Birds of the Sierra Nevada. Ted Beedy

      FIGURE 1 Foothill zone

      Oak Savannas

      North < 500 to 3,000 feet; South <500 to 2,500 feet

      Savannas dominated by blue oak occupy more than a million acres of the Sierra foothills. These habitats have 10 to 30 percent tree cover and vary from grasslands with a few widely spaced trees to denser stands that may also support interior live oaks, California buckeyes, and occasional gray pines. The extent of oak savanna in the foothills has been reduced through conversion to developed and agricultural land uses, woodcutting, and historical efforts to improve grazing land by clearing trees. Range managers have now learned that having oaks on the land actually improves the forage for cattle by allowing the shaded grasses to retain water.

      This quintessentially California landscape is threatened by a widespread lack of natural regeneration of oaks. Although the impacts of grazing have certainly affected the ability of these trees to reproduce, it has been shown that simply removing grazers does not aid regeneration. Other factors, like competition with nonnative plants for scarce water (mainly at the seedling or sapling stages), are also critical to oak survival. In fact, removing grazers entirely can inhibit oak regeneration because of the deep thatch and explosion of invasive weeds that usually follows. Encouraging results have been seen with a combination of protection of seedlings and saplings from grazing and management of competing vegetation, followed by a well-managed grazing regimen. Western Scrub-Jays have historically been the main agents of oak regeneration because acorns they bury but fail to recover have a good chance of germinating; since acorns do not roll uphill, jays and squirrels must move them there. Oaks have evolved a boom-and-bust cycle of acorn production to guarantee that in boom years there will be far too many acorns for the jays to consume.

      Oak savannas provide perching and nesting sites for several species of raptors as well as for a stunning variety of songbirds like Lark Sparrows, Western Kingbirds, Bullock’s Orioles, and Western Meadowlarks. As the oaks age or die, they provide essential nesting habitat for a variety of cavity nesters such as Acorn and Nuttall’s Woodpeckers, Oak Titmice, Ash-throated Flycatchers, White-breasted Nuthatches, Bewick’s Wrens, and both Violet-green and Tree Swallows. Some winters, large numbers of richly colored Lewis’s Woodpeckers visit oak savannas.

      Oak Woodlands

      North 1,500 to 4,500 feet; South 2,000 to 5,500 feet

      Above the grasslands and oak savannas, denser oak groves of more than 30 percent tree cover crowd the hillsides of the western Sierra. In addition to blue and interior live oaks, three other species dominate: valley oaks, California black oaks, and canyon live oaks. All are long-lived and sprout from their stem bases when cut or top-killed by fire. Otherwise, there are considerable differences in their ecology. Valley oaks are large deciduous trees that dominate some riparian forests and open woodlands on fertile, deep soils. Similar to blue oaks, valley oaks suffer from limited recruitment of saplings. Blue oaks tolerate thinner soils and drier conditions than valley oaks and are the most likely oak to be found in uplands well away from drainages. Interior and canyon live oaks are evergreens and vary in growth from low shrubs to large trees. In steep ravines and river canyons these oaks cling to rocky slopes, while toyon, California bay laurel, and redbud grow in cooler glades below. Gray pines, with their wispy, gray green needles, grow along with the oaks in the northern and central Sierra and in the extreme south.

      In spring, oak woodlands come alive with the songs of Orange-crowned and Black-throated Gray Warblers, and the roughly whistled notes of Ash-throated Flycatchers. The Hutton’s Vireo’s monotonously repetitive song is a frequent sound in stands dominated by live oaks. White-breasted Nuthatches search the deeply furrowed bark of these trees and sound their nasal, hornlike calls. Northern Pygmy-Owls hide in these canyons by day and emerge at dusk to hunt for songbirds. In the Mother Lode country of the central Sierra, Highway 49 cuts through broad expanses of foothill woodland and chaparral, where one might still spot a Greater Roadrunner. On nearly any turnout, the strident calls of Western Scrub-Jays or Oak Titmice can be heard. California Quail work through tangles of poison oak, and Acorn Woodpeckers flash back and forth between trees, flycatching, chattering, and tending their acorn caches.

      Foothill Chaparral

      North <500 to 4,500 feet; South 500 to 5,500 feet

      Impenetrable seas of brush cover hot, dry slopes the length of the Sierra foothills. Interspersed with foothill woodlands, chaparral vegetation generally occupies the steeper, more arid exposures, and the most extensive stands occur south of the San Joaquin River. Turnouts along the new Priest Grade (Highway 120), near Ash Mountain in Sequoia National Park (Highway 198), and the near vertical slopes above the South Fork Kern River (Highway 178) provide easy places to view these habitats. Visitors to foothill chaparral will notice pungent odors of chamise, whiteleaf manzanita, buckbrush, coffeeberry, and shrubby oaks filling the air. These shrubs grow together in thickets forbidding to people but offering shade and shelter to birds. Chaparral birds usually sing, defend territories, and forage in the cool, early morning hours.

      Presunrise visits to these arid shrublands are often rewarded by a chorus of Common Poorwills, Wrentits, California Thrashers, Lazuli Buntings, and Spotted and California Towhees. As early as January, Anna’s Hummingbirds defend patches of shrubs with squeaky calls, and in spring Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and “Bell’s” Sage Sparrows (in chamise chaparral) raise their families within this protective cover. Birds can be particularly abundant in foothill chaparral habitats because they exist below the snow zone and because many native shrubs, such as toyon and poison oak, produce fruits that attract such species as American Robins, Cedar Waxwings, and Hermit Thrushes.

      Foothill chaparral is a fire-prone system and the health and diversity of this habitat depends on fire. Many of the shrubs can survive fire and sprout from their burned stumps. Many others produce seeds than can only germinate after a fire. This habitat goes through a postfire succession, analogous to that of conifer forests, but at a much-accelerated pace. The open ground following a fire soon fills with a dazzling array of wild flowers. In the first postfire years birds like Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Lazuli Buntings, and Lawrence’s Goldfinches find conditions perfect. As the chaparral grows denser over time, new species appear and others depart. When the habitat becomes heavily overgrown and the shrubs reach their maximum height and density, bird diversity tends to decline, awaiting the next fire to begin the cycle again.

      LOWER CONIFER ZONE

      Ponderosa Pine Forests

      North 2,000 to 6,000 feet; South 2,500 to 7,000 feet

      Rising above the heat and haze of the Foothill zone, the Lower Conifer zone is where many people first feel they have reached the mountains. Breezes rustle the trees and, though hot in summer, these forests are distinctly cooler than the lowlands. They also receive more rainfall and snow, enabling them to survive the summer drought. Historically, ponderosa pines were the most common and widespread trees in the Lower Conifer zone because they tolerate hotter and drier climates than most other West Side conifers. Also called “mid-montane conifer forests” by some authors, a variety of other conifers including incense cedars, white firs, Douglas-firs, and sugar pines may now outnumber the ponderosas in mixed stands depending on fire history, elevation,