Greater Adjutant

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced today a final rule to protect six foreign bird species found on islands in French Polynesia and in Europe, Southeast Asia, and Africa as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

The rule implements federal protections provided by the ESA for the Cantabrian capercaillie, Marquesan imperial pigeon, Eiao Marquesas reed-warbler, greater adjutant, Jerdon’s courser, and slender-billed curlew. Populations of each of these species are small, fragmented, and declining, making them particularly vulnerable to genetic threats associated with small populations and extinction.

This determination follows a thorough review of the best available scientific information, comments from the general public, peer reviews, and any new information received during the public comment period following publication of the proposed rule to list these species.

Significant threats to these six foreign bird species include habitat loss, overutilization and inadequate existing regulatory mechanisms. Information on climate change was available for only one species, the slender-billed curlew; based on this information the Service found climate change to be a potential threat to this species.

Granting foreign species protection under the ESA means that the import or export of any of the species, or their parts or products, as well as their sale in interstate or foreign commerce, is prohibited. Permits for these prohibited actions may be issued for specific purposes consistent with the ESA.

The final rule will publish in the Federal Register on August 11, 2011, and become effective on September 12, 2011.

The ESA provides a critical safety net for fish, wildlife and plants and to date has prevented the extinction of hundreds of imperiled species, as well as promoting the recovery of many others. The Service is actively engaged with conservation partners and the public in the search for improved and innovative ways to conserve and recover imperiled species. To learn more about the Endangered Species program’s Branch of Foreign Species, visit: http://www.fws.gov/endangered/what-we-do/international-activities.html.

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov. Connect with our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/usfws, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/usfwshq, watch our YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/usfws and download photos from our Flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwshq.

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Banded Short-tail Albatross

An important – and hopeful – milestone in the conservation of the endangered short-tailed albatross was recorded at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in November.

On Nov. 16, refuge staff observed an adult short-tailed albatross incubating a freshly laid egg on Eastern Island, one of three small flat coral islands that comprise Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge about 1,200 miles northwest of Honolulu. Since then, refuge staff have observed the male and female trading off incubation duties. The adult male was banded as a fledgling in 1987 on Torishima  Island, a Japanese possession. The female was banded as a fledgling in 2003, also on Torishima.

If the pair’s breeding effort is successful at Midway Atoll Refuge, it would mark the first confirmed hatching of a short-tailed albatross outside of Japan in modern history.

Establishing a new nesting colony is one of several important steps needed to continue the rare bird’s recovery because volcanic activity regularly threatens the short-tailed albatross’ main nesting grounds on Torishima. The species’ recovery also depends on reducing the threats of contaminants, especially oil contamination at sea and plastic ingestion; reducing bycatch of these seabirds from commercial fisheries; and addressing invasive species and other competitive  species at nesting colonies.

The pair first “met” at Midway Atoll Refuge during the breeding season four years ago (2007-08). That season, they were observed spending only a little time together. During the second season (2008-09), their time together increased. By the third season (2009-10), they arrived at the Eastern Island breeding colony together in October and built a nest. Now, in their fourth breeding season (2010-2011), they appear to have copulated and laid an egg.

Newly banded Short-Tail Albatross

The short-tailed albatross, listed as endangered since 1970, is the largest seabird in the North Pacific with a wing span of seven to 7.5 feet. It is known for the golden, yellow cast on its head and nape; for its large, pink bill with blue tip and black border around the base; and for its pale bluish feet and legs. Its life span is 12 to 45 years. Pairs begin breeding at about seven or
eight years of age, and mate for life.

Once thought to be the most abundant albatross species in the North Pacific with a population of more than 5 million adults, short-tailed albatross were hunted for feathers, and harmed in other ways, to near extinction.

By the 20th century, only two colonies remained on remote Japanese islands – Torishima Island in the Philippine Sea and Minami-kojima Island near Taiwan in the East China Sea. In 1939, the short-tailed albatross’ main breeding grounds on Torishima were buried under 30 to 90 feet of lava after a volcanic eruption.

Population numbers plummeted to 10 nesting pairs. Since then, conservation  efforts have helped increase the population to approximately 2,400 birds, which forage widely across the temperate/subarctic North Pacific and can be seen in the Gulf of Alaska, along the Aleutian Islands and in the Bering Sea.

Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge has actively planned to host a nesting colony for more than a decade, and this conservation effort seems to be paying off. Short-tailed albatross were rarely seen on Midway Atoll before the effort began. This season marks the pair’s first known mating and nesting attempt. Refuge staff and volunteers will continue to monitor the nest daily with the use of a remote video camera.

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.

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Telltale WNS white fungus on wings and nose

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has completed a report recommending closing human access to caves and mines where bats with white-nose syndrome are hibernating in an area more than 250 miles from other WNS-affected caves and mines. The report also recommends limiting human access to unaffected caves and mines. These recommendations presume that WNS spreads not only from bat-to-bat, but also is spread by human activity.

The recommendation is aimed at controlling the spread of WNS while scientists work to better understand the cause and find a way to stop the mysterious disease. WNS has devastated bat populations in the Northeast and appears poised to continue its rapid spread south and west in coming months.

An update of the Service’s March 2009 cave advisory will reflect recommendations in the report.  Additional planning efforts are under way, with a national plan anticipated later this winter.

National White-Nose Syndrome Coordinator Jeremy Coleman, Ph.D.: “Our recommendations are based on a thorough analysis of the best available science and the need to provide guidance to natural resource managers. Until we learn more, the best recommendation we can make is to control human access to caves and mines and do all we can to prevent human-assisted transmission of the disease. The success of our efforts will depend on the support of our partners and the public.”

See http://www.fws.gov/northeast/white_nose.html for

• questions and answers
• the report (White-Nose Syndrome Management: Report on Structured Decision Making Initiative) and the user guide
•  links to photos (also on Flickr) and videos
•  more about white-nose syndrome

Related posts:

1. White Nose Syndrome – What is Killing Our Bats?
2. The Battle for Bats: White Nose Syndrome
3. Dying Bats and White Nose Syndrome

The Oldest Bird in the Northern Hemisphere Raises a Chick

The oldest known U.S. wild bird – a coyly conservative 60 — is a new mother.

The bird, a Laysan albatross named Wisdom, was spotted a few weeks ago with a chick by John Klavitter, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist and the deputy manager of the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge.

The bird has sported and worn out 5 bird bands since she was first banded by U.S. Geological Survey scientist Chandler Robbins in 1956 as she incubated an egg. Chandler rediscovered Wisdom in 2001. In 1956, he estimated Wisdom to be at least 5 years old then since this is the earliest age at which these birds breed, though they more typically breed at 8 or 9 after an involved courtship lasting several years.  This means, of course, that Wisdom is likely to be in her early sixties.

There must be something to all that fish oil she consumes because Wisdom does not look her age.

“She looks great,” said Bruce Peterjohn, the chief of the North American Bird Banding Program at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Md. “And she is now the oldest wild bird documented in the 90-year history of our USGS-FWS and Canadian bird banding program,” he added.  “To know that she can still successfully raise young at age 60-plus, that is beyond words. While the process of banding a bird has not changed greatly during the past century, the information provided by birds marked with a simple numbered metal band has transformed our knowledge of birds.”

Wisdom, Peterjohn said, has likely raised at least 30 to 35 chicks during her breeding life, though the number may well be higher because experienced parents tend to be better parents than younger breeders.  Albatross lay only one egg a year, but it takes much of a year to incubate and raise the chick. After years in which they have successfully raised and fledged a chick – which on Midway is about two-thirds of the time – the parents may take the occasional next year off from parenting. Klavitter said that Wisdom also nested in 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Wisdom and her chick survived the March 10-11 tsunami that washed over the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, although there were tremendous losses of Laysan and black-footed albatross at the refuge — an estimated 110,000 chicks and 2,000 adults.

And since adult albatross mate for life, with both parents raising the young, it makes one wonder if Wisdom has had the same partner all these years or not.

Almost as amazing as being a parent at 60 is the number of miles this bird has likely logged – about 50,000 miles a year as an adult – which means that Wisdom has flown at least 2 to 3 million miles since she was first banded. Or, to put it another way, that’s 4 to 6 trips from the Earth to the Moon and back again with plenty of miles to spare.

One reason for all these miles is that Laysan albatross spend the first 3 to 5 years after fledging at sea, never touching land. Then they return to breed in the northwestern Hawaiian Island chain but some of their feeding grounds are actually off the coast of western North America, including the Gulf of Alaska. The parents tend to feed closer to the islands where their nests are when the chicks are very young, but they regularly commute to the northern Pacific Ocean and even the Gulf of Alaska when the chicks are older or when the adults are incubating.  They convert the fish eggs and squid oil they eat into a rich, oily liquid, which they regurgitate and feed to their chick.

In the non-breeding part of the year, albatross do not touch land — the birds, scientists believe, often even sleep while flying over the ocean.

Peterjohn noted that Wisdom’s remarkable record is just one example of the valuable data provided by bird banding. In addition to establishing longevity records for birds, banding data from the North American Bird Banding Program documents migratory patterns, provides critical harvest and survival information used to manage populations of migratory game birds, and supports research activities on many issues from toxicology to disease transmission and behavior. Since 1920, approximately 64.5 million birds have been banded by this Interior Department-Canadian Wildlife Service program, and of those, nearly 4.5 million bands have been recovered.

About albatross

Albatross are legendary birds for many reasons – in Samuel Coleridge’s poem, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” a sailor has to wear an albatross around his neck as punishment for killing the bird. According to seafaring legends, albatross are the souls of lost sailors and should not be killed. However, as reported by James Cook, sailors regularly killed and ate albatross.

Albatross are remarkable fliers who travel thousands of miles on wind currents without ever flapping their wings. They do this by angling their 6-foot wings to adjust for wind currents and varying air speeds above the water.

Nineteen of 21 species of albatross are threatened with extinction, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Present threats to the birds include lead poisoning of chicks on Midway from lead paint used in previous decades; longline fishing, where the birds are inadvertently hooked and drowned, though conservation groups have banded with fishermen and dramatically lowered the number of deaths from this cause; and pollution, especially from garbage floating on the ocean.

The birds ingest large amounts of marine debris – by some estimates 5 tons of plastic are unknowingly fed to albatross chicks each year by their parents. Although the plastic may not kill the chicks directly, it reduces their food intake, which leads to dehydration and most likely lessens their chance of survival. In addition, albatross are threatened by invasive species such as rats and wild cats, which prey on chicks, nesting adults and eggs. Albatross evolved on islands where land mammals were absent, so have no defenses against them.

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Bats with Tell Tale signs of WNS

Damage to bat wings from the fungus associated with white-nose syndrome (WNS) may cause catastrophic imbalance in life-support processes, according to newly published research.

This imbalance may be to blame for the more than 1 million deaths of bats due to WNS thus far, proposes Carol Meteyer, a pathologist with the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Health Center and a lead author of the research published in BMC Biology.

Physiological problems caused by the novel fungus, may, in fact, represent a completely new disease paradigm for mammals, Meteyer and her colleagues wrote. Other skin infections in mammals due to fungi (ringworm, athlete’s foot) remain superficial and do not invade living tissue—typically they only affect the surface of skin, hair and nails.

Not so for the aptly named Geomyces destructans.
“This fungus is amazingly destructive — it digests, erodes, and invades the skin — particularly the wings — of hibernating bats,” said Meteyer. “The ability of this fungus to invade bats’ wing skin is unlike that of any known skin fungal pathogen in land mammals.”

The authors examined nearly 200 bats that had died from WNS, and also reviewed the critical function and physiology of bat wings during hibernation. As a result, they propose that G. destructans may cause unsustainable dehydration in hibernating bats, triggering thirst-associated arousals.  In addition to the direct damage to the wings that would alter flight control, the erosion and invasion of skin may also cause significant changes in circulation, body-temperature regulation and respiratory function.

The Effects of Geomyces Destructans Infection on Bat Wings

Back-lit photographs of wings of White-nose Syndrome (WNS)-positive little brown bats, one with subtle circular and irregular pale areas (arrows) indicating areas of fungal infection (A) and another bat (B) with areas of relatively normal tone and elasticity (black arrow), compared to a WNS affected area that looks like crumpled tissue paper with loss of elasticity, surface sheen and areas of irregular pigmentation (white arrow). (C) Microscopic section of wing membrane from a little brown bat showing extensive infection with the fungus (magenta structures), G. destructans.

Since signs of the disease were first observed in New York during the winter of 2006-07, the fungus has spread through 11 states and 2 Canadian provinces, resulting in the first sustained high-mortality disease affecting bats in recorded history.  Biologists assume that as the disease spreads to new areas, cave-hibernating bats in those areas will also be at risk, including some that are endangered.

“The high number of bat deaths and range of species being affected far exceeds the rate and magnitude of any previously known natural or human-caused mortality event in bats, and possibly in any other mammals,” said Paul Cryan, a lead author of the paper and a USGS bat ecologist at the Fort Collins Science Center.

Although the powdery white muzzles of affected bats gave the disease its name, the authors believe that the skin of bat wings is the most significant, though often less obvious, target of the fungus.

The order of bats is called Chiroptera, Greek for “hand-wing,” appropriately named since bat wings are essentially modified arms. Imagine, for a moment, your human hand with its fingers spread apart. Then imagine your fingers are 6 feet long, and the whole skeletal affair is covered with two layers of thin, somewhat transparent membranes attached to the sides of your torso and legs.  Sandwiched between the membranes are blood and lymphatic vessels, delicate nerves, muscles and special connective tissues that help you fly and help keep you physiologically healthy.

“The disproportionately large areas of exposed skin that make up bat wings play critical roles in maintaining safe internal body conditions during hibernation,” noted Cryan. “Healthy wings are essential for day-to-day survival, even during winter when bats are mostly just hanging around.  Wings damaged by the fungus may not always look so bad to the naked eye, but under the microscope things get ugly fast.”

When Meteyer examined wings of diseased bats microscopically, she discovered wing damage was often so severe that it led her and her colleagues to suggest multiple life-threatening effects on hibernating bats.

“A bat’s wings,” said Meteyer, “are obviously critical for flying, but they also play a vital part in essential functions such as body temperature, blood pressure, water balance and blood and gas circulation and exchange.”

Insect-Eating Brazilian Free-Tailed Bats (Tadarida brasiliensis)

Healthy bats occasionally rouse themselves from hibernation, probably to change roosts, drink, mate and even overcome sleep deprivation, biologists think. But bats afflicted with WNS arouse much more often. In fact, a characteristic of hibernation sites with WNS is daytime flights of affected bats outside caves.

“The prevailing hypothesis is that daytime winter flight is a last-ditch effort for starving bats to find insect prey,” Cryan said. “What we propose is that thirst, and maybe not always hunger, is driving these arousals. Unusual thirst during hibernation may result from water essentially leaking out of wings damaged by the fungus.”

Anecdotally, bats at hibernacula affected by WNS are sometimes seen flying over and drinking from water surfaces or eating snow, highlighting the plausibility of this hypothesis, the authors noted.

Hibernation itself is one reason this emerging disease is so successful. During hibernation, a bat’s immune function and metabolism are dramatically reduced, and body temperature drops significantly. Also, some of the worst-affected bat species roost in humid areas in dense clusters to conserve energy and decrease moisture loss.

“These ideal environmental conditions, combined with the hibernating bat’s suppressed immune system, likely allow the fungus to invade body tissues for nutrients without resistance, making the hibernating bat a most accommodating host for this new disease,” Meteyer said.

The researchers compare the ability of this novel bat fungus to destabilize internal functions with the electrolyte imbalance that occurs in frogs infected by chytrid fungus, which, like G. destructans, is a novel disease of vertebrates. Chytrid infection impairs the ability of frog skin to regulate hydration and internal equilibrium, causing electrolyte imbalance and ultimately cardiac arrest.

“The skin plays a critical role in the physiology of both amphibians and bats,” Meteyer said. “We suggest that a similar, but less subtle, disturbance could be occurring in the wing membranes of bats with WNS.”

The journal article can be accessed online.

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2. The Battle for Bats: White Nose Syndrome
3. Dying Bats and White Nose Syndrome

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Black-capped Chickadees, Northwestern Crows, and other birds are being impacted by the problem, which affects their ability to feed and clean themselves and could signal a growing environmental health problem.

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Orange Spring Peeper by Cori Rose, Couresty of Chelmsford Patch.

As most gardeners do, I find it a spiritual experience to play amongst my garden beds and flowers. Imagine my surprise the other day when I saw what appeared to be an orange poison dart frog in my butterfly garden. Come again? Okay, not really a tropical rainforest tree frog, but the resemblance was  a bit striking, right down to its little sticky toe pads.

With an email to a few herpetologist friends I was able to confirm that what I had was indeed an orange spring peeper. The coloration is a bit unusual, but apparently not unheard of. It seems that the peeper has a chameleon-like ability that does allow it to darken or lighten, depending on its mood or its surroundings and orange varieties do seem to be more common further south (VA and NC).

The Northern Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) is a small chorus frog found throughout the eastern USA and Canada. The peepers that we usually find here in Chelmsford MA  are often some shade of tan/brown or grey in color, sometimes with a dark cross on their back (from which the latin name “crucifer” comes from).  They are usually very small, between 1″ or 1.5″ in size and compare in size from a nickel to slightly larger than a quarter (females are usually the larger of the two).

When I have a severe case of the winter blues and the first crocuses are just beginning to break ground, it is this critter that I truly yearn to hear. On the first warm rainy evening (if you can in your right mind call mid-40 F warm) as the last remnant of snow and ice is disappearing from the wetland edge, the male peepers come a-calling. I can usually be found up to my knees in cold (VERY cold – brrrrr)  water, head lamp on and camera in tow. As they are nocturnal and of minute size they are more often heard than seen.

Some interesting peeper factoids:

• Only the male of the species calls and it does so by pushing air out of and drawing it back into a sac on its throat.
• Spring Peepers produce glucose (sugar) in their liver that functions as an anti-freeze to keep their key organs from freezing.
• Other body parts suh as legs may form ice crystals and freeze and they spend the winter in this partly frozen state in the soil or under leaves or logs.
• They spend the majority of their time on land as carnivorous insect eaters, but require water (normally shallow wetlands or ephemeral pools) to reproduce.

Northern Spring Peeper USGS Photo by Brad Glorioso

Unfortunately, most amphibians including frogs are experiencing catastrophic declines world-wide that have biologists significantly concerned. The reasons are not fully understood but major contributors are believed to be disease, habitat destruction, modification and fragmentation, pollution, pesticide use, introduced predators, and climate change. This should be a concern to us all as they are often considered as an indicator species (“the canary in the coal mine” so to speak) that reflects the quality of our overall environment due to their sensitivity to external parameters. Maybe this will be a subject of a future blog…

For more information on these wonderful critters visit these links:

Vernal Pool Association

Rhode Island Vernal Pools

MA DF&W Natural Heritage

UMASS Amherst Natural Resources

Cori Rose is a wetland scientist and regulatory project manager with the New England District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in Concord MA. Cori is an avid gardener, especially for wildlife, and a volunteer with the Chelmsford Conservation Commission in her home town of Chelmsford, MA. Her Blog is called Turtles Crossing.

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Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge – Harvard, MA 

This year’s National Public Lands Day supports the efforts of Let’s Move Outside, a program of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move!campaign. By linking parents to nearby parks, refuges, trails and waters, Let’s Move Outside promotes a healthier and more active lifestyle for all family members. The volunteer experience allows children to explore and enjoy the outdoors while benefitting the community. After volunteering, families can take advantage of the many recreational opportunities on public lands.

“In an increasingly urban, technology-focused world, more Americans of all ages are becoming disconnected from the natural world,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe. “National Public Lands Day gives us – especially our children – an opportunity to get outside and lend a hand to help conserve our public lands and fish and wildlife resources.”

In 2010, 170,000 volunteers worked at more than 2,080 public land sites in every state, the District of Columbia and in many U.S. territories to remove trash and invasive plants, build trails, and plant trees and other native plants.

Eight federal agencies, nonprofits and state, regional and local governments participate in National Public Lands Day, a day when people can visit all federal lands – including the Service’s national wildlife refuges – without paying an entry fee. This year, September 24 will be a “fee free” day on national wildlife refuges and many other federal lands.

Many national wildlife refuges will invite volunteers to commemorate this national day of service by helping to clean and enhance refuge property. See what’s planned at a refuge near you by using the refuge finder tool or check event calendar listings.

Among refuges planning National Public Lands Day events on Saturday, September 24:

Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge, TX – 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Help pick up trash at the Highway 105 Trinity River Bridge. Learn about Trinity River Refuge.

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, GA – 8:00 a.m. to noon.
Help maintain the historic Chesser Island Homestead. Free hot dogs and refreshments for participants. Learn about Okefenokee Refuge.

Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge, IN – 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Take part in clean-up activities. A free lunch will be provided. Learn about Muscatatuck Refuge.

Horicon National Wildlife Refuge, WI – 9:30 a.m. to noon.
Help rid the refuge of invasive plants. All ages are welcome. Wear long pants, sturdy shoes and gloves. Meet at the Egret Trail boardwalk parking lot off of the auto tour route off Hwy 49. Learn about Horicon Refuge.

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals, and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.

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A flock of Eastern Wild Turkeys feeding in my backyard.

This summer, a flock of Eastern Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) routinely visited my Chelmsford, Massachusetts backyard.   The turkeys regularly pecked their way around the yard each morning, spending most of their time scratching and grazing on spilled seed from our bird feeders.

The flock was usually comprised of about a dozen hens (females), jakes, and jennies (young male and female turkeys).   The size and number of the birds, made them an imposing site in our suburan New England backyard.

New England Wild Turkey Population

Over the years, we’ve occassionally seen turkeys in the neighborhood, but never this frequently.  Suprisingly, due to hunting pressure and urban sprawl, wild turkeys were on the verge of extinction in the early 1930s, but through the work of conservationists their numbers have grown significantly.

In the early 1970′s, 37 birds were captured in New York and released in southern Berkshire County.  Transplants of the birds continued from 1979 to 1996, and expanded the range of the bird into other parts of Massachusetts. Today, the estimated population of turkeys in Massachusetts is between 20,000-25,000 birds.

The Life and Times of Wild Turkeys

They were first named ‘forest turkey’ in 1817, and have an average life span is 3-5 years.  Growing up to 4 feet tall and reach 30 lbs in weight, wild turkeys have excellent daytime vision, but don’t see well at night.  They are also very mobile, running at speeds up to 25 mph, and flying up to 55 mph.

Males are polygamous, and mate with as many hens as they can, using gobbling, drumming, and spitting as signs of social dominance, and to attract females.  Their gobble can carry for up to a mile.  Hens “yelp” to let gobblers know their location, and Jakes often yelp as well.

Hens lay a clutch of 10 to 12 eggs over a 10-14 day period, usually laying one egg per day. She will incubate her eggs for about 28 days, occasionally turning them until they are ready to hatch.  Newly-hatched turkeys leave the nest within the day to feed.

Wild turkeys are omnivores, prefering acorns, nuts, seeds, berries, roots, insects, and the occasional frog, lizard, or snake. Wild turkeys often feed in open spaces near the forest edge, and sometimes visit backyard bird feeders. Turkeys are also known to eat a wide variety of grasses.  Early morning and late afternoon are the desired times for eating.

Wild turkeys prefer open areas for feeding, mating and habitat. They use forested areas as cover from predators and spend the night in tall trees, near the edge of a clearing so that no obstructions will interfere with a quick flight.  A varied habitat of both open and covered area is essential for wild turkeys to flourish.

Wild turkeys live in flocks organized by “pecking order,” a social ranking in which each bird is dominant over birds of lesser social status. This instinctual drive for social dominance can create a nuisance when turkeys act aggressive towards people they encounter, most notably during breeding season.  They jump up and flap their wings, and can chase people they perceive as a threat. Once a turkey’s bold behavior is established, it can be very difficult change. Turkeys may also respond aggressively to shiny objects or reflections.

Preventing Conflicts with Turkeys

To avoid an ugly backyard skirmish with a wild turkey hell bent on domination, you can follow these tips.

• Keep bacyard bird feeders tidy – Clean up spilled bird seed, or use bird feeders designed to keep seed off the ground.
• Protect backyard gardens and harass turkeys searching for food. Dogs, fences, and netting are effective garden turkey deterrents.
• Don’t be intimidated by an aggressive turkey.  Harass an unwanted bird by chasing it, using loud bold noises, water sprayed from a hose, or a close swat from a broom.
• Eliminate or cover shiny objects that a turkey is pecking at.
• Inform the neighbors about your desire to prevent wild turkey conflict.

Wild Turkeys are important and valuable birds in Massachusetts and New England. They are classified as game birds for which regulated hunting seasons and management programs have been established.  If you are experiencing problems with turkeys or have any questions regarding them, contact your nearest MassWildlife District Office or local animal control officer.

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