Category: Wildlife

Goldfinch

Spring weather has bears, other wildlife on the move

Spring is here, which brings warmer temperatures, longer days and wildlife emerging from their winter homes. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources reminds residents that black bears are among those animals that are now awake and have left their dens.

At this time of the year, wildlife officials receive many calls about bear sightings and bears damaging bird feeders, trash cans and grills.

thumbnail photo of DNR Bear Essentials video“Bears are hungry,” said DNR bear specialist Kevin Swanson. “They are looking for food after spending months in their dens. While we might not think of bird feeders and trash cans as food sources, a hungry bear certainly may.”

Bird seed especially is attractive to bears because of its high fat content and easy accessibility. Once bird feeders are discovered, bears will keep coming back until the seed is gone or the feeders have been removed. Read more

Wildlife

Tree Fertilizing Tips From Chestnut Hill Outdoors

Spring brings forth new growth for trees on your whitetail food plot, and this is an excellent time to give your producers of mast and fruit a good shot of nutrition. We’re talking, of course, about fertilizing your trees.

Chestnut Hill Outdoors, propagators of a wide range of trees for land managers, including their signature disease-resistant Dunstan Chestnuts as well as oaks, pears, persimmons and apples, has some important advice about proper fertilizing. Read more

Wildlife

SCI Updates Sportsmen’s Issues

Hunters are making progress in the nation’s capital this month, but strong crosswinds are blowing. Even while the Congress is moving forward with the top SCI legislative priority – the Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act, designated in the Senate as S. 405 – Obama administration bureaucrats are lobbing new regulations at hunters’ guns and ammunition.

First, the good news. The U.S. Senate is moving out smartly with consideration of S. 405.   Hearings have already been held in two Senate committees, with the majority of witnesses testifying in support of the bill. Representing the scant opposition to the bill was none other than Wayne Pacelle, CEO of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS.)   Pacelle attempted to mollify the Senators by starting off with an outright lie, claiming that HSUS “is not opposed to hunting.” This statement came despite the group’s lengthy record of working to ban hunting at both the state and federal level, and Pacelle’s own remarks to the contrary.

But the members of the panel would not be so easily fooled. Read more

Hunting, Wildlife

Spring birding tours set for early May at Michigan’s Wetland Wonders

trumpeter swan on the waterThe Michigan Department of Natural Resources reminds wildlife watchers that spring birding tours – coming up Saturday, May 2 and 9 – are a fun way to celebrate the warmer weather and explore the state’s Wetland Wonders.

Birding tour highlights may include diving and dabbling ducks in full breeding plumage, trumpeter and tundra swans, osprey, bald eagles, sandhill cranes and many more. The tours will be led by DNR wildlife biologists and technicians and will include a sneak-peek driving tour into refuge areas that normally are closed.

Michigan’s Wetland Wonders are the seven premier managed waterfowl areas in southern Michigan: Fennville Farm Unit at the Allegan State Game Area, Fish Point State Wildlife Area, St. Clair Flats State Wildlife Area on Harsens Island, Muskegon County Wastewater Facility, Nayanquing Point State Wildlife Area, Pointe Mouillee State Game Area and Shiawassee River State Game Area.

Spring birding tours are set for the following dates, times and locations:
Read more

Wildlife

Browning Trail Cameras Strike Force: Elite Performance in a Small Package

After a year in which the Browning Trail Cameras Strike Force rose to prominence by becoming one of the best-selling game cameras available in the marketplace, one may have wondered what the “next step” would be for such a popular camera. Well the team at Browning Trail Cameras did not disappoint and for 2015 the Strike Force HD Sub Micro Series camera aims to take the game camera experience to unprecedented heights.

From industry defining trigger speeds and recovery times to the self-adjusting IR illumination feature to the highest quality images available, these cameras were already destined to remain a staple for game camera enthusiasts around the country, but now equipped with their cutting edge BuckWatchHD™ technology, these cameras are positioned to become one of the hottest items in the entire outdoor industry this year.

With the ability to capture stunning 1280 x 720 HD videos with sound, users will immediately see how the improved video quality will enhance their overall game camera experience while seeing things they’ve never seen before with their old trail cameras. Whether it is two-weeks away from your deer season or the early stages of the rut, using these videos to strategically scout the wildlife in your area will arm you with more knowledge than ever before and increase your chances of harvesting that trophy of a lifetime. Read more

Hunting, Wildlife

Walker’s® Game Ear Offers The New

Walker’s® Game Ear®, the shooting and hunting industry pioneer in hearing protection, introduces three new versions of their most popular muff. The PRO – Low Profile Folding Muffs, previously available in black only, are now available in Mossy Oak Blaze, Mossy Oak Break Up Country, and Pink.

The ultra-light Walkers PRO – Low Profile Folding Muffs provide complete protection with outstanding comfort whether in the field or at a shooting range. To ensure comfort, these muffs feature low profile contoured cup, a padded headband and soft PVC ear pads all in a compact folding design. With a noise reducing rating (NRR) of 31db, the PRO – Low Profile Folding Muffs help protect your hearing from sustained or loud sounds. Other uses of the PRO – Low Profile Folding Muffs are yard work, operating heavy machinery and any other tasks where noise causes irreversible hearing damage.

Walker’s Game Ear PRO – Low Profile Folding Muffs Features:

  • Low Profile Contoured Cup
  • Padded headband
  • Soft PVC ear pads
  • Ultra-lightweight
  • Compact folding design
  • 31dB NRR
  • ANSI S3.19 Rated
  • Available in Mossy Oak® Blaze, Black or Pink

    • Read more

Firearms, Hunting, Wildlife

Arizona Files Motions Today to Protect State’s Interest in Mexican Wolf Recovery

PHOENIX — The State of Arizona, on behalf of the Arizona Game and Fish Department, today filed two motions aimed at protecting the state’s interest in the Mexican wolf reintroduction program and successful recovery of the endangered wolf subspecies that inhabits east-central Arizona and New Mexico.

Arizona filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit Center for Biological Diversity v. Sally Jewell. The suit concerns the recently-revised 10(j) Rule that governs the management of Mexican wolves in Arizona and New Mexico. The state filed the motion to intervene to defend its trust authority over wildlife conservation in Arizona and its involvement in the revision of the 10(j) Rule.

The state also filed a motion to dismiss the suit based on the court’s lack of subject matter jurisdiction because the plaintiffs are unable to demonstrate that their interests have suffered due to the revised 10(j) Rule.

“Given that the new rule governing Mexican wolf recovery provides more habitat and potential for population growth than the rule and permit it replaced, the plaintiffs cannot demonstrate that their interests have suffered as required by law,” said Arizona Game and Fish Commission Chair Robert Mansell.

The revised 10(j) Rule increases the Mexican wolf population objective from at least 100 animals to a range of 300 to 325. It also eliminates the previous recovery area where wolves could live to a three-zone area that eventually expands their range ten-fold. Read more

Wildlife

Funky Nests in Funky Places Contest Underway

Using spider web to affix its nest to a single bulb in a strand of holiday lights, this tiny Anna’s Hummingbird successfully hatched two chicks. 2014 entry by Kathy West, California.

Ithaca, NY—Spring is nesting season and some birds have a flair for the funky when it comes to finding the right real estate to lay their eggs and raise their chicks. The annual “Funky Nests in Funky Places” contest hosted by the Celebrate Urban Birds project at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is underway. Look for another entertaining collection of nests in old boots, barbecue grills, motorcycle helmets, traffic signals, rakes, old tires and who-knows-what.

Participants may send in a photo, video, story, poem, or even some form of dance or artwork. Entries may be submitted in categories such as “cutest,” “funniest,” “funkiest,” or “most inconvenient.” Celebrate Urban Birds is offering a free, downloadable flyer showing some of the places you can look for funky nests in urban locations. Read more

Wildlife

114 Sportsmen’s Groups Call on Congress to Reject All Efforts to Sell or Transfer Public Lands

WASHINGTON, D.C. – More than 100 hunting, fishing, and conservation organizations, including the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, the National Wild Turkey Federation, Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever, Trout Unlimited, Dallas Safari Club, Pope & Young Club, the American Fly Fishing Trade Association, and more than 80 state-based groups, have released a letter to local and national decision-makers opposing the sale or transfer of federally-managed public lands. Recipients include House members meeting tomorrow to discuss federal land acquisition, and its impacts on communities and the environment, and Senators who recently passed a budget resolution that could encourage the sale or transfer of public lands.

“We’re calling on lawmakers to end this conversation now,” says Whit Fosburgh, TRCP’s president and CEO, whose recent blog post addressed the Senate amendment, which passed 51-49 on March 26. “Nothing galvanizes sportsmen like the loss of access for hunting and fishing, and continuing to indulge this controversial idea is keeping us from the real task of managing our public lands.”

America’s 640 million acres of federal public lands—including our national forests and Bureau of Land Management lands—provide hunting and fishing opportunities to millions of sportsmen and women. Since late last year, efforts to wrest public lands from the federal government and put them under state ownership have been matched by the unanimous outcry of sportsmen across the country. “Decision-makers need to know what they are stepping into,” says Joel Webster, director of western public lands for the TRCP. “Over 72% of western hunters depend on public lands for access, and sportsmen are not going to stand idly by as they’re sold away.” Read more

Fishing, Hunting, Wildlife

DNR advises caution to prevent spread of oak wilt disease

For most people, April 15 is the annual tax-filing deadline. For people like Roger Mech – and other forest health professionals – April 15 also marks the beginning of the yearly window when oak wilt can be transmitted from diseased to healthy red oak trees.

Oak wilt mortality pocket According to Mech, forest health monitoring program manager for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Forest Resources Division, oak wilt is a serious disease of oak trees. It mainly affects red oaks, including northern red oak, black oak and pin oak. Red oaks often die within a few weeks after becoming infected. White oaks are more resistant; therefore, the disease progresses more slowly.”The normal time-tested advice is to prevent oak wilt by not pruning or otherwise ‘injuring’ oaks from April 15 to July 15,” Mech said.

He added that the spread of oak wilt occurs during this time of year as beetles move spores from fungal fruiting structures on the trees killed last year by oak wilt to wounds on healthy oaks. As warmer weather melts away snow and ice, the beetles that move oak wilt become active. Read more

Wildlife
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