A new study published in eLife describes how Ruby-throated Hummingbirds use the same energy-conserving strategy to survive overnight to accumulate body fat they need to fuel long migrations. The study proves a long-held suspicion among biologists and provides new insights about the processes Ruby-throats’ physiology uses to determine whether to conserve energy or store fat. To conserve energy overnight, the hummingbirds can shift into an energy-saving torpor to reduce their body temperature and slow their metabolism up to 95 percent.

“We wanted to know if hummingbirds use this same energy-saving mechanism to more quickly build the fat stores they use to power their 3,000-mile migrations between their North American nesting range and Central American wintering areas,” explained principal author Erich Eberts, a Ph.D. student at the University of Toronto Scarborough.

To study how and when the hummingbirds deploy this energy-saving strategy, Eberts and the team measured daily changes in the body, fat, and lean masses of 16 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds during 3 periods: 1) The nesting season, 2) late summer when the birds prepare to migrate, and 3) during the birds’ typical migration period. They also measured the hummingbirds’ oxygen consumption using a technique called respirometry to determine when they shifted into torpor.

During the nesting season, the hummingbirds maintained lean body masses and only entered torpor when their fat levels fell below 5 percent of their body mass. This “energy-emergency strategy” was usually deployed on nights when they went to sleep with lower energy reserves.

But during the late summer, when Ruby-throated Hummingbirds typically increase their body mass by 20 percent to sustain themselves during their long migration across the Gulf of Mexico, they stop using the 5 percent threshold for entering torpor. Instead, they enter torpor more frequently and with higher levels of fat. This allows them to conserve energy and build up fat even as nights get progressively longer. “We learned that hummingbirds abandon the energy-emergency strategy during late summer and start using torpor to accumulate the fat stores they need for migration,” Eberts explained.

The authors added that learning more about this energy-saving strategy may be important for the conservation of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and other migratory bird species that face increasing stress from climate change and habitat loss.

“Our findings that hummingbirds can use torpor to cope with different energy challenges throughout the annual cycle are important for understanding differences in how these and other migratory animals that don’t use torpor might respond to future environmental changes in food availability and temperature,” concluded Kenneth Welch Jr., Associate Professor, Acting Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto Scarborough, and co-author of the study alongside Christopher Guglielmo, Professor at the University of Western Ontario.

With the advent of the new year, it’s a good time to renew our interest in our feeding stations to keep attracting the birds we enjoy day to day, and keep benefitting them as our coldest days of winter arrive – even in the Sunbelt. The bottom line is to keep your bird feeders well-stocked, and keep in mind, it’s not necessary to wait until a feeder is empty to fill it up. Then, make sure you are providing all the right options to be sure yours is the best yard for birds to stop over. Start by providing sunflower seeds, suet, thistle seeds, and fresh water during the winter season up north.

Same for the Sunbelt really, and a nectar feeder would be appropriate from southern California to south Texas and southern Louisiana – even if you don’t get hummingbirds. Other birds also appreciate sugar-water treats, including House Finches, and it’s never too early to prepare for the arrival of orioles. In fact, you may have some winter orioles in south Texas and Florida, and who knows what other birds will react to a little flash of red when you put your hummingbird feeder out. Providing fresh water is a lot easier in the southland – no heaters required. Water attracts the greatest variety of birds – and it’s cheap and easy to provide.

Overall, the idea is to attract and benefit interesting birds, and to keep them coming. Some birds may spend the season with you, others may stop for a day. But the potential of attracting short-stop winter visitors is a good option to be sure. An important element of feeding birds is to feed them year-round, not just during cold-weather seasons. Summer actually brings some of the most interesting and most colorful birds to our yard, and it helps to keep birds coming non-stop throughout the year. Read more

Applications are now being accepted for the Porcupine Mountains Artist-in-Residence Program for 2022 spring, summer and fall and winter 2022-2023 residencies.

The program is open to artists and artisans whose work can be influenced by the unique northern wilderness setting of Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park – also known as “the Porkies.”

Located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the park encompasses 25 miles of wave-washed shores, four inland lakes, entire river systems, countless waterfalls, enchanting wooded peaks and an escarpment that rises slowly from the edge of Lake Superior until it plummets abruptly into the Carp River valley.

Still, the park’s most impressive feature – and the reason for its creation – is its virgin forest of eastern hemlock and northern hardwoods and the variety of flora and fauna that it supports. Because of these attributes, the park is an ideal location to inspire creativity.

The Artist-in-Residence Program offers writers, composers and all visual and performing artists an opportunity to experience the natural beauty of the Porkies and to express it through their art form. Read more

Chronic wasting disease or CWD was recently detected in a hunter-harvested deer in northwestern Alabama, making it the 28th state where CWD has been documented. It’s the first time CWD has been detected in a state that borders Florida. CWD, which is a brain and central nervous system disease that is always fatal to members of the deer family, has not been detected in Florida. Read more

Bozeman, Montana- The Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF) Thursday acknowledged the New Mexico Department of Game & Fish (NMDGF) and the New Mexico Chapter of the Wild Sheep Foundation (NMWSF) for their efforts in establishing a new desert bighorn sheep herd in southwest New Mexico.

This past November, twenty-seven members of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF) and a helicopter capture crew relocated 46 desert bighorn sheep from the Red Rock breeding area near Lordsburg to the Alamo Hueco Mountains in southwestern New Mexico. A total of 27 ewes and 19 rams were moved, and all but a few younger sheep were GPS collared.

“New Mexico is getting it done,” said Gray N. Thornton, President, and CEO of the Wild Sheep Foundation. “We know our partners down there have been working on this big idea for quite some time. It’s a big sigh of relief when the job is done, and you get to watch the nucleus of a new herd sprint to the horizon of their new home. Kudos.”

The Alamo Hueco Mountains consist of 40 square miles of prime desert bighorn habitat. This smaller desert island range near the Mexico border is located approximately 10 miles south of the Big Hatchet Mountains in the New Mexico bootheel. Water resources include two BLM water catchments and several livestock tanks. Read more

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is updating the state’s wolf management plan and is seeking public comment, via online survey through Jan. 31, about the future of wolf management.

The current plan, created in 2008 and updated in 2015, was developed using extensive public input to identify important issues and assess public attitudes toward wolves and their management and by reviewing the biological and social science relevant to wolf management.

New public input gathered on the 2015 plan will help inform an updated plan to be completed this year. The four principal goals within the 2015 plan are to:

• Maintain a viable wolf population.
• Facilitate wolf-related benefits.
• Minimize wolf-related conflicts.
• Conduct science-based and socially acceptable management of wolves.

The plan and, more specifically, these four principal goals have guided wolf management in Michigan for the last 13 years. The 2022 update will include recent scientific literature and new information regarding wolves in Michigan. Read more

Wildgame Innovations (WGI), manufacturer of advanced trail cameras, game feeders, and attractants, continues to expand its wireless camera technology with the new Terra Cell wireless trail camera and one of the lowest data plans on the market—$12 a month unlimited plan with no contracts, cancel at any time!

The Terra Cell is the first WGI camera to use hardware that is network-certified by both AT&T and Verizon wireless networks. This certified technology eliminates any previous frustration experienced by trail camera users whose manufacturers rely on third-party brokers and support when problems arise.

Terra Cell purchasers can choose either AT&T- or Verizon-compatible models based on their preferred service provider. Both models are fully supported by the Wildgame Innovations HuntSmart™ app. With the HuntSmart™ app, users can explore a full spectrum of data, including one of the lowest data plans on the market with a $12 per month unlimited plan with no contracts, or the free plan if using less than 100 images a month (great for remote security).

Don’t have AT&T or Verizon phones? No problem! The Terra Cell camera only needs either ATT or Verizon service where the camera is located and it will send directly to the user’s phone even if the service is Sprint, US Cellular, Google, T-mobile, or other carriers. Read more