Great Lakes Echo - February 26, 2014

Some endangered species, like Karner blue butterflies, are benefiting from the harsh winter. Photo: Michigan DNR.

Tough winter good for some endangered species

Study reveals new ways deadly squirrelpox is transmitted to red squirrels

Study reveals new ways deadly squirrelpox is transmitted to red squirrels

New hope for under threat koalas

Young koalas like this will have a higher life expectancy if a chlamydia vaccine proves successful. (contributed -University of the Sunshine Coast.) 

New hope for under threat koalas - ABC Sunshine & Cooloola Coasts Qld - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Michigan Audubon - February 21, 2014

Photo Credit: Corey Seeman

5 Common Michigan Woodpeckers
Identification tips

The five woodpeckers below have a year-round range here in Michigan and are always a delight to see!

Downy Woodpecker
In winter, Downy Woodpeckers are frequent members of mixed species flocks; this increases their chances of finding food because they spend less time watching for predators. They eat foods that larger woodpeckers cannot, such as insects or larvae that live on or in weed stems. You can attract these woodpeckers to your feeder with suet, black oil sunflower seeds, millet, peanuts and chunky peanut butter.
Size: 5.5-6.7 inches long
Wingspan: 9.8-11.8 inches
Weight: 0.7-1.0 ounces
Year-round Coloration: A checkered woodpecker, the Downy displays white underparts and black upperparts with white checkers on the wings; the head is boldly striped with a distinctive stripe down its back. Males have a small red patch on the back of their head. A helpful hint for identification is the beak is shorter than the length of the head.

Hairy Woodpecker
The Hairy Woodpecker is very adaptable and can live in elevations from sea-level up to 6,500 feet. Insects make up 75% of their diets and they have been used to help control pest outbreaks such as codling moths in orchards. Hairy Woodpeckers rarely visit feeders unless food is scarce, in which case they are attracted to suet. If you have dead trees or dead parts of trees in your yard that are safe to keep standing they will make a great home for a pair to nest in.
Size: 7.1-10.2 inches long
Wingspan: 13-16.1 inches
Weight: 1.4-3.4 ounces
Year-round Coloration: Larger than the Downy Woodpecker, the Hairy is also a checkered woodpecker. The Hairy has white underparts and black upperparts with checkered wings and a large white patch that runs down the center of the back. The head has two white stripes and males display a red patch on the back of their head. A helpful hint for identification is the beak is the same length as the head.

Red-bellied Woodpecker
These birds often stick to main branches and trunks of trees, where they hitch in classic woodpecker fashion, leaning away from the trunk and onto their stiff tail feathers as they search for food hiding in bark crevices. A Red-bellied Woodpecker can stick out its tongue nearly 2 inches past the end of its beak. The tip is barbed and the bird’s spit is sticky, making it easier to snatch prey from deep crevices. You can attract these woodpeckers to your feeder with suet, peanuts and occasionally sunflower seeds.
Size: 9.4 inches long
Wingspan: 13-16.5 inches
Weight: 2-3.2 ounces
Year-round Coloration: The Red-bellied Woodpecker tends to look pale overall with white underparts and a black and white checkered back. It has a red cap and nape.  

Northern Flicker, “Yellow-shafted”
The “yellow-shafted” Northern Flicker is found in the east and far northwhile the “red-shafted” species is found in the west. Northern Flickers spend lots of time on the ground, and when in trees they’re often perched upright on horizontal branches instead of leaning against their tails on a trunk. The Northern Flicker is one of the few North American woodpeckers that is strongly migratory, it has a year-round range in the Lower Peninsula and a can be found during the breeding season in the Upper Peninsula. These woodpeckers rarely visit feeders but when they do they prefer suet, they are also attracted to birdbaths.
Size: 11-12.2 inches long
Wingspan: 16.5-20.1 inches
Weight: 3.9-5.6 ounces
Year-round Coloration: Flickers appear brownish overall; up close you can see the brown plumage is decorated with black spots, bars and crescents. The woodpecker has a white rump with bright yellow on the undersides of the wings and tail.

Pileated Woodpecker
One of the largest Woodpeckers in North America, the Pileated Woodpecker digs impressive rectangular holes that can be a foot or more long and go deep inside the wood; they create the holes to catch carpenter ants. These woodpeckers are monogamous and have very large territories. Pileated Woodpeckers sometimes visit backyard bird feeders, especially if suet is available.
Size: 15.7-19.3 inches long
Wingspan: 26-29.5 inches
Weight: 8.8-12.3 ounces
Year-round Coloration: The Pileated Woodpecker is mostly black with white stripes on its face and neck and a bright red crest.  Males display a red stripe on their cheek.

With a good chance of seeing most of these woodpeckers in your backyard, especially if you live near a wooded area, this quick tip guide should help you identify these sometimes hard to distinguish birds!Happy Birding!

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Your Bird Crew,

DNR releases update on health of Michigan’s forest land - February 21, 2014

Press Release

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 21, 2014

Contact: Ron Murray, 517-284-5886 or Ed Golder, 517-284-5815

Michigan’s approximately 20 million acres of forest land play a key role in the state's recreation, forest products and other important industries, and the health of those forests is essential to sustaining this vital resource for many generations. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has released its 2013 Forest Health Highlights report, an overview of Michigan’s forests, the insects and diseases that have threatened them over the past year, and details about what DNR staff is doing to improve forest resources.

The report breaks down forest health threats by examining insects and diseases, forest decline, invasive plant control and other health concerns. Accompanying photos and maps illustrate the pests and show the effects they have had on Michigan’s forest system.

Highlighted in the report are DNR’s efforts to control oak wilt, a serious disease that threatens Michigan’s extensive red oak resource. In cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service, tens of thousands of feet of root graft barriers have been installed on state forest land. These barriers prevent oak wilt from moving to healthy trees through infected root systems.

“The key to slowing the onslaught of exotic invasive organisms in Michigan’s forests is public awareness,” said Dr. Bob Heyd, DNR Forest Pest Management program manager. “The Forest Health Highlights report provides timely information about the condition of our forests and what’s being done to protect this important resource.”

To learn more about the health of the state forest, check out the 2013 Forest Health Highlights report by visiting www.michigan.gov/foresthealth.  

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The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.

A Nod to Robert Frost

A tree oddity on the trail behind the house

I found this essay I wrote back in 2006. With the forecast of warmer weather ahead, I anxiously await to once again walk in the woods....

Around 2 pm, I felt this overwhelming need to be outside. I felt confined, restricted and struggled to be. So I put on my hiking boots and along with water and cell, I set off. Once on the trail behind the house, I walked a long familiar path. Logically I knew I would not reach my favorite destination, a grove of paper birch, but familiarity drove me down the now branch-spewed way. I stopped, observing the houses, fences and brush piles that kept me from my beloved birches. I turned around and retraced my steps to another familiar path. Again, I was rebuffed by houses and fences. My beloved woods, once a maze of intersecting deer trails that led to hundreds of acres of trees, now felt as constricted as my house.

I cried silently, wanting to escape this human invaded area. In time, even this parcel of wildness would be gone, replaced by more overgrown houses with fences.

In frustration, I took a less know trail. Thinking it circled quickly back home, I walked over its undulating geography. Instead of houses, I found myself walking deeper into the woods. The bright blue sky was shrouded by the tree canopy. I could hear the distant sound of traffic but no sign of humanity.

Frequently I came upon crossroads- adventures for another day. The wide trail narrowed to a single track. Soon I came across a utility right away. I felt unsure of my location as there are no overhead lines in my neighborhood. How far had I walked?

The trail darkened again through a grove of cedar. From a tree top, there was the familiar scolding from a red squirrel. Was it one of mine that I released years earlier? I congratulated the squirrel on his diligence in protecting his home and moved on.

I turned a corner and found myself on a wide sandy road. Marking the trailhead with a branch in case I had to backtracked, I turned left and started up the sandy trail. Walking in tire tracks, I saw the fresh footprints of another walker. Stepping my foot beside the track, I found it larger than my own. I am not afraid of the woods with all its inherent dangers, but definitely afraid of meeting a man in this isolated, unknown place. I turned on my cell.

The sandy trail gradually climbed and in the open, I grew warm from the sun. It soon became apparent that I had found the sandy right away that connected to my neighborhood. In a short time, I was back on the street and on my way home.

The constriction that drove me outside had subsided, as did the sadness that arose when confronted by human sprawl. Yet I sensed a loss of place here and a fear that eventually this small piece of nature will soon be gone.

In these waning days of summer, I feel a foreboding of a cold and sterile future. Not the frostiness of winter, but the irreparable destruction of the natural world.

Despite these emotions I take comfort in the harsh chatter of my red squirrel friend, the numerous tracks of deer hooves upon the trail, the blue sky, white fluffy clouds, and the rustling leaves. And pray for wisdom – wisdom for myself and all my fellow people, wisdom to recognize and cherish the precious gift of wildness given to us.

Introduction to Bats - Bats Conservation International

Bats are essential to the health of our natural world. They help control pests and are vital pollinators and seed-dispersers for countless plants. Yet these wonderfully diverse and beneficial creatures are among the least studied and most misunderstood of animals.

Centuries of myths and misinformation still generate needless fears and threaten bats and their habitats around the world. Bat populations are declining almost everywhere. Losing bats would have devastating consequences for natural ecosystems and human economies. Knowledge is the key. Bat Conservation International has been combining education, research and conservation to protect bats worldwide since 1982.

The more than 1,200 species of bats – about one-fifth of all mammal species – are incredibly diverse. They range from the world's smallest mammal, the tiny bumblebee bat that weighs less than a penny to giant flying foxes with six-foot wingspans. Except for the most extreme desert and polar regions, bats have lived in almost every habitat on Earth since the age of the dinosaurs.

Bats are primary predators of night-flying insects, including many of the most damaging agricultural pests and others that bedevil the rest of us. More than two-thirds of bat species hunt insects, and they have healthy appetites. A single little brown bat can eat up to 1,000 mosquito-sized insects in a single hour, while a pregnant or lactating female bat typically eats the equivalent of her entire body weight in insects each night.

Almost a third of the world's bats feed on the fruit or nectar of plants. In return for their meals, these bats are vital pollinators of countless plants (many of great economic value) and essential seed dispersers with a major role in regenerating rainforests. About 1 percent of bats eat fish, mice, frogs or other small vertebrates.

Only three species, all in Latin America, are vampires. They really do feed on blood, although they lap it like kittens rather than sucking it up as horror movies suggest. Even the vampires are useful: an enzyme in their saliva is among the most potent blood-clot dissolvers known and is used to treat human stroke victims.

http://batcon.org/index.php/all-about-bats/intro-to-bats.html

For more information on bats and ways to protect them, go to www.batcon.org

Wildlife Disease News Digest: February 8, 2014

Wildlife Disease News Digest: In the Spotlight - Battle for Bats: Surviving White Nose Syndrome

Photo Credit - Michigan Audubon

Compact Grey Feeder Birds
Identification tips

Each winter more and more people feed birds in their backyard. As this hobby grows across the U.S. the urge to know specific species gets greater. Below are three birds you will likely see at your feeder that all share a common color – grey!

Dark-eyed Junco
Referred to as the snowbirds of the middle latitudes, Dark-eyed Juncos are common birds inMichigan this time of year. The bird is a ground feeder, found in large flocks that that typically include a hierarchy or pecking order; early arrivals tend to have higher ranks. Additionally, these birds are very talkative; they chip almost absent mindedly.
Size: 5.5-6.3 inches long
Wingspan: 7.7-9.8 inches
Weight: 0.6-1.1 ounces
Coloration: Juncos vary in color widely across their range, having recorded 15 different regional races, six of which are easily recognizable in the field. Of those six, two are widespread throughout the US; the “slate-colored” and the “Oregon” junco.  In general, Dark-eyed Juncos are described as being dark grey or brown birds with a rounded head and short, stout pink bill with white outer tail feathers.

Tufted Titmouse
A small songbird with a rebellious Mohawk and an echoing call, the Tufted Titmouse is another grey and vocal backyard bird. In the winter they are found in the company of nuthatches,chickadees, kinglets and woodpeckers. They are quick to respond to the sounds of agitation in other birds, their curiosity leads them to investigate often and they commonly join in with other birds when mobbing a predator.
Size: 4.5-5.5 inches long
Wingspan: 7-9 inches
Weight: 0.6-0.9 ounces
Coloration: The Tufted Titmouse is a silvery/gray color on its back and wings with a white belly.  It has a rusty or peach-colored wash down the flanks and a black patch just above the bill which makes the bird look snub-nosed.

White-breasted Nuthatch
The largest species of nuthatch this bird is observed climbing up, down and side-to-side over tree trunks and around large branches looking for food sources. They search crevices in the bark to find food.  White-breasted Nuthatches are very territorial all year long. In the winter, they join flocks of chickadees and titmice in order to find abundant food and have more birds to keep an eye out for predators. According to Cornell Lab, “One study found that when titmice were removed from a flock, nuthatches were more wary and less willing to visit exposed bird feeders.”
Size: 5.1-5.5 inches long
Wingspan: 7.9-10.6 inches
Weight: 0.6 to 1.1 ounces
Coloration: The coloring of these nuthatches is very crisp. They display a grey-blue back, with a black or grey cap/neck which frames the frosty white face and underparts, making the bird look like it is wearing a hood. A little bit of chestnut coloring is found on the lower belly and under the tail.

Active and talkative all three grey birds possess their own distinctive feature. After doing your backyard birding make sure to upload your checklist to www.ebird.org to help ornithologist determine population numbers and locations of these common birds.

If you enjoy information like this be sure to renew or join Michigan Audubon as a member and learn about all of Michigan's birds in our bi-monthly magazine, the Jack Pine Warbler. 

Good luck and happy backyard birding!

Your Bird Crew,