MassWildlife Monthly January 2023

News from the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife

Resolve to spend more time outdoors, starting this winter

Spending time outdoors can reduce stress, boost mood, and even bolster the immune system. There’s no need to wait for springtime to enjoy these benefits and to experience natural landscapes and native wildlife here in Massachusetts. Sure the days are short and cold, but with some preparation winter can be a great time to explore the outdoors. Use this list of winter activities and cold-weather tips to enjoy the outdoors in the early months of the new year.

Dress for the weather
With a little planning, you can stay comfortable even on the coldest days. Dress in layers of fleece or wool, wear warm boots, and ensure your outer layer blocks the wind. Don't forget a scarf or face mask. Sunglasses (or clear safety glasses if it's overcast) can provide wind protection for your eyes. Traction for your feet, such as micro spikes, will help keep you stay upright even in icy conditions. Chemical warmer pads can help keep your hands and toes warm.

Keep it short
You don’t need to hike for hours to experience the physical and mental benefits of getting outdoors. Even a short walk can reconnect you with the natural world, lift your mood, and renew your sense of wonder. Start small and extend your outing if you’re warm and still having fun. Pack a few snacks and water along with coffee or hot chocolate to keep you going strong.

Watch for wildlife
Some animals migrate or hibernate, but many remain active throughout the winter here in Massachusetts. Tracks left in the snow or mud can reveal where birds or small mammals have been. Click here to learn to identify common animal tracks. (Note: Snow that has melted will distort the size and shape of an animal track, so look for tracks in fresh snow or in mud.) You may also consider setting up a game camera in the area where you see interesting tracks. Less foliage means more images of wildlife and fewer pictures of leaves blowing in the wind!

Birding in winter
For beginners, winter can be a great time to become familiar with the sights and sounds of common resident birds such as chickadees, blue jays, crows, woodpeckers, red tailed hawks, and even bald eagles. With fewer leaves, it's easier to spot the silhouette of a hawk perched on a branch or the darting movement of smaller birds in a thicket.

Winter is also a good time to look for unusual birds. Seabirds that spend most of the year as far north as the Arctic seek out the Massachusetts coast for milder temperatures. Bird watchers in coastal areas can watch for flocks of colorful harlequin ducks, striking black-and-white patterned eiders, golden-eyes, scoters, and long-tailed ducks, aerobatic gannets, diving dovekies, guillemots! If you’re watching for waterfowl, get help with identification with the publication Ducks at a Distance by US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Embrace the dark
Early sunsets in winter mean longer periods of darkness for stargazing. Bundle up an head to nearby fields and hills or even your backyard to watch the stars without having to stay up past your bedtime. The cold air holds less moisture which makes the stars appear bigger and brighter.

Try ice fishing
Ice fishing is a fun way to spend time outdoors with friends and family. Make a day of it by packing food, folding chairs, plenty of hot drinks, and even some sleds or ice skates for the kids or the young at heart. If you’ve never been ice fishing before, join MassWildlife for a learn-to-ice-fish clinic this winter. If you just need a quick refresher on ice fishing gear and techniques, visit our ice fishing page.

Be sure to review ice safety information and don’t forget your 2023 freshwater fishing license!

Explore something new
Find a new area to explore in the new year! MassWildlife manages nearly 230,000 acres of Wildlife Management Areas that provide habitat for wildlife and give people a place to explore natural landscapes (there are no maintained trails). WMAs are open to the public for hunting, fishing, wildlife watching, hiking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing. Use MassWildlife’s Lands Viewer to find a property near you.

Why you shouldn't feed wildlife this winter

Each winter, MassWildlife receives inquiries from the public regarding whether or not to feed wildlife. While people have good intentions, supplemental feeding of wildlife typically does more harm than good. Most wildlife seasonally change their behavior to adapt to cold temperatures and scarce food supplies. Supplemental feeding can alter that behavior and have detrimental, and sometimes fatal, effects. Wildlife in Massachusetts have adapted over thousands of years to cope with harsh winter weather, including deep snow, cold temperatures, and high winds. 

Supplemental feed sites congregate wildlife into unnaturally high densities, which can:

• Attract predators and increase risk of death by wild predators or domestic pets;
• Spread diseases among wildlife or cause other health issues (e.g. Rumen acidosis in deer, Aflatoxicosis in turkeys);
• Cause aggression and competition over food, wasting vital energy reserves and potentially leading to injury or death;
• Reduce fat reserves, as wild animals use energy traveling to and from the feeding site;
• Cause wildlife to cross roads more frequently, therefore increasing vehicle collisions;
• Negatively impact vegetation and habitat in areas where feeding congregates animals.

Providing wildlife with food at any time of year teaches them to rely on humans for food, which puts them at a disadvantage for survival and can lead to human/wildlife conflicts. Once habituated behavior is established, it can be very difficult or impossible to change.

What can you do?

The best way to help wildlife make it through the winter is to step back and allow the animals’ instincts to take over. To help wildlife near your home, focus on improving the wildlife habitat on or near your property, by including natural food and cover (e.g., some conifer cover and regenerating forest or brushy habitat). It is also important that wildlife populations are in balance with what the habitat can support.

Bird feeding

MassWildlife biologists advise against feeding wildlife. While backyard bird feeding during winter months is generally acceptable, we recommend using native plants and water to attract birds to your yard. Fallen bird seed can unintentionally attract many types of wildlife, including bears, turkeys, small mammals like squirrels and mice, and predators like foxes, fishers, and coyotes that feed on small mammals. If you notice unwanted wildlife in your backyard, bring in your bird feeders immediately. 

Stay safe on the ice this winter

It's wintertime in Massachusetts and residents will begin to venture out onto the ice for fishing, skating, or other winter activities. Stay safe this winter by taking a few moments to review these ice safety tips and ice thickness guidelines. 

How can you tell if ice is safe?

There are no guarantees. Always consider ice to be potentially dangerous. You can't judge ice conditions by appearance or thickness alone; many other factors like water depth, size of waterbody, water chemistry, currents, snow cover, age of ice, and local weather conditions impact ice strength. 

Ice tips to remember:

• New ice is stronger than old ice. Four inches of clear, newly formed ice may support one person on foot, while a foot or more of old, partially thawed ice may not.
• Ice doesn't freeze uniformly. Continue to check ice conditions frequently as you venture out onto the ice.
• Ice formed over flowing water and currents is often more dangerous. Avoid traveling onto ice-bound rivers and streams, as the currents make ice thickness unpredictable. Many lakes and ponds may contain spring holes and other areas of currents that can create deceptively dangerous thin spots. 

Before heading out onto the ice

• Tell someone your plans, including where you are going and when you expect to return.
• Come prepared. Carry a cell phone in case of emergency. Always carry ice picks and rope with you on the ice. In case of emergency, drive the nails into the ice and pull yourself to safety while kicking (see tips for falling in below). 
• Wear your life jacket. If you fall in, a life jacket will keep you at the surface and can provide insulation against the effects of cold water.

Ice thickness guidelines

The guidelines below are for clear, blue ice on lakes and ponds. White ice or snow ice is only about half as strong as new clear ice and can be very treacherous. Use an ice chisel, auger, or cordless drill to make a hole in the ice and determine its thickness and condition. Bring a tape measure to check ice thickness at regular intervals. 

Ice Thickness (inches)	Permissible Load (on new clear/blue ice on lakes or ponds)
2" or less	STAY OFF!
4"	Ice fishing or other activities on foot
5"	Snowmobile or ATV
8"–12"	Car or small pickup truck
12"–15"	Medium truck

Falling through the ice

If you fall in: 

• Don't panic: Call for help if there are people nearby.
• Don't remove winter clothing: Air trapped in your clothes can provide warmth and help you float.
• Turn the direction you came from: Ice you previously walked on should be the safest.
• Place your hands and arms on an unbroken surface and kick your legs: If you have ice picks or a pair of nails, use them to pull yourself up onto the ice while kicking.
• Lie flat and roll away: Once your torso is on firm ice, roll toward thicker ice to distribute your weight.
• Find shelter and get warm: Change out of wet clothing and find warm, dry coverings. If you are in a remote area, get to or start a campfire. Otherwise, get to a car or house. Seek medical advice from your physician on medical attention.

If someone else falls in:

Remember the phrase "Preach-Reach-Throw-Go."

• Preach: Call 911 if you can. Shout to the victim to reassure them help is on the way.
• Reach: If you can safely reach them from shore, extend an object like a rope, jumper cables, tree branch, or ladder to them.
• Throw: Toss one end of a rope or something that will float to the victim.
• Go: If the situation is too dangerous for you to perform a rescue, call 911 or go to find help. Untrained rescuers can become victims themselves.

If a pet falls in:

Do not attempt to rescue the pet, go find help. Well meaning pet owners can easily become victims themselves when trying to assist their pets. Remember to always keep pets leashed while walking on or near ice. 

Help with MassWildlife’s waterfowl survey this January

Every 5 years, MassWildlife conducts a winter waterfowl survey of sites where people feed wild ducks and geese. While the feeding of wildlife is discouraged, there is no state law or regulation that prohibits feeding (though some municipalities do restrict or prohibit feeding). MassWildlife is asking for the public’s assistance to identify current waterfowl feeding locations so that biologists can visit and identify and count these birds.

The survey will be conducted statewide in January of 2023 and includes sites in urban, suburban, and rural areas near fresh, brackish, and salt water. Feeding sites range from municipal parks where many visitors come to feed the ducks to ducks gathering in backyards feeding on spilled bird seed or handouts thrown out someone’s back door.

MassWildlife biologists will visit historic feeding sites from January 9–27, 2023. Because feeding locations can change over 5 years, public input is needed. If you know of a spot where waterfowl are being fed, please let us know by phone at 508-389-6321 or by e-mail at [e-mail]. Please include the town and specific location where waterfowl are being fed. If you are able, please also include the number of ducks and/or geese (preferably by species) that you see at the feeding site at one time.

Mallards are by far the most common duck at feeding sites, but other ducks may be observed as well. American black ducks and Canada geese are common, and wood ducks, pintails, gadwalls, American wigeon, and hooded mergansers are occasionally seen.

MassWildlife has been conducting the winter waterfowl survey for the past 50 years. A report summarizing this year’s survey results compared with previous years will be posted in the coming months.

Turtles are vulnerable to illegal wildlife trade

Gopher tortoises live in parts of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina. They are protected at the state level in these areas, and the western part of their population is listed as federally endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

So, how did the gopher tortoise end up wandering around central Massachusetts this summer? The answer is likely the illegal wildlife trade, a growing problem threatening America’s native turtles and tortoises. Many animals are illegally removed from their natural habitats every year to live in homes as pets. Turtle poaching is especially problematic, since removing even a single wild turtle can have a negative impact on the entire local population.

Turtles can live a long time and they are slow to reproduce. For example, the box turtle, a native species of special concern in Massachusetts, can live for more than 100 years. But only a small percentage of turtles ever reach adulthood. Turtle eggs and hatchlings make an easy meal for many predators, and crossing roads presents a danger to turtles of all ages. Most adult turtles must engage in breeding for their entire lives to replace themselves in the wild population. For this reason, losing any adult turtles, especially adult females, can result in the extirpation (complete disappearance) of a local population.

 

MassWildlife staff regularly receive turtles and other animals that have escaped their enclosures, are surrendered by pet owners, or confiscated by law enforcement. In each case, MassWildlife works for the best possible conservation outcome. After the gopher tortoise was discovered in Massachusetts this summer, the animal was cared for by the Turtle Rescue League in Southbridge until arrangements could be made to return it to it's natural range. In November, it was transported by a volunteer to a gopher tortoise sanctuary in South Carolina, in coordination with South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

How to help Massachusetts turtles

Most species of turtles in Massachusetts are protected and cannot be captured or kept as pets. In fact, six of our ten native freshwater turtles are listed under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act. It is also illegal to move turtles from one location to another.

Leave turtles alone when you see them in the wild and report wildlife crime. It’s important to keep the locations of wild turtles to yourself, especially when communicating online. Turtle poachers may use the information you post to illegally collect turtles. If you need help identifying a turtle, contact MassWildlife at [e-mail]. To report a rare turtle visit mass.gov/heritagehub.

Learn more about the turtles of MA.

 

Art contest connects youth artists to nature

There is still time to enter the Massachusetts Junior Duck Stamp (JDS) contest. Students from kindergarten through grade 12 can submit original artwork to participate in this fun and educational competition. The entry deadline is February 15, 2023. The process of creating these works of art allows students to appreciate the importance of preserving wetland habitats and the delights and diversity of wildlife. "Even if students do not enter the competition, science and art teachers will value the JDS curriculum as a useful resource," advises MassWildlife’s Wildlife Education Coordinator, Pam Landry.

The JDS program links the study of wetlands and waterfowl conservation with the creation of original artwork. Students in grades K-12 learn about the habitat requirements of various kinds of ducks and geese and then express their knowledge of the beauty, diversity, and interdependence of these species artistically, by creating a drawing or painting which can be submitted to the JDS art contest. The art is judged in four age group categories in a statewide competition; the entry judged Best of Show moves on to represent Massachusetts in the national JDS competition. Art teachers, science teachers, and parents who home-school can visit our website for an information packet and entry information.

For more information contact Pam Landry at [e-mail].

Date published:	January 5, 2022