GAP Analysis Predicted Distribution Map

Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)

Species Code: SITCA

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 throughout forested areas and residential areasof Washington, with the exception of the coastal area. It is not found breeding in the western Olympic Peninsula, along the Pacific coast, and the western Willapa Hills.

All forested zones and Alpine/Parkland were core except the Sitka Spruce zone, which was peripheral. Steppe zones at the edge of the Columbia Basin were peripheral. Mixed and conifer forests were good habitats. Low-to-mid-density residential areas, wooded parks, wooded fresh water wetlands, hardwood forest, and subalpine parkland were adequate.

The scarcityof Red-breasted Nuthatches in far western Washington is curious. They occur throughout the rest of the state where conifers occur, but apparently do not breed in this region, the wettest part of Washington. This Nuthatch is seldom seen below the lower treeline (where steppe vegetation starts at low elevations), but does occur in outlying forest patches (e.g., on Kamiak Butte inWhitman County). Elsewhere in the state, it is common wherever conifers occur.

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