Downy WoodpeckerLucky had a blast in the pond, splashing around, using a tub for a hat, and making us laugh. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5lqWRK0T5g&feature=youtu.be&hd=1
Spring is exciting. The last smidgeon of ice disappeared on Woods Lake today. On the larger lakes, the ice was black yesterday and melting fast today. We’ll see loons soon—and bears. The last couple days have seen an influx of eagles, harriers, herring gulls, flickers, vultures, and juncos—and the first mosquito. Wildlife enthusiasts greet each new sighting with delight (well most of them, anyway) On this blue sky day, red crossbills were still gathering grit from Trygg Road and working the adjacent red pines for seeds. The picture is of a male gathering seeds from the cones.
Red Crossbills on Red PineThe bill to ban feeding makes no sense to us—especially from the public safety viewpoint the DNR claims. In this community where people have been feeding for over 50 years, no bear has ever gone after anyone and hurt them and nuisance complaints have run 80 percent below the statewide average on a per-bear basis. Nuisance complaints are few because the bears don’t cause trouble. They usually go directly to the feeding stations—in most cases unseen. The bears are not desperately hungry. They do not approach strangers for food. They seldom go house to house looking for scraps. They are exposed to few people and live longer than average.
Red Crossbill eating seedsCompare that to areas without feeding stations. In bad food years, desperately hungry bears go from house to house looking for bird feeders and garbage, going up to people for food, and breaking into the occasional house. They are exposed to many people and are often killed as nuisances. They are more afraid of people, which means they are more likely to run when they see someone but also more likely to attack people when startled, cornered, or are attacked by landowners’ dogs, as the DNR’s own records show.
The DNR claims that bears that are fed will return over and over, which is true if food is scarce in the woods. But they prefer wild foods. The MN DNR gives no credence to our long-documented, peer-reviewed findings. So we thought it interesting today to see a Colorado study coming up with similar findings. This 2-minute news broadcast tells the story http://denver.cbslocal.com/2015/04/13/lengthy-study-finds-most-black-bears-wont-rely-on-human-food/ How can we educate Minnesota’s senators in time to make a difference in SF1303?
Male Hooded Merganser being followed by 4 femalesToday, the most popular hooded merganser we ever saw was right here on Woods Lake—a male being followed by four females. All five had their crests raised looking pretty.
As part of National Volunteer Week, Scott Edgett interviewed Sue Mansfield. Both started as volunteers. A Lily Fan captured the intriguing 38-minute interview. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYo4YxXRqmM.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center