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Oak Obligate Breeding Birds Response to Restoration: 2025 Field Season and What’s to Come

Written by Elva Manquera on . Posted in Klamath Call Note, Conservation, Field Notebook.

Oak ecosystems are some of the richest and most diverse wild spaces in the Pacific Northwest, providing habitats for a wide array of plants and wildlife. However, widespread losses of these important ecosystems have led to declines in many species that are reliant on oak habitats. Nearly half of the 49 bird species associated with oak habitats have experienced population declines in the Pacific Northwest. Within Southern Oregon, the Klamath Siskiyou Oak Network is working to promote the restoration and conservation of oak habitats. As these vital habitats are restored, research on how species respond to restoration can help build an understanding of how to better protect plants and wildlife for many years to come.

Klamath Bird Observatory and Cal Poly Humboldt Applied Avian Ecology Lab have partnered up to study the response of oak-obligate breeding birds to oak restoration efforts in the Rogue Valley of Oregon, and to understand what drives local population trends. We have selected three species that require oak habitat, Oak Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch (Slender-billed subspecies), and Ash-throated Flycatcher, to study in the California black oak and Oregon white oak woodlands at Table Rocks Management Area. We will assess various demographic metrics (nesting density, nest success, and number of fledglings produced) and vegetation structure in relation to restoration in an effort to understand how birds are doing in restored vs. unrestored oak areas. This study will provide essential information on avian responses to restoration and help inform and improve future management efforts.

Beginning of the Season:

The crew started off the season with nest searching for the three focal species across each of 20 field plots. Oak Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, and Ash-throated Flycatcher pairs were found and followed from a distance as we attempted to locate their nests and estimate the number of pairs on each site. These species are all secondary cavity nesters, meaning that they are reliant on preexisting cavities, often excavated by woodpeckers or formed from natural decay, that frequently occur in large, mature oak trees. We found nests for each by noting which cavities pairs seemed interested in, such as the White-breasted Nuthatch pictured below, or watching them bring bits of grass, moss, or feathers to a cavity.

Middle of the Season:

Pictured: A White-breasted Nuthatch checking out a cavity and Samantha Webb, Graduate Student in Cal Poly Humboldt Applied Avian Ecology Lab watching for breeding behaviors.

As we started to move further into the breeding season, we continued nest searching by watching out for adults bringing food back to their nests, as the Oak Titmouse is doing in the picture below. We also began to monitor the contents of all the nests that we had found. Using a tiny camera on a flexible pipe, we were able to peep into the nest cavity and count the number of nestlings, as well as estimate their age based on their size and feather development.

Pictured: Oak Titmouse bringing a caterpillar back to its nest and Samantha checking the contents of a nest using a flexible snake camera.

End of Season:

As the nestlings got bigger and more feathered (see the Ash-throated Flycatcher nestling below!), we got final counts of the number of nestlings in each nest to determine how many individuals would fledge. Once a nest had successfully fledged, we began vegetation surveys around the nest and its surrounding territory. We took measurements of vegetation cover, stand density, composition of different plant species, and average dbh (diameter at breast height) of oak tree stands.

Pictured: Ash-throated Flycatcher nestling right before it fledged, picture taken inside the nest using a snake camera. Olive Smith, Cal Poly Humboldt Undergraduate Student Intern taking the diameter of a California black oak.

End of Season Wrap Up and Early Outcomes:

As the season came to a close, we finished data entry, and Graduate Student Samantha Webb is now hard at work, beginning to look at early results. This season, we found a total of 65 nests, including 31 Oak Titmouse, 21 Ash-throated Flycatcher, and 13 White-breasted Nuthatch nests. We also completed 260 vegetation surveys, four survey plots per nest. We plan to relate the density of nests, the number of successful nests, and the number of fledglings produced to these vegetation characteristics to understand how restoration-associated changes in vegetation influence reproductive outputs for these species.

Thanks to the gracious support from our funders, this project has been extended to include a second field season! We are extremely excited to continue to monitor these species’ nests, as well as add age class and body condition metrics to dive deeper into oak obligate bird responses to oak restoration. Stay tuned for next year!

Meet the Crew:

From left to right: Graduate Student Samantha Webb, Field Technician Adam Clayton, and Student Intern Olive Smith.

Our work and this essential research would not be possible without grant support. Thank you to the Bureau of Land Management, Greenfield-Hartline Habitat Conservation Fund, Oregon Birding Association, Oregon Wildlife Foundation, Oregon Conservation and Recreation Fund, Wilson Ornithological Society Jed Burtt Undergraduate Mentoring Grant, Conservation Unlimited Alumni Association, and Western Field Ornithologists for supporting this research.

 

NEWS RELEASE: Local Oak Partnerships Build Resources for Private Landowners

Written by Elva Manquera on . Posted in Klamath Call Note, Press Room.

CONTACT:
Jaime Stephens, Director of Conservation, Klamath Bird Observatory, jlh@klamathbird.org, 541-944-2890
Steve Denney, Coordinator, Umpqua Oak Partnership, stevedenn@mydfn.net, 541-671-1803

In partnership with the Umpqua Oak Partnership (UOP), the Klamath Siskiyou Oak Network (KSON) has released version 3.0 of “Restoring Oak Habitats in Southern Oregon and Northern California: A Guide for Private Landowners”. The funding for this landowner guide was from the Secure Rural Schools Title II program administered by the Bureau of Land Management Western Oregon Resource Advisory Committee.

Our region holds onto Oregon’s largest remaining section of oak habitat. With the majority of it owned by private landowners. Since 2017, southern Oregon and northern California landowners have protected and restored more than 5,000 acres of oak and prairie habitat.

Northwest oak and prairie landscapes are among the most drought-tolerant, wildfire-resilient native habitats in North America and oak trees play a key role in the ecosystem. If they are not restored, protected, and maintained, important natural processes could be lost forever. With over 300 species of wildlife using oak habitats during their life cycle, continued habitat loss and degradation will result in more of these species becoming vulnerable. Currently, 45 of those oak-associated species are already considered to be ‘at-risk’. Additionally, overstocked and unmanaged oak stands present an increased risk of unnaturally severe wildfire which not only results in habitat loss but threatens residences and rural communities.

Conifer encroachment of oak trees on a nontreated landscape. Photo Credit Bob Altman

“As both a landowner located in the Umpqua Basin and one of the authors, I am excited to see this new version of the landowner guide for managing oak habitats. This version of the guide has been updated to include the latest information on managing and restoring oaks and will be a valuable resource for landowners whether you own less than one acre or thousands of acres”. – Steve Denney, Umpqua Oak Partnership Coordinator.

This landowner guide describes how to apply conservation practices for Oregon white oak and California black oak habitats on private lands in southern Oregon and northern California. The document discusses the importance and history of oak habitats across three ecoregions and provides detailed conservation guidelines for oak habitat restoration, integrating Western science and Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge.

A male Western Tanager sitting in an Oregon White Oak singing. Migratory birds like this Western Tanager depend on oak habitats for a variety of resources including food, nesting, and stop-over habitats during migration. Photo Credit Frank Lospalluto.

The guide includes supplemental resources for the restoration-minded private landowner, including a list of organizations that will assist with private land restoration as well as step-by-step instructions for monitoring birds on your land to track the return of wildlife following oak restoration activities. An exciting opportunity exists for landowners and conservation partners to work together to restore native oak systems and their diverse wildlife communities to reverse these trends.

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The Klamath Siskiyou Oak Network (KSON) is a regional collaboration between local agencies, tribes, and non-profit organizations that works to conserve oak ecosystems on private and public lands in southern Oregon and northern California. Since 2011, KSON partners have accomplished thousands of acres of strategic ecological restoration to enhance oak habitat, build climate resilience, bolster cultural resources, and reduce wildfire risk to the ecosystem and communities.

The Umpqua Oak Partnership (UOP) is a collaborative regional partnership of landowners, tribes, agencies, and organizations working together to preserve and promote healthy oak habitats in Douglas County. UOP’s mission is to work to bring people together around oaks, help keep farms and ranches in the family, connect landowners to programs and funding, and share information.

News Release: Population and Habitat Objectives for Landbirds in Prairies, Oak, and Riparian Habitats of Western Oregon and Washington

Written by Elva Manquera on . Posted in Klamath Call Note, KBO Partners, KBO Science, Press Room.

The newly released conservation plan, Population and Habitat Objectives for Landbirds in Prairies, Oak, and Riparian Habitats of Western Oregon and Washington (Rockwell et al 2022), provides quantitative and multi-scaled population and habitat objectives for 26 focal and seven imperiled bird species. As the title suggests, the plan focuses on prairie, oak, and riparian habitats in the Puget Lowlands, Willamette Valley, and Klamath Mountains ecoregions of western Oregon and Washington. This document was prepared for the Oregon-Washington Chapter of Partners in Flight (PIF), Pacific Birds Habitat Joint Venture, Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Forest Service.

This document is an updated version of the Conservation Strategy for Landbirds in the Lowlands and Valleys of Western Oregon and Washington (Altman 2000). Among PIF bird conservation plans, this plan like its predecessor has quantitative and prescriptive objectives that were established for habitat attributes important to landbird species.

“This important document provides both land managers and bird conservationists answers to the essential questions of how much, where, and by when,” says Bob Altman of the American Bird Conservancy “it sets a new threshold for conservation standards in regional planning.”

Recommendations included are intended to guide planning efforts and management actions of land managers, direct expenditures of government and non-government organizations, and stimulate monitoring and research to support landbird conservation. The recommendations are also expected to be the biological foundation for developing and implementing integrated conservation strategies for multiple species at multiple geographic scales to ensure functional ecosystems with healthy bird populations.

“Partnerships are the backbone of Joint Ventures. A primary role of Migratory Bird Joint Ventures is to step-down continental habitat priorities for waterfowl, waterbirds, landbirds, and shorebirds to each Joint Venture region. This plan and the unique partnership between Pacific Birds, Klamath Bird Observatory, and PIF fills this gap; it frames conservation delivery strategies, sets the stage for working towards collective goals, and helps us meet our federal mandate,“ says Sara Evans-Peters U.S. Assistant Coordinator, Pacific Birds Habitat Joint Venture.

The section on imperiled species is unique to this Oregon-Washington PIF plan. Imperiled species were selected based on a population estimate of <2,000 individuals in any of the three ecoregions; a high degree of association with prairie, oak, and riparian habitats; and a historic anecdotal baseline as a relatively common species. The focal species approach assumes that the suite of focal species will cover the habitat requirements of imperiled bird species, but this may not hold true for imperiled species that are ecological specialists. In this region, we are fortunate to have uniquely detailed data regarding the population status and conservation needs of many of our imperiled species. To ensure their conservation, imperiled species were recognized and given their own biological objectives and habitat attributes, as well as integrated where appropriate as species to benefit from conservation actions directed towards focal species. Highlighted below is the Oregon Vesper Sparrow.

 

This document is intended to complement the goals, objectives, and strategies in several other planning and conservation processes and initiatives by filling a niche that is usually absent in those efforts: quantitative, prescriptive recommendations for habitat conditions most suitable for individual and suites of landbird species at several geographic scales (e.g., regional, subregional, site). The use and implementation of these recommendations can be done independently for landbird-specific conservation, or complementarily within the context of broader conservation goals to support and strengthen other plans.

You can view the whole conservation plan here.

KBO Logo (96 dpi)

oak hussey (72ppi 4x)

Oak Habitat Conservation Projects

Written by KBO on . Posted in Conservation Science Projects.

KBO is involved in oak habitat conservation projects throughout the Pacific Northwest. Oaks in the PNW are facing many threats, including invasive species, conifer encroachment, the lack of fire on the landscape, and human impact. These oak woodlands provide crucial habitats for many of our most at-risk western forest birds, including species like Lewis’s Woodpecker.

Visit Avian Knowledge Northwest to explore oak habitat-focused tools for land managers. 

Upper Rogue Oak Initiative

Upper Rogue Oak Initiative (UROI) will restore over 3,000 acres of oak habitat within three watersheds east and northeast of White City and Medford, Oregon. Work will occur throughout the Little Butte Watershed and may extend north to the Big Butte Watershed. Restoration will remove conifers that are crowding oaks, use prescribed fire where feasible, reduce noxious weeds, and reestablish a native understory. Click here to learn more about the UROI project. 

Acorn woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorous) perches on the branch of a California live oak (Quercus agrifolia). (U.S. Fish and Wildlife photo by Cal Robinson).

Central Umpqua Mid-Klamath Oak Habitat Conservation Project

KBO collaborated with a diverse group of partners through the Central Umpqua Mid-Klamath Oak Habitat Conservation Project, a Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) funded Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative, to better understand bird-habitat relationships and the response of birds to restoration in oak woodlands.

They worked with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Lomakatsi Restoration Project to implement and monitor oak restoration on private lands in Douglas and Jackson Counties in Oregon, as well as Siskiyou County, California. Around 2,000 acres were restored, and pre-restoration monitoring was completed in 2012. The US Department of the Interior honored this collaborative project with the Partners in Conservation Award.

Quercus and Aves

KBO contributed to a new publication on birds and oaks as part of our role in the American Bird Conservancy’s Quercus and Aves project. Click on the highlighted text to access the well-received Land Manager’s Guide to Bird Habitat and Populations in Oak Ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest and its Appendix of Oak Bird Species Accounts. We also coordinated a private landowner field day during which landowners spent the morning outside with restoration practitioners, agency managers, and wildlife biologists, discussing oak restoration in the Rogue Basin, opportunities for private land restoration, and the benefits of restoration to birds and other wildlife.  KBO worked with Oregon State University in support of Kate Halstead, a Master’s student who used the data collected from this project for her thesis.