![]() Data from the first eight months are too preliminary to tell us about trends. So, what have we discovered? Our goal is to keep the BCCBS going for years, because the process of recovery from the fire will be a long one. I am proud to say that over 30,000 of eBird’s billion bird records have now been contributed by the Bear Creek Community Bird Survey! Dozens of faithful volunteers have devoted over 500 hours to the project so far. Our surveys began in January 2021, and have been conducted twice a month at each site. Run by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, eBird () is the cloud-based global repository for bird observation data, with over a billion (yes, BILLION) observations recorded. Groups of volunteers, including at least one experienced birder, walk slowly along these “transects” and record all birds identified by sight or sound using the eBird mobile app. ![]() Each site consists of two approximately half-mile stretches of the Greenway path. ![]() Two other areas had no fire impacts and were the “unburned” sites: North Mountain Park, and Dean Creek Road in Central Point. While the burned areas are still supporting an abundance of wildlife, simply counting the number of birds or bird species observed does not give the full picture of the fire’s impact on the creek-side habitat of Bear Creek. Five of the sites had experienced significant impacts from the Almeda Fire: Ashland Greenway, Lynn Newbry, Suncrest, Blue Heron Park, and Mingus Pond. Seven stretches of the Greenway were selected for the bird surveys, with a survey protocol designed by expert naturalists Frank Lospalluto, Nate Trimble, and Klamath Bird Observatory Biologists Sarah Rockwell and Jaime Stephens. This is a monitoring effort by community scientists coordinated through the Rogue Valley Audubon Society, in partnership with the Klamath Bird Observatory, Rogue River Watershed Council, and the Southern Oregon Land Conservancy. How will bird populations along the Greenway respond to the fire and the restoration efforts? To study this important question, a group of local scientists and birders came together in the fall of 2020 and developed the Bear Creek Community Bird Survey (BCCBS). Unfortunately, this one in Ashland was needlessly cut down. This work was done by a diverse array of organizations, including Jackson County Parks, Rogue Valley Council of Governments (RVCOG), Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the Inter-Tribal Ecosystem Restoration Partnership, the Rogue River Watershed Council, Lomakatsi, and many others.įrank Lospalluto The Almeda fire scorched several big ponderosa pines used as granary trees by groups of Acorn Woodpeckers. This has included deploying straw “wattles” and sowing fast-growing grasses for erosion control, clearing burned and unburned areas of non-native blackberries, and planting thousands of native trees and shrubs. A huge amount of work has also been done to protect the fire-damaged Greenway and begin the long process of restoration. A year on, rebuilding is well under way, and “Talent Strong” and “Phoenix Rising” are proud mottos of those resilient towns. In the aftermath of the Almeda Fire, the valley responded with tremendous energy and determination. And the Greenway path was a beloved walking and bicycling route connecting the towns of Ashland, Talent, Phoenix, Medford, and Central Point. The dense undergrowth-yes, even the non-native blackberries-provided important nesting habitat for birds like Spotted Towhees, Wrentits, and Yellow-breasted Chats, and shelter for Golden-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, and other winter birds. Frank Lospalluto A Great Egret preens under smoky skies, Bear Creek Greenway, August 2021.
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