Category: Wildlife

Goldfinch

Michigan: don’t miss chance to review DNR strategic plan for state’s parks and recreation resources

Managing the state’s parks and recreation system is a big job. As the Michigan Department of Natural Resources works to finalize the draft Parks and Recreation Division Strategic Plan for 2023-2027, we’re turning to the visitors and residents who know and love these destinations for feedback – but don’t wait too long; the draft plan review and comment opportunity closes Jan. 20.

The DNR Parks and Recreation Division currently manages 103 state parks and recreation areas, totaling more than 300,000 acres across Michigan’s Upper and Lower peninsulas. It also oversees the state’s boating program, the state motorized and nonmotorized trails system and 140 state forest campgrounds.

“In Michigan, our diverse natural, cultural and recreation resources have always played a defining role in residents’ quality of life and, in a sense, our very identity as Michiganders,” said Ron Olson, DNR Parks and Recreation Division chief. “People come back year after year, making memories at state parks, trails, campgrounds and harbors, and it’s vital that we have a clear plan to protect these unique resources while anticipating and meeting customers’ expectations.” Read more

Wildlife

Cleanup tips for winter storm-damaged branches, injured trees

High winds and heavy snowfall from winter storms over the last week have left some Michigan homeowners with injured trees or broken branches. Safety is a big concern when dealing with storm cleanup, especially in freezing cold temperatures.

After a storm, first assess whether there are broken tree limbs located near power lines or lying on your home. These should be dealt with by professionals. Experts should also handle any hanging branches and split limbs you can’t reach from the ground. Stay away from debris tangled in power lines and immediately notify your utility company.

After hazardous limbs are addressed, proper pruning and care of your injured trees are important for safety and for the long-term health of the trees. This can be accomplished when work conditions are safer in spring.

If your trees have only weathered minor damage, the winter pruning tips offered in this “Showcasing the DNR” story can help ensure the health of your trees. For other common situations, see the following tips:

  • Get expert help for climbing or chainsaw work. Licensed arborists are tree care professionals trained to assess storm-damaged trees; they have the experience needed to determine how much of a tree can or should be saved. Always ask for proof of licensing, insurance and work references. Find more information about hiring an arborist from ISA-Michigan, Michigan’s chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture.
  • Keep pests in mind when disposing of wood. Wood left behind after trees are damaged by storms may harbor insects or diseases harmful to forests. Moving debris out of the local area can spread pests.
  • Recycle or re-use woody storm debris. Check the national Don’t Move Firewood campaign for recommendations on seasoning and using local firewood.

Helpful resources

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Wildlife

Live Winter Finch Feeder Cams

A live cam screenshot of a female Pine Grosbeak visiting a winter feeding site.

A new Winter Finch Feeder Camera is now streaming live from an impressive feeding station in far northern Maine, in the town of Woodland to be more exact. Sponsored by the Finch Research Network and Aspen Song Bird Food the action takes place in the backyard of Bill Sheehan where you can see Evening Grosbeaks, Pine Grosbeaks, Black-capped Chickadees, and other birds frequenting a variety of feeder styles. Aspen Song Bird Food generously provided the camera and sent 1½ tons of sunflower seeds, which should keep the winter finches and other birds coming into view.

To see a live view of the feeders and the birds that visit, check in to Northern Maine Birds – YouTube periodically to see what birds are active.

At the same time, you can see similar birds and others at the Ontario FeederWatch Cam at feeders in the yard of Tammie and Ben Hache in Manitouwage, Ontario at Ontario FeederWatch Cam | Cornell Lab Bird Cams Cornell Lab Bird Cams (allaboutbirds.org)

There are also a number of interesting videos you can view of winter finches and other birds visiting feeders, including a great one from the Ontario FeederWatch Cam at Colorful Finches of Canada’s Boreal Forest Share The Bounty Of The Ontario FeederWatch Cam – YouTube

Wildlife

The New BirdSpotter Photo Contest

A tranquil setting combined with dramatic color variations made this past BirdSpotter winning photo of a Blue Grosbeak a favorite (photo by Mike Timmons).

Every birder is invited to submit their best bird photo to compete for prizes worth hundreds of dollars in the new BirdSpotter Photo Contest, now through February 5th. Sponsored by Wild Birds Unlimited and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, members of their staff will select 10 finalist bird photographs, which will be posted on the BirdSpotter Voting webpage for birders to vote for their favorite finalists. Online voting will continue from February 13 to March 12, and winners will be announced shortly thereafter. Each birder is invited to enter a single photo, so pick your best.

Wild Birds Unlimited (WBU) and The Cornell Lab will award the following prizes, based on the voting results: First Place, a $300 WBU gift certificate, Second Place, a $200 WBU gift certificate, Third Place, a $100 Wild Birds Unlimited gift certificate; plus each of the photographers who took the 10 finalist bird photos will be invited to choose one Bird Academy online course Free of charge. For more information about the new BirdSpotter Photo Contest, see WBU Birdspotter entries (allaboutbirds.org) – and Good Luck!

Wildlife

Boreal Feeder Birds & Winter Finches

An adult male Pine Grosbeak stands out among a flock of Evening Grosbeaks on a simple platform feeder stocked with black oil sunflower seeds (photos by Ryan Brady).
Early observations indicate more Bohemian Waxwings are moving south this winter.

During winter we birders anticipate the arrival of northern visitors to our yards and feeding stations, birds that bring increased activity and color to our yards. Among the most anticipated are the variety of finches ranging from Pine Grosbeaks and Evening Grosbeaks to Common Redpolls and Pine Siskins. There are the Red and White-winged Crossbills too, as well as such favorite boreal birds as Red-breasted Nuthatches, Blue Jays, and Bohemian Waxwings.

Movements of these birds south are not as regular as we witness with so many migratory species; instead, these birds remain in the northern forests as long as there are abundant foods, including pine and birch seeds. Some years few if any boreal birds and winter finches venture south, but during years when trees in the boreal forest produce few seeds, the “winter finches” fly south in search of foods, which includes our well-stocked feeders with nutritious seeds.

Whether these interesting boreal birds would appear in northern states and southern provinces tended to be something of a guessing game, until the turn of the century. That’s when a group of volunteers – dedicated birders and biologists – began studying the annual seed production among the principal forest trees that produce seeds that finches feed on: Primarily white spruce, black spruce, tamarack, white pine, red pine, birches, oaks, and beech trees.

The current organizer and author of the Winter Finch Forecast is Tyler Hoar, who lives in the heart of the northern forest in Ontario. He was recently interviewed by Audubon magazine to share some interesting insights into how the annual forecast is conducted. To read his interview, you can refer to This Year’s Bonanza of Boreal Birds Once Again Bears Out the Winter Finch Forecast | Audubon Read more

Wildlife

RMEF Helps Expand Montana’s Largest Wildlife Management Area

MISSOULA, Mont. —Montana’s largest wildlife management area offers more room to roam for hunters, anglers and others thanks to a collaborate effort led by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

RMEF teamed up with private landowners with a history of conserving and opening public access to elk habitat by acquiring and conveying 829 acres to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP), which added the land to the now 56,980-acre Mount Haggin Wildlife Management Area.

“Buyers noted the beauty and potential of this acreage and reached out to Roger and Gayle Burnett about it, but they chose wildlife and conservation over development. We salute and thank them for their conservation ethic and values,” said Kyle Weaver, RMEF president and CEO.

About 30 miles west of Butte, the property features open grasslands with sagebrush and bitterbrush foothills as well as aspen, willows and forestland. It supplies elk with winter, calving and summer range as well as important habitat for mule deer, moose, pronghorn antelope and other wildlife.

Because portions of Willow Creek and Mill Creek cross the property, in addition to various springs, the resulting wetlands and riparian habitat are vital for brook trout, westslope cutthroat trout, other fish species, beavers and more bird and animal species. Read more

Wildlife

Wyoming: CWD Detected in New Elk Hunt Area

LANDER – The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has confirmed the presence of chronic wasting disease in Elk Hunt Area 127. The disease was detected in a cow elk in November. This marks the fifth elk hunt area where CWD has been detected this year.

Elk Hunt Area 127 is in the Lander Region and overlaps Deer Hunt Areas 157 and 171, where CWD was detected in 2012 and 2015, respectively.

To ensure hunters are informed Game and Fish announces when CWD is found in a new hunt area. The Centers for Disease Control recommends hunters do not consume any animal that is obviously ill or tests positive for CWD.

Continued monitoring of CWD over time is important to help Game and Fish understand the potential impacts of the disease as well as evaluate future management actions for deer and elk. A map of CWD endemic areas is available on the Game and Fish website. The disease is 100% fatal to deer, elk and moose that have been infected. To date this year, Game and Fish personnel have tested 6,309 CWD lymph node samples from deer and elk — primarily submitted by hunters — and continue to evaluate new recommendations for trying to manage the disease. Read more

Wildlife

Oregon Receives $3.3 Million for Wildfire Rehab, Habitat Work, Elk Research

MISSOULA, Mont. — As part of its ongoing commitment to ensure the future of elk and other wildlife by helping rehabilitate landscapes impacted by wildfire, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and its partners allocated $3,351,126 for more than two dozen projects across Oregon.

“Unfortunately, high-severity wildfires over the last several years damaged soil and native seed banks in large swaths of Oregon elk habitat. And that opens the door for invasive weeds to crowd out native vegetation,” said Blake Henning, RMEF chief conservation officer. “Among other things, this funding goes toward 13 on the ground habitat conservation projects to restore and enhance elk habitat.”

RMEF supplied $324,894 in grant dollars that leveraged $3,026,232 from its partners. Read more

Wildlife

Boone and Crockett Club Partners with Timber Companies, Conservation Organizations to Stop Spread of CWD

Seven timber companies and four conservation organizations are joining together to fight the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) among deer, elk, and other species of the deer family (known as “cervids”). The new CWD coalition will promote practices that help discover, manage, and mitigate the negative impacts of CWD. The Coalition includes the Forest Investment Associates, Molpus Woodlands Group, PotlatchDeltic, Rayonier, Resource Management Service, The Westervelt Company, Weyerhaeuser, Alabama Wildlife Federation, Boone and Crockett Club, Georgia Wildlife Federation and National Deer Association. This footprint spans to well over 20 million acres across the nation.

“We are pleased to join with so many other private landowners and other stakeholders in addressing this critical problem,” said Brian Luoma, The Westervelt Company President and CEO. “Federal and state agencies, the U.S. Congress, state legislatures, researchers and sportsmen conservationists are all doing their part in educating the public about this critical issue. We are fully supportive of all efforts to prevent further spread and are grateful to everyone who is participating in the coalition, including our own employees, who have taken the lead in combating CWD.”

The new coalition acknowledges it will take the cooperation of state wildlife agencies, hunters and private landowners working together to slow the spread of the disease. The group has developed a list of voluntary “best management practices” to help monitor, manage, and prevent the spread of CWD. The coalition will also support communication, research, policy, and public health. These categories parallel the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies CWD recommendations and are tailored to address the challenges facing private landowners and managers in the U.S. with large numbers of recreational users. Read more

Wildlife

Conservation in Session

                                    Photo courtesy of Blake Grisham
                                             Photo courtesy of Blake Grisham

A growing program at Texas Tech University is providing students with a transformational, hands-on approach to working with wildlife, gaining a skillset not common in a traditional classroom.

As part of the NWTF’s recent $360,000 investment into wild turkey research, a Texas Tech project in Texas’ Edwards Plateau seeks to understand the factors leading to diminishing habitat for Texas Rios and correlate them with the increasing dip in harvest rates. The findings will ultimately help the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department implement scientifically backed management to boost habitat quality and, in extension, bird production.

Blake Grisham, Ph.D., associate professor of wildlife management at Texas Tech University, is leading the charge for the research project. Still, Grisham prefers not to take all the credit, as he is proud to share it with his students, who collaborate with him in the field as part of his Wildlife Techniques class.

During the summer, at the over 400-acre Llano River Field Station, students in the class attend an 18-day, intensive, hands-on program instructed by Grisham and Warren Conway, Ph.D., chairman of the Department of Natural Resources Management.

“To the best of our knowledge, this class is the only remaining field-based immersion wildlife techniques course in Texas,” Grisham said. “Students not only benefit from the hands-on experience in the field but also from the collaboration of an array of faculty and guest wildlife professionals. This immersive and interdisciplinary approach is a crucial element of the experience for our students who take this course annually.” Read more

Wildlife
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