The six whooping cranes at Granger Lake are actually two families of cranes. The fact that these birds are hanging out around the lake this year are stirring up the curiosity of bird watchers across the state. About two months ago, reports started coming in to Granger Lake Manager, James Chambers, that a family of three whooping cranes, two adults and a juvenille, had been spotted nearby. Shortly after the initial whooping crane reports, another family of cranes found out about Granger Lake.

Texas Parks and Wildlife has a particular interest in the birds because they typically winter near Aransas, Texas. Why are these birds here? Biologist believe these birds have found what they are looking for, food. Whooping cranes eat clams, insects and even waste grain found in agricultural fields. The drought of 2010 has left Granger Lake at very low levels, exposing plenty of clams for the whoopers. In addition, many corn fields were simply mowed-over last year, leaving plenty of corn for the birds.

The Williamson Audubon Society said, “Tthe area has always been a great place to bird watch, but now that Whooping Cranes are in the area, the excitement has grown. They’re so large. You can’t miss them. If you go to Friendship Park here on Granger Lake and look around, eventually you’ll see three of them at least. Maybe even all six.”

Whooping cranes winter in Texas and typically begin their return trip to northwestern Canada in late March to early April. Will the whooping cranes at Granger Lake stay until then? Only time will tell, but they’ve been there for a while now. Unless the temperatures get really cold and force them further south, it looks like the whoopers will be getting a lot of attention.

On February 8, 2011, the U.S. Fish and Wildife Service (USFWS) has banned the use of lead ammunition for hunting nuisance birds, citing the need to prevent lead toxicity hazards to wildlife. The decision was published by USFWS as a final rulemaking action in the Federal Register. So that’s that.

Depredation orders are regularly issued by the USFWS to allow the killing of migratory birds such as crows, grackles, and blackbirds which are causing damage to both public or private property, pose a health or safety hazard, or are damaging agricultural crops or wildlife. This new “non-lead regulation” will require the use of non-toxic ammunition in the control of these nuisance birds. Dr. Michael Fry, one of the world’s leading avian toxicologists, had this to say about the new ruling:

“We’re very supportive of USFWS in siding with wildlife on this issue. Depredation hunting tends to leave large amounts of highly toxic lead ammunition on the ground that non-target birds and other wildlife consume while mistaking it for food. Those birds or other wildlife will either die agonizing deaths shortly thereafter or suffer severe illness for a prolonged period. We have had many discussions with USFWS about using non-toxic shot for all agency operations and we are very glad they have made this decision.”

It appears the non-toxic shot debate has found a home at the federal level. When questioned about the issue, the EPA responded that they did not have the authority to regulate lead ammunition, though Congressional legislative history records document that they did have such authority. EPA then later denied the fishing gear portion of the petition saying that evidence of impacts from fishing gear were being addressed by some States, and national regulations would be overly burdensome.

“This decision is important not only because it will keep a highly toxic substance from being strewn across the landscape, but it will also prevent birds or other wildlife that might scavenge the remains of lead-shot nuisance birds, such as Bald Eagles, bobcats and raccoons from becoming innocent mortality victims as well.”

The lethal impacts of lead in our environment are so well documented and accepted by the science, health and wildlife community that any deliberate release of lead into a public environment should be viewed as unacceptable. The Federal Government has shown concern for human impacts of lead, so it’s good to see they are showing the same level of concern for wildlife. I know many hunters may disagree with this ruling, but in the long-run this is a step in the right direction. Non-toxic shot has proven effective in the field, and I think any any step we can do to help protect wildlife and habitat is a step hunters need to take.

Winter flooding did not affect crop production in the seasons following flooding even though the fields provided great duck habitat during the winter. Crop yields did not differ among flooded and nonflooded fields. In fact, yields from flooded fields were slightly greater than county-wide averages in the years during the study. Could this be because of natural fertilizers ducks and geese deposited while on site?

Fields where water was held until April 1st (just before planting season) had significantly fewer spring weeds than fields drained February 1st and fields that were not experimentally flooded. Plants were unable to grow in flooded areas. And geese, which love weeds, do a great job of foraging on many plants farmers do not desire in their fields.

The study also found that winter flooding had no effect on soil fertility. No differences were found in flooded or non-flooded fields before, during or after the study. And that’s good news. Many people thought that flooding could possibly degrade soil fertility, but it seems that habitat management for ducks and geese through flooding has no impact of ag fields.

In addition, research found that there were no short-term differences in sedimentation or soil loss rates between flooded or non-flooded fields managed for wintering waterfowl. It is reasonable to assume, however, that over several years, soil would be retained, or even added, in fields surrounded with terraces on the downslope side, so the practice of habitat management can pay dividends for soil management and construction.

Even though fields were not managed specifically to attract wetland birds, over 50 bird species were observed using the study fields during the winter season. Bird use of the fields increased by 332 percent during the length of the study with no difference in use among study units. Bird groups observed included ducks, geese, wading birds, shorebirds, gulls, terns, and various upland birds (e.g., songbirds, blackbirds and doves). More than 15,000 birds were counted using the habitat provided while the six fields were flooded during the winters of the four year wildlife research project.

Flooding crop fields in winter to attract waterfowl and other wildlife is a management tool that has been used for several years. Ducks and geese are attracted to waste grain and weed seeds, while shorebirds, wading birds and mammals visit flooded fields in search of fish and/or invertebrates. Landowners are interested in this management practice because flooding fields in winter provides a place to hunt (or lease) and is visually pleasing with a variety of wildlife species using the property. In addition, there is evidence that flooding crop fields is actually cost-effective for the producer by providing increased weed control and decreased sedimentation rates.

Last year was hit and miss in Texas with regards to ducks numbers, though the traditional areas with good habitat had the birds as usual. The Texas coast put together some stringers of birds and so did the reservoirs in East Texas. There were also good duck hunting reports scattered throughout the central portion of the state.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department released some interesting notes from the 2009-2010  Texas duck harvest that are pretty neat. Last duck season the Texas mallard harvest was up over 6%, but mottled duck harvest was down almost 10%. Mottled ducks already comprise only 1 bird in the bag limit, so the future does not look good for mottled ducks right now, unless they hatch off an abundance of ducks this year.

In addition, the national mottled duck age ratio increased from 0.73 to 1.11 immature birds per adult during 2009, so I guess part of the reduction in harvest of this species is attributed to the changes in bag limit between the 2008-09 season and the 2009-10 season.

On the bright side, gadwall harvest in Texas was up over 41%! To add to the great news, wigeon harvest was up over 43%! These plant-eating birds really jumped in harvest and helped duck hunters put birds on the stringer. Green-winged teal harvest, on the other hand, dropped about 15% while blue-winged teal and shoveler harvest doubled—up over 100%.

Other ducks of mention included northern pintail, where harvest was up slightly at just over 4%. Wood duck harvest in Texas rose 10% thanks to more liberal bag limits for these forest-dwelling ducks. I love hunting wood ducks, especially in areas where forest management is undertaken to create excellent habitat for these birds.

The duck that did the worst last year was the lesser scaup, because the juvenile to adult age ratio continued to show a potentially alarming decline. I know most duck hunters will not be overly concerned with a declining scaup population, but hopefully biologist can determine what is going wrong with these species. We can only hope this is not a sign of bigger things to come.

In closing, the Texas duck harvest for the 2008-09 hunting season ended up looking really good with total harvest up 29% over the previous year, suggesting the ducks were back. Will the waterfowl be back in the Lone Star State this year? You know they will be—let’s just hope they decoy!

There are many diseases that can plague both mourning and white-winged doves in the United States. And some of these mourning dove diseases and white-winged dove illnesses can cause problems for local and migrating dove populations. Avian trichomoniasis, a naturally-occurring parasite, is the likely cause of minor dove die-offs observed recently in the Central Flyway.

“It’s a fairly common occurrence, but folks should be aware of it,” said Corey Mason, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) dove program leader. Trichomonas gallinae is a single cell protozoan common in nature that circulates within bird populations, impacting many different bird species including mourning and white-winged doves. In fact, trichomoniasis is considered by many avian disease specialists to be the most important disease of doves in North America. Outbreaks at bird feeding stations and similar locations reported to the National Wildlife Health Center have occurred from coast-to-coast within the USA.

Epizootics due to T. gallinae can happen year-round, but most disease outbreaks have been reported during late spring, summer and fall. Because oral lesions often affect the ability of the mourning and white-winged doves to feed, infected birds lose weight, appear listless, and stand in groups. Although avian trichomoniasis poses no human health risks, precautions should always be taken when handling sick or dead doves and other birds.

Officials state that because this parasite is transmitted through cross-feeding and bill contact, impacts to mourning and white-winged dove populations can be minimized by taking precautionary measures, including removal of dead birds and temporary removal of artificial water and feed or routine cleaning of artificial watering areas and replenishing bird feeders with fresh feed daily. Platforms and other surfaces where feed may collect, including the area under feeders, should be frequently decontaminated with 10 percent solution of household bleach in water.

Though trichomoniasis is disease that impacts white-winged and mourning dove populations, it by no means threatens their populations currently. However, it is something that everyone must work to identify and avoid, especially those with backyard bird feeders. Mourning dove diseases and white-winged diseases can vary between different locations and times of the year, so learn as much as possible about each of the illnesses before making your diagnosis.