Birds Studies - 1994 Thunder Fire

Swooping raptor wingprint.

Final Reports (PDF) Thunder Fire Report, by G. Wooten, M. Poss, and M. Larsen (3 MB PDF file). Thunder Fire Project Appendices Links: Introduction Background and Highlights Ecology Wildlife Birds Amphibians Vegetation Threats Related pages: Boreal research Boreal Okanogan

From the day the fire was considered out, we have been monitoring the wildlife use in the area. The first species found were red breasted nuthatches and crickets. The 4 weeks following the fire corresponded with the beginning of the fall migration. Fire patterns adjacent to the multitude of meadows and wetlands were of variable intensity and frequently were associated with a flush of vegetation. Over 6 inches of grass regrowth occurred and many bushes and shrubs resprouted. Insects that colonized these areas were unfortunately not monitored. A combination of these events may have accounted for the diversity of birds in and around high intensity burns that fall.

Three-toed woodpeckers (TTWP) were the first bird to dominate in high intensity areas. By the winter of 1995, the picking and tapping was reverberating throughout the forest as TTWP chipped bark from burned trees. In the spring, many of the trees were peeled to unburned bark, leaving a beautiful pattern of orange against black throughout some stands. Small piles of chips on the snow were evidence of cavity construction. We observed the first black-back woodpecker (BBWP) in April 1995 and numbers of these 2 species were equivalent on surveys in July. The following winter, hairy woodpeckers (HAWP) were also common. By this time, however, the 3 woodpeckers had distributed according to some preference for tree species. TTWP were almost exclusively found on burned spruce and occassionally on lodgepole pine, HAWP were most frequently observed on lodgepole and BBWP were most common on douglas fir and sometimes on subalpine fir.

Although common in 1995, there was an explosion of blue grouse in high intensity burns in winter 1996. Spruce grouse, depicted above, were commonly seen to the south of the fire area but were not observed in burns. Grouse appeared to be a major source of food for marten and raptors. Great horned owls also moved into the area by 1996 and may have been taking advantage of the abundance of squirrel, small rodents and hare that fluorished. Another species that was present in notably increased numbers was the boreal chickadee. There was no obvious association of this species with burned or unburned areas and their dominance may reflect changes in other parameters unrelated to the fire. It was, however, a delight to see such large numbers of them.

The second spring after the fire has brought a tremendous diversity of bird life into the Thunder Mt area. The highest density of birds was in the high intensity burn within approximately 300 M of an unburned draw or riparian zone. Mt. bluebirds, cassins finch, brown creepers, yellow-rumped warblers, Townsend's solitaire, hermit thrush, three-toed and black-backed woodpeckers were residents in this high intensity burn transition zone, while golden-crowned and ruby crowned kinglets, mt. chickadees frequented the unburned area.

In 1997, the distribution of woodpeckers was about 50% TTWP, 30% HAWP and 20% BBWP. Mt. chickadees, RB nuthatches, ravens, clarks nutcrackers were common, as in the other 2 years. Boreal chickadees were found in both separate and mixed flocks in 1997 and were not as commonly seen as in 1996. Brown creepers were seen in 1997 survey. Great horned owls,first noted in 1996, were heard in the same location in 1997. Barred owls were heard to west of Dill/20mile Cr saddle in 1996 but were not heard in 1997.