GAP Analysis Predicted Distribution Map

White-throated Swift (Aeronautes saxatalis)

Species Code: AESA

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

his species was locally common at lower elevations in eastern Washington in the steppe and Ponderosa Pine zones. Most nests were in crevices and basalt cliffs, though one colony is known to nest on the Redman bridge on Interstate-82 between Yakima and Ellensburg. Typically, they are found along major coulees and rivers, including the Columbia River, Yakima River, Spokane River, Grand Coulee, and Moses Coulee, and locally elsewhere including Palouse Falls State Park and the southeastern Blue Mountains. This bird forages over open habitats, including wetlands and steppe.

Good habitat in the core areas of use included all shrub-steppe vegetation, grasslands, wetlands, and rocky cliffs in the Pondeosa Pine zone and below, limited to areas near suitable breeding sites, such as along major rivers or near known breeding sites.

Breeders in Washington represent the nominate western subspecies A. s. saxatalis. Though this species is found mostly in the arid steppe zones of eastern Washington, it has been reported nesting at Metaline Falls. Like all swifts, the White-throated Swift can wander extensively while foraging. It is most common in the central Columbia Basin, where many coulees and cliffs provide nest sites. In Asotin County, birds have been seen during the breeding season on the south-facing slopes of the Blue Mountains between FR 4304 and the Grand Ronde River.

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