GAP Analysis Predicted Distribution Map

Gray Flycatcher (Empidonax wrightii)

Species Code: EMWR

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

The Gray Flycatcher is locally common in open pine forests with grassy or no undergrowth in eastern Washington. Generally limited to areas near the Ponderosa Pine zone, but occurring lower in steppe zones where suitable forest stands occur. Uncommon in the Okanogan valley and Okanogan Highlands and very rare in the Blue Mountains.

Core zones were Ponderosa Pine, Oak, and steppe zones at the edge of the Cascades and northeastern mountains. Good habitats in steppe zones were all steppe habitats and forests. In the Ponderosa Pine and Oak zones, good habitats were open forest and forest openings.

Though much suitable habitat exists for this species, it has been known in Washinton only since May, 1970, when an individual was reported from Wenas Creek in Yakima County. In 1972, Washington's first nest was discovered at the same site. The following year, birds were found nesting more widely, including at locations in Klickitat County. Lavers (1975) noted that in many Washington locations, Gray Flycatchers were not nesting in areas with Artemisia, as they do throughout most of their continental distribution, but instead chose open stands of Ponderosa Pine with a shrub-less understory of Pine Grass (Calamagrostis), a phenomenon subsequently noted in other Washington breeding sites. Since the first reported observations, Gray Flycatchers have been found as an increasingly common breeder in the southeastern Cascade foothills and to the north and east. The rapid expansion of this species as a breeder into eastern Washington is possibly due to management practices in Ponderosa Pine forests. Non-breeders rarely occur in western Washington.

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