Megan's Nature Nook
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Spring time means baby time in the animal world. People love animals so much that they try to do whatever they can to help wildlife, but unfortunately this time of year, we humans often do more harm than help. Here are a few tips for what to do if you find an animal you think is sick, injured, or orphaned.
Deer Fawn Fawns (baby deer) are born with no scent to help protect them from predators. The mother deer leaves the fawn for extended periods of time during the day, only coming in the early morning and evening to feed the fawn. Because of this the fawn can seem abandoned or orphaned, but in reality, they are perfectly fine. If you find a fawn do not touch or move it! The oils from your skin will leave your scent on the fawn, which could cause the mother to abandon it. If you are concerned that a fawn has been orphaned, watch it for a few hours (in the morning and evening) from a distance to see if the mother comes to feed it. It is best to watch from indoors because if you are too close and the mother sees you, she may not come back until you are gone. Bird Chicks Baby birds are often found when they’ve fallen out of their nests or if their nest has fallen after a windy day or storm. If you find a chick and are able to locate and reach the nest, you can place the chick back into the nest. Wear a pair of gloves like gardening gloves while doing this. If you cannot locate or reach the nest, you can place the chick in a small box or container (like a cool whip container) with a paper towel or piece of cloth in the bottom to prevent the bird from slipping. Place the container in a nearby tree or anywhere up off the ground and out of reach from any children or pets. When the chick calls for food the parents will be able to find it. You can do the same if you have found a nest that fell out of a tree. When chicks are just learning to fly and leave the nest they are fully feathered but still working on their flight skills. They can tire easily so are often seen fluttering close to the ground but not able to get much height which makes them appear injured. The parents are nearby watching and will still care and feed their young. If you see a bird that appears to not be able to fly, monitor it for a few hours to see if the parents come to it. Keeps pets indoors or on a leash to keep the young birds safe. Squirrels Squirrel babies can be cared for in a similar manner to bird chicks. If you find one that has fallen out of the nest, use gardening gloves to place it back in the nest. If you cannot reach or locate the nest, you can place it in a small box or container lined with paper towels or cloth and place it in a nearby tree or at least up and off the ground out of reach of pets and children, but in a place where the parents can get to it. The parents will be able to locate the babies by listening for their cries when they get hungry. If a whole nest is displaced, place the babies in a box or container and place in a nearby tree, again, the parents will be able to find them. Rabbits Rabbits don’t have much of a nest, but instead have a shallow depression in the ground that may have leaves or grass in it. Mother rabbits leave their nests unattended for long periods of time and only come to feed the babies in the early morning and evenings. If you think the babies are orphaned, monitor the nest for a few hours in the morning and evening to see if the mother is coming. If you are unable to watch the nest, you can lay twigs overtop in a tic-tac-toe pattern, or make a circle of flour around the nest. When the mother comes she will move the twigs or disturb the flour making it easy to tell if she had been there or not. Rabbits are able to survive on their own at a young age when they are still very small. If the baby is up and moving around, it is old enough to be on its own. Raccoons Raccoons are usually suspected of being orphaned when they are at the weanling stage. When they are about the size of a football, the mother starts to wean them off of milk. She will often times leaves them alone and they are seen wandering around (during the daytime, too) looking for her to beg for milk. They will usually be screaming or whining. If they are about a foot long, or the size of a football, they are old enough to be on their own. If you come across and animals who you think is in need, first take the time to assess the situation to see if human intervention is needed. We do not give animals the credit they deserve, they are much better at raising their young than we think. If you have a situation that you are unsure about, contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitation BEFORE doing ANYTHING. Touching, offering water, or feeding an animal can be detrimental to its health and life. In many cases people are just trying to help an animal they think is sick, injured, or orphaned that really does not need help. By them stepping in they could cause the animal to become sick or injured and even rejected by its mother. There are times when rehabilitation is needed, but a majority of the time humans are just causing the problems. Please think through a situation before rushing in to be the hero. Don’t be a baby-napper! When I was in college I spent a summer working at the Northwoods Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center in Minocqua, Wisconsin. I worked on both the rehabilitation and education side of the facility. They do a great job caring for all of the animals they get in and are able to release a great deal of them back into the wild. Spring and summer were their busiest seasons because of all the babies. It was hard to see all the critters that were baby-napped and miss cared for because people just didn’t know any better. If you want to help wildlife, leave it alone. The animals know what to do. Working at Northwoods was a very good experience for me because I got to learn hands on about the wildlife that lives in our own backyards. It was a very time consuming and labor-intensive internship, but also very rewarding. I was able to experience firsthand how much work it takes to care for a baby wild animal. Did you know some very young birds have to be fed every half an hour from 6 am – 8 pm, and again at 3 am? Or that baby raccoons have to be bottle fed 4 times a day? It was very eye opening to see all the work and energy that went into caring for all the animals that were brought in and to see the variety of reasons for admittance into the rehabilitation center. So this year, do your part to help the wildlife in your neck of the woods and help educate others by passing this information on!
Northwoods Wildlife Center has a great resource page about what to do if you find an animal that may need help: https://northwoodswildlifecenter.org/i-found-an-animal/ MN Licensed Rehab Facilities Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota - Roseville, MN 651-486-9453 https://wrcmn.org/ Wildwoods – Duluth, MN 218-491-3604 https://wildwoodsrehab.org/ Wild & Free - Garrison, MN 320-692-4180 http://wildandfree.org/contact-us/ The Raptor Center – St. Paul, MN 612-624-4745 https://www.raptor.umn.edu/
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The snow has melted and the trees are just starting to leaf out, now is the time for spring ephemerals! Spring ephemerals are the first perennials to come up in the spring. They take advantage of the short time when sunlight reaches the forest floor before the leaves of trees begin shading it. This past weekend I lead a Spring Flower Hike at Oxbow Park in Byron, Minnesota. Although just a week before we had a few inches of snow, there were plenty of Spring ephemerals for us to see! Here are some of the flowers we saw this weekend in southeastern Minnesota; species and bloom times can vary depending on location and the weather. Take a hike and see what you can find in your neck of the woods! The following flowers are just a handful of spring ephemerals you can find. Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) Bloodroot gets its name from the red juice in its stems and roots. The flowers open during the day and close a night. Their leaves act kind of like a blanket, wrapping around the flower during the night and cloudy days, and uncurling on sunny days. Bloodroot is often one of the first flowers to emerge. Wood Anemone (Anemone quinquefolia) Wood Anemone, also called Mayflower, usually has white flowers, but can also be pink. They reproduce by rhizomes (underground rootstock) so are usually found in large groups. It can take five years or more for a plant to reach flowering age. Dutchman’s Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) Dutchman’s Breeches gets its common name from the flower looking like a pair of pantaloons or pants. Because of the oddly shaped flowers, only certain insects with long enough mouth parts can reach the nectar, although some insects have found a way in by chewing holes in the flowers to reach the nectar easier. White Trout Lily (Erythronium albidum) White Trout Lily gets its name from the mottled leaves that resemble a brown trout. They reproduce mainly by bulbs and can be found in large groups. The Yellow Trout Lily looks almost identical, except for its yellow flower. Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) Spring Beauty has a white flower with pink veins. These veins act as “runways” to guide in insects for pollination. It reproduces from small potato-like tubers, often growing in large bunches. Swamp Buttercup (Ranunculus septentrionalis) Swamp Buttercup gets its name from the “cup” shaped yellow flowers and how it likes to grow in wet soil. The flower does not have much nectar, but produces a lot of pollen attracting pollen eating insects. Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense) Wild Ginger has heart shaped leaves with long, white hairs covering the stems. They grow low to the ground and their flowers are very close to the ground to accommodate non-flying insects like beetles who pollinate their flowers. Wild Ginger roots smell like ginger when it is crushed, although it is not the same ginger used in cooking. Virginia Bluebell (Mertensia virginica) Virginia Bluebell buds start out pinkish in color and turn to a blueish/purple as they bloom. The unusual coloring of a white bluebell has been found and is caused by a genetic mutation. Wildflowers can be a bit daunting since there are so many of them! Here are a few characteristics to look at to help you identify them.
Tips for identifying wildflowers: Look at the
If you need some help with your flower ID, check out these great resources. Wildflowers of Minnesota by Stan Tekiela What's Doin' the Bloomin'? By Clayton & Michele Oslund https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/ |
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