Category: Wildlife

Goldfinch

Osprey chicks outfitted with satellite backpacks

Nearly absent from much of the state due to the effects of DDT and other pesticides and habitat loss, ospreys continue to rebound in Michigan. In southern Michigan, monitoring efforts are tracking the revitalization of this species.

 

osprey backpackThis year, six osprey chicks from area nests were outfitted with “backpack” satellite and GSM telemetry units. These units – funded by grants from DTE Energy, Huron Valley Audubon, photographer Lou Waldock, U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services and American Tower Corporation – will help scientists track the young birds’ daily movements and seasonal migration patterns.

 

In 2013, three osprey chicks were given GPS backpacks in southeast Michigan. One chick banded near Estral Beach migrated to Cuba. A chick from Kensington Metropark ventured to Colombia, and one from Pinckney found good fishing sites on a golf course in Miami.

 

Unfortunately, all three chicks with backpacks perished in 2013. Approximately 60 percent of the osprey chicks hatched each year do not make it to their second birthday. Factors that commonly cause mortality in young chicks include predation by great horned owls, collisions with buildings and other structures, weather, and illegal shooting of birds in Central and South America.

 

“We are very excited to have this opportunity to place GPS units on several ospreys this year,” said Julie Oakes, Michigan Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist. “This will provide the DNR with not only information on what migration routes the birds take, but also insight into what perils they must endure on their migration.” Read more

Wildlife

Michigan Senate Passes Citizen Initiative for Scientific Wildlife Conservation

 

 

Over 297,000 Michigan voters signed petitions to base wildlife decisions on sound science.

 

LANSING—Today the Michigan Senate passed the Scientific Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, a citizen initiative brought to the Legislature by the signatures of almost 300,000 registered Michigan voters led by the Citizens for Professional Wildlife Management, a coalition of conservation, hunting, fishing and trapping organizations.

“This is a significant step that recognizes the efforts of thousands of volunteers and hundreds of thousands of Michigan voters to ensure that sound science is the deciding factor in fish and wildlife conservation decisions,” said Matt Evans, legislative affairs manager for Michigan United Conservation Clubs. “Today, the Senate listened to the will of almost 300,000 of their constituents who exercised their constitutional right to propose legislation to their democratically-elected representatives.”

 

On July 24, The Michigan Board of State Canvassers certified over 297,000 signatures of registered Michigan voters to place the Scientific Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act before the Legislature. The act would share the authority for naming game species between the Legislature and the Natural Resources Commission (NRC), which is require to use sound science in its game decisions. The act also grants the NRC the authority to issue fisheries order, under the same sound science mandate, protects those fisheries with a $1 million rapid response fund for aquatic invasive species, and preserves free hunting and fishing licenses for active military members.

 

The act also defeats two referendums sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States, which is seeking to prevent a regulated hunting season on wolves in certain areas of the Upper Peninsula with high rates of livestock and pet depredation. In the past few weeks, five dogs have been killed by wolves in the Upper Peninsula. The Humane Society of the United States, which recently had its charity rating stripped by Charity Navigator, is also sponsoring anti-hunting initiatives in Maine and at the federal level.

 

The Scientific Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act now heads to the Michigan House of Representatives, which passed a similar measure last summer on a bipartisan basis.

 

Citizens for Professional Wildlife Management is a coalition of conservation, hunting, fishing and trapping groups and individuals including the Michigan chapters of Safari Club International, the Michigan Bear Hunters Association, Michigan United Conservation Clubs, the Michigan Trappers and Predator Callers Association, the Michigan Hunting Dog Federation, the Upper Peninsula Sportsmen’s Alliance, U.P. Whitetails, Inc., the U.P. Bear Houndsmen, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. The act has also received the endorsement of the National Wildlife Federation, the Michigan Salmon and Steelheader Fishermen’s Association, the Lake St. Clair Walleye Association, the Lake St. Clair chapter of Muskies, Inc., and numerous local conservation groups throughout Michigan.

Animal Rights, Hunting, Wildlife

Study Surprise: Many Bird Species Exposed to “Eye Disease”

Male House Finch by Maria Corcacas

This male House Finch shows obvious signs of eye disease. Photo by Errol Taskin

Ithaca, N.Y.-“The results were shocking,” says André Dhondt, director of Bird Population Studies at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. “More than half the bird species we tested have been exposed to the bacteria responsible for House Finch eye disease.” A paper recently published in the online scientific journal PLOS ONE shows that a bacterial parasite previously thought to infect only a few species of feeder birds is actually infecting a surprisingly wide range of species, though most do not show signs of illness.

“This organism, Mycoplasma gallisepticum, is much more widespread than anyone thought,” Dhondt explains, “although in most species there are no signs of conjunctivitis”

Species testing positive for exposure to the bacteria include feeder favorites such as Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, and American Goldfinches. But exposure was also detected in forest species, such as the Wood Thrush. Read more

Wildlife

Course Reversal in Wolverine Protection

“Climate change is a reality,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe said. “What we don’t know with reliability is what does climate change mean for denning habitat that wolverines prefer.”

It sure is difficult to comprehend how someone holding to the precept of global warming –   climate change, as it is deemed today – can make sound wildlife decisions insofar as there has been no global warming for 17 years; hence the change to the term global warming.  This is what we get with a liberal-in-chief.  In any event, details are here…

Animal Rights, Wildlife

Type C botulism confirmed along East Arm of Grand Traverse Bay

The Department of Natural Resources recently diagnosed type C botulism in wild waterfowl along the East Arm of Grand Traverse Bay. During the last week of July, dead mallards were collected and sent to the DNR Wildlife Disease Lab in Lansing, Michigan, for testing, and just recently the lab confirmed the disease.

 

“As of Aug. 4, approximately two dozen mallards had been found dead from type C botulism,” said DNR wildlife biologist and pathologist Tom Cooley. “All of the mallards were found in the same general area, and we will continue to monitor this location, as well as additional locations, for dead birds.” Read more

Wildlife

Antlerless deer license applications on sale until Aug. 15

The Department of Natural Resources reminds hunters that the application period for antlerless deer licenses ends Aug. 15. Hunters may apply for one license in any open Deer Management Unit statewide; a nonrefundable $5 fee is charged at the time of application. Drawing results and leftover license availability may be viewed at www.michigan.gov/huntdrawings beginning Sept. 4.

Hunters may apply for one private-land or public-land license online at E-License, or at any authorized license agent or DNR Customer Service Center. Read more

Hunting, Wildlife

The rock monster

And she waits.

She moves a bit and then waits.

Blind and hoping.

Bump.

Another bump.

Grab, and she’s got it!

She clamps down on his head good and tight.

Her young fly.

She releases and her unsuspecting victim swims away.

And she waits.

 

snuffbox musselThe snuffbox mussel is inconspicuous, yet in many ways is a lie-in-wait predator. But instead of eating her prey, she uses the unsuspecting victim as host to her young. Mussels have a fascinating life history. Mussel babies, called glochidia, need to attach to the gills or fins of a specific type of fish to complete their life cycle. Snuffbox moms with babies sit in the bottom of a stream with their shells open somewhat to display their mantle (their fleshy body inside the shell). A fish swimming by will see that nice, soft flesh and think it’s a free meal. The fish will swim down and try to take a bite of the mussel’s mantle. Once the snuffbox feels the fish poke it, it grabs on to the fish’s head – for the snuffbox the particular fish host is a logperch. Mussels don’t have eyes, so it is purely by feel that the mussel grabs the fish. The mom snuffbox then shoots her microscopic glochidia at the fish’s head so that her young can attach to its gills. The glochidia mature within a few weeks and then drop off the host fish and live out the rest of their life on the stream bottom among the rocks. The glochidia don’t hurt the fish, and the process provides a great way for mussels to move away from their parents – it’s a free ride out of town.

 

To watch this very cool behavior in action and other cool videos, check out: http://unionid.missouristate.edu/gallery/Epioblasma/gallery_snuffbox_1.wmvhttp://unionid.missouristate.edu/gallery/Epioblasma/

snuffbox musselThe snuffbox (Epioblasma trquetra) is a remarkable mussel that is in danger of becoming extinct. Unfortunately there are many threats to this species. Dams affect their ability to move both upstream and downstream, which can isolate populations. Mussels live most of their lives in a very small area, so toxins and poor water quality can easily harm them. Invasive species have also played a role in the decline of snuffbox. Zebra mussels often use any hard surface to attach to, including native mussels like the snuffbox, which end up suffocating because they can’t open their shells. Read more

Fishing, Wildlife

Plot Partitioning

By Austin Delano – Plot partitioning…that’s a mouthful of vowels that simply means keeping crops separate. With the increasing number of hunters planting food plots for wildlife, the need for some of us competitive minded folks to take farming for wildlife to another level has also risen. The days of just simply tossing a bag of grain bin floor sweepings out on plowed up field are over. With all of the research that has taken place over the last 15-20 years on the importance nutrition plays in the quest for healthier and bigger deer, gamekeepers have a lot of resources at their disposal to know what, when, where, why, and how to grow crops that are going to benefit their deer herd and other wildlife.

There are a number of advantages to plot partitioning or planting several crops in the same area. Regardless of where you live in the whitetail’s range, your deer are going to go through several changes in their nutritional needs in the course of a year. Having a diversity of crops planted on your property that meet these needs increases the attractiveness of your land and your chances of holding quality deer. Plot partitioning works best when you have larger fields to work with, 3 acres seems to be a good starting point. This doesn’t mean you can’t use this technique in smaller fields, but it can limit its effectiveness. Read more

Hunting, Wildlife

Antlerless license applications – tips for buying online

Have you applied for your antlerless deer license yet? The application period ends Aug. 15.

 

If you plan to apply online through E-License, you’ll notice some differences in the way antlerless hunt choices are listed this year, due to system changes that came with Michigan’s new license structure. All antlerless deer hunts are now listed on the same page:

 

Public-land hunts are listed first (item numbers begin with a 1).

 

antlerless apps - public land

Scroll down to see private-land hunts (item numbers begin with a 2).

antlerless apps - private land 

For more information, see the 2014 Antlerless Deer Hunting Digest and the 2014 antlerless license quotas for each Deer Management Unit.

Hunting, Wildlife
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