Birding Across Washington State’s Ecoregions

Bird University participants in the Columbia Plateau | Paul Meijer

by Christine Scheele, Program Director and Senior Education Manager

Washington State has incredibly diverse ecosystems. An ecosystem is a community of living things interacting with their surroundings. Within our state borders, we have prairies, shrub-steppe, wetlands, marine waters, rain forests, grasslands, estuaries, and high alpine ecosystems. Washington also has two unique ecosystems found nowhere else in the world: the temperate rainforest of the Olympic Peninsula and the scablands of the Columbia Plateau. An ecoregion is an area where ecosystems are generally similar in geology, landforms, soils, vegetation, climate, land use, wildlife, and water. Washington has nine distinct ecoregions.

Birds are crucial to ecosystems’ health, serving as natural pollinators, controllers of insect populations, and seed dispersers. Birds help to regulate populations of plants and animals within their ecosystems through consumption and predation. Their stable presence is an indicator of a balanced ecosystem, as they depend on a diverse range of food sources and habitat features to thrive. Birds connect different ecosystems and ecoregions, serving as messengers of nature’s interconnectedness. Some bird species, such as the Dark-eyed Junco, thrive across a wide range of ecosystems. These generalists can be found nearly year-round in all nine of Washington’s ecoregions.

Some Dark-eyed Junco communities stay put in one area,partic ularly in the western Washington lowlands, whereas others migrate during breeding season. Conversely, some species, such as the Greater Sage-Grouse, are specialized to live in a singular ecosystem type. The Greater Sage-Grouse is only found in Washington’s shrub-steppe ecosystem and would be ill-equipped to survive elsewhere due to its reliance on sagebrush as a food source and important habitat feature.

People have recently played a significant role in shaping ecoregions for birds and other wildlife. Through urbanization, resource extraction, deforestation, and climate change, we have altered the landscapes that birds call home leading particularly to a decline in the populations of ecosystem specialists. The Greater Sage-Grouse formerly ranged from the Columbia River, north to Oroville, west to the foothills of the Cascades, and east to the Spokane River. Now, a smaller population of about 600 birds is located in Douglas and Grant Counties, on mostly private land. The Yakima Army Training Center in Kittitas and Yakima Counties has another population consisting of 300-400 birds. That is all that is left.

Dark-eyed Junco | Jeremiah Zurenda | Audubon Photography Awards

This is why the conservation, science, outreach, and education work of organizations like Birds Connect Seattle is vital for bird and ecosystem health. The adage of “we protect what we know and love” is the foundation of Birds Connect Seattle’s education programming and what fuels our conservation work. Our science projects, in addition to collecting valuable data that tracks bird population trends over time, also weave in foundational education and conservation action.

The classes, field trips, outings, and science programs of Birds Connect Seattle have the unique ability to bring people together and build community. Organized birding classes and outings provide a space for folks to share their passion for birds, exchange knowledge and experiences, and form lasting friendships. This sense of camaraderie and shared interest creates strong bonds among members of the birding community.

Over the past few months, a new community of birders has formed around Bird University, an online and field class program for intermediate to advanced birders. The Bird University program is organized around Washington’s ecoregions, offering nine distinct course modules based upon the birds and natural history of each ecoregion. For instance, birds of the Central Puget Lowlands is one course, Birds of the Columbia Plateau is another. Some of the species covered in curriculum may migrate between the two ecoregions, many other birds are covered only in one course because they are adapted to only live in a particular ecoregion. The ecoregion module gives Bird University students a deeper understanding of the importance of habitat to their understanding of bird biology and behavior, as well as the option to choose a course that meets their interest, study pace, and prior bird knowledge and experience.

In the coming weeks, Bird University students will visit urban forests and shorelines in the Seattle area, the volcanic plains of the Columbia Plateau around Kennewick, and the lakes and valleys of the Okanogan ecoregion around Omak and Republic. Time in the field is essential for learning about an ecosystem and the birds that live there, connecting people to beautiful places in Washington, and bolstering friendships new and old.

The connection between birding and people is multifaceted and profound. From providing a therapeutic escape and building community to offering educational value and fostering conservation efforts, birding enriches the lives of individuals and contributes to the greater good of society. So, next time you spot a bird soaring through the sky, take a moment to appreciate the intricate bond between these winged creatures, the places they connect, and the people who admire them.

Bird University participants | Paul Meijer

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