[cobirds] golden-crowned kinglet

I appreciate Brandon's summary of the CBCs and found his noting the scarcity of golden-crowned kinglets worthy of further comment.  I am not sure how many are found on Colorado CBCs in a normal year.   My sense is that most of the counts are low elevation and that a golden-crowned kinglet in winter at low elevation is always special.  But I would expect a lot more than 1 for all our counts combined!  

The reality of fire now being part of the deal in spruce-fir is in stark contrast to the historical record.  Climate change making the upper mountains warmer and drier than normal has them stressed.  Spruce beetles have accepted this invitation in the older stands and are killing huge swaths of spruce in the High Country.  Add in big fires and the combination of these two disturbance agents is becoming significant.  Is the golden-crowned kinglet a "canary" of these shocks to the upper forests?  Maybe, maybe not, but I would suggest birders take particular note of this species, especially in breeding areas.  

The predictions for Engelmann spruce habitat suitability between now and 2060 due to climate change are not good (66% reduction) (Funk and Saunders 2014).  The golden-crowned kinglet account by Paul Slingsby, Richard Roth and Kim Potter in the Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas II publication reports nationwide Breeding Bird Survey data show a decline of 2.3% per year between 1966 and 2012.  Breeding Bird Atlas III would happen in the mid-2030s if we stay on an every-20-years schedule.  That feels like a long ways away.  

In the meantime, maybe golden-crowned kinglets deserve being closely watched by us.  Just a thought.

Dave Leatherman

Fort Collins

Funk, J., and S. Sauders. 2014. Rocky Mountain forests at risk: Confronting climate-driven impacts from insects, wildfires, heat, and drought.  Report from the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization, Cambridge, MA. Available at http://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2014/09/Rocky-Mountain-Forests-At-Risk-Full-Report.pdf.