Husky Highlights is a seminar series meeting several times a quarter to feature UW Bothell faculty and staff who are making advances in research, scholarship and creative practice. These events are open to the public and students are encourage to come. Registration is encouraged, but not required.

Tuesday, April 23, 2024, 3:30-5pm at the Library (LB1-205)
Avian communities in the North Creek wetlands: integration of research, teaching, and learning with Dr. Ursula Valdez

The North Creek UW Bothell/Cascadia College wetlands has been a successful example of habitat restoration and most importantly an example for a successful reestablishment of biodiversity. Since 1997, our colleagues have been documenting the presence and abundance of a large number of species of plants, fish, invertebrates, mammals and more. I have focused my attention on documenting the avian communities in the wetlands and in other areas of campus. Through dedicated visual and auditory bird surveys, projects with students, class exercises and opportunistic observations we have documented almost 60 species of birds in both the wetlands and the uplands of our campus. Based on behavioral observations we have mapped potential territories for at least 4 species of resident birds, documented habitat use by migratory species during spring and summer, and documented the use of the area as a stop-over habitat for other migrant species. In addition, assessment of the bird species composition in the wetlands shows that all guilds are represented and within the expected relative abundances, which suggests that a functional avian community is established in the area. Learning about the community ecology of birds on campus provides an excellent opportunity to assess the impact of the restoration efforts, integrate topics and methods into my teaching and provide opportunities for first-hand field research for students. Through my work with birds, I have also engaged in creative teaching practices inspired in nature, including working in interdisciplinary and intercultural collaborations.

View more information on Husky Highlights.

Dr. Valdez will share an iNaturalist Research archive created as part of a class project a few years ago, which has documented many species on campus and urban areas. She will introduce the use of iNaturalist, an online platform for community science. This will be the primary tool used during the Bioblitz from April 23-29, and participants can continue to document biodiversity in urban areas throughout the year.