Birds

NPS photo by Linda Powell 2017

Diverse habitats within park boundaries welcome resident and migrating bird species. Bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) nest along the caldera cliffs. American dippers (Cinclus mexicanus, America's only aquatic songbird) forage at the bottom of fast-flowing streams. Subalpine areas are home to the gray-crowned rosy finch (Leucosticte tephrocotis). Wildfire burned forests attract a variety of woodpeckers including the rare black-backed (Picoides arcticus) and three-toed (Picoides dorsalis) woodpeckers. Common mergansers (Mergus merganser) raise families on the lake, and calls of songbirds permeate the forests and meadows.

 

Mountain Bluebird Sialia currucoides

NPS Photo/Linda Powell

Observing Birds

After downloading a bird list from the species list below, click this link for more infornation on where to go birdwatching.

This downloadable species list is the most current list of sitings as recorded by the park wildlife biolgist. If you identity or photograph a bird that is not commonly observed in the park, submit your findings via email through Contact Us found at the bottom of each webpage.

 

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Species Attribute Definitions

Definitions

Occurrence

Occurrence values are defined below. One or more Occurrence Tags may be associated with each Occurrence value.

Present: Species occurs in park; current, reliable evidence available.

Probably Present: High confidence species occurs in park but current, verified evidence needed.

Unconfirmed: Species is attributed to park but evidence is weak or absent.

Not In Park: Species is not known to occur in park.

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Occurrence Tags

Adjacent: Species is known to occur in areas near to or contiguous with park boundaries.

False Report: Species was reported to occur within the park, but current evidence indicates the report was based on misidentification, a taxonomic concept no longer accepted, or other similar problem of error or interpretation.

Historical: Species' historical occurrence in park is documented. Assigned based on judgment as opposed to determination based on age of the most recent evidence.

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Abundance

Abundant:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, and counted in relatively large numbers.
• Plants: Large number of individuals; wide ecological amplitude or occurring in habitats covering a large portion of the park.

Common:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, but not in large numbers.
• Plants: Large numbers of individuals predictably occurring in commonly encountered habitats but not those covering a large portion of the park.

Uncommon:

• Animals: Likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season. May be locally common.
• Plants: Few to moderate numbers of individuals; occurring either sporadically in commonly encountered habitats or in uncommon habitats.

Rare:

• Animals: Present, but usually seen only a few times each year.
• Plants: Few individuals, usually restricted to small areas of rare habitat.

Occasional:

• Animals: Occurs in the park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year.
• Plants: Abundance variable from year to year (e.g., desert plants).

Unknown: Abundance unknown

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Nativeness

Native: Species naturally occurs in park or region.

Non-native: Species occurs on park lands as a result of deliberate or accidental human activities.

Unknown: Nativeness status is unknown or ambiguous.

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List Differences

The Checklist contains only those species that are designated as "present" or "probably present" in the park.

The Full List includes all the checklist species in addition to species that are unconfirmed, historically detected, or incorrectly reported as being found in the park. The full list also contains species that are "in review" because their status in the park hasn't been fully determined. Additional details about the status of each species is included in the full list.

The checklist will almost always contain fewer species than the full list.

Select a Park:

Crater Lake National Park

Select a Species Category (optional):

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Species attribute definitions

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Visit NPSpecies for more comprehensive information and advanced search capability. Have a suggestion or comment on this list? Let us know.