Animal Inns

[Paul_H]

Ron,
Is it a problem out there with the Beavers flooding and killing acres of forest?Are they left to do what they do best,or do you intervene?

I admire the rodents,but they sure do make a mess.

[Ron Scott]

Yes they can be a problem. There are pros and cons with the beaver depending upon one's land and resource management objectives.

Cons.

They dam up and flood large areas thus killing a lot of timber. This particular timber sale that we are logging now is a good case in point. Large areas of state and private land are flooded with a series of increasing dams and ponds. They are doing a good job of "clearcutting" the aspen already purchased by the logging company. Its a race of who cuts first.

They will regularly plug road culverts thus causing road damage, sometimes to the pont of being impassable.

They require the need for trapping and removal from areas where they are causing recurring and excess problems.

For fisheries, they will warm up small stream and creek waters and silt in the small tributary streams interferring with a cold water trout fishery. Heavy silting causes difficult foot or wading access.

Pros

They do add to the wetland wildlife habitat on an area and develop ponds which may hold brook trout, but usually of small size.

They provide good areas for wildlife viewing and birdwatching especially those fasvoring wetland habitats.

They provide "area closures" if one wants solitude and a non-motorized area. Their access is usually swampy and difficult with traverses around or over dams required.

Their "clear cut" areas on the high flat ground can be made into wildlife openings and seeded with wildlife seed mixtures to add to an areas willife habitat diversity.

They provide outdoor recreation and some income to trappers and fur buyers.

Overall they are part of nature and need to be managed as necessary.

[Paul_H]

That sounds familiar.Federal Fisheries(DFO) did a Salmon enhancement project along side our mainline.The river had been coming in towards our road,so we have raised the road and rip rapped sections.Between the road and the side hill,there is a vast area of prime fish habitat now protected from the river.The creeks coming off the hill are cold,and are well shaded by Cottonwoods.

DFO spent a lot of time and money building spawning channels and installing culverts.It was well planned and carried out.The problem is the Beaver have moved right in and taken advantage of the man made dykes.And like you had mentioned,created shallow ponds that heat up the water.

We can't salvage any dead or dying trees in these areas because of the strict guidelines regarding riparian management zones.Which of course the Beaver have made larger.Another problem for us, is that we have water backing up across our road in places.The easy and inexpensive solution would be to break the dams.But we will probably be required to raise the road. :-/

We have talked to a couple of farmers that used to trap in the area,about coming in again.But so far they haven't shown a lot of interest.

[Ron Scott]

Yes, beavers can cause additional road reconstruction especially if the trappers aren't controlling them.

Need to get the fur prices up some, but then trapping isn't very active anymore, at least not here.

Every time a dam is removed, the beaver seem build it bigger and better by the next morning. Very persistent critters.

[Ron Scott]

Hollow Red Maple Log. Log left during timber harvest in transition zone between upland and lowland to provide wildlife den and grouse drumming log.

[Ron Scott]

Wildlife Opening. Cleared and developed at edge of northern hardwoods selection harvest. Seeded with wildlife food seed mixture.

[Ron Scott]

Deer Browse on red maple, winter 1963, eastern U.P. of Michigan.

Deer have been browsing the forests for many years. Red maple is a preferred browse species near deer wintering areas each spring.


 

[Ron Scott]

Newborn Fawn. June 1963.

Observed while cruising timber. Fawn's mother was not far away.

[CHARLIE]

That is such a neat picture and an experience of a lifetime. See what city slickers are missing. I know people that wouldn't dare take their fancy 4 wheel drives with chrome or mag wheels off the asphalt. They'll never experience the thrill of wildlife.  

[Ron Scott]

Can You Find The Fawn? Deer fawn's blend in well with nature's background. Sept. 1966.

 

[johncinquo]

Great thread.  Ron, you are posting some pictures that are older than me!  hey charlie have you found any woodies with leg tags?  we raised about 400 and released them either on the lake where we live or at a great swamp.  We still see a few every year around.  we got bands for several years from a guy out of alabama, and I think he was provided them by Miller Beer.  They have a return address on them and when he gets them back it is really neat.  we have raised quail, pheasants, woodies, and a numer of exotics for show over the years.

[Ron Scott]

The Fawn Moves.

[CHARLIE]

Ron, in the first picture of Can you find the Fawn (Sept '66), I think I see it. Took me awhile. I think it is in the center of the picture next to that young pine. I think the fawn has it's head down. Am I right?   Also, in the second picture, I think I see the fawn in the middle of the picture with it's head up. Right?

Johncinquo, I've only gotten one banded duck in my life and it was a mallard. I've never seen any banded woodies. Most the woodies where I hunt (backwaters of the Mississippi) are locals.

[Ron Scott]

Fawn Comes Forward For A Look. Yes, the whitetailed deer fawn is in the center of the photo, but in the first photo it has its head up. Note the black eyes and nose looking at you.

[CHARLIE]

I see it! In the first picture I was looking at the background around the fawns head and thinking that was the deer. Now I see the eyes and nose! NEAT!!!!

[Jeff]

3 or 4 springs ago our friend Rodney Brazee, who used to be a photographer for the Morning Sun in Mt. Pleasant took this photo behind the cabin in Detour. It now hangs in the upstairs by the bunks. Its awesome and striking and wonderful and several other things. I took a picture of it while we were up hunting this weekend but it don't do the photo justice at all.

Photo chances like this don't happen often.

[Ron Scott]

That's for sure and the camera is never there when you see it.

[CHARLIE]

[size=32]SWEET![/size]

[Ron Scott]

Turkey Flock Seeks Shelter. Shelter in a red pine stand after December 2002's first snow.

[CHARLIE]

I always figured a wild turkey was a wild turkey, but my father-in-law told me the Florida turkey is different than the turkeys up around Pennslyvania. Different specie I reckon.

Back in '72 (that was in the last century) the Minnesota DNR reintroduced turkey to Minnesota. They brought some in from Pennslyvania. They really took to Minnesota because now we have a lot of turkey here. But.......different kind than the Florida turkeys I reckon. :-/

[Jeff]

I'm not sure if this is the right number or not but I think it's 5 different Wild Turkeys in the U.S. I remember watching a hunting show and this guy was on a quest to harvest one of each and the show followed him along and described each one as he finally got it. Think it was 5.

[Ron Scott]

That's about right Jeff. There are several different breeds of turkey depending upon parts of the country they inhabit. Some ardent turkey hunters try to make a "grand slam" by getting one of each species through hunting different parts of the country.

[Tom]

I didn't know that ???

[Don P]

Neither did I, neat! Guess I've even et a few and my delicate palate ;D couldn't pick up on a difference. I've seen some white birds in with the local flocks and remarked to an old timer one day about seeing an albino on his land. He laughed and told me they are escapees that ran with the wild birds. Apparently we used to have a pretty fair sized turkey industry and they would have Thanksgiving drives to the Whitetop station to put them aboard the Virginia Creeper destined for points north.

[Ron Scott]

Yes the white tame birds sometimes escape to the wild flocks. They then breed a more domestic tamer bird, easier to hunt I'm told, and not good for keeping the "wild" in the turkey.

There are 5 subspecies or races of wild turkey. They are:

The "Merriams"," Rio Grande", and "Gould's" which are Western subspecies.
The "Eastern" subspecies which is throughout the east.
The "Florida' or "Osceola" subspecies which occurs only in central and southern Florida.

To learn more about them see:
www.wildturkeyzone.com/wildturkey/species.htm