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Landowner ServicesCWH uses CREP to restore and preserve PG County farm. (Spring 2000) Surviving winter's extremesHow wildlife copes with severe weather. (Spring 2000) CWH Sanctuary Fund CWH will purchase and restore habitat on farms to create wildlife sanctuaries. (Spring 2000) Wildlife profile: Turkey Vultures(Spring 2000) Bennett Point restoration project completed CWH will manage the created habitats for wildlife. (Winter 2000)
CWH's Landowner Services program works with investors
and conservation buyers to purchase, restore and resell farms to create
privately owned wildlife sanctuaries. The same outcome can be achieved
by current landowners on their own property. Surviving winter's extremes: How wildlife copes with severe weather (Spring 2000) During this past winter's extreme cold weather CWH received more calls than usual on the plight of wildlife. Who has not pitied the great blue heron positioned at the edge of a frozen creek hoping for a fish or the brown creeper vainly looking for insects within the bark of a tree she has scoured again and again? Many folks were interested in how they could help wildlife survive by offering different food items. Others had a particular concern about a stricken bird or animal they had found. Winter can be a purging time in the natural world. It is an annual course of events that our own species was literally more exposed to before the advent of modern medical care, housing and sanitation. Prior to all these, the adoption of agriculture was probably the single most influential adaptation in our winter survival. Commencing in the Middle East some 7,000 to 10,000 years ago, humans settled down to form communities and the foundation of the earliest civilizations, better able to cope with weather extremes. Wildlife however must adhere to the basic tenets of ecology, such as the five habitat types: wintering cover, loafing cover, refuge and breeding areas and lastly, roosting sites. With any one lacking or in short supply, the population suffers. Upon these habitat types hang the value of an animal's food supply, which further depends upon availability, palatability, nutritional content and variety. Food can be classified as preferred, staple and emergency at different times of the year and all are likely to be seasonal. Putting human perturbations aside, eons of evolutionary time have made most species of wildlife in North America quite adaptable to change, particularly to the vagaries of winter weather. Since the mid-18th century the Northern Hemisphere has gone through a series of winters that have been significantly warmer or colder than normal. These effects on migratory birds can be dramatic and they have to adapt swiftly or else they die. In bitter weather some migratory birds, such as geese and swans, will fly farther south than usual to escape low temperatures, high winds, deep and crusted snow and ice covering their favorite feeding spots. Some of the smaller subspecies of Canada Geese winter farther south than their larger cousins to avoid these extremes. In fact there is an inverse relationship between the body size of migratory North American geese and the distance that they travel. Heat loss per unit of weight in the larger subspecies was discovered by two researchers (Lefebre and Raveling 1967) to be 40% less than in the smaller ones, which were demonstrated to use up a greater proportion of their energy to keep warm. And how do they keep warm apart from burning energy? One unique adaptation of waterfowl, known to anyone lucky enough to own a down parka, is their feather structure. Dabbling ducks, even with their special feather composition, react differently to cold weather than the more social geese. The more observant wildfowler will notice that during a very cold winter his/her bag may contain more male birds than female if hunting widgeon and mallard. The larger males can survive the cold weather better than the females which head farther south. When winter's death toll rises in a prolonged spell of cold weather, as much as 80% of the mortality may occur in the first half the weather event. Winter's icy grip thus purges those birds that are, in Darwin's term, "less fit". They are the ones afflicted with parasites, lead shot, old age or inexperience. This observation of death appears harsh to us gazing out of our heated
living rooms on a cold January day as the struggle goes on outside. Is
there an upside? Possibly for the species as a whole. Numbers and condition
of a given population are corrected. However with the return of spring
most wildlife populations, given the proper habitat conditions mentioned,
can bounce back rapidly with remarkable success. (Michael Robin Haggie) Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage Sanctuary Fund (Spring 2000) CWH is pleased to announce the establishment of the "Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage Sanctuary Fund." This fund will enable CWH to purchase farms with significant wildlife habitat restoration potential. The properties will be restored by CWH to create a series of wildlife sanctuaries. We will target properties in the Chesapeake Bay watershed with an emphasis on Kent, Queen Anne's, Talbot, Caroline and Dorchester counties. The sanctuaries created by this fund will provide critical habitat for wildlife. CWH has already established some sanctuaries, including Bennett Point Farm in Queen Anne's County and Spencer Farm in Kent County. Our goal is to establish 400 acres of sanctuaries each year. Some of these will be created on private property in cooperation with the landowner The fund will provide support for all aspects of the acquisition including staff time, lawyers fees and land purchase. Some of the properties acquired through this fund will be purchased and retained by CWH, while others will be purchased, restored and then sold to a carefully screened conservation buyer. Initially, these funds will be used to assist in the purchase of properties that will be restored, preserved and sold to a conservation buyer. The fund will help CWH purchase approximately 200 acres a year. This program will benefit wildlife in and out of the Chesapeake Bay by preserving and restoring wildlife habitat. If the plight of wildlife is to improve, it is necessary to restore wildlife habitat in addition to preserving existing habitat. Preservation by itself will not improve conditions for wildlife. Preservation and restoration combined can make the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem healthier. The "Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage Sanctuary Fund" is designed to help accomplish this goal. This fund will allow CWH to "go on the offensive" in our work to help wildlife. If you are interested in supporting our "Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage
Sanctuary Fund," call us at 410-822-5100. (Chris Pupke) Wildlife profile: turkey vultures The Eastern Shore is blessed with a large population of turkey vultures (Cathartes aura). Their family name, Cathartidae, derives from the Greek word "Kathartes" which means cleanser; hence scavenger. Buzzards, as they are commonly called, are a very large bird. The average adult weighs 3.5 to 5.3 lbs, with a wingspan of 63 to 71 inches. Turkey vultures are found in southern Canada throughout the United States down to South America. Maryland has year-round residents, but in the northern limits of their range, some turkey vultures migrate in the winter months. Turkey vultures are easy to identify. Adults are blackish or brown in worn plumage, with blue/green reflections on the breast. Their shoulders and back become dull purplish black on the wings and tail. The small head and neck are bare with sparse bristles. Both sexes are similar in appearance. The underside of the turkey vulture's wings have a silvery two-tone appearance across the entire wing. Black vultures in contrast appear to have silvery ends on the underside of their wings and their head is black. (Brown & Amadon 1968). Vultures are in the order Falconiformes along with hawks and falcons because they all are diurnal flesh eaters. Recent DNA tests have shown that new world vultures, such as turkey vultures, are more closely related to storks (Ciconiiformes), not raptors (Accipitriformes), as previously thought. Storks and new world vultures share a variety of skeletal and behavioral characteristics, including the habit of defecating on their legs as a means of increasing heat loss through evaporation of liquid excreta. (Gill 1994). The voice of the turkey vulture is made up of hisses and grunts, audible only at close range. Turkey vultures drift buoyantly along, lifting lightly over hills and dropping with scarcely a wing stroke. On the ground however they move in an awkward run with drooping wings. When cornered on its nest or injured, the turkey vulture sometimes feigns death or attacks with its beak snapping. When sleeping the body temperature drops from 38o C to 34o C, an adaption which is of value in retaining energy in a bird with a precarious food supply. On awakening, the bird shivers and quickly regains its normal temperature. A turkey vulture diet consists of carrion and waste of all types. Its ability to find small bits of food in dense vegetation is remarkable. It is aided by a keen sense of smell. Its main source of food is large carrion. It is much less apt to kill live young animals than is the black vulture. Turkey vultures secure much of their food from animals killed on the highways and also scavenges at fox dens. Most birds are primarily sight animals and have little use for smell. Turkey vultures, however, have a good sense of smell. Vultures have large olfactory bulbs, which they use in their daily activity. Wild flying turkey vultures can find carcasses by smell. The remarkable olfactory abilities of turkey vultures were used to locate leaks in a 42 mile long pipeline After pumping ethyl mercaptan gas (which simulates the smell of rotten meat) through the pipeline, leaks were identified where the vultures gathered. (Gill 1994). Although many turkey vultures may soar together over a potential source of food, or descend to eat together, the turkey vulture is probably truly social only when roosting. The roost may be in a single large tree or in a particular section of a grove and is used year after year. The roost is sometimes shared with black vultures. Neither species nests near the roost. A typical roost might contain thirty vultures but some are much larger, especially those containing black vultures. The breeding habits of turkey vultures include small groups that perform a rather ritualistic display "dance" on the ground. The eggs are laid in caves (preferably ones with two entrances), in hollow logs or stumps, or on the ground in dense, inaccessible briar patches or swamps. Careful concealment from predators is imperative due to the strong odor when young are fed carrion. Occasionally they will be laid in a hollow snag well above the ground, or on the floor or hay in an old shed. No real nest is built. Some birds will break off rotten wood from the inside of a stump, which then forms layers under the egg. Others may rake leaves into a mound to help elevate the eggs in a swamp. Turkey vultures normally lay two dull white or cream eggs heavily marked with spots of various shades of bright brown. Nesting begins in April and ends in June. Both sexes participate in the whole nesting cycle, from incubation to departure of the young. Incubation requires 38 to 41 days. Young are fed by regurgitation and will leave the nest from 70 to 80 days. Some turkey vultures can live up to 15 years. There has been debate in the farming community as to whether this species
carries bacteria and viruses of livestock. Turkey vultures would inevitably
pick up such infective agents on their legs or bills. However, they seldom
come in close enough contact with stock to constitute a hazard. On the
other hand, their consumption of carrion in general contributes to sanitation. (Andi
Pupke) Bennett Point restoration project completed (Winter 2000) After two years of construction, the wildlife habitat restoration project at the Bennett Point Wildlife Area in Queenstown is finished. This is one of the largest restorations projects in the entire region. Funded by the federal North American Wetlands Conservation Act, the Bennett Point land was purchased by CWH and the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy in December of 1997. Work began immediately to restore the 285-acre farm back to natural wildlife habitat. Bennett Point neighbors driving by the site will see a 40-acre shallow restored wetland by the side of the road. They will hopefully have noticed blue-winged teal, black ducks, widgeon, ruddy ducks and other waterfowl using the wetland during migration this fall. A well has been installed so that wetland water levels can be raised and lowered to allow for natural vegetation to grow. Shorebirds, reptiles and amphibians will thrive in this wetland habitat. Canada geese are feasting on the corn left standing in the fields. Twenty acres of winter wheat cover crop was planted to not only provide food for geese but to help retain nutrients in the soil and to help prevent erosion over the winter months. A 300-foot wooded buffer strip was planted along the Wye River using 20 species of native trees and shrubs. In addition to providing habitat for a diversity of wildlife, wooded buffers also help protect the water quality of the surrounding waterways by removing nutrients and sediments from surface and subsurface groundwater. Warm season grass (WSG) meadows have been planted on 20 acres. WSG provide essential food and cover for ground nesting birds and small mammals. Nesting boxes for bluebirds, and kestrels are placed throughout the property. Neighbor Frank Dukette, has been monitoring and collecting data on the 40 bluebird boxes each year to determine nesting success. Osprey platforms are sited in strategic sites along the Wye River. CWH will continue to manage the Bennett Point Wildlife Area to ensure the benefits to wildlife remain. Some of the land will be farmed to provide food for wildlife. Buffer areas will be mowed to help tree development. Water levels in the wetland areas are manipulated to encourage vegetation to grow. Control of Phragmites and other invasive and noxious plants is also an ongoing operation. Eventually walking trails will be established for educational tours of the project. Viewing blinds will be installed for supervised bird watching which won't scare off the birds (such as the sensitive waterfowl species using the wetlands.) Our long term goal is to preserve the Bennett Point Wildlife Area as undisturbed natural habitat. In an area under such intense development pressure, the few remaining natural sites such as this will be the only small islands where a diversity of wildlife can exist. While birds can fly between such habitat islands, most species cannot travel between natural areas unless sufficient land corridors remain to allow safe passage. (Debbie Collison) Information on this pages is property of Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage and may not be |