Wildlife troubles because of Snow in NE

In VT, NH, and ME the mountains have been just getting dumped over and over again with snow and there is no end in sight. What is supposed to be highs in the mid 50's this time of year is averaging the 30's and 20's with heavy snow. The state at Mount Mansfield which is the only 4000 footer stake there is that I know of, has 85 inches on the ground. Hermit Lake in the Whites has 62 inches so far. So there is 4-8 feet of snow. We have one of the worst Nor Easters in many many years coming so this will only add to it and no end in sight. Anyway, most of the wildlife including many birds like Turkeys, and others have their babies this time of year and without sun and being able to incubate they will die. Not to mention moose are trying to get over winter ticks and are very weak this time of year. With heavy snow and cold it can kill off half of the entire moose heard. Deer could be at risk as well from being weak and all of the animals that annually have their young in mid to late April. This is a serious problem and people could see a drastic reduction this year of wildlife. I just hope this pattern breaks down..-Mattl

Closer to home, I notice that robins (and others) are starting to collect nest material. Most years we get a nest or two in the bushes outside our front door (which is cool since we can watch out the windows without disturbing them). The last snow (before yesterday) had them fighting over patches of bare ground to forage on.

Yes, wildlife will suffer, but it's also nature's way of improving the gene pool by weeding out the weaker or sicker animals.

Tim

Nature is smarter than we may think. All species will come out of this season intact as they have under far worse conditions. Moose, ducks, forsythia, tulips, they'll all do their thing, maybe just a little later. Now, about those black flies and mosquitos, conditons are being set up for a good year ... for black flies and mosquitos.

Mattl said:

This is a serious problem and people could see a drastic reduction this year of wildlife.

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serious enough that I won't have to hang food when camping? I am pretty lazy, so that could be an real upside to this if it happens.

I was thinking that thi stype of winter is needed. The native species do have a way with dealing with sucha fluctuation. Birds can put off thier clutches or have a second clutch under more favorable conditions. There are some birds, grey jays, crossbills and owls that already have nested and hatched already. They will not be affected by this snow. Warblers and thrushes just might get held up in lower latitudes until the weather shifts. if there is an impact it may be revealed in various bird census held through out the area.

Mattl,
Are you just speculating, or is what you are saying based on some science/study? The first half of winter was pretty light, which gave animals more time to forage to build up reserves, before the snow got deep. I also do not believe this is the first time we have had a snowy early spring. Would be interesting to see if there is a drastic reduction in animal populations or what specfic populations are affected by this snowy spring.

When I worked with NH Fish and Game for 2 years, I talked with many wildlife biologist of the dangers that a very cold wet spring can have on wildlife, let alone record late season snow that doesn't seem to want to end. Spring is normally wet, but not 30's and 20's everyday as highs. Wildlife is used to late bouts of snow, but not this late and not with temperatures that stay this cold. It is highly abnormal, and after they go through the year and lose quite a bit of their body weight during winter, this is the time to forage for food and make up for it. Being in the shape many are, and with offspring being born this could make for a bad year. -Mattl

I would also think there could be a high mortality rate this year.
I noticed birds like the Phoebe are here already Also noticed some Tree Swallows the other day .
Thinking they're not here for the scenery ... they're looking for insects .

It's storms like these that the early arrivals are at the highest risks.
After surviving the migrations lot's of birds are prettty wiped out and for some they have risked it all to get here....big storm arrives...there's no food.
That's enough to put them over the edge...

Kind of like doing a huge journey and getting caught in big storms ... it's been enough to finish lot's of people off over the years... many an epic tale about things like that.

I think it's much the same for the wildlife geting nailed by these late storms, it's tough for lots of species needing the early spring growth .. sprouts from the forest floor, buds from the trees, it's related flora & fauna.. etc etc .

I don't know much about our feathered friends and their migratory habits, but I have a hard time believing that an extra 2 or 3 weeks of cold snowy weather will damage the moose or deer populations. If they can handle the -20 degree nights in mid January, I'm sure a few 20 degree nights in April will be tolerable.

Besides, how close do you think animals cut it when it comes to spring arriving? If they can't feast on grubs and tree bulbs by mid-April, do you think they haven't enough stored energy and alternate food sources to last an extra month of winter?

I would be really curious to see if anyone can provide data on average snowfall and average temperature for this April, and this winter as a whole vs the 30 year averages. Aside from the last month, the Mt Washington Observatory site has this winter as far less snowfall than average, similar temps, and higher winds. Hard data would be useful rather than spreading speculative hysteria.

albee said:

I don't know much about our feathered friends and their migratory habits, but I have a hard time believing that an extra 2 or 3 weeks of cold snowy weather will damage the moose or deer populations. If they can handle the -20 degree nights in mid January, I'm sure a few 20 degree nights in April will be tolerable.

Besides, how close do you think animals cut it when it comes to spring arriving? If they can't feast on grubs and tree bulbs by mid-April, do you think they haven't enough stored energy and alternate food sources to last an extra month of winter?

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It isn't like the animals have much choice in the matter. In summer and fall, they store up as much as they can, but by spring their fuel tanks may be running low or be empty. One more storm, even if it is a minor one, may push them past their limits and some/many will die.

Or for migratory birds, they "choose" a nesting and egg laying time in the hope that there will be abundant food supplies when the eggs hatch some number of weeks hence. If the weather doesn't cooperate, the food won't be there and the chicks will die. Not every breeding season is all that successful...

Life in the wild can be harsh. It is not that unusual for there to be sizeable die-offs due to uncooperative conditions, but generally enough survive to replenish the population in later years. And those who survive tend to be the fitter individuals which tends to result in a fitter gene pool.

Doug

Mattl said:

Being in the shape many are, and with offspring being born this could make for a bad year. -Mattl

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A bear hunter I met while camping on the CVR last fall felt there could be a huge number of twins and even triplet bear birthings (term?) this spring. Bears will actually have single cubs or twins/triplets based on the amount of food produced the summer before. Somehow their bodies know how much fat they are storing and allow for an additional cub or two. Bears are hearty creatures so hopefully this doesn't turn out for the worse, but as a case study this spring, combined with last years unusually heavy bounty will certainly be an anomaly.

And the blessing in disguise could be for the black flies. Some years, a heavy late snowmelt washes away much of the black fly larvae in the streams and produces a light bite year. Well, let's dream on ...

dang

God Dang that upslope

As for birds, some species simply fly back south. A local bird expert talked about reverse migration a few days ago in his blog that's featured in the Portland Press Herald. However, he also mentions some birds, like warblers, are obligate migrants, meaning that once they go, they go (to paraphrase his words).

albee said:

I don't know much about our feathered friends and their migratory habits, but I have a hard time believing that an extra 2 or 3 weeks of cold snowy weather will damage the moose or deer populations. If they can handle the -20 degree nights in mid January, I'm sure a few 20 degree nights in April will be tolerable.

Besides, how close do you think animals cut it when it comes to spring arriving? If they can't feast on grubs and tree bulbs by mid-April, do you think they haven't enough stored energy and alternate food sources to last an extra month of winter?

I would be really curious to see if anyone can provide data on average snowfall and average temperature for this April, and this winter as a whole vs the 30 year averages. Aside from the last month, the Mt Washington Observatory site has this winter as far less snowfall than average, similar temps, and higher winds. Hard data would be useful rather than spreading speculative hysteria.

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Actually it should be fairly easy to find stats for Deer and Moose as Fish and Game as they keep better records for "fur bearing" species or "game species"
and of course they are two of their big game species.

Birds can arrive at the exact same tree on about the same date year after year. Some have a life reserve of maybe a day or two.

Some mammal species of more hyperactive die within hours if they are without the means to find food..


I think I missed the hysteria part...?

spider solo said:

I would also think there could be a high mortality rate this year.
I noticed birds like the Phoebe are here already Also noticed some Tree Swallows the other day .
Thinking they're not here for the scenery ... they're looking for insects .

It's storms like these that the early arrivals are at the highest risks.
After surviving the migrations lot's of birds are prettty wiped out and for some they have risked it all to get here....big storm arrives...there's no food.
That's enough to put them over the edge...

Kind of like doing a huge journey and getting caught in big storms ... it's been enough to finish lot's of people off over the years... many an epic tale about things like that.

I think it's much the same for the wildlife geting nailed by these late storms, it's tough for lots of species needing the early spring growth .. sprouts from the forest floor, buds from the trees, it's related flora & fauna.. etc etc .

Click to expand...

We live at Phoebe Central in southeastern NH. Haven't seen them or any of their kin yet. (Saw one scant Phoebe last Sunday at Plum Island in Eastern Mass.) Still just Robins, Cardinals, sundry woodpeckers, Blue Jays, Chickadees and Nuthatches. Looking out the window and listening, one might think it's February.

I think our feathered friends have wisely held off. Just hope they can duck and cover when Big Mama blows through the Southeast and up the Atlantic coast this weekend . . .

Remember last year....

Obviously there is a lot of snow late in the season this year. Certainly this may effect the wildlife to some extent (on a bare patch of ground earlier this week in NE VT I saw about 20 robins) but last year, I was hiking bareboot in the Whites to 4000 foot summits (with no snow below 3000 feet) due to an almost complete lack of snow during the winter. Mother Nature seems to have a way of evening things out. I can recall earlier this winter (Dec and early Jan) where the entire winter activities community in Northern NE were trying to declare a natural disaster over not having any snow over the course of several winters (2005 was a mediocre year as well). Just typical NE fare I guess.

Just to reiterate what's already been said, most small songbirds only have energy reserves that take them day-to-day. They can't wait a month for the weather to improve. For example, in mid-winter, when it is -20 out, a bird might gain about 50% of it's body weight in fat over the daylight hours, and burn all that fat off overnight.

Someone could probably figure out the specific numbers for an energy balance at this time of year, but the idea is simple: either the bird eats enough calories to replace its energy expenditure, or it doesn't. If a bird is counting on insects, then it may not get those calories.

Now, that said, while it may be tough for some individual birds, or deer, or whatever, one harsh spring is probably not going to be wiping out populations.

on the bright side of this discussion---

Frost didn't get very deep into the ground, as my yard in Western Maine will attest. The last snowplow visit left ruts 10" deep before the driver decided he was done...

This time of year we can go from 32 degrees and 2 feet of new wet snow to 65 degrees and bright sun in 24 hours. Snowpack doesn't last long with 12 hours of daylight and temps in the 60's.


Sunshine this time of year penetrates thru the snow and warms the ground underneath the snowpack, setting up a quick green flush of vegetative growth, and giving the grubs, worms and insect larvae and assorted small rodents a jumpstart.

God knows this is not the first time Old Man Winter has worn out the welcome mat into April, at least where I live in Western Maine.

Golleeee I remember when ski season was November to May ( yeah I am that old, LOLOL!!)

No, the sky isn't falling, its just another snowstorm.

Breeze

You'll have to excuse me for being selfish

I really hope these late winter storms decimate the tick population!

Actually with this storm you may actually notice different wildlife mostly birds doing there best to make it through tthe storm. Even just opening the door to go out side you might see more birds in and around the bushes of your house. They will actually "hug" up to the foundation of a building trying to get some degree of heat from it.

The American Woodcock (if that was my name I woud change it) is often given as an example of this behavior.
It is a bird that we often hear but do not see. Now they are pretty much into the heart of the breeding season. Equiped with an extremely long 'nose" for probing for worms insects etc. if the ground is frozen or the snow to deep they are basically "S__ outa luck" so to speak.