GAP Analysis Predicted Distribution Map

Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana)

Species Code: NUCO

Legend:
= Core Habitat
= Marginal Habitat

Breeding Range Map
The green area shows the predicted habitats for breeding only. The habitats were identified using 1991 satellite imagery, Breeding Bird Atlas (BBA), other datasets and experts throughout the state, as part of the Washington Gap Analysis Project. Habitats used during non-breeding months and migratory rest-stops were not mapped.

Metadata (Data about data or how the map was made)

Click to enlarge distribution map

Other maps & Information:

Breeding Bird Atlas
NatureMapping observations
during breeding season
NatureMapping observations
throughout the year

This species is common at high elevations in the northeast Olympic Mountains, along the Cascade crest and at lower elevations in the Okanogan Highlands. It is uncommon in the Blue Mountains, inhabiting two disjunct forest types in Washington: high elevation Whitebark Pine parkland, and low elevation Ponderosa Pine associated with cliffs.

Core zones were Ponderosa Pine, Grand Fir (Blue Mountains only), Subalpine Fir, and Alpine/Parkland zones. Good habitat in the Ponderosa Pine and Grand Fir zones were limited to open conifer forests. In the other, higher zones, all habitats except bare ground were good.

There is a close association between Clark's Nutcracker and Whitebark Pine, a conifer that usually occurs in high, dry mountainous areas. In Washington, most Whitebark Pine stands are east of the Cascade crest or in rain shadows of high west-side mountains. The ClarkÕs Nutcracker relies heavily on the seeds of the Whitebark Pine. It caches the seeds for food in a wide variety of sites at high elevations, thus also acting as a seed disperser, which helps perpetuate the Whitebark Pine forests in an area where other seed dispersers are scarce.

Translated from the Washington Gap Analysis Bird Volume by Uchenna Bright
Text edited by Gussie Litwer
Webpage designed by Dave Lester