Spring Migration

The spring migration is urgent and depending on the species of birds, there is a specific optimal time when the birds need to arrive for breeding.

So who arrives first?

Yellow-headed Blackbird: March 16 - April 30

Yellow-headed Blackbirds have a very systematic migration plan. Traveling to Montana from as far south as central Mexico, yellow-headed blackbirds migrate in large flocks that are segregated by sex and age. Arrival on the breeding grounds in spring is an orderly process. Mature males migrate first, followed by mature females as much as two weeks later. Next come the first-year males, followed in about a week by first-year females.

Swainson’s Hawk: April 1- April 30

The fall migration of this species is a spectacular phenomenon, as virtually all of the world's population of Swainson's Hawks funnels through Central America within a few days. Until very recently, these hawks were thought to disperse across the whole of South America, and no one really knew where or how they spent the northern winter.

Who are the final migrants to arrive?

Yellow Warblers: May 1 - Jun 15

The first Yellow Warblers to arrive in the U.S. are those that will reach southern California in mid-March. These birds, representing two subspecies, pass up the Pacific coast and reach southern Alaska by mid-May. The other five subspecies will arrive in the U.S. in early April. Their movement is rapid; some of these birds will reach the Great Lakes region before the end of April, and others may arrive in interior Alaska by mid-May. But for us, we will see these birds come May!

Western Tanager: May 16 - Jun 15

The majority of this striking species winters in southwestern Mexico and Central America. The actual migratory routes of Western Tanagers are largely unknown. These birds are nocturnal migrants that travel at high altitude covering great distances in one night!

All of these birds can be spotted at the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge.

Click Here for a list of all birds living at Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge.

For more information on bird migration, check out the eNature website.

A Guide to a Montana Winter

We all know that winters in Missoula can get pretty gloomy and we find ourselves just sitting inside waiting for sunny weather.  But there is a cure!  Here are a few upcoming events that you can do this winter in Missoula and the surrounding areas.

Montana Natural History Center:

The Montana Natural History Center offers great activities all year long.  Saturday Discovery Days are offered nearly every month for adults (and families) and feature different educational topics about Montana wildlife.  The Winter Raptor Workshop is this Saturday, February 12th.  Spend an incredible day seeking out raptors with Denver Holt, renowned wildlife researcher, naturalist and founder and president of the Owl Research Institute. Learn winter raptor natural history, gain insight with helpful raptor identification tips and experience the wonder of winter raptors.

For more information about community activities and Saturday Discovery Days click here.

Even though the Master Naturalist classes are full for the winter and summer, you can sign up for our Fall 2011 course!  This is for any adult who is enjoys learning about the natural world, sharing knowledge with others, and supports conservation. If you enjoy hiking, bird watching, following tracks, or identifying wildflowers, you’ll love being a Montana Master Naturalist.  For more information click here.

Montana Winter Events and Festivals:

I recommend going to any winter festival you can.  I just came back from the winter carnival in Whitefish and had a blast!  For all things winter in Montana click here.

On February 19th and 20th, the Northern Division Freestyle Competition is coming to Missoula.  This annual event features the best skiers in the area for moguls, freestyle competition and jumping.  For more information click here.

 If you're willing to take a drive, you can also visit Whitefish on February 19th for the Moonlight Dine and Ski.  Come for an evening of fantastic cuisine and winter adventure. Watch the moon rise from the summit, feast on delicious dishes, top it off with some dessert, then click into your bindings and ski or snowboard down the mountain by moonlight. Or, for guests who prefer, climb aboard the Big Mountain Express chairlift for a smooth cruise back to the village.  For more information click here.
The Moonlight Dine and Ski will also be celebrated on March 19th, for those who cannot make it in February.

Starting February 11 through the 20th Missoula is hosting the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival.  It showcases the best in documentary films from around the world. The festival attracts more than 10,000 people and screens more than 100 films during the week-long event. All films are shown on Montana's largest movie screen at the historic Wilma Theater, downtown Missoula. Filmmakers from around the world will be in attendance to address audiences after their films screen. Tickets and passes are sold at the Wilma Box Office. For more information click here.

And, of course, there's always cross-country skiing and snowshoeing if you need a fun and inexpensive way to enjoy the outdoors.  Look up snow conditions for surrounding cross-country ski trails here.  This has been a great winter to ski in the Rattlesnake and Pattee Canyon, and getting out for even an hour of exercise in these winter wonderlands is enough to drive away the blues and bring a smile to your face!  You can rent skis and snowshoes quite affordably at places like the Trailhead, REI, the Army-Navy Store, and the University of Montana outdoor program (for Griz card holders).

If any one has other great ideas of things to do this winter don't hesitate to leave a comment.  We'd love to hear some of your ideas!

  

Winter Adaptations of Three Montana Animals

Bears

                                                                                                                                                           

When we thinks of bears during winter, we commonly think of hibernation. But, in fact, bears do not hibernate at all. They go into what is called torpor, or short-term hibernation. Torpor helps bears save energy during winter when food is harder to find. When the animal is in torpor, its heartbeat and temperature go down, but not as much as in true hibernators. This aids animals such as bears in colder climates because it helps the animal conserve energy. This is not as deep a ‘sleep’ as hibernation and can last a very short time.

Unlike animals that go through hibernation, bears can wake up fairly easily. When they do, they will occasionally leave the den, but for the most part they do not eat or drink during winter.  During this time, a bear loses 15 to 30 percent of its body weight--without defecating or urinating.  Instead, the bear recycles its waste.  It does this by breaking down the urea, which at high levels is fatal.  The resulting nitrogen is used to build protein, allowing the bear to maintain muscle mass and organ tissue.

Bears and Their Cubs

The bear cub is born mid-winter, blind, hairless, helpless, and weighing less than a pound.  The tiny bear cub is just a fraction of one percent of the mother bear's weight.  "It's almost an external pregnancy--the cub is born and then migrates to the teats and nurses," said biologist John Hechtel. "The size of the cub in the spring when it comes out of den is closer to what you'd expect to see at birth." The reason for this is bear milk, which is very high in fat. The hibernating mother bear is living off her stored fat, and it's much more efficient for her to put that fat into her milk than to convert it to sugars and proteins that must be transported through her blood to the placenta, then through the placental barrier to the fetus. The mother also cleans the cub, and, by consuming the cub's waste, everything is recycled.

Grouse

Resting place of a ruffed grouse just after its departure

The ruffed grouse is famous for its winter roosting routine, commonly referred to as “snow roosting.” If the snow is soft and a foot or more deep, the grouse is likely to spend the night in an insulated, air-filled snow tunnel. To do this, the grouse will fly directly into the snow. Then, with its wings and feet, the grouse extends the tunnel, sometimes to as much as 10 feet. Recent research suggests that the temperature in the tunnel can be as warm as 32 degrees Fahrenheit and that it rarely falls below 20 degrees. The tunnel helps the grouse conserve energy, so it needs less food. Less time spent in the open also means less time being exposed to predators.

Ruffed grouse are poor at storing fat, so the winter months are tough. This means grouse must eat large amounts of food daily to survive. However, this poses a challenge. If the grouse feeds for too long, it risks being exposed to predators such as the red-tailed hawk and the great-horned owl. To minimize the risk, grouse eat fast. In as little as 20 minutes a grouse can swallow enough buds to make it through the day.

Ruffed grouse have other physical and behavioral characteristics that help in winter. In September, fleshy projections—called pectinations—begin growing on the sides of their toes and stay until spring. These comb-like nubs increase the surface area of the foot and work like snowshoes, allowing the bird to walk across snow with less effort. Pectinations also give the grouse a better grip on ice.

Grouse feathers also adapt in winter. In cold weather, special feathers extend down the beak and cover the nostrils. This allows the grouse to breathe in warm air. Ruffed grouse also have feathers partially covering and insulating their legs.

Moose

Bull moose eating willows

Moose are long-legged and thick-bodied, adaptations that enable them to move about through deep snow and wet lands and to carry sufficient fat stores. Their thick, hollow hair is fatter at the tip than at the base. The shape helps trap an efficient insulating layer of air next to their bodies. But staying warm is not all the moose has to worry about.

 

For moose, winter is full of suffering and triumph over that suffering. But the suffering is not as a result of the cold. Because of their winter adaptations, the cold hardly bothers them. The struggle that moose face is finding food. During winter, moose mostly eat twigs from deciduous trees and shrubs and the twigs and needles of balsam fir and cedar. Each bite of food is a mere gram–just 1/28th of an ounce. Furthermore, twigs and needles contain only one third the nutrition of leaves that moose eat during summer.

The food is not only low in nutrition, but worse off, difficult to gather. The snow is deep and moving from tree to tree is difficult and energy consuming. An 800- or 1000-pound moose survives the harsh winter, chest deep in snow moving from tree to tree, on about nine thousand twigs a day.

   

 When snow is deep and food sparse, moose restrict their intake of food because the costs of eating exceed the gains. Moose pass much of the winter resting and hungry. Ultimately, moose lose weight every single day for about five months of the year. Nevertheless, most moose live to see the spring that follows each winter.

The Black-Capped Chickadee

Not all birds migrate south for the winter. Some stay here in Montana and bear through the cold winter months. One of these birds is the well-known black-capped chickadee. Chickadees may be seen in your yard all year long. In winter they will form foraging flocks with nuthatches, titmice, and even woodpeckers.

But how is it that chickadees can survive through the winter? The chickadee's greatest obstacle is staying warm. The trick to doing this is eating as many calories during the day as they can, which will be metabolized for body heat. If they do not find enough food during they day, they will not make it through the cold night. Black-capped chickadees have another trick for surviving the winter nights: they can lower their body temperatures by up to 14 degrees Fahrenheit at night to save energy. The bird is able to drop its body temperature because of its ability to decrease its metabolic rates. The fewer calories that the chickadee burns, the less energy it creates. Less energy means a lower body temperature. However, the black-capped chickadee only does this on the coldest of nights.

One challenge for chickadees is that along with an increased need for food comes a decrease in the types of food which are available. During the summer, a chickadee’s diet consists mostly of insects, fruits, and seeds. However, during the winter months, fruits and insects become scarce, forcing chickadees to rely primarily on seeds. Seeds are high in fat and are found all year round. For this reason, the chickadee has adapted its beak over time to become perfect at cracking small nuts.

Did you know that chickadees also scavenge for dead animals? Chickadees eat fat from dead animals whose bodies have been opened up by larger predators. The fat is an excellent source of calories for the bird when times get tough.

When it comes to surviving the winter months, chickadees are one of the most resourceful birds around. By adapting their diet, metabolism, and behavior, chickadees can survive in almost any region.  Make sure to look out for these little guys as you're out and about this winter!

Wild Turkeys

                           

It is the holliday season and soon families will be sitting down for Thanksgiving dinner.  But the wild turkey we usually see in photos or pictures is not the same as the domestic turkey that we serve at Thanksgiving. Domestic turkeys weigh twice what a wild turkey does and  most domestic turkeys are so heavy they are unable to fly.  The great majority of domesticated turkeys are bred to have white feathers because their pin feathers are less visible when the carcass is dressed, although brown or bronze-feathered varieties are also raised. Wild turkeys, while technically the same species as domesticated turkeys, have a very different taste from farm-raised turkeys as well. Almost all of the meat is "dark"  with a more intense flavor.

   

Feathers:

Males have iridescent red, green, copper, bronze and gold feathers. They use these bright colors to great advantage when attracting females during breeding season. Females have brown or gray feathers. They make great camouflage and hide hens when they sit on their nests.  

Head:

Males have brightly colored, nearly featherles heads. During breeding season the color of their heads alternates between red, white and blue, often changing in a few seconds. A hen's head is gray-blue and has some small feathers for camouflage.

Both males and females have fleshy growths on their heads known as caruncles. They also both have snoods, fleshy protrubances that hang over their bills and can be extended or contracted at will. The snood of an adult male is usually much larger than that of a female. No one knows for sure what these growths are for, but both probably developed as ways to attract mates.

Beard:

A male turkey grows a cluster of long, hairlike feathers from the center of its chest. This cluster is known as the turkey's beard. On adult males, these beards average about 9 inches long.

10 to 20 percent of hens also grow beards.  The longest beard on record is more than 18 inches long.

Legs:

Wild turkey legs are reddish-orange with four toes on each foot. Male wild turkeys grow large spurs on the backs of their lower legs. These spurs are pointed, bony spikes and are used for defense and to establish dominance. Spurs can grow up to 2 inches in length. The longest spurs on record are 2.25 inches long.

Tail:

Wild turkey tails are usually 12 to 15 inches long and are banded at their tips. The color of the bands in the tail varies by subspecies.

Peacocks aren't the only birds who use their fancy tails to attract a mate. Each spring male turkeys try to befriend as many females as possible. Male turkeys, also called "Tom Turkeys" or "Gobblers" puff up their bodies and spread their tail feathers (just like a peacock).

MONTANA'S TURKEY:

The Merriam’s turkey is Montana’s newest upland game bird. A native of the pine-oak woodlands of Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona, it was first introduced into central Montana in 1954.  Releases were made in the Long Pines of southeastern Montana near Ekalaka and near Ashland. As turkeys prospered in these areas, more birds were trapped and transplanted to other parts of the state. Since the early 1950’s, all areas of the state considered to be suitable wild turkey habitat have received transplanted birds. Merriam’s turkey habitat in Montana is generally restricted to open ponderosa pine woodlands in rugged terrain. Turkeys have been most suc¬cessful in woodlands where about one-half of the vegetative cover consists of ponderosa pine with the remainder grasses, deciduous trees, and shrubs in scattered openings and drainageways throughout the woodland.