Minnesota May Lose Two Icons--Moose and Loons

Story in current issue of National Wildlife magazine about the mysterious decline of moose in Minnesota and New Hampshire.

Illustration accompanying story of moose decline in National Wildlife magazine.   The causes may be a mix of  ticks and brain worms, aggravated by milder winters.

Global warming could rob Minnesota of not just its iconic loons, but also its moose.  And ,it could end the storied island life of wolves in Lake Superior’s Isle Royale National Park .

A story in the current issue of National Wildlife magazine describes the “deepening mystery” of why the “moose population in northwestern Minnesota has plunged from 4,000 animals to just 100.  Moose numbers are declining fast in northeastern Minnesota, too, and as far away as central and southern New Hampshire.”

The story also says that “some biologists believe” global warming “is behind the decline of moose in parts of Minnesota.”   Global warming may be working in conjunction with “a triple whammy of parasites, pests and predators.”   In New Hampshire, milder winters  have already increased tick populations to the point where they are draining all the blood out of moose.  Less snow cover also draws in more deer, and with them comes an increase in a brain worm that causes moose to “start walking in circles or just stand around until they become prey or die.”

The opposite is true on Isle Royale where there are no deer and therefore no brain worm.  There also soon may be no more wolves, which depend on the lake freezing periodically to allow wolves to walk to and from the mainland, to avoid inbreeding.   During the past 17 years, a “news of the wild” story in the magazine reads, “ice bridges formed only three times…As a result researchers have tallied the lowest number of wolves ever—an average of fewer than nine yearly during the past three years (the population typically fluctuates between 18 and 27 animals).”

The study of wolves on this island is now in its 56th year.  The study had found long ago that wolves maintain a healthy moose population.   Now moose kills by wolves have dropped to a record low and the moose population has doubled, to about 1,050, threatening the forest on the island, including the balsam fir that is the main food source for moose, demonstrating once again why healthy wolves are crucial to moose survival.

(Sidebar to article in Audubon magazine, listing loons as one of 314 bird species threatened by global warming.)

My copy of the October/November issue of the National Wildlife Federation's National Wildlife magazine arrived in the mail the day after I received Audubon magazine which said, "Minnesota will likely have no more loons in summer by the end of the century."

Wildflower Oasis

A great spangled fritillary butterfly on clover.  (Photo by Don Comis)

My toy poodle, Friendly, led me to a wildflower oasis in a park across the road from our house. 

So, this morning I returned alone, with binoculars and a camera and got a photo of a great spangled fritillary butterfly on the tall clover plants that dominated this natural oasis in a park, caught between woods and a mowed lawn.  With Friendly, I was treated to the sight of three great spangled fritillaries all at once, perched on clover plants.

And this morning, I got to see a host of other pollinators on the clover, including at least three kinds of bees, an ant, beetles, cabbage butterflies, meadow fritillary butterflies, and an unknown black bug.  I even got to see the cabbage butterflies mating, which continued as they flew together in the air at times before landing again!

I also got to see  a mother red-tailed hawk guiding her youngster, warning me away.   I thought I could hear the two chatting as I lay on rock right next to Apple Valley Lake.  I saw a great blue heron fly along the opposite shore, while a dragonfly patrolled the shore near me. 

On my way to the lake I scared up three deer--one gave a warning shriek before jumping into the road and I could hear his hoofs clattering on the paved road. 

All in all, a good outing that got me out of bed, although it lasted 2 hours instead of 45 minutes because of my naps on my favorite lakeside rock!

I'll be returning to that wildlflower oasis soon.

Meadow fritillary, smaller than the great spangled.  (Photo by Don Comis)

For a slightly longer version of this blog, go to my website and click on "Daily Nature Blog" in the menu.

 

Stalking the Woodcock's Nightly Performance

Reading a paperback edition of "A Sand County Almanac" around 1969 instilled a desire in me to see the woodcock's "sky dance" described in the book, which a nice sketch or two of  a woodcock, along with other black-and-white sketches. 

I did my second night Nature walk last night, this one at Honey Run Highlands Park, near Millwood, Ohio, a very short drive from Apple Valley in Howard, Ohio.


I went in search of the woodcock dance, having read an e-mail about a sighting at this park on March 31.  Like other sightings I've read, this dance has been occurring between 8 and 8:30 p.m.


So, I got to the park around 6:30 p.m. and walked until I found a great spot, on a hilltop with a 360 degree view of the surrounding countryside, in a prairie area, with a bench!  I had lunch and waited until 8:30, but no woodcock, or even his "peenting" call.




It's possible I might have heard the peenting and mistook it for a frog call.   I heard plenty of spring peepers at the park, plus a  barred owl call, and some frightened calls from deer and unseen wildlife I scared.


Just before I got to the park, I saw two turkey vultures eating road kill, and more vultures flying around the park.


I heard plenty of bird calls, until late in the evening.


I sent an e-mail the birdwatcher who saw the woodcock dance, asking about where they were in the park when they saw the display.

Weather is Right, But No Salamanders Yet

Northern dusky salamander along Little Jelloway Creek in Howard, Ohio, on August 1, 2013.  (Photo by Don Comis)

It's 54 degrees Fahrenheit here in Howard, Ohio, at 3:35 a.m., with rain on and off, but no salamanders.  At least not up to 1:30 this morning.

I went out to the vernal pool at Kenyon College with a lantern flashlight with a red film screwed in and sat in a camp chair from midnight to 1:30 a.m.  Nothing and no eggs in the pool, so the mass migration of salamanders hadn't taken place yet.

It could still happen until the temperature drops to the predicted 32 degrees, but I doubt it. 

Maybe the salamanders know it could snow today.

The only animals I saw were a rabbit and deer.  I heard a few scary dog barks and a scary animal scream, plus smelled a musky animal fear smell, and saw a small creature run away.

Well, I'll consider this a practice run that's getting me familiar again with Nature at dark.

Screech Owls Lay Eggs in Mid-March

Screech owl in a neighbor's box.  My neighbor reports the owl comes out nightly a half hour before sunset.  (Photo by Debbie Hurlbert)

Screech owl box in a tree near Apple Valley Clubhouse, in park across from our home.  Photo taken Jan. 2, 2014 at 5:50 p.m., showing no leaves inside box or any signs of occupancy then.  (Photo by Don Comis)

I took a short walk today across the road to the park near the Apple Valley Clubhouse to check the lake for ducks and check out the screech owl bird house.

When I put my binoculars on the bird house, I saw it was stuffed with dried leaves.  Screech owls lay their eggs in Ohio in mid-March, so this might be an active nest.  I plan to check on this nest frequently, especially a half hour before sunset because a neighbor sees "his" screech owl leave the box provided in his yard that time daily.

The way this day was so cold and windy I could see why the owl might want all that insulation!  The lake was mostly frozen so I saw no signs of ducks.

I did see two crows yelling at a hawk, a flock of 12 robins, and two deer.  I knew to look whenever crows caw because they might be chasing a hawk, but I forgot that when the crows are fixed on a tree, I should look a few limbs below them.  The first time I looked I didn't see a hawk.  Later, on the walk home, I looked from another angle and saw the big bird below the crows.

Fourteen Deer but No Salamanders Yet

On my way to the vernal pool at sunrise today, I saw this herd of seven deer trying to figure me out.  (Photo by Don Comis) on

 
With light snow overnight, conditions aren't exactly right for the vernal pool show.  But it's always fun going there.  I made the trip again early this morning.  Again I was greeted by wild turkeys gobbling.  And I had a staring contest with a herd of 7 deers that were grazing in a cornfield on leftovers from last year's harvest.

And a mockingbird showed me the way out of there.  This time he had a buddy, a female I'll bet.  What I like about mockingbirds is that rather than hide from you, they show themselves to let you know you're not welcome in their territory.  So you can't miss them.

It was very cold at first, but by the time I got to the vernal pool the sun had risen over the horizon and lit up the Kokosing River and the vernal pool,  just 5 to 20 feet from the river.

I was back at my car at 8:50 a.m. Daylight Savings Time and had plenty of time to shop for groceries.  By around 11 a.m., I was back on Apple Valley Drive when I saw another herd of 7 deer grazing in the spillway area of the Apple Valley Lake dam.  At the same moment, two bluebirds flew, reminding me of the wildlife closer to home.

Spring Salamander Migration Any Day Now!

The Kokosing River at sunrise today, a very short distance from the vernal pool the amphibians will soon migrate en masse to.  (Photo by Don Comis)

This morning's view of the vernal pool that reduces snowmelt flow to the Kokosing while providing a safe spring nursery for amphibian eggs.  (Photo by Don Comis)

The great annual migration of spotted and other salamanders is close, I can just smell it in the air, literally.

I took a second trip to the vernal pool at Kenyon College early this morning.  Rain was in the air and the temperature was 37 degrees Fahrenheit.  A night or early morning rain at 40 degrees are two of three main conditions to stir the salamanders and other amphibians out of their muddy hibernation places.

But there was still snow and ice in and around the vernal pool.  Until that melts, it's not going to happen, but when it melts, it won't be long.

Besides the benefits of getting up at 5:30 a.m., I got to see a skunk, hear a bunch of wild turkeys gobbling, see 8 to 13 deer, and get confronted by the local neighborhood watch mockingbird again--in that order.