visit feeders frequently in search of snacks such as mixed grain, peanuts and sunflower seeds to lure Blue Jays in for feeding sessions.

Blue Jays are highly vocal birds that communicate with one another by using various calls – including its signature jay! jay! call. Additionally, this species of bird has the ability to mimic other bird calls such as those produced by Northern Mockingbirds and Gray Catbirds.

Blue Jays historically made their migrations west from the East seeking open wilderness areas, but have adapted and can now often be found in suburban settings with plenty of parks, edge habitat, and bird feeders. Blue Jays can often be seen throughout Idaho cities and towns such as Boise or Spokane where this migratory species maintains significant populations.

Discover more about how climate change is impacting Blue Jays and other species with Audubon’s Survival by Degrees project. Select a temperature scenario to observe how warming temperatures will alter this bird and others in its range.

Black-throated Blue Warbler

The Black-throated Blue Warbler boasts an enormous breeding range across the Northeast and southern Canada, as well as being found at high altitudes in the Appalachian Mountains. Precolonial records indicate its distribution was even wider; however, once European colonization occurred and farms were converted to forests or cleared habitat disappeared its breeding range shrunk significantly; with forest conversion in the 19th and 20th centuries however Black-throated Blue Warbler populations have seen a rebound (Irland 1982).

Black-throated Blue Warblers are easily recognized migratory warblers due to their deep blue upper parts, black face and sides and white belly. Males feature an easily distinguishable face pattern as well as a distinctive whitish patch on their wings during flight while females have plain brownish-olive plumage. Both males and females forage in mature deciduous and mixed evergreen-deciduous woodlands or hilly terrain with thick hobblebush or mountain laurel undergrowth while during migration/winter they visit all types of wooded/bushy habitats such as parks/gardens etc.

Like other New World warblers, Neotropical migrants feed on berries, seeds and small fruits as well as flower nectar. Additionally, they may feed on insects during breeding season when they flit amongst tall trees in search of prey.

Black-throated Blue Warblers can be quite wary of humans, yet are typically less afraid of people than other warblers. You might spot one skulking through the undergrowth at Hubbard Brook or singing their lazy buzzy song consisting of three to seven buzzing notes that increase in pitch towards its conclusion (a handy mnemonic for this is “I am so lay-ZEEE”). They often perch under trees or perches along forest edges and perch in shaded overhangs to sing while not moving as rapidly around their surroundings compared to other warblers.

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Red-breasted Nuthatch birds can often be seen perching atop tree trunks or alpine meadows, showing off their impressive agility by probing crevices for insects, poking around under bark flakes for seeds, and caching cones to be consumed later in winter. A regular visitor to bird feeders, they enjoy eating suet, mealworms, and sunflower seeds during winter; although when natural food sources become scarcer they move higher elevations in search of sustenance.

This species inhabits medium to high elevation boreal coniferous forests, as well as open rocky and hilly areas, foraging either alone or with mated pairs, often aggressively protecting their feeding territories. They join mixed species flocks during winter, often alongside chickadees and titmice.

Both males and females of this species dig a cavity nest about 2.5 to 8 inches deep into a tree trunk or side branch, usually 2.5 to 8 inches below ground level. Females build beds of grass, bark strips and pine needles while lining it with fur, feathers, moss and shredded bark for insulation and decoration. Finally, both species apply fresh sap as a form of defense against predators or potential tax assessors but this act of bird tool use is actually just another instance of bird tool use by these species.

Red-breasted Nuthatches make their presence known throughout the day with a short, high-pitched nasal buzz, making their call familiar and distinctive in mountain regions. Red-breasted Nuthatches are among the first birds to migrate south in midsummer and establish themselves at their winter territories by September; woodpeckers feature more steady wingbeats while Red-breasted Nuthatches often fly with undulating wings followed by quick bursts followed by glides.

Yellow-breasted Chat

With its vibrant yellow throat and chest, this bird is easily distinguishable. Additionally, its distinctive white spectacle marking encircling both eyes and connecting at the base of its bill creates a mask-like appearance. Furthermore, this species boasts green-brown head feathers, olive back and tail feathers, as well as a thick black bill that curves out stoutly and straight back for easy identification.

As with other wood warblers, chats feed on insects – especially grasshoppers and ants – as well as fruit. Furthermore, they are adept at picking up small seeds off of the ground, which may explain their wide breeding habitat range in North America.

Look out for Yellow-breasted Chats during the summer in dense brushy areas such as willow thickets; shrubby old fields; stream or swamp margins and stream banks, or anywhere with dense undergrowth. Although they can sometimes be found on cultivated land they generally favor dense undergrowth areas where breeding takes place between May and August, producing clutches of three to six eggs that take 11 days to hatch in open cup nests situated one to eight feet off the ground within dense vegetation.

Its song consists of whistles, rattles and grunts which may resemble other species’ songs. Males typically sing from perches or during an impressive display flight where both wings are spread open at the end.

Yellow-breasted Chats provide an invaluable indicator of an ecosystem’s health. Their haunting calls draw birders and other visitors who contribute significantly to local economies through tourism.

Though a common species, its preference for dense brushy habitat makes this species highly susceptible to habitat loss and fragmentation. Converting prairie to forest makes them especially vulnerable; dense shrubbery removed during logging operations also poses risks to them. Conservation efforts like agricultural set-asides or maintaining brushy areas after timber harvesting could be especially effective ways of protecting them.