Re: [MDOsprey] Red-breasted Nuthatch

rick (rblom@blazie.com)
Wed, 30 Jun 1999 06:46:48 -0500 

Danny Bystrak wrote:

>While doing a BBS route in Allegany Co. Last week, i heard what seemed to be
>a distant RBNU at a stop adjacent to the west side of Warrior Mtn. WMA.
>After the the 3 minutes was up i put fingers to nose and literally "yanked"
>him in.  Not exactly where i would have expected a summer RBNU.

        Not that unexpected perhaps. Starting in the 1950s two species,
Red-breasted Nuthatche and Golden-crowned Kinglet started expanding their
breeding range south out of the Adirondacks, which was then the
southernmost outpost in the East. Both species spread by taking advantage
of spruce trees planted around community reservoirs by the Works Project
Administration efforts during the Depression. The spruce trees were finally
coming of age. It had long been assumed that the birds were limited by
needing to be well north or at high elevations, but the spread went all the
way across New York and Pennsylvania, reaching southeast PA in the late
1970s and early 1980s. Both species were found in centrtal Maryland
(Carroll and/or Baltimore Coutnies) during the Breeding Bird Atlas,
although not every report was accepted as proof of breeding.
        Both species breed in Garrett County, not far from where Danny
found the RBNU, and if there is any usuably habitat within range of where
he found the bird on the BBS it is not surprising that it had a RBNU. I do
suspect that while spruce, rather than elevation, seems to be the primary
limiting factor, both birds have reached what is close to the southern
limit of their breeding range on the Piedmont. Heat (average daily temp
during the breeding season) has limited the southern expansion of some
species, such as Song Sparrow and House Wren) and it will certainly
constrain RBNU and GCKI at some point. I have not seen any evidence of
farther spread since the end of the Atlas.
        All of this info, by the way, is detailed in the Martyland/DC
Breeding Bird Atlas, still available at some bookstores (Barnes and Noble
in Bel Air). For those Maryland birders who have not yet obtained a copy,
I'll take this opposturnity to make a pitch for it. A wonderful book and a
must for every Maryland bird watcher.
        Disclaimer: I have no financial interest in the sales. The only
beneficiary is the MOS, and no one can argue the merits of that.

Rick


"I have a new philosophy. I am only going to dread one day at a time." --
Charlie Brown (Charles Schulz)

Rick Blom
rblom@blazie.com
4318 Cowan Place
Belcamp, Maryland 21017
(410)575-6086