Make Monitoring Easy!

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Monitoring is an important part of every habitat enhancement project. When you monitor a project after you’ve put it into place, you can track its progress and see what worked and what didn’t, and then use that information when making future management decisions for the project.

Making note of the wildlife you see using your project, whether it be a large-scale planting like a prairie restoration or a small-scale structure like a nest box, gives you information about whether the project is successfully providing quality habitat, and to which species.

I know that it can sometimes be challenging to incorporate wildlife monitoring into your program, so I would like to share a few ways to make it easier for your team – and hopefully a bit more fun.

  • Supply employees and visitors with critter cards. These can be as simple as index cards that employees can carry around and use to quickly write down which animals they see as they go about their normal work day. Providing a drop-off box for critter cards in a visible, high-traffic location will make it easy for employees to submit their observations.
  •  Provide volunteers with laminated ID sheets of common species that use the project or habitat. Make sure to include photographs and simple identification tips that will make it easy for volunteers to identify a species.
  •  Install a trail cam near the project to document species that use the project. This is especially handy for documenting nocturnal animals, as well as shy species that may hide or flee upon human approach.
  •  In the same vein, you can install a nest cam to remotely view birds using nest boxes, osprey platforms, and other artificial nesting structures. If the bird species using the nest is sensitive to disturbance, a nest cam can help you closely monitor the nest without disturbance. (Check out my previous article on nest cams for more information.)
  •  Keep a wildlife log near a main door so employees can write down the animals they see when they head into work in the morning or after their breaks.
Coyote on trail cam. Photo courtesy of Vulcan Materials Company.

Coyote on trail cam. Photo courtesy of Vulcan Materials Company.

Have another tip for making wildlife monitoring easy and fun at your facility that we didn’t mention?  Let us know in the comment box below!

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The Many Benefits of Urban Trees

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Last week I read a fascinating article about urban forestry, which argued that strategically reforesting a 1.5-square-mile area in Houston could help reduce ozone pollution in the city. Using weather data and computer models, researchers estimated that a freshly-grown forest could remove as much as 310 tons of ozone from the atmosphere over the course of 30 years.

This got me thinking about the various merits of urban forests. Did you know that even individual trees provide a multitude of benefits to urban areas? One of the most obvious and visible benefits is the habitat provided to urban wildlife – native trees provide nesting sites for birds, egg-laying sites for insects, shelter from predators and the elements, and food sources such as leaves, nuts, and fruits. Some of the other advantages urban trees provide include:

  • They produce oxygen
  • They absorb and sequester carbon dioxide, helping to mitigate global climate change
  • They absorb excess stormwater runoff and many of the pollutants it contains, helping to improve water quality and reduce flooding
  • They provide buildings with shade in the summer and insulation from winter winds, reducing energy use for air conditioning and heating
  • They help settle, trap, and hold particulate pollutants such as dust, ash, pollen, and smoke, benefitting air quality
  • They hold soil in place and buffer wind, reducing erosion
  • They increase property values
  • They soften and beautify the urban landscape

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Providing Homes for Burrowing Owls

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WHC member Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. recently partnered up with WHC’s Tucson office and the Arizona-based raptor rescue organization Wild at Heart to construct artificial burrows for rescued burrowing owls at Freeport’s Safford Operations facility. Freeport produced a video about this project and gave us permission to share it. You can watch the video to see the volunteers in action and find out more about this fantastic project.

If you live out in the western parts of the U.S., you may recognize the burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia). Unlike most owls, they are diurnal (active during the day) and nest in underground burrows. However, they don’t dig their own burrows, relying instead on the burrows dug by other animals like prairie dogs. They can often be seen standing or perching near the burrow entrance, ever on the lookout for predators like coyotes and larger raptors. (As wildlife photographer Mac Stone described this behavior, they are “so completely neurotic it’s comical.”)

A common strategy for helping burrowing owls on both public and private lands has been the installation of artificial burrows, such as the burrows installed at the Safford Operations. This project is particularly useful in areas where burrowing small mammals are not desirable.

If you have an interest in installing artificial burrows at your facility, please contact your WHC Regional Biologist.

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10 Native Vines to Attract Butterflies in North America

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Native vines are an important but often overlooked component of butterfly habitat. Many vines serve as larval host plants (food sources) for caterpillars.

They provide cover for butterflies and caterpillars, and the flowers provide nectar for butterflies (and many other pollinators, including hummingbirds).

Most native vines also have attractive foliage and colorful flowers that would provide an aesthetically-pleasing addition to your site’s landscaping.

Spring is generally the best time to install native plantings, so if you’d like to add vines for pollinators, now is the time!

Here are 10 examples of native vines you could plant to attract butterflies in North America:

  1. Dutchman’s pipe (Aristolochia spp.)
  2. Trumpet creeper (Campis radicans)
  3. Coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)
  4. Passionflower (Passiflora spp.)
  5. Pipevine (Aristolochia macrophylla)
  6. Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)
  7. Virgin’s bower (Clematis virginiana)
  8. Carolina jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens)
  9. American wisteria (Wisteria frutescens)
  10. Crossvine (Bignonia capreolata)

It’s important to remember that these examples are not native to all of North America, so when choosing vines to plant, you should always choose species that are native to your region. Also, some species like coral honeysuckle and American wisteria have non-native, invasive counterparts, so you should be sure that you’re planting the native vine species.

If you’re outside of North America, we encourage you to consult with local native plant experts to select appropriate native vine species.

If you would like specific recommendations for your site, please contact a WHC Biologist or your local Cooperative Extension agent.

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The Night I Saw an Eastern Tiger Salamander

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Way back in college I took a Herpetology class, which included four outdoor field trips. One of my fondest memories from that class is our nighttime field trip to a large vernal pool in a nearby forest.

There was, of course, an abundance of spring peepers and other tree frogs, complete with the cacophony of all the males calling for mates. Vernal pools like the one I visited that night are particularly attractive to amphibians because they provide a relatively safe place for them to breed in the spring. Vernal pools are temporary wetlands–they fill up during periods of heavy rainfall (usually the spring), and then slowly dry up. This means they can’t support fully-aquatic species fish, which would eat amphibians’ eggs.

But what most stands out about that night is the first–and only–time I saw an eastern tiger salamander. I still vividly remember watching a male tiger salamander walking along the bottom of the pool right near my feet. I was awed by how large it was, and how attractive it was with its vivid yellow markings, sturdy body, and long flared tail.

Of course, those of us walking through the pool spent the rest of the night carefully watching our step so we wouldn’t hurt any salamanders!

The tiger salamander is indeed one of the largest salamanders in North America, and also one of the most widespread. You would think, then, that they’d be easy to find; in reality, adults are rarely seen out in the open, since they live in burrows several feet below the surface. So maybe if I’m lucky, I’ll get to see another one of these amazing animals in my lifetime–or maybe you will!

What is your most memorable wildlife viewing experience? Share it in the comments, we’d love to hear your stories!

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Wildlife in Winter: Now You See Me…

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It just snowed (again) out here on the East Coast, so it seems only fitting that I wrap up our “Wildlife in Winter” blog series by talking about how some animals camouflage themselves in the winter to blend in with snow.

In the warm months, species like the snowshoe hare sport a brown fur coat that helps them to easily blend in with the bare ground, making it harder for predators to spot them from far away. In the winter, however, their brown fur would be highly visible against the white snow, making them vulnerable to predation or more visible to their potential prey.

The solution? Change the color of their fur!

Obviously, animals can’t go to a hair salon for a dye job like you or I can. So a number of mammals shed their brown summer coat and replace it with a thick coat of white or mostly-white fur that blends in well with snow. This is most common in more northern latitudes where snow is on the ground throughout the winter.

The ermine – which I wrote about a couple of weeks ago – is a great example of a mammal that goes white in the winter to both avoid detection by its prey under the snow, as well as avoid detection by larger predators like hawks. Other mammals that grow white fur for the winter include the arctic fox, arctic hare, and snowshoe hare.

Similarly, some birds such as the ptarmigan also molt their darker summer plumage in favor of white feathers each winter.

Do you have any animals on your land that change their fur or plumage to blend in with the snow each winter? We’d love to hear your stories or see links to photos you took in the comments below!

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Wildlife in Winter: Catching Prey Under the Snow

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Last week I wrote about how some animals like voles, mice, and shrews utilize subnivean habitats as a way to stay warm and avoid being seen by predators while they forage.

Of course, predators need to eat too. And while the snow allows the rodents to stay out of sight, there are several predators such that have developed other ways of finding their prey. For example, weasels (especially ermines) will dig down through the snow to look for rodents and their subnivean tunnels.  Sometimes they will even take over the tunnels and make them their own after they’ve preyed upon its original inhabitants.

There are also several predators such as owls, foxes, and coyotes with such excellent hearing that they actually listen carefully for squeaks and sounds of movement under the snow before ambushing their prey. Red foxes, for example, can hear very low-frequency sounds, enabling them to hear rodents scampering beneath several feet of snow. Scientists also believe that foxes tune in to the Earth’s magnetic field to hunt: as a fox follows the sound of its prey beneath the snow, it’s searching for the “sweet spot” where the angle of the sound matches the planet’s magnetic field.

Foxes can be especially fun to watch as they jump high and then dive headfirst into the snow to catch rodents. The clip below, from The Discovery Channel’s North America series, is an entertaining example of this behavior.

Have you ever seen predators hunting for prey under the snow?  We’d love to hear your stories in the comments below.

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Wildlife in Winter: Finding Cover Under the Snow

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Here in the Mid-Atlantic region, we’ve been experiencing snowfall on almost a weekly basis for the last month or so.  And while all this snow causes school shutdowns and traffic headaches for us, some of the local small mammals, like voles, mice, and shrews, do very well by staying beneath the snow.

This type of habitat is called subnivean habitat, a word derived from the Latin words sub (beneath) and nives (snow).

Voles, mice, and shrews dig tunnels under the snow, which allow them to travel safely between burrows and food sources without being seen by predators. Snow also provides excellent insulation against below-freezing ambient air temperatures, creating a microclimate near the ground with a temperature closer to 32°F (0°C). The subnivean tunnels only become visible once the snow melts and the tunnels collapse.

There are some great educational activities out there that you can use to teach students about how small mammals and other wildlife use snow. A great one I found is a game called Subnivean Critter Tag, which requires little more than freshly-fallen snow and some imagination.

Have you found any great conservation education activities for the snow?  Please share them in the comments below!

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Planning a Pollinator Garden?

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Free or Low-Cost Resources May Be Available

Through a special partnership of the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC), Monarch Watch and the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign, WHC programs in the northeast and Midwest United States may be able to receive free or low-cost seeds, low-cost plugs (small plants) and expert advice on species selection from Monarch Watch  Director Chip Taylor. This offer is limited-time and available only in selected states. Click here to view the flyer for details on eligible locations and the upcoming informational webinar. Contact bbtm@monarchwatch.org with questions.

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Celebrate Independence Day the Wildlife Way

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Here’s an idea for a fun Fourth of July activity: plant a patriotic pollinator garden!  Many pollinator-friendly plants have red, white, or blue blooms, berries, stems, or leaves. (Click here for a list of red, white and blue plants.) Already have a pollinator garden? Even if it doesn’t have a red, white, and blue theme, you can still use it to celebrate the Fourth of July. Bayer Corporation’s Pittsburgh Site (a 2008 Signature of Sustainability) has multiple pollinator gardens along their nature trail. Each year during the week before July 4th, employees are invited to place small American flags on the garden mounds in recognition of our service members. Tags with the names of family members, friends, or neighbors who are serving or have served in the armed forces are attached to each flag.

What better way to celebrate the United States’ birthday than protecting its national symbol?  The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is an All-American eagle:  it is the only eagle species unique to North America. Although populations remain below historic levels, the species has made a significant recovery since over-hunting, contamination, and habitat loss reduced populations to endangered levels (fewer than 500 breeding pairs) in the 1960s. Conservation efforts have allowed bald eagle populations to rebound to more than 5,000 breeding pairs.  The major breeding populations are in Alaska and Canada, but significant bald eagle populations occur around the Great Lakes, in Florida, the Pacific Northwest, the Greater Yellowstone area, and the Chesapeake Bay region.  Bald eagles are large fish-eating birds of prey, but will also eat smaller birds, turtles, and carrion.

CEMEX-Bald-Eagle2 What can you do to help the bald eagle?  Protect large trees in mature stands located within half a mile of bodies of water such as rivers, lakes, or bays.  This is especially in the parts of North America where bald eagles breed from early spring through late summer.  Improving aquatic habitat with structural enhancements and native vegetative buffers will help populations of fish, waterfowl, and shorebirds, which in turn will provide food for bald eagles.  Of course, nesting bald eagles should never be disturbed.

For our friends north of the border, independence is celebrated on July 1, Canada Day.  Patriotic pollinator gardens can include plants from the list above with red or white flowers, berries, or foliage.  Another patriotic planting can include the maple tree, a major symbol of Canada. Maples provide shelter and food for numerous species of wildlife.  Many moth species lay their eggs on maples, making them a pollinator-friendly group of trees.

The American beaver (Castor canadensis) is another well-known symbol of Canada.  It is the largest rodent in North America and occurs across most of the continent.  Before the start of the fur trade, Canada’s beaver population was estimated at six million. As a result of the fur trade, beaver populations experienced a major decline and nearly became extinct in the 1800s. Beaver populations have rebounded since then due to the declining demand for fur hats in Europe.

Beavers often build dams to ensure that the water level around their lodges remains relatively constant.  This is also beneficial to other wildlife species. Waterfowl benefit from the increased habitat created by beaver activity. Other species of birds that benefit include great-blue herons, ospreys, eagles, and kingfishers, as well as numerous species of songbirds. Mammals such as otters, minks, muskrats, deer, and black bears all benefit from the increase in foraging habitats that are a result of beaver activity. Numerous species of fish also benefit from beaver activity, including bass, trout, pike, and salmon. Beavers will eat water lily tubers and the leaves and green bark from aspen and willow trees; conserving wetlands and maintaining these species can help support beaver populations. Information about beaver management, including nuisance beavers, can be found in the Wetland Mammals Management Leaflet.

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