Animal Inns

Ron Scott · May 06, 2002, 08:30:49 PM

Charlie,

Thanks for the interest. Proper timber management practices integrated resource management so that no one resource violates the minimum resource standard of any other resource.

Also, most nonindustrial forest landowners have a sincere interest for wildlife in their woods. Watching wildlife is a favorite past time for many.

Ron Scott · May 07, 2002, 06:05:31 PM

Cavity Tree. Sugar (hard) Maple left in hardwood thinning.

Ron Scott · May 11, 2002, 06:17:33 PM

Baby Screech Owl. This little one either fell out or was kicked out of its "Animal Inn".

CHARLIE · May 11, 2002, 06:29:42 PM

So, what happens to that little screech owl? Does he get gobbled up by a preditor? Why would a bird kick it's babies out of a nest anyway?? :

Tom · May 11, 2002, 07:30:46 PM

Charlie,
A bumper sticker here read "out of paper? Use an owl."

Maybe that's why he has such a perplexed look on his face. ;D

Ron Scott · May 12, 2002, 11:41:53 AM

"Old mother owl" will kick her young out of the nest when she thinks its time for them to start learning to fly. If they don't catch on quickly the crash land and are like a downed pilot until rescued.

I just moved it out of the way after taking the picture so it wouldn't get run over as it was on a woods two track road. Mother owl continues to protect and take care of their "downed pilots". She may have even packed him back up to the nest. He hopefully survived the adventure.

Ron Scott · May 24, 2002, 06:45:38 PM

A Mirror Image. Loon Habitat. Care is used when logging near or around lakes where loons are nesting. Can you find the Loons?

CHARLIE · May 24, 2002, 09:33:01 PM

Yup, one loon is sorta on the left middle of the lake sitting right on top of the reflection of the middle birch tree where 3 of em are growing. I think the other loon is way over on the right of the picture in the lake. I see ripples and a dark spot, though it isn't real clear.

Ron Scott · May 25, 2002, 03:59:10 PM

Charlie,
You see the pair. The one on the right dove just as I snapped the picture, thus the ripple on the water you see.

Ron Scott · May 27, 2002, 07:32:55 PM

Cavity Tree, Aspen. Aspen cavity tree left within red pine thinning harvest area.

Ron Scott · May 31, 2002, 01:43:28 PM

Wild Apple Tree. Saved and released for wildlife fruit during red pine harvest thinning.

CHARLIE · May 31, 2002, 10:13:18 PM

Wow that's neat! I've always been taught that a rose in a cornfield is a weed just like a cornstalk in a rose garden is a weed. With that in mind, an apple tree in a pine forest is a weed. It's neat that you saw it's benefit and saved it for the animules. 8) 8)

Ron Scott · June 01, 2002, 10:39:14 AM

Black Cherry Tree. Also saved and released to provide wildlife fruit diversity during red pine harvest thinning. Such trees were often killed in the past with herbicide to release the pine trees.

Ron Scott · June 03, 2002, 04:02:15 PM

Turkey Vulture. Looks for its lunch over a red pine timber harvest area.

CHARLIE · June 03, 2002, 09:30:24 PM

Being a Florida boy, I knows 'bout Turkey Buzzards. Down in Florida they keep the highways pretty clean of road kill. Here in Minnesota, they have to pay people to pick up road kill, although a few Turkey Buzzards do come up this way. There is some town in Mid east Minnesota that looks for the return of the Turkey Buzzards each year. Sorta like the return of the Swallows to Capistrano.....'cept different. :

:

I once worked with a guy that was coming to work one day back before many people had air conditioning. He had his window rolled down and his arm propped out the window. He came upon a bunch of Turkey Buzzards feasting on something in the road and they were so busy they didn't see him coming 'til the last second. One buzzard barely escaped and came so close to dieing that he pooped.......all over the poor guys arm. Oooooooeeeeeeee................. :-[

Ron Scott · June 04, 2002, 02:23:13 PM

Cavity Tree. A good sugar maple log tree damaged from early logging activity has now become a wildlife cavity tree. Note the logging scar on the tree trunk. Timber values (monitary) lost, wildlife values (nonmonitary) gained.

Ron Scott · June 06, 2002, 10:13:55 AM

Vernal Ponds are Important Habitat Areas. A buffer zone and "Animal Inn" trees are left and maintained around vernal ponds. No skidding is permitted near or through them. The above cavity tree is within the buffer zone.

http://www.alienexplorer.com/ecology/p157.html

CHARLIE · June 07, 2002, 12:00:58 PM

Ron, what in the cathair is a vernal pond? Do you mean a pot hole? That's where I shoot woodducks. But I don't shoot the good woodducks, just the real bad criminal woodducks. :

Ron Scott · June 07, 2002, 05:19:27 PM

Charlie,

Note the link below the photo above. It tells what vernal ponds are.

They ar landscape depressions that hold water during and some while after spring break up and then slowly dry up over the summer season.

Some may have a hydric included soil where the water table is higher during part of the season.

Ron Scott · June 07, 2002, 05:35:28 PM

Wood Duck Nest Box. Sometimes an artificial "Animal Inn" is provided.

This Vernal Pond is on the edge of a farm field and access road to red pine timber sale area. Photo was taken right after spring break up. Pond is about dry now.

CHARLIE · June 07, 2002, 11:24:49 PM

Woodducks, one of the prettiest! Woodducks don't quack....they peep. I've watched over 100 woodducks fly by my blind before just peeping away (I already had my limit of woodducks so these were safe). Woodducks are said to be parisitic, meaning the female will lay her eggs in another ducks nest if she can get away with it. A DNR guy said he saw a mama woodduck sitting on no less than 98 eggs one time. When a woodduck flies into that hole in he box or tree, she's going full bore and just tucks the wings. I often wonder how she gets stopped before slamming into the back of the nesting box. When the ducklings are hatched, mama duck coaxes them to jump out of the nest from below. They flap their featherless wings and crashland into the earth. It's a wonder they aren't hurt, but they seem no less for wear.

Thanks for the explanation of a Vernal Pond.

Ron Scott · June 12, 2002, 02:07:58 PM

Christmas Tree Plantation Left to "go wild". Provides a wildlife travel corridor in open area along with thermal and escape cover. Also a good area to rabbit hunt.

Tom · June 12, 2002, 04:51:51 PM

Ron, Are those Cedar or Spruce and would a Christmas tree farm allowed to run wild be able to be recouped as a pulpwood farm or eventually saw timber? Are the trees of any value as mature trees or are they planted at odd intervals such that they wouldn't generate much fiber?

Ron Scott · June 12, 2002, 06:18:32 PM

Once a Christmas tree plantation is left unmaintained and not continually managed its commercial Christmas tree value is lost.

These trees do not have any future round wood timber values here since the various Christmas tree species planted aren't of any commercial round wood value. Such plantations are usually cleared and chipped to start over again with a new planting for Christmas trees or something else such as red pine for future timber values.

There may be some minimum value in wood chips when the plantations are liquidated as such, but very little.

This particular plantation is a "bastardized" mixture of colorado blue spruce, black hills spruce, concolor fir, and some norway spruce planted over different years. It has some of the wildlife values mentioned in the meantime and the landowner may retain it as such for its nonmonitary wildlife values and area diversity.

Its commercial Christmas tree value is being lost unless one gets at it immediately with cultural treatments for some possible salvage for any trees marketable as Christmas trees.