[obol] Volunteer Opportunity:Seeking Mistletoe Bird Foraging Observations

From: "Mary Anne Sohlstrom" <masohlstrom@xxxxxxx>
To: <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 1 Dec 2014 20:05:51 -0800
Howdy OBOL – I happen to be a Master Naturalist, a great program through OSU 
Extension – if you are interested in the program – contact me and I’ll send you 
some information.  Jason, the program director sends out Volunteer 
opportunities from time to time.  This one looks like it is made for the 
Christmas Bird Count Season or for any of you who are just out and about  in 
the appropriate habitat. I contacted Dr. Shaw and asked if you would like to 
have this posted to OBOL, so I am passing it along.  Have fun!  

Mary Anne Sohlstrom
masohlstrom@xxxxxxx
Seeking Mistletoe Bird Foraging Observations

http://avianmistletoe.forestry.oregonstate.edu/

As cool fall weather approaches and leaves begin to gather on the ground 
beneath the oak trees, you may notice something special if you look up in the 
treetops.  Clumps of Pacific mistletoe, known to scientists as Phoradendron 
villosum, are slowly being revealed in the canopy.  
Mistletoes are a group of shrub-like flowering plants that parasitize both 
coniferous and deciduous trees.  There are many species of mistletoes, some of 
which can only parasitize one host tree species.  In the Willamette valley, 
Pacific mistletoe mostly parasitizes Oregon white oak, though it can sometimes 
use pin-oaks and other ornamental trees.

Although mistletoes are parasites on trees, they can benefit other organisms in 
many ways.    Across the globe, mistletoes may be keystone species, increasing 
biodiversity by providing a host of resources for wildlife including nutritious 
fruits and leaves, increased leaf litter, cavities for nesting and dense cover 
and loose bark for sheltering. A recent study by Dr. David Watson of Charles 
Sturt University in New South Wales, Australia found that 20% of bird species 
disappeared from a forest after mistletoe had been removed. Watson believes 
that this decline in bird diversity may be due to the loss of resources 
provided by the mistletoe.

Scientists know that mistletoes are generally good for wildlife, but there has 
been no research on the effect Pacific mistletoe has on wildlife in western 
Oregon.  Drs. David Shaw (Oregon State University College of Forestry) and Joan 
Hagar (U.S. Geological Survey), as well as graduate student Kyle Pritchard are 
trying to find out if and how mistletoe benefits overwintering birds in the 
Willamette Valley.  Understanding which bird species utilize mistletoe berries, 
and how mistletoe is dispersed is a critical link in the ecology of the system.
You can help by volunteering to report sightings of birds foraging on mistletoe 
berries this fall and winter.  Volunteers can report their sightings online at 
the Avian Mistletoe Project website 
(http://avianmistletoe.forestry.oregonstate.edu/).  Please include detailed 
location descriptions or coordinates if possible, along with any feeding 
observations.  Your data contributions can help us better understand the role 
of this fascinating parasite in Oregon ecosystems.

http://avianmistletoe.forestry.oregonstate.edu/


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[obol] Volunteer Opportunity:Seeking Mistletoe Bird Foraging Observations

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