An exclusively British Columbian ecoregion, it extends from the Skeena Mountains southeastward, and includes a small disjunct area east of Terrace.
Description of the Ecoregion
The ecoregion was described in the WWF publication “Terrestrial ecoregions of North America” (Ricketts, et al., 1999); essentially the same text can be found on-line at WWF’s site: www.worldwildlife.org. The map above is a screen shot from WWF’s Wildfinder site, now offline. There may also be additional information to be found on this ecoregion’s page at Wikipedia or at other sites.
WWF notes that moist montane areas (low elevation valley systems), particularly in the west, are dominated by western red cedar (Thuja plicata) and western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), and mountain hemlock (T. mertensiana) in the wetter lower subalpine. Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii), and alpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) dominate the subalpine throughout the ecoregion, although to a lesser extent as one nears the coast. The alpine vegetation is typically tundra, and includes discontinuous patches of low-growing heather (Ericaceae), sedge (Carex spp.), and mountain avens (Dryas hookeriana).
Birds of the Ecoregion
For the avifauna of this small ecoregion, WWF notes no particularly distinctive species. The number of characteristic species (see list below) is quite low at 167, compared to nearby ecoregions. It lacks the species restricted to the coastal ranges to the west and lacks many of the drier/open country species of the Fraser Plateau to the southeast.
Resources for the Ecoregion Birder
Without any pretense to completeness, the following resources have caught my attention and would be of value to the birder traveling to this ecoregion:
- Cannings, Russell and Richard Cannings, 2013. Bird finding in British Columbia. Greystone Books (see review at http://blog.aba.org/2014/07/birding-british-columbia.html). This guide should have good information on the BC portion of the ecoregion.
List of Characteristic Bird Species of the Ecoregion
The list below of the “characteristic species” of the ecoregion (see an explanation on the About page) are those that are of regular occurrence and thus excludes very rare or accidental species. The species are classed as residents (r), summer breeders (s), migrants (m), wintering (w), or peripheral (x), that is, occurring in the ecoregion but only on its periphery and more characteristic of an adjacent ecoregion. The peripheral species are not included in the ecoregion total.
- Cackling Goose m
- Canada Goose s
- Trumpeter Swan s
- Tundra Swan m
- Gadwall m
- American Wigeon s
- Mallard s
- Blue-winged Teal s
- Northern Shoveler s
- Northern Pintail s
- Green-winged Teal s
- Canvasback s
- Ring-necked Duck s
- Greater Scaup m
- Lesser Scaup s
- Harlequin Duck s
- Surf Scoter m
- White-winged Scoter s
- Bufflehead r
- Common Goldeneye s
- Barrow’s Goldeneye s
- Hooded Merganser s
- Common Merganser r
- Ruddy Duck s
- Ruffed Grouse r
- Spruce Grouse r
- Willow Ptarmigan r
- Rock Ptarmigan r
- White-tailed Ptarmigan r
- Sooty Grouse r
- Pacific Loon m
- Common Loon s
- Yellow-billed Loon m
- Horned Grebe s
- Red-necked Grebe s
- Western Grebe m
- American Bittern s
- Great Blue Heron m
- Osprey s
- Bald Eagle s
- Northern Harrier s
- Sharp-shinned Hawk s
- Northern Goshawk r
- Red-tailed Hawk s
- Rough-legged Hawk m
- Golden Eagle s
- Sora s
- American Coot s
- Sandhill Crane m
- American Golden-Plover x
- Semipalmated Plover m
- Killdeer s
- Spotted Sandpiper s
- Solitary Sandpiper s
- Greater Yellowlegs s
- Lesser Yellowlegs s
- Stilt Sandpiper x
- Dunlin m
- Baird’s Sandpiper m
- Least Sandpiper m
- Pectoral Sandpiper m
- Semipalmated Sandpiper m
- Long-billed Dowitcher m
- Wilson’s Snipe s
- Wilson’s Phalarope x
- Red-necked Phalarope m
- Bonaparte’s Gull s
- Mew Gull m
- Ring-billed Gull x
- California Gull m
- Herring Gull s
- Black Tern x
- Rock Pigeon r
- Great Horned Owl r
- Snowy Owl m
- Northern Hawk Owl r
- Northern Pygmy-Owl x
- Barred Owl r
- Great Gray Owl r
- Short-eared Owl m
- Boreal Owl r
- Northern Saw-whet Owl r
- Common Nighthawk s
- Black Swift x
- Vaux’s Swift s
- Rufous Hummingbird s
- Belted Kingfisher s
- Red-breasted Sapsucker s
- Downy Woodpecker r
- Hairy Woodpecker r
- American Three-toed Woodpecker r
- Black-backed Woodpecker r
- Northern Flicker s
- Pileated Woodpecker r
- American Kestrel s
- Merlin r
- Peregrine Falcon m
- Olive-sided Flycatcher s
- Western Wood-Pewee s
- Alder Flycatcher s
- Least Flycatcher s
- Hammond’s Flycatcher s
- Dusky Flycatcher s
- Pacific-slope Flycatcher s
- Say’s Phoebe s
- Eastern Kingbird x
- Northern Shrike w
- Cassin’s Vireo s
- Warbling Vireo s
- Red-eyed Vireo s
- Canada Jay r
- Steller’s Jay r
- Clark’s Nutcracker x
- Black-billed Magpie r
- American Crow s
- Common Raven r
- Horned Lark s
- Tree Swallow s
- Violet-green Swallow s
- Northern Rough-winged Swallow s
- Bank Swallow s
- Cliff Swallow s
- Barn Swallow s
- Black-capped Chickadee r
- Mountain Chickadee r
- Chestnut-backed Chickadee r
- Boreal Chickadee r
- Red-breasted Nuthatch r
- Brown Creeper r
- Pacific Wren s
- American Dipper r
- Golden-crowned Kinglet r
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet s
- Mountain Bluebird s
- Townsend’s Solitaire s
- Swainson’s Thrush s
- Hermit Thrush s
- American Robin s
- Varied Thrush s
- European Starling r
- American Pipit s
- Bohemian Waxwing r
- Cedar Waxwing s
- Lapland Longspur m
- Snow Bunting w
- Northern Waterthrush s
- Tennessee Warbler x
- Orange-crowned Warbler s
- MacGillivray’s Warbler s
- Common Yellowthroat s
- American Redstart s
- Yellow Warbler s
- Blackpoll Warbler s
- Yellow-rumped Warbler s
- Townsend’s Warbler s
- Wilson’s Warbler s
- American Tree Sparrow m
- Chipping Sparrow s
- Savannah Sparrow s
- Fox Sparrow s
- Song Sparrow s
- Lincoln’s Sparrow s
- White-throated Sparrow x
- White-crowned Sparrow s
- Golden-crowned Sparrow s
- Dark-eyed Junco s
- Western Tanager s
- Black-headed Grosbeak x
- Red-winged Blackbird s
- Rusty Blackbird s
- Brewer’s Blackbird x
- Brown-headed Cowbird s
- Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch r
- Pine Grosbeak r
- Purple Finch s
- Red Crossbill r
- White-winged Crossbill r
- Common Redpoll w
- Hoary Redpoll x
- Pine Siskin r
- Evening Grosbeak x
- House Sparrow r
Resident breeders (r) 42
Summer breeders (s) 196
Migrants (m) 26
Wintering (w) 3
Peripheral (x) [not in Total] 15
TOTAL 167
DJG: 0 spp.