Hibernating Herpetofauna
[caption id="attachment_235" align="alignleft" width="240"] A bull frog perches on a rock enjoying the sun.[/caption] Herpetofauna is a term referring to reptiles and amphibians as one group. Often it is shortened to just ‘herps’.
Collecting Deer Data - Part 1
The firearms season on deer is in full swing and while hunters scramble seeking deer, biologists scramble seeking successful hunters. During the month of November, wildlife biologists across the state are in a frantic race to collect as much biological data as possible from harvested deer; to do this they are making regular visits to tagging stations and meat processors. Don’t be surprised if they also show up on your door step. The first step to bulk data collection is getting to know the people who handle deer every day all season: the processors.
Collecting Deer Data - Part 2
In the first post about deer bio-data collection, I talked about where wildlife biologists go to collect information and measurements from harvested deer. In this part, I’ll tell you what measurements and samples we collect and why. The first thing the biologist takes note of is the seal number. This is the seven digit number on the registration tag which is affixed to the animal at the tagging station. This number provides an easy way to keep all of the samples and meat connected to the specific deer organized.
Biologists gather data from dead deer to monitor health of the deer herd
While many of us are out hunting this deer season, Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife regional wildlife biologists are busy hunting for deer as well, knocking on doors and visiting meat lockers, chasing down biological data that will give the department a better glimpse of the health of Maine’s deer herd.
Hatching and Fledging Birds
Living with wildlife, and allowing wildlife to live with us and despite us, may be difficult at times. With urban sprawl, and the human population branching out into more rural areas, the number of human-wildlife interactions are on the rise. Some of these interactions are exciting and harmless, some are a bit frightful and remind us that wildlife is just that, wild, and some may seem innocuous to us, but may put the critter in peril.
Barrow's Surveys
Last week’s adventure consisted of tagging along with our waterfowl biologist on Barrow’s goldeneye surveys. I was excited at the prospect of finding some Barrow’s along the Maine coast, where many species of waterfowl chill out (no pun intended) during the winter months. Admittedly, I had never seen a Barrow’s before, and was more than a little rusty on my Barrow’s goldeneye facts.
Deer Tidbits- A Guest Post
This writing was submitted to me by a colleague of mine, Kendall Marden, from our Sidney office. Kendall is a wildlife biologist, who has years of experience in that field. As some of you may know if you've been reading MDIF&Ws weekly reports, the weekly report is being changed to a monthly report. Kendall wrote this piece for that report, but forwarded it to me when the scheduling changed, 'just in case [I] was looking for something to post for the blog'. Upon reading it my curiosity was piqued and I thought some other readers might enjoy it.
Who's Been Here?
It’s that awkward time of year. Hunting for most species has ended, the lakes are not frozen enough to do some fishing yet, and folks, kids and adults alike, are fidgety sitting inside on the weekends. What is there to do that isn’t expensive or a long drive? Well, you’re lucky. You’re in Maine, and Maine is known for woods, snow, and wildlife. Mix those three things together and you get a fun afternoon outside, looking for tracks! The best condition for identifying tracks is fresh snow, about one inch or so, or soft mud.
Walking on Thin Ice
It’s December, and most hard-water anglers are thinking the same thing: “when is it going to get cold enough to freeze the ponds?” Each year as a sheer, fragile coating begins to inhibit fog from rising off the water’s surface, anglers become jittery. Fingers start itching to be on the auger throttle, ice traps are pulled from summer storage and re-lined, or at least checked, and where in the world are those wool socks, thick gloves, and hat all hiding? Every evening that the mercury dips well below 32 degrees elicits a happy “making ice” dance.
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