Today I saw my first Clark's nutcracker. I immediately knew what it was, not because I had a bird book with me to check, but because its inquisitive, intelligent look identified it to me as a member of the corvid family.
I've wanted to see one of these birds for a long time. I looked and looked when I was in Yosemite in July 2005 but never saw one. They are found primarily at high altitudes in alpine forests, feeding mainly on the seeds of white pines.
The one I saw today was at Mt. Rainier. Unfortunately, the pair was hanging out by the bathrooms in the parking lot, which means they are habituated to humans and possibly even dependent on people to some extent for their food. I spoke to some of the park rangers later in the day and they said studies show that Clark's nutcrackers in the National Park get up to 50% of their food from people. Not so good for the birds.
My first Clark's nutcrackers, joy!
3 comments:
helocomayay on first nutcracker. Too bad they have come dependent and used to people.
Yay on first nutcracker
Not sure where all those letters came from!
Was one of my cats typing for you??? You made me laugh!
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