DWR implements emergency deer feeding in parts of northern Utah, due to deep snow and poor deer condition

OGDEN — Deep snow has made it difficult for deer to find food in parts of Rich and Summit counties, and recent health checks of big game in those areas has shown below average body fat conditions for the deer. As a result, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is taking a two-pronged approach to help the deer out in those areas:

• Biologists have implemented emergency deer feeding. Specially designed pellets will be distributed in specific areas. The pellets match the unique nutritional needs and digestive system of deer.
• Conservation officers are conducting additional patrols to help reduce the repeated stress that people may be putting on deer in those areas.

Deer feeding

DWR biologists and volunteers — mostly landowners and hunters from local conservation groups — started feeding deer at 11 locations in Rich County on Jan. 20. Feed will also be distributed for deer at one location in Summit County. Read more

SALT LAKE CITY — Collecting shed antlers from many big game species, including deer, elk and moose, is a popular pastime in Utah. But before you head outdoors to collect shed antlers during the next few months, you are required to complete the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources’ Antler Gathering Ethics course.

After dropping their antlers each winter, male deer, elk and moose will grow a new set of antlers starting in spring. Looking for the shed antlers is a fun activity that many Utah families enjoy. However, late winter and early spring are a tough time of year for deer, elk and moose, which is why the educational ethics course is required if you want to go “shed hunting” between Feb. 1 and April 15. Read more

A variety of hummingbirds can be observed at the Ecuador and Panama hummingbird feeders (Violet-tailed Sylph photo by Ben Lucking).

Green Honeycreepers are most commonly seen on the Gringo Curt’s videos (photo by Tim Lenz).

We would probably all enjoy a visit to a lush tropical birding hotspot, especially birders who live in northern latitudes where a winter white landscape persists. But even Sunbelt birders are game for a rainforest experience. The next best thing to visiting a feeding station in a tropical rainforest is to monitor live-streaming cameras positioned at feeders in Panama, Ecuador, and Costa Rica. Start by checking out the feeding station at the Canopy Lodge in central Panama where you will be treated to views of visiting tanagers, toucans, motmots, and more. Then, if hummingbirds are among your favorites, you must check on the Sachatama Lodge feeders, located in a cloud forest in the Mindo Valley of Ecuador. And then there is the Costa Rican bird buffet to complete a bird feeding tour of 3 prime tropical locations.

To Panama We Go!

A primary destination for many birders interested in viewing a tropical feeding station is the Panama Fruit Feeder Cam, hosted on the grounds of the Canopy Lodge in El Valle de Anton, provided via the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The feeding platform and hummingbird feeder is positioned about 40 feet from the main lodge, one of several feeding stations on the property for guests to view many of the remarkable tropical birds found in area. A small stream called the Rio Guayabo flows past the feeders, which you can often hear in the background along with bird songs that permeate the lush landscape of the Canopy Lodge grounds and surrounding rainforest. Be sure to view some of the spectacular birds of tropical Panama live at http://cams.allaboutbirds.org/channel/57/Panama_Fruit_Feeders/

To learn more about some of the interesting birds you see, you can continue scrolling down from the live cam screen to the “Species Info” section, which shows photos of birds that you may see while watching the Panama rainforest feeding station. Read more

Minimum wolf population in the UP is estimated at 631 wolves

Wildlife biologists from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources released their findings of the latest Michigan gray wolf survey.

The survey, conducted in early 2022, shows the wolf population in the Upper Peninsula remains stable, as it has for more than a decade.

“These results show a continued trend of statistical stability, indicating that gray wolves may have reached their biological carrying capacity within the Upper Peninsula,” said Cody Norton, the DNR’s wolf specialist. “Wolf presence has only been confirmed twice genetically in the Lower Peninsula in recent times; in 2004 and 2014.”

The survey, which is conducted every other winter, covers the U.P., including Drummond, Neebish and Sugar islands, with Isle Royale excluded. The wolves on Isle Royale are managed by the National Park Service.

Completing analysis of the field data collected during the DNR’s 2022 wolf survey was delayed during the past year as wildlife biologists focused on updating the state’s Wolf Management Plan.

The plan was updated using all pertinent social and biological scientific knowledge on wolves to date.

The minimum wolf population estimate from the 2022 survey is 631 wolves, plus or minus 49 wolves. A total of 136 packs was estimated with an average number of individuals per pack calculated at 4.5.

“Our minimum wolf population estimate is not statistically different from the last estimate in 2020,” Norton said. “All of the estimates since 2011 have not differed statistically.”

However, wolf density appears to have shifted over time.

“The density of wolves may have decreased in some areas of the west U.P. and increased in some parts of the east U.P.,” DNR wildlife biologist Brian Roell said.

This may be linked to significant winter weather events during 2013-2015, which greatly reduced deer densities in mid- and high-snowfall zones of the region.

Trending results

The wolf population in the U.P. showed mostly steady growth from 1989 to 2011. From 1994 to 2007, the population grew at an average annual rate of 19%. From 2003 to 2007, the average annual growth rate was 12%. Read more

A new Project FeederWatch study looked into the effects of two similar species of hawks that occasionally visit feeding stations, potentially preying on a bird. Periodically a Cooper’s Hawk or a Sharp-shinned Hawk might fly in and flush feeder birds into a panic. These raptors specialize in hunting smaller birds and while they are found throughout much of North America, they sometimes inhabit the same location, especially when winter food sources are concentrated in an area. Given these hawks’ similarities, the question emerges: How do they co-exist?

A central tenet in ecology suggests that when two ecologically similar species occupy the same area, competition should drive one or both to take advantage of different niches – by hunting different prey, for example. New research published in the Journal of Avian Biology reveals that a study of these similar raptor species focused on whether they evolved to select different prey, and to compare how the availability of prey might shape their choices.

With colleagues, Eliot Miller, collections manager with the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, took advantage of data collected for Project FeederWatch by citizen scientists – birders – to study these questions. “A few years ago, we created an option for FeederWatchers to tell us not only what birds were at their feeders,” Miller explained, “but how those birds were interacting with one another. That meant we could figure out the preferred prey of Cooper’s and Sharp-shinned Hawks, because we had data on who was eating who, and we had data on prey availability.”

From October 2015 to April 2022 (7 seasons), FeederWatcher participants observed 1,186 incidences of Cooper’s Hawks eating birds at their feeders and 677 incidences of Sharp-shinned Hawks eating birds. Prey available for these raptors consisted of greater numbers of small birds, such as Pine Siskins, with fewer medium-sized birds, such as jays, and still fewer larger birds like quail.

Miller and colleagues found that Sharp-shinned Hawks hunted small birds, such as juncos and siskins most often. Cooper’s Hawks also hunted small birds, but they mainly hunted medium- and larger-sized birds, such as starlings and pigeons. Miller explained that a focus on different sizes of prey may be one component that allows these closely related hawks to co-exist.

“Cooper’s Hawks are increasingly common in urban areas and they are bigger, so their focus on larger prey isn’t necessarily surprising. Still, no one has studied predator preferences at this spatial scale before, so to see such a strong result speaks to the power of citizen scientists to document these patterns,” said Miller.

It’s also interesting that Miller and colleagues found that the birds that each hawk preys on is reflected in their habitat preferences. “Although Sharp-shins certainly can be found in urban areas, particularly during winter, they are more often found in forests,” noted Miller. “And the cool thing is that we were able to see that in their preferences for prey, prey species also frequently occur in forests, such as Evening Grosbeaks and Purple Finches.”

Miller said this study brought even more questions to mind and he hopes other researchers might also want to take serious looks into Project FeederWatch data. For example, Miller said the team’s results suggest that ground-foraging species might be at greater predation risk, but noted, “we didn’t directly test that question, although it would be an interesting question to examine.” FeederWatch data are freely available and Miller hopes “other researchers will dig in and investigate this and other fascinating questions.”

To read the full research publication, you can refer to: Miller, E., O. Aodha, E. Greig, D. Bonter, and W. Hochachka (2022). Congeneric predators fill niches created by the relative abundance of their prey species. Journal of Avian Biology: e02934 doi/full/10.1111/jav.02934

This article was based on the Project FeederWatch article found at What’s For Dinner? Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks Pick Different Foods – FeederWatch

Share your backyard birding experiences and photos with The Birding Wire at editorstbw2@gmail.com

The NWTF Ohio State Chapter recently allocated $50,000 to support a new wild turkey research study that seeks to address population declines in the state.

With increasing concerns over population declines in Ohio, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Ohio State University are conducting the first broad-scale study of hen survival in the state in almost two decades. Findings will help researchers and wildlife managers understand how survival rates, harvest rates and reproduction have changed in the last 17 years and what factors may be causing those changes.

• In the early 2000s, researchers determined May 1 to be the median date for which hens begin incubating; however, it’s clear today that incubation start dates vary in different regions of the state.               Photo Credit: Tyler Lassiter

Changing weather and habitat conditions, too, may be impacting the initiation of nest incubation from the median date established in the early 2000s.

“There are growing concerns about the potential impacts regarding the timing of the removal of males during the hunting season, and therefore it is important to know as precisely as possible when hens begin incubating nests,” said Ryan Boyer, NWTF district biologist for Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. “In many cases, state agencies set their season open dates to coincide closely with the median date for nest incubation initiation, allowing time for hens to be bred and for nesting to begin. Ensuring that season start dates align with nesting chronology greatly reduces the chance of negatively impacting populations by removing males too early.

“Just like the world around us, wild turkey ecology is dynamic. We are proud to partner with the ODNR and Ohio State University to provide support for this research project and continue to ensure the best-available science is being used in informing management and regulatory decisions.”

Mark Wiley, ODNR game bird biologist, notes that it is not just timing that can have an effect nesting success, but also changes in habitat.

“Afforestation (establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an area where there was no previous tree cover) and forest maturation affect habitat quality, which in turn can affect nesting productivity and hen survival,” he said. “A more thorough understanding of hen demographics in relation to changing habitat conditions will improve our ability to successfully manage a dynamic wild turkey population.”

Beginning in early January and through March, ODNR staff will capture birds using rocket nets. Once captured, researchers and ODNR staff will quickly work to attach leg bands as well as GPS transmitters. The information from the transmitters will be invaluable to researchers.

“Researchers from OSU will download and monitor turkey location and activity data two to three times per week,” Wiley said. “They will use turkey location and activity data to detect nesting activity, movements and mortality events.”

The researchers will confirm nesting activity by locating the birds on the ground, and after the incubation period, the team will be able to determine nest fate, hatching rates and causes of nest failure, if it fails.

Three weeks after a successful hatch, the research team will locate and count the number of poults with each hen. They will also establish an annual survival rate of hens from transmitter data. That data will allow researchers to determine the sources of mortality and investigate the seasonal movements of hens.

Results of the study will be shared with nearby states that are conducting similar wild turkey research projects, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland, and data will be aggregated to provide a larger representation of how climate and habitat changes impact nesting on a landscape scale.

“The research project is important to all hunters, experienced or new,” said Bill Sulicks, NWTF Ohio State Chapter president. “We are all eager to see the turkey population begin to thrive again as in earlier years. We believe this study can guide us, in a way, to approach the recent decline, and so in saying this: ‘Once you are aware of a problem, you need to understand how it works, before you can fix it.’”

Field work, including turkey trapping and telemetry monitoring, will occur throughout this year and 2024 and may continue into 2025. The final project report, thesis and scientific manuscript will be available at the end of the project in 2025.

National Wild Turkey Federation
PO Box 530
Edgefield South Carolina 29824
United States

Virtual class
9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Jan. 21

Birds can bring color to a wintry backyard and a smile to your face. The best part? Feeding birds is easy to do with a little knowledge, and we can help!

In this virtual DNR Outdoor Skills Academy class, learn which birds are likely to visit your backyard and which foods and feeders they prefer. We’ll also cover free birding resources and apps, how to clean your feeder and ways you can get involved in community science projects like the Great Backyard Bird Count.

Cost is $25. Each participant will receive a Peterson Field Guide to Feeder Birds and will be entered into a drawing for prizes inluding books and a bird feeder. The registration deadline is Jan. 19. Read more

White Bear Lake, MN – Wildlife Forever is excited to announce a new partnership with Rapala, the premier manufacturer of fishing lures and products. Supporting youth angling and conservation education, the Fish Art Contest is a free art and creative writing program open internationally for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Youth learn about fishing, water quality, and critical conservation issues.

“We are proud to support the Fish Art Contest, which connects students to the outdoors and promotes conservation minded behaviors. Protection of the environment is top of mind for the angling community, and it is of the utmost importance to instill these values in the next generation of stewards,” said Matt Jensen, Vice President of Marketing and Ecommerce at Rapala.

“We are grateful to Rapala for their support and the opportunity to work together on engaging students in conservation. No matter where students are coming from, art is an universal way to connect with the natural world,” said Addison Motta, Education and Communications Manager at Wildlife Forever.

To learn more about The Art of Conservation® programs, visit www.ArtofConservation.org Read more