Category: Wildlife

Goldfinch

New study shows abundant high-quality wolf habitat in Mexico

Analysis reinforces the importance of Mexico for recovery of endangered Mexican wolves

PHOENIX – A peer-reviewed scientific paper published last week in the conservation journal Diversity and Distributions demonstrates that the Mexican wolf’s historical range in the southwestern U.S. and Mexico contains ample high-quality habitat to focus recovery efforts within that range.

The research, a multi-year collaboration between Mexican and U.S. scientists, is significant because it supports the 2017 Mexican Wolf Recovery Plan and contradicts the contention of some advocacy groups that Mexico does not include enough adequate habitat to support recovery efforts there. Read more

Wildlife

Delta Waterfowl Already Prepping Hen Houses for Return of Nesting Mallards

BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA — Mallards hatched last spring in the Prairie Pothole Region of Canada and the northern United States continue to drop in on hunters during these final days of the 2020-21 season as far south as Louisiana, Texas and California. Meanwhile, a thousand miles north, Delta Waterfowl Hen House Specialist Travis Quirk is already working to boost next season’s migration of North America’s favorite duck.

Quirk, of the Colonsay region of southern Saskatchewan, Canada, is an agri-business execuctive and waterfowling outfitter. He is also a former Delta Waterfowl research student. Importantly, as a seasonal contractor for The Duck Hunters Organization, Quirk is responsible for the upkeep of 300 Delta Hen House nest structures. He installed the structures for Delta, and maintains them each winter to ensure they’re ready to greet mallard hens when they return to the prairie wetlands to nest in April and May.

The Delta team of Hen House specialists in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and North Dakota maintains nearly 10,000 mallard nest structures across the PPR, where up to 70 percent of the ducks migrating down all four North American flyways are hatched. Read more

Hunting, Wildlife

What Birds Eat

What Birds Eat

This comprehensive and interesting source book explains bird physiology and natural diets, including extensive feeding profiles that describe what a variety of birds eat naturally, and how we can support those diets in our yards and feeding stations. Author Kim Long and publisher Mountaineers Books provide a robust selection of photos and illustrations, and help birders to understand birds in more meaningful ways in the field and in our yards in the new book: What Birds Eat. Read more

Wildlife

Where Do Our Backyard Orioles Winter?

Article and photos by Paul Konrad

Baltimore Orioles are among our most identifiable and more popular songbirds, but where do they spend the winter months?
A single-week winter range map for Baltimore Orioles. The eBird Science maps are animated to show the annual movements and abundance of each species, which can be paused at week to week increments.
Western birders will appreciate learning about the movements and annual abundance of Bullock’s Orioles – and comparing that information to the other neotropical oriole ranges.
Where do fledgling Orchard Orioles spend the winter after they leave American feeding stations?

Orioles are some of the most popular songbirds that regularly visit feeders stocked with grape jelly and sugar-water nectar from late April through mid-September. Along with most warblers, tanagers, thrushes, and other neotropical migrants, orioles “disappear” from northern latitudes, leaving during late summer and early fall. But where do they go? Now, we have some remarkable new animated maps that provide a wealth of information about birds like our Baltimore Orioles, Bullock’s Orioles, and Orchard Orioles to show their respective nesting ranges, coupled with their migration routes to wintering areas – where they spend most of the year. Read more

Wildlife

Michigan: recent real estate transactions improve western UP trail access

Michigan Department of Natural Resources Director Dan Eichinger recently approved two real estate transactions that have secured permanent trail easements, which will help ensure trail connectivity in the western Upper Peninsula.

These permanent trail easements, totaling 52 miles at a purchase price of $985,969, contribute to DNR and division goals and strategies by providing additional public recreation opportunities and securing trails for future generations.

“This certainly is good news,” said Ron Yesney, U.P. trails coordinator with the DNR’s Parks and Recreation Division. “Having permanent trail easements is an important advance for our western Upper Peninsula trail network.”

In the first of the two transactions, the DNR purchased 56 miles of 30-foot trail access in portions of Dickinson, Gogebic, Houghton, Iron and Ontonagon counties. Read more

General, Wildlife

Virtual workshop showcases Michigan wildland firefighting innovation

Upcycling used military transports into rugged trucks destined for fighting wildfires, engineering improved designs for fire-line plows and even getting into the nitty-gritty of dreaming up a better rake for ground crews – it’s all in a day’s work at the DNR’s Roscommon Equipment Center.

Program design and fabrication specialists recently shared what they have to offer in the first virtual workshop provided to firefighting program managers in the U.S. and Canada.

Located in the pine forests of northern lower Michigan near Roscommon, the REC is a federally supported program serving wildland firefighting agencies across the nation. Read more

Wildlife

Wildlife Forever Celebrates “One Ecosystem” Victory in Alaska

White Bear Lake, MN – Wildlife Forever, sportsmen and women, and conservationists from around the world are celebrating a conservation success in Prince William Sound, Alaska. A unanimous vote from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council approved Resolution 20-D, adopting a scientific, one-ecosystem approach to future habitat conservation for the use of remaining oil spill settlement funds. Read more

Wildlife

Social-Distancing Can Save Wild Sheep

“Social-distancing” is a term most hope disappears from the lexicon soon.

While the concept of keeping a safe distance during the COVID-19 pandemic is wisdom, losing the connection to others is challenging for humanity.

For wild sheep, social-distancing is essential.

Domestic sheep and goats can transmit a form of pneumonia to bighorn and thinhorn sheep that is devastating to herds. It is so devastating that more than two million that existed at the time of Lewis & Clark’s expedition declined to around 25,000 by the early 1900s.

“Wildlife agencies and conservation groups have done a remarkable job of bringing them back to around the 150-175,000 range, but there is still a major problem with exposure to domestic sheep. Die-offs are occurring in pockets right now in states like Oregon and Utah,” said Chester Moore, an award-winning wildlife journalist and founder of Higher Calling Wildlife. Read more

Wildlife

Registration Now Open for NWTF’s Virtual Convention and Sport Show

EDGEFIELD, S.C. — The National Wild Turkey Federation is excited to announce that registration for its virtual Convention and Sport Show, sponsored by Mossy Oak, is officially open.

As with many recent conventions across the country, the 2021 NWTF convention will look much different than previous years. But, the NWTF’s dedicated staff, volunteers and partners are working tirelessly to make this one-time virtual event truly one for the books.

The NWTF will host the 45th annual Convention from Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium in Springfield, Missouri, highlighting many of the acclaimed wildlife exhibits bringing conservation and the outdoors lifestyle directly to at-home viewers. Read more

Hunting, Wildlife

2021 DU Ducks in the Desert Continental Shoot set for March 4-7

Register now for the 35th Annual sporting clay event

LAS VEGAS – – Ducks Unlimited’s Ducks in the Desert Continental Shoot sporting clay competition will take place March 4-7, at the world-class Clark County Shooting Complex in North Las Vegas.

The competition, now in its 35th year, hosts skilled clay shooters from around North America supporting wetlands conservation and shooting for more than $75,000 in prizes. Read more

Firearms, Hunting, Wildlife
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