Changing Wildlife Patterns

[Shenandoah MF1760]

- We never saw a turkey in the 60s. They are in every subdivision and farm field today.

I'm originally from Michigan and can agree on the Turkey.

When I was a kid back in the 60's Ring-necked Pheasant was common. Now you almost never see one.

The Deer have exploded up there, my father counted over 40 in a farm field down near Marshall, and it's not uncommon to see them in the suburbs.

Supposedly, the Black Bear are increasing as well.

I'm in Texas now and have been for over 30 years. And, have learned to despise Hogs.

 

[Shenandoah MF1760]

Do not pay attention to chiggers, the have never bothered me.

I wish I could say that!

Never before in the previous 60 years do I ever remember even knowing for sure what a chigger was.

Having bought several wooded acres in East Texas a few years back I have learned to hate them and love Deet. When I get bit it lasts for at least a week and it itches like crazy. I can't figure out how the natives dealt with them!

 

[Elviscaretaker]

My last place in WA became a wildlife refuge, not sure exactly what we did to cause that but there was an abundance of wildlife. Granted we were city but it was a large property. Where I'm at now in Idaho, when we first moved here, the "neighbors" would complain about all the wildlife being gone. 4 years later and again we have an a abundance of wildlife. I do put up boxes for the fowl(woodduck) that's habitat is falling down. I now need to control the deer population, coyote, fox, skunk and rockchuck. Ticks I can disrupt with burning but it needs to be timed right to not burn out nesting birds. Lots of pheasant and quail again, wild turkey, wood ducks etc. My theory is they move to where it's better suited for them and breed. After that they spread back out when the population has increased too much. My biggest problem is the pheasant are not too smart, while cutting hay I look for babies and I need to go pick them up and toss them out of harms way. Not that easy when they keep running back towards my swather. Then laying eggs in a bad spots where I have to move the nest or destroy it. I've had good luck with the birds not abandoning the moved nests. Way too many frogs! Too many starlings too

 

[ismilelots]

Guess this is my "wildlife" project. I've had the good fortune to be involved with my mt top farm in the Boston Ozark mountains since purchase in '77 within the national forest. Over the decades, esp in past 25-40 yrs i've noticed big changes in the following wildlife patterns...
This is NOT intended for a "climate change debate", only my wildlife observations through the years. Am interested in your own thoughts re: the subject. So the following is what i've seen disappear almost completely, and the changes i now see. My place has abundant water, 4 spring fed ponds.

Almost gone:
1) amphibians, frogs, bull frogs, toads, salamanders they're still around but scarce
2) snakes are scarce. not so many snapping turtles compared to the past as well.
3) Whip 'or Whills are gone. Bats & Martins around the ponds are gone.
4) lighting bugs are very scarce, they used to put on a show.
5) Quail are gone (partially due to the fescue takeover) road runners are almost gone.
am sure there are more, what are your examples? i miss the above very much
the deer & turkey populations remain stable.

Newcomers: Feral Hog population explosions! all the ponds are brimming, but sometimes they seem like a desert.
in addition, the Polar Vortex, flooding, droughts, & excessive heat have decimated many of my landscape trees (mostly native species) rated Zone 5 in our Zone 6-7 rated area. given these extremes, i feel the entire Zone system needs to be rewritten.

again, let's not get ensnared in the climate change discussion. only your observation of wildlife & fauna changes over the decades & what's in their place. Since i'm not commercial, no herbicides, etc have been used on the place.

thanks in advance for your own wildlife pattern observations over the decades... the following image sets the stage for what used to be a jungle of wildlife, regards


View attachment 2982564

I would think the increase in hogs would disrupt much of the habitat for the ground dwellers. Lightning bugs seem to be disappearing all over the place, but most pollinators are also. Quail is another one that is on the decline in many areas. More and more people are raising quail to release into the wild (but that was tried with pheasant many years ago without much luck). Around us (mid MI) the deer population has grown and along with it the coyotes.

 

[Shenandoah MF1760]

Today we have so many turkey and deer; DNR imported and released many pair of bobcat. Guess what? Bobcat discovered a farmers young calf is much easier to catch than deer or turkey.

That's usually the way it works.

Texas A&M figured that bringing in large Asian Dragonflies would decimate the mosquito population. Turns out they preferred to eat the native smaller Dragonflies.

And, remember Kudzu?

 

[Eagle1]

I wish I could say that!

Never before in the previous 60 years do I ever remember even knowing for sure what a chigger was.

Having bought several wooded acres in East Texas a few years back I have learned to hate them and love Deet. When I get bit it lasts for at least a week and it itches like crazy. I can't figure out how the natives dealt with them!

My wife is like that, (knock on wood) I've seen my legs covered, brush off or rinse with hose, nothing else. Same with the poison ivy/oak/sumac but alkaline stuff tears me up, Tide detergent will have me scratching for weeks.

 

[SteveD55]

Guess this is my "wildlife" project. I've had the good fortune to be involved with my mt top farm in the Boston Ozark mountains since purchase in '77 within the national forest. Over the decades, esp in past 25-40 yrs i've noticed big changes in the following wildlife patterns...
This is NOT intended for a "climate change debate", only my wildlife observations through the years. Am interested in your own thoughts re: the subject. So the following is what i've seen disappear almost completely, and the changes i now see. My place has abundant water, 4 spring fed ponds.

Almost gone:
1) amphibians, frogs, bull frogs, toads, salamanders they're still around but scarce
2) snakes are scarce. not so many snapping turtles compared to the past as well.
3) Whip 'or Whills are gone. Bats & Martins around the ponds are gone.
4) lighting bugs are very scarce, they used to put on a show.
5) Quail are gone (partially due to the fescue takeover) road runners are almost gone.
am sure there are more, what are your examples? i miss the above very much
the deer & turkey populations remain stable.

Newcomers: Feral Hog population explosions! all the ponds are brimming, but sometimes they seem like a desert.
in addition, the Polar Vortex, flooding, droughts, & excessive heat have decimated many of my landscape trees (mostly native species) rated Zone 5 in our Zone 6-7 rated area. given these extremes, i feel the entire Zone system needs to be rewritten.

again, let's not get ensnared in the climate change discussion. only your observation of wildlife & fauna changes over the decades & what's in their place. Since i'm not commercial, no herbicides, etc have been used on the place.

thanks in advance for your own wildlife pattern observations over the decades... the following image sets the stage for what used to be a jungle of wildlife, regards


View attachment 2982564

I've lived my 70 year old life in a mostly rural area with small cities in the geographically middle of New York State. I am seeing and hearing less, but still some, turtles, frogs, toads, song birds and monarch butterflies. Fortunately no feral pigs so far. The dozen or so barn swallows that used to show up every spring since I bought this 12 acre property, with buildings from the mid 1800's, in 1981 are now down to about 2 swallows and I won't be surprised if there are none this year. On the other hand I now have a large population of deer/mice ticks that I never saw for the first 60 years of my life and I spent a lot of time in fields and woods since I was very young. The ticks are spreading some diseases that are very debilitating for some people.

 

[gsganzer]

The ticks are spreading some diseases that are very debilitating for some people.

Lyme disease is no joke. I know 2 people that have had their lives totally ruined by it.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

I have not read this entire post but I agree, there are less bugs. It used to be one could not drive around in the summer without having a bug splattered windshield, and have to wash it every time you fill up with gas. Now, I almost never have to wash it due to bugs. To me that is an indication there are less bugs, that is BAD!! I think it is like the frog into boiling water thing. It is a reasonably slow decline, slow enough to not be blatantly obvious to all but the most observant. But by the time the problem is blatantly obvious it is generally too late. We are in trouble, we just don't know it yet. We are in the midst of the 6th mass extinction. If you want to know how bad things are there is a book all about it.

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural... book by Elizabeth Kolbert

 

[Flogger]

Guess this is my "wildlife" project. I've had the good fortune to be involved with my mt top farm in the Boston Ozark mountains since purchase in '77 within the national forest. Over the decades, esp in past 25-40 yrs i've noticed big changes in the following wildlife patterns...
This is NOT intended for a "climate change debate", only my wildlife observations through the years. Am interested in your own thoughts re: the subject. So the following is what i've seen disappear almost completely, and the changes i now see. My place has abundant water, 4 spring fed ponds.

Almost gone:
1) amphibians, frogs, bull frogs, toads, salamanders they're still around but scarce
2) snakes are scarce. not so many snapping turtles compared to the past as well.
3) Whip 'or Whills are gone. Bats & Martins around the ponds are gone.
4) lighting bugs are very scarce, they used to put on a show.
5) Quail are gone (partially due to the fescue takeover) road runners are almost gone.
am sure there are more, what are your examples? i miss the above very much
the deer & turkey populations remain stable.

Newcomers: Feral Hog population explosions! all the ponds are brimming, but sometimes they seem like a desert.
in addition, the Polar Vortex, flooding, droughts, & excessive heat have decimated many of my landscape trees (mostly native species) rated Zone 5 in our Zone 6-7 rated area. given these extremes, i feel the entire Zone system needs to be rewritten.

again, let's not get ensnared in the climate change discussion. only your observation of wildlife & fauna changes over the decades & what's in their place. Since i'm not commercial, no herbicides, etc have been used on the place.

thanks in advance for your own wildlife pattern observations over the decades... the following image sets the stage for what used to be a jungle of wildlife, regards


View attachment 2982564

In NW Kansas I have observed some pretty dramatic changes. Some of the things you mention such as lightening bugs, toads, frog and snakes were scarce to non existent 2 years ago. We have suffered an extended drought to the point where 2 years ago a 4’ deep post hole yielded nothing but dust. Last year for the first time in 40 years I had over 25” of moisture. The funny thing is the declining species seemed to start reappearing about 2 years ahead of the moisture. Another thing I noticed is the Black Locust trees which had remained at about the same number for 50 years started spreading like wildfire through the pastures and draws in the worst drought. What concerns me more than anything is the decline of my native grasses being pushed out by USDA imported varieties.

 

[RayIN]

I once read the results of a study_with calculations, saying if all the birds in the world suddenly disappeared, in 20 minutes there would be so many bugs humans could not survive outside.
I wonder how that would turn out today?

 

[kenmbz]

We see 50 year rain storms every other year. We had one 7+ inches 2 years ago that killed people in our town, first time.
We had 2 drought years in between. Last year was the first time I have to water the bushes and trees to stop them from dying. Most are decades old.

We have less frogs, but that varies year to year, we have fox that started to come by about 5 years ago which reduced a lot of things, like squirrels , rabbits etc.

We have emerald ash borer, since we are mostly ash and maple, there are a lot of gaps in the forest now. We lost hundreds of trees from a few years old to 70+ years old

Temperature for us has fluctuated and we have had some normal, some colder and some warmer winters.

We have an overabundance of deer, see about the usual snakes, mice and Turkeys.
We did not have song birds one year, but they came back pretty strong last year.

Have only seen one coyote since I have been here on the trail camera 2 years ago.

Lost of vultures (see deer above) and red tails. Still see some blue herons, and a rare spotting of eagles here/there.

We have a lot of invasives like autumn olive, multiflora rose and many items that were planted by someone and migrated around, like worts etc.

Still seem to have plenty of bats and mosquitos and hummingbird populations seems stable here.

The biggest invasive here is the Japanese Stilt grass. It is everywhere and even comes up through bushes and berry brambles. It's in the forest tracked in by animals and wipes out the other grasses when it falls over in the fall, gets to over 2 feet tall. We also just started getting mustard garlic, but that is mostly just on the edges and so far hasn't won over other weeds/plants.

We have lots of new bugs (EAB is the worst), lantern flys are being controlled as lots of critters are eating them, so that was a big worry that has not affected crops here.

Bees seem to be coming back after a long absence . Lots of new hornets and wasps, but not in uncontrollable numbers. Still have around the same number of lightning bugs and butterflies/moths.

Have not seen grey frogs in years, used to climb up my pool fence and umbrellas, miss them.

See some box turtles and snappers, lots of snappers down by the river about two miles from me.

Dead ash shatter when they fall, a big mess.

 

[big bubba]

I just shot a beaver tonight, he went under so not sure until he shows up or floats up. I get one or more every spring, except last year. Only time in 18 years we did not have one move in.

glad to pay my neighbor 100 bounty to shoot my rogue beaver. tried numerous times to steel trap @ base of aspens & J maple. caught a paw that's all, beavers are hard to trap. think the effective traps are the accordion type that clasp the entire body.
rogue SOB destroyed 2k+ in landscape trees.

1st one i've seen on Ozark Mt top in 48 yrs, think the torrential flooding & rains attracted the boar to higher places. changing times, all we can do is observe for the most part, regards

 

[RayIN]

I wish I could say that!

Never before in the previous 60 years do I ever remember even knowing for sure what a chigger was.

Having bought several wooded acres in East Texas a few years back I have learned to hate them and love Deet. When I get bit it lasts for at least a week and it itches like crazy. I can't figure out how the natives dealt with them!

Chiggers - Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

Learn about chiggers, the immature stage of certain mites that cause itchy, summertime bites after walking outdoors through grassy or brushy areas.

agrilifeextension.tamu.edu

 

[big bubba]

deet mostly does the trick on those & seed ticks.

 

[1 Old Man]

deet mostly does the trick on those & seed ticks.

Mostly, yes. But it's that one single chigger that gets past the Deet and bites the underside
of your scrotum ...... then the hate for chiggers will manifest itself.
Spring and early summer I am a Deet wearing, spraying, slathering it on guy.

 

[MossRoad]

We should have had some Robins migrate up to us by now, especially being that it has been so warm. ???

Our Robins never left all winter. It's been that way for quite a few years now.

 

[MossRoad]

I'm originally from Michigan and can agree on the Turkey.

When I was a kid back in the 60's Ring-necked Pheasant was common. Now you almost never see one.

The Deer have exploded up there, my father counted over 40 in a farm field down near Marshall, and it's not uncommon to see them in the suburbs.

Supposedly, the Black Bear are increasing as well.

I'm in Texas now and have been for over 30 years. And, have learned to despise Hogs.

I've only seen maybe 10 pheasants here in my entire life. So few they are memorable. Now about 20 years ago we drove through the Grasslands in South Dakota. I've never seen so many pheasants in my life! They had round bailed and every single bale had several pheasants on our around it. They were walking along the fences, and we ducked a couple times as they flew across the road and almost hit the windshield. It was a true spectacle.

 

[drumminj]

Interesting thread!

Regarding frogs & amphibians, we have a small pond on our property that is home to many frogs and salamanders. This is..year three I believe, but the first year I've noticed hawks hunting the frogs. They've decimated the population in just a few days with much carnage left around the pond edge.

There's plenty of tadpoles in there so I think their population will survive, but frog "singing" season seems to have been shut down very shortly after it started.