Archived News Stories

September 2007

Wildlife Tree Stewardship Program for the Okanagan Similkameen 2007 Summary

This was a successful pilot year for the Wildlife Tree Stewardship Program in the Okanagan- Similkameen (WiTS-OS). The program extended from Osoyoos north to Kelowna and west to Keremeos and received monetary aid from three funding agencies: Nature Canada, BC Hydro and the Mountaineers Foundation. In 2007 we were able to recruit and train volunteer monitors, coordinate with species experts, undertake a youth mentoring program and begin a monitoring program targeting four bird species at risk, Western Screech-owl, Williamson’s Sapsucker, Lewis’s Woodpecker and Flammulated Owl. Emphasis this year was on monitoring the re-occupancy of nest sites by Lewis’s Woodpecker.

WiTS-OS volunteers monitoring a Lewis's Woodpecker nest tree in a Black Cottonwood. The cavity is evident along the trunk of the tree about two-thirds up.

Photo: ©Lisa Scott.

With the assistance of a Parks and People Program grant from Nature Canada, WiTS-OS was able to acquire all the necessary equipment to effectively conduct the monitoring program this year, and for many years to come. Equipment purchases included hand-held GPS units with mapping software, digital cameras, binoculars, CD players (for call playback), tape measures, clinometers and compasses. The funding also allowed us to print fact sheets focusing on our target bird species, and pay mileage to the volunteer monitors.

WiTS-OS volunteers monitoring a Lewis's Woodpecker nest tree in the South Okanagan.

Photo: © Lisa Scott.

The year began with workshops to effectively train volunteers. The first workshop, in March, introduced the WiTS Program and provided information from species experts to 17 enthusiastic attendees willing to volunteer for the program. Training was also provided on using hand-held GPS units. The second workshop, in June, focused specifically on the Lewis’s woodpecker. Led by Tanya Luszcz with Partners in Flight, 11 attendees learned how to use GPS units, complete the required monitoring forms and follow protocols for effectively monitoring this woodpecker. During the workshop, participants were able to monitor a wildlife tree occupied by Lewis’s woodpeckers. Monitoring began in earnest in early July and continued for a period of 3 weeks. Ten volunteers monitored a total of 50 trees and observed Lewis’s woodpeckers re-occupying approximately fifty percent of the sites. Areas monitored for the Lewis’s woodpecker included parks such as Vaseux Lake Park, Anarchist Protected Area, Sun-oka Beach, White Lake Grasslands, Manitou Park and Hardy Falls Park. The program linked with the South Okanagan-Similkameen Stewardship Program to additionally obtain access to some private land sites.

Although the Lewis’s woodpecker was our primary target species for this year, we were also able to monitor the Flammulated owl and the Western screech-owl. There was also limited involvement with the Williamson’s Sapsucker.

For the monitoring component of the program, there were a total of 11 monitors, some of whom were monitoring more than one species.

The Western Screech-owl is Endangered (Schedule 1 of the federal Species at Risk Act; Red-listed provincially), mainly due to loss of its breeding habitat in low elevation riparian areas.

Photo: © Dick Cannings.

In addition to monitoring, some of the volunteers participated in our mentoring program. There were a total of six mentors and seven youth. The youth were able to join their naturalist mentors while they were monitoring either Lewis’s woodpeckers or Flammulated owls. What was an exciting adventure for the youth was a rewarding experience for the mentors. Not only did the youth get to see or hear the at-risk birds, they were also able to learn about the importance of conserving these species and protecting their habitats.

Much valuable information was collected this year. We would like to thank those who advised, trained, volunteered, mentored or participated in any other way for helping to make WiTS-OS a success in 2007. We look forward to an expanded and even more successful program in 2008. 

Written by Lisa Scott & Danielle Lalonde, September 2007.

February 2007

Wildlife Tree Stewardship Program Seeking Volunteers for the Okanagan-Similkameen Region

The Wildlife Tree Stewardship Program, also known as WiTS, is a voluntary program that conserves wildlife tree habitats through volunteer monitoring (of wildlife trees and bird activity), landowner agreements, and community education.  . It was first established on Vancouver Island through the Federation of BC Naturalists and has recently expanded to include the Lower Mainland and Okanagan-Similkameen regions. 

Wildlife trees may be defined as any standing dead or live tree with special characteristics that provide valuable habitat for the conservation or enhancement of wildlife. These trees provide important habitat for a wide range of wildlife species, including a variety of birds, insects, bats and other small mammals. In the Okanagan-Similkameen, many of the birds using wildlife tree are provincially and/or federally at risk species. WiTS - Okanagan-Similkameen will focus on monitoring the nest sites of four bird species at risk: Lewis’s Woodpecker, Williamson’s Sapsucker, Western Screech-owl and Flammulated Owl. A fifth target species - White-headed Woodpecker – is an extremely elusive bird with very few nest sites ever detected in the Okanagan; hence any sightings will be recorded for this woodpecker. Nest sites of an additional 16 birds of prey will also be recorded as part of this new program.

Volunteer monitors will be directed to areas with appropriate habitat for the target species or areas with previously confirmed nest sites. Initially, monitoring will occur within the Okanagan valley from Peachland south to Osoyoos and within the lower Similkameen Valley. If this pilot project is successful, it may expand further north and west.

A wildlife tree near Summerland, BC.

Photo: © Lisa Scott.

The success of WiTS in the Okanagan-Similkameen is dependent on the voluntary participation of landowners and wildlife tree monitors. Willing landowners provide access to wildlife trees on their properties and can also assist with monitoring nest sites. Volunteers identify and record new, active nest sites and monitor the nest to determine productivity. The ultimate goal of WiTS–Okanagan-Similkameen is to identify, protect and conserve wildlife trees and adjacent natural habitat, thereby assisting recovery efforts for these at risk birds. The program will also aim to increase coordination of stakeholders and groups actively participating in bird conservation, stewardship, monitoring, research and outreach.

The first WiTS Okanagan-Similkameen volunteer training workshop is scheduled for late winter 2007 and will be held in Penticton. The workshop will introduce the program and its target species and outline monitoring procedures and record forms. There will also be training on safety considerations and how to use a hand held GPS. For more information on the training workshop or about becoming a volunteer monitor, contact the WiTS Okanagan-Similkameen Regional Coordinator, Lisa Scott at (250) 404-0115 or email lscott@vip.net

Written by Lisa Scott & Kristina Robbins

September 2006

The Lewis's Woodpecker 2006 Inventory

Lewis’s Woodpecker at a nest cavity in ponderosa pine.  Adult birds have a greenish-black back, rosy belly, grey collar, and maroon face.

Loss of suitable habitat is thought to be the main reason for the decline in Lewis’s Woodpecker populations.  Nesting habitat is lost when stands of ponderosa pine, black cottonwood and Douglas-fir are cleared for urban development and logging, or individual veteran trees are cut down for firewood.  Riparian black cottonwood stands along the South Thompson River in BC’s southern interior have also been negatively impacted by cattle activity and changing agricultural practices.  If nesting habitat is indeed limited, then nest competitors like the introduced European Starling may also be having a negative effect on Lewis’s Woodpecker populations.  The use of insecticides and pesticides in orchards and gardens may also be decreasing prey availability for Lewis’s Woodpecker. 

In order to establish whether Lewis’s Woodpeckers are indeed in trouble in BC, we need to establish a strong baseline for its population size and distribution throughout its range in the province.  Filling these information gaps has been the main goal of a 2006 range-wide survey for this charismatic species.  Partners in Flight BC/Yukon in the Great Basin has taken the lead on coordination of this project and recruiting participation.

A Lewis’s Woodpecker nest tree near Midway, BC. They require live and dead ponderosa pine, cottonwood and Douglas-fir for nesting cavities, and open habitats with insects and berries for foraging.

Photo: © Kevin Fort, Canadian Wildlife Service

Several individuals and organizations have contributed their time and information to the project.  BC Conservation Corps crews (BC Ministry of Environment) have been doing the bulk of the searching in the Thompson, Nicola, and Okanagan regions.  Under the tutelage of MOE biologist Jared Hobbs, crews have been conducting stand watches and nest searches.  Provincial biologists Orville Dyer, John Surgenor, Ted Antifeau, Julie Steciw, and Roger Packham have all contributed valuable time towards this project. 

Kevin Fort, Species at Risk Biologist with the Canadian Wildlife Service, has contributed both funding and field time towards inventories in the West Kootenays and the Boundary area.  BC Parks Rangers have spent several days searching for Lewis’s Woodpeckers in provincial parks in the Okanagan.  Paula Rodriguez de la Vega of The Land Conservancy in the East Kootenays conducted a search for Lewis’s Woodpecker on TLC’s Wycliffe property.  Ron Hall of the Osoyoos Indian Band has been guiding a crew of summer students in the search for Lewis’s Woodpecker nests on their lands.  Private landowners and naturalists have also contributed time and current sighting information.

More than 150 Lewis’s Woodpecker nests have been located this year.  By mid-July, several Lewis’s Woodpecker nests were successfully fledging.  Over the next couple of months, we will be compiling and summarizing the data that was collected.  Thank you to everyone who contributed to inventory and monitoring for Lewis’s Woodpecker in 2006!

August 2006

Managing Land for Cows and Birds

Grassland and lowland riparian habitats must be conserved, and in some cases restored, to achieve landbird population objectives in BC's Great Basin.

Photo: © A. Michael Bezener/OWE Photography

How can threatened grassland birds coexist with cows across the working landscape?  Dr. Nancy Mahony of the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) is working to answer this question with the Forest Grassland Ecotone Bird Project.  This study explores correlations between grassland bird productivity and different cattle grazing levels.  Where better to wrangle these questions, than a working ranch, the OK Ranch to be exact.  At the ranch, located near Clinton, BC, Nancy and her two field assistants are measuring the abundance, distribution and breeding success of birds in the forest grassland ecotone using point count surveys, nest finding and habitat assessments.  Nancy and her assistants are collecting data on all birds, but they are focussing in greater detail on a few species like the Western Meadowlark, Vesper Sparrow and Long-billed Curlew. 

Some of the grassland bird species Nancy is studying are focal species for both Partners in Flight (PIF) and the Canadian Intermountain Joint Venture (CIJV).  The CIJV promotes bird conservation on the working landscape through partnerships between government, industry, landowners, non-government organizations and First Nations.  One of the goals of this research project is to come up with some Best Management Practices (BMP’s) for land managers.  Partners in this CIJV project include Ministry of Environment (namely Doug Jury and Cindy Haddow), the Upland Bird Society, BC Conservation Foundation and Lawrence Joiner (the owner of the OK ranch). 

Nancy wears other hats in her position as Program Evaluation Biologist with CWS.  She is also the new chair for the Canadian Intermountain Joint Venture (CIJV) and the Pacific Coast Joint Venture (PCJV) technical committees.  This post involves coordinating the scientific and technical components of the ventures, helping to set direction for the two committees and communicating this information to the executive committees.

Nancy has also been evaluating the focal species approach to bird conservation, assessing whether suitable habitat for the suite of focal species meets the needs of other species.  She presented her results at the EMAN conference in November 2005. Although the focal species groups do a good job of representing the broader bird community in some habitats such as riparian areas, they don’t for simpler bird communities such as grasslands and in some cases, random groups of bird species do just as well.  Ongoing examination of the scale at which these relationships exist will help focus management for bird conservation planning.

Nancy has been interested in birds since an undergraduate summer job at the Long Point Bird Observatory studying Hooded Warblers.  She did her PhD with Pam Krannitz (CWS) and Kathy Martin (UBC, CWS).  She studied the demography of Brewer’s Sparrow in the South Okanagan.  Female Brewer’s Sparrow productivity varied between years with predation, weather and elevation.  In an early year, productivity was highest at the low elevation site (White Lake) where females had time to make several nest attempts, whereas high elevation (Kilpoola Lake, International grasslands) nests were lost in a storm.  In a late year, productivity was lowest at White Lake where the breeding season was shorter and fewer nest attempts were made than at the higher sites.  This work has been recently published in the Auk vol. 123(2) pp. 512-523.

Hot off the presses!

Click here for the July 2006 PIF Newsletter.