STATE ENVIROTHON INFORMATION -- 2010

Ruffed Grouse Information• Most common game bird in northern and central parts of

the state• Prefer aspen woodlands• Found year round in the state – grouse tend to stay in

same area for their whole life• Populations cycle and peak around every 10 years• Found in any forested region of MN…not seen in prairie

areas of the state

Ruffed Grouse• Diet – they mainly eat

material from aspen trees (leaves, buds, catkins). Buds are particularly important in winter. When aspens not available, alder, hazel and birch is eaten. Fruits of any kind in the fall.

• Best Cover for Grouse – regenerating aspen stands. In non-aspen forests, intermediate oak forests provide cover

• Conifer forests not good for grouse, as owls and goshawks can be concealed from their view.

Ruffed Grouse• Ruffed Grouse chicks hatch and are ready to run around

(precocial young)• Grouse eats insects in summer and then berries in fall.

Young disperse away from parents and often are killed in this period -- often disperse to areas of poor cover.

• Winter is often spent in cover of forest, staying warm, and under snowbanks for severely cold weather

Ruffed Grouse

• Management for Grouse– Aspen Stands• Their food and cover requirements have areas of

mature forest combined with recently cleared ones• Good grouse habitat has a mix of disturbed areas. • Take a piece of aspen land and cut ¼ of it each 10

years. Over the 40 years, you will have a mix of aspen trees in various ages, providing all habitat elements and tree sizes• Keep trees around water intact• Do not plant conifers• Harvest in 2-10 acre bits

Bald Eagle Information• Only eagle unique to North America• Scientific Name = Haliaeetus leucocephalus

– Means “sea eagle with white head”• Largest population is in Alaska (about half)

– After that, it is the pacific northwest with the most – mainly due to high amounts of fish and dead salmon

– About 70,000 bald eagles total in the world• Eagles are part of the Accipitridae family (hawks, eagles)• Was officially listed as endangered in 1973, except in MN, WI, MI,

WA, OR (where it was listed as threatened); – 1995 – eagles downlisted to threatened everywhere– 2007 – eagles removed from endangered species list

• Other Laws Protecting Eagle– Migratory Bird Treaty Act – prevents trade of any native species

without proper permit or hunting license– Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act

• Illegal to own or trade any eagles or eagle parts without a permit (permits usually given to Native Americans for religious ceremonies)

Different State Wildlife Programs That Benefit Wildlife and Habitats

• CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) – ag land owners are paid money to conserve ag land and provide good area for wildlife and good soil conservation practices

• CSP (Conservation Security Program ) and (Conservation Stewardship Program) – voluntary program that provides technical and financial assistance in conserving and improving habitats, air, soil, and water (tends to focus on agricultural lands)

• GRP (Grassland Reserve Program) – program that assists landowners with the technical and financial aspects of restoring and protecting grasslands

• Plant Materials Program – program that attempts to solve natural resource issues through appropriate and active native plant use and restoration of plant communities

• Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) – program to help people in buying, restoring, and protecting wetland habitat

• Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) – program for people wanting to develop wildlife habitat on lands – provides technical and financial assistance

• Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) – provides farmers with money and help in improving the conservation practices and habitat quality of their lands

Federally Endangered Species in MN• These are listed on the federal

list! There are 12 species total. Here are the wildlife on the list:– Karner Blue Butterfly -

ENDANGERED– Higgins eye (a mussel) -

ENDANGERED– Canada Lynx – THREATENED– Entire Mapleleaf (a mussel) –

ENDANGERED– Piping Plover (a bird) – Great

Lakes Population is ENDANGERED; other populations are THREATENED

– Topeka Shiner (a fish) – ENDANGERED

– Gray Wolf – THREATENED

Flyways• Birds migrate typically north to

south in North America. • Each bird migrates a different way…

however, there are common “highways” of migration that are commonly used– A flyway is a human designated area

where we see a common use of the same air space by many migrants

– It was developed to help protect birds and understand general areas of movement by most birds

– The U.S. designates 4 different flyways

• The Four Flyways are: – Atlantic– Mississippi– Central– Pacific

Atlantic Flyway• Typically from the

east of the Mississippi River to the east coast of the U.S. – Birds typically

migrate up coast or along river around Appalachians or over Atlantic Ocean

Mississippi Flyway• Mostly follows the

Mississippi and basic drainages. – Migrating birds to

South America often go over the Gulf of Mexico rather than over the land route of Mexico

Central Flyway• West of Mississippi

Flyway and to the east of the Rocky Mountains

• The Missouri River is a good landmark to define the flyway’s shape.

• Birds use plains, wetlands, and salt marshes in this area for stopover areas

Pacific Flyway• Mostly the

route used west of the Rockies – although some birds fly over a portion of the Rockies

• Connects Alaska and western Canada coast to points further south.

Deer Information• Diseases Affecting Deer

– Bovine Tuberculosis – only found in deer living near cow farms– Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) – due to a prion similar to Mad

Cow Disease• Causes brain to be eaten away slowly, leading to loss of motor

function and death• No cases reported in wild deer yet

• Factors contributing to antler growth– Diet– Genetics– Age

• Antlers start to grow in spring, are velvety and soft in summer as blood vessels feed them to grow further– They harden in fall and velvet falls off– They use them and then they completely fall off the head in

winter

Steelhead• Non-native oceanic Rainbow Trout• Were purposefully introduced by the U.S. Fish Commission

in 1895 (now known as the National Marine Fisheries Service)

• Adults spend life in the lake and migrate up streams to spawn (like salmon) – they don’t die though

• Juvenile fish (smolt) stay in streams for a couple years until they are adults – then they migrate to lake

• Trout populations were high in 60’s and 70’s. They were overfished and eaten by lake trout and then populations were low in 80s.

Steelhead• Recovery– Limited harvest to increase

populations– Introduced fry (baby fish) into

streams • Fry were obtained by trapping

adult fish, getting eggs and sperm, fertilizing them in a fish hatchery, then releasing fry into streams

• Did not introduce smolt as they would have to come from other places – meaning possible disease transfer from other populations– Experiments with smolt stocking

showed it wasn’t cost-effective either

– Current Management – continue fry stocking and remove beaver dams to help fish in migration upstream and keep harvests minimal

Warblers• All warblers in the state do NOT

winter here. They all head south somewhere (either southern US or central/South America)

• When these warblers come back, some just migrate through to more northerly places in the spring and fall. – Some warblers stay here for the

summer• Rarer warblers to see are often

the ones that use Minnesota as a stop-through on their larger migratory journey.

Tennesse Warblers• One of the many warblers and birds that are

NEOTROPICAL MIGRANTS – This means they winter somewhere in central and South

America and then migrate to high North America for breeding

– There have been massive declines in the populations of almost all neotropical migrants over the last 50 years.

• These warblers are often NOT seen frequently in MN. They are secretive and often just migrate further north into Canada for breeding.– They can be seen in high densities in some years, however.

• These are years where there are spruce budworm outbreaks. • The warblers get to high densities and breed heavily when there is

lots of prey with the outbreak of the budworms.

Tennessee Warblers• Spruce Budworm Outbreaks– Typically affect balsam firs…not spruce…but can affect

any conifer– Birds look for outbreaks to breed in– Birds actually increase eggs laid in outbreaks years

• This is a huge energy demand. Each egg laid is 12% of their body mass. Average clutch size is 5-6/nest (8 in outbreak years). Eggs laid every 1-2 days. – This requires a lot of food to do this!

– Nesting biology is not well known, as birds are often hard to find in breeding season. • We do know they nest on the ground and both sexes feed

nestlings

Pictures of Tennessee Warbler and Spruce Budworm

• Tennessee Warbler –> grayish blue head; white eye line; greenish white the rest of the body

Neotropical Migrants

• They play a key role in the forest…by eating up large amounts of pest insects– For budworms, they clear out defoliating insects.

This keeps trees intact. • This keeps carbon out of the air as trees live • One pair of migrants saves about $5000 in pesticide

application for that area over the year. • Provides great nutrition for their population and young

Other Notable Neotropical Migrants That Benefit from Budworm Outbreaks• Bay-breasted Warbler– Distinctive chestnut

brown head cap and bib/breast

– Black face mask– White and black

streaking on back and wings

Other Notable Neotropical Migrants That Benefit from Budworm Outbreaks• Cape May Warbler –

yellow color with a distinctive chestnut face patch– Black streaking on breast

and belly– Black cap– Greenish wings

Other Notable Neotropical Migrants That Benefit from Budworm Outbreaks• Blackburnian Warbler – One of the prettiest…in

my humble opinion– Black and white

streaking with a flame colored orange face and neck where the white would normally be.

Other Notable Neotropical Migrants

• This list will be of other birds that I did not include in prior bird slides that are also neotropical migrants that are notable. They do not respond to spruce budworms like the previous ones do!

Golden-winged Warbler

• Obvious golden color on the wings

• Black face and chin• White striping above

and below eye

Nashville Warbler

• Greenish yellow belly• Olive wings• Blue-gray head• White eye ring

Magnolia Warbler

• Has a yellow breast with a streaking black band (almost necklace like)

• Black eye patches with white above it

• Gray cap

Blackpoll Warbler

• Like a black-and-white warbler, but with a black cap instead of a streaked head

• Black cap and white cheeks; rest of body is streaked

Cerulean Warbler

• Warbler with white chest and belly

• Light blue top with black streaking

Northern Waterthrush

• Found on ground mostly

• Brown wings and top• White and brown

streaking on belly/cheat• Brown and white

eyeline on face

Mourning Warbler

• Looks like a Nashville Warbler, but with a black patch on the chest

• Gray blue head, yellow belly, olive wings

• Black dot on middle of breast

Common Yellowthroat

• Black face with yellow throat and breast/belly

• Whitish gray upper border to black face

• Grayish cap• Back of body is olive

Wilson’s Warbler

• Yellow bird with olive back

• Notable black cap

Canada Warbler

• Yellow breast and grayish back

• White eye ring• Black “necklace” on the

breast