Dancing birds and bear hair: Michigan surveys help track wildlife populations

The DNR uses many methods to monitor Michigan wildlife populations, and two of the more interesting wildlife surveys – involving a bird’s intricate aerial dance and snagging bear hair – are taking place across northern Michigan in May.

The American Woodcock Singing-Ground Survey is performed annually across much of the northern United States, giving wildlife agencies an idea of this migratory bird’s breeding populations.

Woodcock return to northern locations like Michigan – a national leader for the number of young woodcock produced each year – from their winter homes in southern Gulf Coast states to find a mate and breed. Spring, when their unique breeding behavior can be seen and heard in the evenings, is the perfect time to count them. Just after sunset, males can be found in their singing grounds, or grassy openings, making a nasal, insect-like call known as a “peent” every four to five seconds and performing their spiral display flights.The singing-ground survey is performed annually along more than a hundred 3.6-mile survey routes.

For the bear hair snare survey, locations across the northern Lower Peninsula are baited with bacon and donuts and surrounded by barbed wire. In order to reach the bait, a bear will cross the barbed wire and snag hairs, leaving a DNA sample behind. DNR staffers will visit 257 baited locations six times starting the week of May 27 to collect snagged bear hair and send it to the DNR Wildlife Disease Lab for analysis, which will assist with future bear population estimates.

Results from both surveys will help to determine harvest regulations for future hunting seasons. Read more about the woodcock and bear surveys.

Wildlife

Monarch butterflies a sure signal of summer in Michigan

One of the state’s most distinctive signs of a new season is on its way – the brightly colored monarch butterfly. A well-known and beloved butterfly species in North America, monarchs, unfortunately, have become a much less common sight in recent decades.

The eastern monarch butterfly population has declined by more than 80 percent over the last 20 years, primarily from habitat loss, both in their summer range – including Michigan – and in Mexico, where they spend the winter.

“Adult monarch butterflies require a variety of flowering plants for nectar,” said Hannah Schauer, wildlife communications coordinator with the DNR. “Grasslands provide a mix of plant species that pollinators, like the monarch, need – with both early- and late-blooming plants and those that flower mid-summer.” Read more

Wildlife

SAF: Bloomberg’s “Epidemic of Dishonesty” Includes His Own Anti-Gun Efforts

BELLEVUE, WA – When billionaire anti-gun former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg launched a tirade during Rice University’s graduation ceremonies over the weekend about an “epidemic of dishonesty” in the nation’s capital, he could easily have been talking about the gun prohibition movement he largely finances, the Second Amendment Foundation said today.
“Bloomberg criticized what he called ‘an endless barrage of lies,’” noted SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “But that’s exactly what we’ve seen from the gun prohibition lobby, exemplified by Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety. From deceptively combining suicide and homicide data to inflate what they call the number of ‘gun violence’ victims, to inflating the number of school shootings, which the Washington Post called ‘flat wrong,’ and suggesting that raising the age limit for purchasing firearms and banning modern sporting rifles will somehow prevent mass shootings, the gun control campaign has been built on layers of false promises.
“Anti-gun lobbying groups even claimed that 40 percent of gun transactions occurred without a background check,” he added, “until research proved that claim to be bogus.
“Each gun control failure has been followed by demands for even more restrictions on law-abiding citizens,” he continued. “Each new erosion of fundamental Second Amendment rights is sold to the public as a preventive measure, until the next tragedy occurs, followed by more demands that gun owners give up a little more privacy and a little more liberty.”
Bloomberg also warned about a trend toward “alternate realities” during his speech. Gottlieb suggested that the billionaire former mayor might be an expert on that subject.
“Behind all of the gun control rhetoric,” Gottlieb observed, “elitists like Bloomberg, with their billion-dollar bankrolls and armed private security continue their campaigns for public disarmament from the safety of walled estates or gated communities. Nothing more accurately reflects an ‘alternate reality’ than the one enjoyed by people like Bloomberg, who live behind walls or gates, and have their own bodyguards.
“Suggesting that surrendering a basic right of self-defense and the tools to protect one’s home and family will somehow move average citizens closer to the idyllic security of the rich and famous is the most dishonest thing of all,” he said.
The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.
Gun Control

2A Armament Xanthos-Lite: The Lightest AR-10 Receiver On The Market

Over the last few years, AR-style rifles chambered in 7.62 mm/.308 Win., have grown in popularity with various shooting communities. In fact, AR-10 rifles are one of the fastest growing segments in shooting sports, especially among those who build personal AR platforms. Unfortunately, while most AR-10 rifles are known for rugged reliability, they are also relatively heavy. As a result, many ardent shooters look to the 2A Armament Xanthos-Lite Receiver when building an AR-10 style rifle.

The Xanthos-Lite was developed in-house as a lightweight solution for users who seek quality design and functionality in a large-frame AR build. In addition to sharing common DPMS HIGH standard for rail height, allowing it to accept most standard accessories.

The receiver is machined from U.S.A. sourced 7075-T6 billet aluminum with a pocketed design that reduces weight and enhanced appearance. It also comes with an integrated and lightened trigger guard and the forward assist was also removed to bring the stripped upper and lower down to a mere 16 ounces of total weight. As a result, the 2A Armament Xanthos-Lite Receiver is up to 12 ounces lighter than most receivers. Read more

Firearms

Swagger Bipods – Anywhere, Any Terrain

You found the perfect pinch point to catch a big buck flat-footed while traveling from his bedding area. Setting up at the base of a tree, you fold out your bipod to hold your rifle at shoulder height, aimed down the trail where you expect to see the deer approach. In typical big-buck fashion, tall antlers appear far to your right and not on the game trail. With most bipods, you’d be hard-pressed to lift your rifle, aim towards the deer in tight quarters, and still manage to get a shot.

With a Swagger Bipod, the fact the buck showed up within range would be its last mistake. The flexibility of the Flex-Ready legs would allow you to simply swing your rifle barrel in the direction of the deer and fire. The legs would stay in place, where you originally set them, extended to the desired length, and they would twist to keep up with your rifle movement while continuing to provide rock-solid support. Read more

Hunting

Stocked Michigan waters create plentiful fishing opportunities

We’re in the midst of our spring fish-stocking season, so you may be seeing DNR trucks releasing their prized cargo at hundreds of lakes and streams throughout the state.

Fish stocking is a valuable tool used by fisheries managers to restore, enhance and create new fishing opportunities in Michigan’s inland lakes, streams and the Great Lakes. he DNR accomplishes this by rearing fish at its six fish production facilities located throughout the state, cooperatively managing nearly 40 rearing ponds and six Great Lakes imprinting net pen locations, and maintaining a fleet of 18 specialized fish-stocking vehicles.

Over the course of a typical year, upwards of 20 million fish (weighing nearly 350 tons, including eight species of trout and salmon and three cool-water strains of walleye and muskellunge) are stocked. Beginning in mid-March and ending in early June, the DNR fish-stocking trucks will travel well over 100,000 miles to visit between 700 and 1,100 locations. Read more

Fishing

Legislation Expanding Youth Hunting Opportunities Passes Michigan House

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Take Action Today! Michigan members should contact their state senator and ask them to vote YES on House Bill 5711. Michigan sportsmen can contact their state senator by using the Sportsmen’s Alliance Legislative Action Center.

In Michigan, legislation that would expand access to public land for young people has passed the House of Representatives. House Bill 5711, introduced by Rep. Triston Cole (R-105), will permit youth 10 and older to hunt on public land. Under current law, a person must be at least 14. Those under the age of 14 may only hunt on private land.

On May 2, the Michigan House of Representatives passed HB 5711 by a vote of 102-7. The bill now heads to the Senate where it will be assigned to a committee.

Often, youth begin to get involved at an early age with extracurricular sports and other after school programs, which makes it harder for them to try hunting. Access to quality hunting areas is crucial in maintaining hunter participation. By allowing parents to take their child hunting on public land, House Bill 5711 will make it easier for parents to get youths more involved in hunting. More importantly, HB 5711 will help in the retention of these new young hunters.

Hunting

Birds and ‘Shrooms

By Glen Wunderlich

Ever since my first wild turkey hunt in Michigan back in the ‘70s, the fascination has always evolved into a fair amount of anticipation leading to opening day.  As has been the case over the years, I’ve opted for the late season, which runs just about the entire month of May.  Much of the mystique of a novice is gone with experience and the advent of television shows featuring turkey hunting.  A bit of complacency seems to have set in, however.

Morning finds me outdoors stocking wild bird feeding sites before sun rise, which also offers opportunities to listen for neighboring gobblers.  A single trailcam was installed where a portable blind would be placed days before the opener.  Only a couple of turkey hens had been spotted – one with a beard

Bearded Hen

– and, that was good enough to assume a Tom would show eventually.  However, the afternoon before that first day of the season, I remembered I had yet to sight in my gobbler-getting shotgun.  Four shots later it was centered on the target, but my only morning hunt produced one sighting on stand – a lone hen.  The Toms have shut down their early morning gobbling from the roosts and seem to have changed routines, but plenty of opportunities remain.

Unseasonably dry weather conditions and lingering cold has put growing conditions behind quite a bit.  We needed rain and we finally got a good dose.  Predictably, spring finally sprung with wild asparagus and morel mushrooms pushing through the ground cover overnight.  While I have no taste for the widely sought-after ‘shrooms, a neighbor didn’t hesitate, when I called to let her know I found a few.  Her mesh bag was filled in short order.

Morel Mushrooms

On another note, the spring bird migration has brought in some of my favorite feathered friends to feed.  Several Rufous-sided Towhees have become regular freeloaders the past several days and I’m hoping they’ll take up residence instead of moving on like usual.  And, another of our most colorful flying spectacles – the Rose-breasted Grosbeak – finally arrived, as well, along with the dazzling Baltimore Orioles.  Looks like it’s time to get the grape jelly out for them, too.

Another familiar harbinger of spring is our state bird:  the American Robin.  Although they are not seed eaters, their antics in search of insects and worms sure can be entertaining.  This spring, one has built its nest on top of a security light controlled by a photocell attached to the fixture.  The huge nest has totally blocked the electric eye and relegates me to manually operate the light; otherwise it would stay on.

What prompts birds to build nests where they do?  Some of their real estate choices are real head-scratchers and that’s where the “Funky Nests in Funky Places” contest comes in.  If you find a nest built in a quirky, even downright crazy spot, you may want to share a photo before the June 30th deadline.  The contest is hosted by the Celebrate Urban Birds citizen-science project at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Entries can be photos, poems, stories, or artwork.

Participants don’t have to be bird or photography experts. All ages are welcome to participate as individuals or with a class, community center, or afterschool program. Entries are being accepted from anywhere in the world. You don’t have to be a participant in the citizen-science project either–just sign in as a guest.

Winners in each category will receive Celestron binoculars and other prizes are available for honorable mentions.

 

Find more information about how to locate nests, approach them without disturbing the birds, and enter the contest at www.funkynests.org.

Hunting, Wildlife

New Plan Aims to Reverse Monarch Butterfly Decline

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (MAFWA) welcome public comments through May 31 on a draft conservation plan that provides a blueprint for reversing the decline of the eastern monarch butterfly population.

The draft plan, called the Mid-America Monarch Conservation Strategy, builds on existing efforts of state, federal, and local agencies, as well as private organizations and individuals. It covers a 16-state region from Texas to the Upper Midwest, which encompasses the primary production and migratory habitat areas for eastern monarchs. Other eastern monarch states also are collaborating with the plan.

The plan identifies conservation goals and strategies for improving habitat for monarchs and other pollinators. Potential habitats include natural areas, agricultural lands, urban lands, and rights of way. Game and Parks, other state wildlife agencies, and partners will plant milkweed, which monarchs need to survive, as well as other blooming plant species, to benefit both monarchs and other pollinator species. Read more

Wildlife

Michigan: Pike and Walleye Opener May 15 in U.P.

The Upper Peninsula’s northern pike and walleye season opener is coming soon! On Tuesday, May 15, the season opens on all U.P. waters, including the Great Lakes, inland waters and the St. Marys River.

Please note, the season opener for muskellunge in the U.P. has changed – in addition to all other waters in Michigan. On all Great Lakes and inland waters, the St. Marys River, the St. Clair River, the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair, the season doesn’t open until Saturday, June 2. But catch-and-immediate-release muskellunge fishing now is allowed on all waters all year.

Anglers can currently catch and immediately release largemouth and smallmouth bass on most waters statewide. The possession season for bass opens statewide on Saturday, May 26, except for Lake St. Clair, the St. Clair River and the Detroit River, which open on Saturday, June 16. Read more

Fishing
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