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Archives for January 2019

A Little more Frigid or Warm; What is better for Wildlife?

January 30, 2019 by Charlie 10 Comments

The wake-up temperature at my volunteer Wisconsin weather station this morning was -29.5F below zero and the windchill -52. While strolling around watching the sunrise, you could hear the freezing pop sounds inside the trees. Some of these trees will die from the damage. In the pole barn, some frozen mice were laying about on the floor, (no loss felt for them) victims of last night’s low temp. In the north country, it is no secret that cold kills. Throughout the woods and fields, there are most likely a variety of plants, animals, and birds that have perished in the first day of brutal cold.

29 below zero with -52 degree wind chill

As a young man during the early 70’s when fur prices were at their historic highs I ran trap lines in northern Minnesota. In those days there were very few passable remote roads in the winter if a trapper wanted access to prime fur they would snowshoe in with their packs full of equipment and live off the land for weeks. Living like this involved eating the flesh of the furbearers you caught, building a shelter from available materials, and keeping an adequate supply of firewood to make it through a few nights. There was no way to get a weather forecast so getting an unwelcome surprise, i.e. extended severe subzero temps and or blizzard was always possible.

In some ways, you’d hope for some, as it is called today “extreme weather”. Fifty years ago we called it weather and endeavored to survive it. Surviving is what the target animals were striving to do too. During these cold months, the animals are in search of food and shelter making them more responsive to trap sets using bait and/or shelter as a draw. In addition to the trapped critters there would be the occasional lucky finds of frozen animals that had apparently perished due to cold.

Much of my education of wild places took place by the example set by Aldo Leopold; daily observations. Now we have chattering class that constantly pontificates about the nature of things but clearly is unfamiliar with life in the wilds. So many make the claim we and the wild things are going to die by global warming. This hypothesis flys in the face of my half-century of observations. Warmer winter weather does not kill as many creatures as colder winters and the longer the cold lasts the more death results.

Back in the day, our elders taught us to be polite in conversations with strangers. We were instructed to never talk about politics or religion, so the weather was the safe topic. Fast forward to 2019, not so safe. I for one resent the politicization of the climate/weather. Perhaps it is getting warmer, or instead it’s getting colder on average,I do not know. What is very apparent to anyone who does even a little bit of observing of the wild ones, warmer rather than colder is better for survival.

Filed Under: Think Pieces / Opinion

West Nile Virus detected in Wisconsin Ruffed Grouse

January 20, 2019 by Charlie 3 Comments

The following is a news release regarding rugged grouse in Wisconsin.

MADISON — West Nile virus was detected in three of 16 ruffed grouse that were found sick or dead and submitted by the public to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource for testing from October through December 2018.

At this time, there is no evidence to confirm that West Nile virus or any other factor is having population-level impacts on ruffed grouse in Wisconsin. Ruffed grouse populations are known to rise and fall over a nine- to 11-year cycle, so declines are not unexpected, though the 2017 decline occurred before the cycle would typically predict.

Of these 16 birds, 10 were negative for any viral infection, three were positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus, one was positive for WNV and two were positive for both EEEV and WNV. Of the six birds that tested positive for EEEV or WNV, three showed signs of clinical disease, which may or may not have eventually resulted in death.

These results are preliminary, and 238 hunter-harvested grouse samples remain to be tested from the first year of a three-year study of WNV in ruffed grouse across Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan. Preliminary results for year one of this regional exposure study are tentatively anticipated to be available in mid-2019. Ultimately, the timeline for results will depend on the number of samples submitted by each state and the extent to which follow-up testing is required to differentiate between WNV or other similar viruses.

Anyone who finds a sick or dead ruffed grouse is encouraged to submit its carcass for disease sampling — sick or dead ruffed grouse carcasses can be submitted at any time. Observations can be also reported to local DNR Wildlife Management staff.

In addition to sick or dead submitted samples, DNR staff distributed 500 self-sampling kits to grouse hunters statewide with assistance from the Ruffed Grouse Society and the Wisconsin Conservation Congress as part of a multi-year regional study [PDF] with Minnesota and Michigan.

Both WNV and EEEV are mosquito-borne viruses that can affect humans, horses and certain species of birds. Clinical signs of WNV in birds are indistinguishable from those of EEEV and can include tremors, weakness and loss of coordination. WNV was first detected in the state in 2002 but only now has been detected in ruffed grouse. EEEV is considered a native virus and was first detected in Wisconsin’s grouse population in the late 1950s. This historical information suggests that the likelihood of EEEV having population-level impacts on grouse is low.

State wildlife officials say continued focus on habitat management for ruffed grouse is the best method to mitigate potential disease impacts on the population. Ruffed grouse are a short-lived species with only 30 percent of the average adult population surviving year to year. The Great Lakes region contains some of the most extensive early-successional forest habitat and healthiest ruffed grouse populations in the nation. DNR staff are currently working with partners to develop a long-term management strategy for ruffed grouse in Wisconsin.

WDNR News Release

A good friend told me he hoped West Nile virus would be found in Wisconsin grouse submitted by hunters for testing. Because that would prove the grouse can survive with the virus. However, these were grouse carcasses found dead in the woods. Does this mean the grouse will die when infected with WNV?

Filed Under: Featured Stories

When the Deer Season Ends

January 20, 2019 by Charlie 6 Comments

Pig trapping by First Bubba

The days in the box blind on Red River were relatively sparse but productive; a doe in “Primitive Arms” season and a pretty nice buck in “Deer Gun” season.

Sunrise on Red River

Thankfully, the trail cam did not reveal any feral hogs in the food plot, until deer season was over. Then here they came!  EGADS! Big ones, little ones, ugly ones, scary ones! One huge male is black and white mottled with the pronounced humpback, long snout and back mane announcing his decidedly Russian boar heritage. A smaller boar is jet black and another one red both with distinctive Russian traits.

While the landowner gave us his blessing to remove all we can from the farm, we have no interest in the bigger ones other than adding them to the “feral swine genocide” numbers. The landowner loaned us his trap. Our interest is the 15 odd piglets in the sounder weighing 20 to 30 pounds on the hoof. Tender, juicy and dress out just right to be grilled whole.

Saturday was gorgeous for Oklahoma in January, not a cloud in the sky, light breeze with temps in the high 60’s. Snow and rain forecast for Monday and Tuesday which left the ground soft but not bottomless. Chuck brought his small tractor, and we head out to move the trap to the food plot.

My Dodge 3500 can’t make it up the hill! Too slick!

Chuck’s Dodge 2500 4WD can’t get the tractor and trailer out of the low spot.

The little John Deere 3038E 4WD saves the day.

We get Chuck’s pickup, and trailer snaked onto higher ground and checked out the trap.

Pig Trap

Mac has hay stored in a “trap.” A fenced off area that keeps it relatively safe from his livestock…but not from the feral hogs! We found five different trails the pigs use to get into the trap to root in the rotted hay at the bottom of the big round bales.

Pig Scat

There were piles of hog scat that would make an elephant proud and tracks of all sizes!

We decided that the trap didn’t need to be moved; simply baited and set.

Trapping hogs is not a difficult endeavor. After building your trap, lock the trap door open, bait it and sit back for a few days. Once they get accustomed to the trap, rebait it, set the door, trigger, and wait.

The trash can atop the trap is a feeder that will help keep the trap baited and the hogs interested until the trigger and door can be set.

On Monday, the trap is re-baited. Wednesday, the bait is refreshed.

Friday, the bait will be refreshed again, however, THIS time, the door will be unlocked and the trigger set.

Saturday morning, “hopefully.” a trap full of piglets will be our reward!

After the Wednesday “re-bait,” I pulled the SD card from the trail cam to check for activity. There is no doubt the pigs have cleaned out the trap. The SD card contains no less than 1000 photos of pigs and a few shots of Mac’s market calves! The big ugly mottled boar from the food plot shows up.

Friday starts not with sunshine, but with raindrops, clouds, and wind. The hay and the trap are swamps! The rubber boots are heavy on my feet and I feel off balance. With a sigh of relief, I get to the trap, get it baited and the trigger set.

The trick now is, get back to the truck “without” falling into the muck and get the truck off this two-lane mud track and back on the pavement.

WHEW! We made it! I have one little track of mud on my right knee, but I’m still clean enough for our social function. LOL!

The weatherman says this rain will taper off tonight and tomorrow (Saturday) will be cooler and windy but clearing and dry. However, the weatherman spoke with forked tongue.

Chuck has invited me to a “Men’s Breakfast” at his church.

Rising when the coffee pot starts bubbling at 6 AM, raindrops on the tin roof and wind whistling around the house corners assaults my ears. It is so wet, getting out of my yard was questionable, but I persevered and made it to the highway in the pouring rain.

Chuck and I talk at breakfast. As nasty as the weather is, we still have to check the trap. I despise feral hogs, but I won’t let them languish in a trap. Despite how I feel, they ARE God’s creatures.

We get to the river about 10:15 AM.

The roads and hay trap are rivers of livestock muck and slimy Oklahoma red clay mud.

It HAS eventually quit raining, but a 20 mph north wind slices to the bone. Before unloading the tractor, we tentatively peek over the hill:

AHA. Pigs in the trap!

It takes a second once we approach the trap to figure out that there are two adult sows and four piglets of about 30 pounds each! Just what we were looking to trap.

Piglets

The little ones will fit on my grill whole and will cook up awesomely (if that’s a word!) tender.

Completely dressed out, they weigh 12 and 15 pounds. PERFECT!

I’m gathering the smoking wood in my mind now!

Filed Under: News, Trapping

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