WILLOW FLYCATCHER NESTING WITHIN NARROWLEAF COTTONWOOD IN THE SIERRA NEVADA

Abstract

 In the Sierra Nevada the Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii brewsteri) typically nests within wetlands in high-elevation meadows (Green et al. 2003), almost always in shrubby willows (Salix spp.) and alders (Alnus spp.) (Serena 1982, harris et al. 1987, Valentine 1987, Sanders and Flett 1989, Bombay et al. 2003) and rarely more than 3 m off the ground (Beedy and Pandolfino 2013). Occasionally, however, it nests in more complex multilayered riparian woodland comprising a shrub understory and an upper canopy featuring larger trees such as cottonwood and aspen (Populus spp.; Dietrich 2020), as elsewhere in the species’ range (Sogge et al. 2010).