Portland Habitat Watch

California hazelnuts play multiple important ecological roles for local wildlife. They are a general host plant for seventy-one butterfly and moth species, including the small-eyed sphinx, pale beauty, red-humped caterpillar, green arches dart, and the morbid owlet. The nuts are a choice food source for many birds, squirrels, and chipmunks. The later two rely on caches of these nuts for food in the winter. Lastly, thickets of California hazelnuts, along with other shrubs such as vine maple and oceanspray, create ideal habitat for local upland birds and songbirds.

California Hazelnut Seen on December 10, 2022 In Peninsula Park, North Portland Corylus cornuta ssp. californica California hazelnut is a subspecies or variation (there does not seem to be a consensus on which) of the…

California scrub jays are essential seed dispersers for many plants and trees. They will often store caches of seeds and nuts on the ground under rocks or plant debris. If they forget where a cache is or about it entirely, the seeds have the opportunity to germinate. California scrub jays have many mutualistic and parasitic relationships with various other organisms. Take the Columbian black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus), which benefits from California scrub jays consuming ticks and flies from thier skin.

California Scrub Jay Seen on November 10, 2022 In Port of Vancouver, Vancouver Aphelocoma californica California scrub jays can be spotted year-round in our area, inhabiting open scrublands, specifically oak and pinon,…