Georgia wild: news of nongame and natural habitats [Mar. 2010]

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Also in this issue
* Nesting nuthatches * New start for quillwort * Power plant pocket gophers * Teaming for healthy sandhills * Chorus frogs up close * Seafaring alligators
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Rare sight: Right whale calving captured on film!
The right whale calving season ended in a photo finish. On March 20, with most of the whales already bound for their summer range off New England and Canadian Maritime waters, University of North

Nongame Conservation Fund each time you search the Internet! The fund, dedicated to conserving nongame
wildlife, is listed on GoodSearch. This search engine donates half its revenue to nonprofits and schools designated by users. Simply go to www.goodsearch.com, enter "Georgia Nongame Conservation Fund" under "Who do you GoodSearch for," click "Verify," and search like usual. The company donates about a penny per search. There's also a free toolbar and a GoodShop option, which returns a percentage of purchases.
Checkoff champs
Another way to help nongame wildlife is by contributing to the Conservation Fund state income tax checkoff. These contributions not only conserve nongame and endangered animals and plants statewide, they have a compound effect. By using the Conservation Fund as a match for federal and private funding, Wildlife Resources gained $1 for every 25 cents spent from the fund over the past two years. The checkoff played a part in conservation achievements varying from the bald eagle's recovery in Georgia to acquisition of wild lands such as the 1,500-acre McLemore Cove Tract in Northwest Georgia. Learn more.
WILD Facts
Georgia is home to 16 of the 45 species of bats that live in the U.S. Like humans, bats are mammals that give birth to live young and feed them from mammary glands. Although breeding takes place in the fall, fertilization doesn't occur

Carolina Wilmington and Duke University researchers flying an aerial survey about 40 miles offshore from Jacksonville, Fla., photographed a right whale giving birth.
Only one other right whale calving has been observed. The incident occurred 10 miles from a proposed Navy sonar training range, renewing debate about potential impacts on the endangered whales. But it also added to a strong, if late, showing for the winter calving season off the Georgia, Florida and South Carolina coasts. The totals as of March 23: 19 cow and calf pairs, about 200 other right whales, none seen entangled in fishing gear, and no dead adult right whales reported. Wildlife biologist Clay George of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources said considering that the calf count had only been 14 deep into the season, 19 marked a strong finish. The average number of calves documented yearly since 1990 is 21. Last year, a record 39 calves and five entangled whales were spotted off the Southeast coast. George said this year's unusual cold weather pushed right whales farther south into Florida waters, contributing to lower counts off the Georgia coast. Only about 400 North Atlantic right whales remain.
Rx fire pact a plus for sandhills
Landowner, DNR restoring middle Ga. habitat
Brett Elver is blunt when asked about restoring the longleaf pine-sandhills habitat native to the 2,600-acre Black Creek Preserve he manages in Marion and Talbot counties:
"We're interested in everything," Elver says, "the gopher tortoise and the eastern diamondback rattlesnake and everything that's supposed to be living there."
That interest, pushed by landowner John Flournoy, and the habitat potential at Black Creek Preserve resulted in a contract with Georgia DNR's Wildlife Resources Division for controlled burns on about 280 acres last month. Black Creek employees burned another 300-plus acres.
Considering how the unusually wet winter limited burning, Elver said the restorative fires on more than 600 acres would not have been possible

until the following spring. Young typically are born in May and June. Most female bats only have one offspring per year, although some species give birth to two, three or four at a time. The young develop quickly and can fly within two to five weeks. Bats live a long time considering their small size, some up to 30 years.
-- Linda May
In education
Get your children outdoors this summer at Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center. Summer camp at the 6,400-acre center only 12 miles off I-20 near Mansfield is so much fun, kids won't even know they're learning. And now Charlie Elliott Center is accredited by the American Camp Association! All sessions include fishing, wildlifethemed games, live animal programs, hikes, nature exploration, wilderness skills, and arts and crafts. Programs vary from day camp sessions to overnighters and weeklong adventures, including one just for girls.

without the help of Wildlife Resources and its partners, including The Nature Conservancy and the Student Conservation Association.
The work is part of the Multistate Sandhills Ecological Restoration project involving Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, conservation groups and $1 million from the federal State Wildlife Grants Competitive Program. The three-year project announced in 2009 is aimed at restoring nearly 38,600 acres of priority public and private sandhill sites, and providing long-term conservation for some 55 species from gopher tortoises to Bachman's sparrows.
The burning at Black Creek also matches two of the Georgia Wildlife Action Plan's five themes: using more prescribed fire to restore habitats and helping landowners conserve wildlife on their property. The Wildlife Action Plan is a comprehensive conservation strategy followed by Wildlife Resources and DNR.
Sharon Holbrooks, a private lands wildlife biologist with Wildlife Resources' Nongame Conservation Section, said Black Creek has plenty of longleaf pine and promising examples of Fall Line sandhills habitat. "With a little bit of fire and a little bit of care, I think it could be excellent sandhills habitat," Holbrooks said.
Through the contract, "They basically agree not to undo the good we did," she said.
Black Creek allowed state biologists to survey its sandhills in 2008 as part of a statewide project, an opening that led to the prescribed fire contract. Elver said he'll also turn to Wildlife Resources for help in replacing non-native sand pine with longleaf.
Black Creek, which is not a commercial preserve, is managed more for ecological than financial returns. Flournoy, a Columbus-area developer who enjoys quail hunting, bought the property with an interest in converting the sand, loblolly and slash pine stands to longleaf habitat, one of the most critically endangered ecosystems in the world.
Black Creek has a long way to go, Elver said. But the prescribed fire, an effort he started three years ago, is yielding results. "The amount of understory coming back is incredible," he said.
Conservation on private lands
The Wildlife Resources Division offers help varying from technical to financial aid. Factors include the landowner's interest in habitat restoration

Registration begins April 6. Space is limited. Register or find out more here, or call (770) 7843059.
Under the Gold Dome
The effort to regulate commercial trade of Georgia's freshwater turtles found new legs late in the 2010 General Assembly. A version of House Bill 1000 would, among other measures, empower the Board of Natural Resources to regulate the export, farming and sale of freshwater turtles. The question at press time: Can the bill clear the House by Crossover Day Friday, March 26, the 30th day of the session and the deadline for legislation to pass at least one chamber or be shelved until 2011. Similar measures Senate Bill 203 and House Bill 603 bogged down in committees last year. The aim is to shelter turtles from commercial harvest born by Asian demand and a global pet trade. Thirteen of the state's 19 freshwater species can be killed or sold without limit. Most turtles in international markets come from the Southeast.
Up close
Mountain chorus frog

and the presence of rare species. For the Multistate Sandhills Ecological Restoration project, and in the case of Black Creek Preserve, high-quality sandhills are an obvious factor. For more information, contact Sharon
Holbrooks, (478) 994-1438. The controlled burns at Black Creek included the Student Conservation Association fire crew (at left). Get a glimpse of members and their passion for conservation.
Out my backdoor
For nesting nuthatches,
winterizing comes naturally
By Terry W. Johnson This winter is one we will long remember. Snow blanketed the state from
Rising Fawn to south Georgia peanut fields. Temperatures plummeted into the teens, causing home heating costs to soar skyward faster than our national debt. Homeowners who winterized their homes by caulking around windows and doors and other measures were rewarded with lower energy bills.
When heating costs were low, we didn't give it much thought. However, one backyard neighbor, the brown-headed nuthatch, has been caulking the cracks in its nesting sites for generations. Although nobody knows exactly why the tiny birds perform this annual ritual, some biologists suggest that since nuthatches nest in late winter, the natural weather stripping helps keep eggs and hatchlings warm on even the coldest days. Who knows? The brown-headed nuthatch prefers to nest in tree cavities. However, like all cavity-nesting birds it has long suffered from a housing shortage. Fortunately, it has found nesting boxes to its liking. It also doesn't mind nesting close to our homes, allowing the nuthatch to live in places where it would have disappeared long ago. Brown-headed nuthatches are one of the first of our cavity nesters to nest. They begin checking out potential

Pseudacris brachyphona All in the family: The mountain chorus frog is closely related to Brimley's chorus frog. But the two comprise a genetic group separate from southern and upland chorus frogs. All are part of the Hylidae family, which includes treefrogs, cricket frogs and other chorus frogs. Key characteristics: Adults vary from less than an inch to 1.3 inches long. They have white bellies and usually light brown backs, with a darker brown stripe reaching from the snout, through the eyes and down the sides. Color patterns vary in Georgia. Sounding off: Their call has been compared to a squeaky wagon wheel and is considered a key way to identify mountain chorus frogs from upland chorus frogs. (Listen here!) Range: In Georgia, the Appalachian Mountains and foothills. Populations documented in the western Blue Ridge, Ridge and Valley and Cumberland Plateau provinces. Habitat: Grassy pools and puddles, including ditches, for breeding; fields and forests at other times. Eats: Insects and other small arthropods. Breeding: Breeds in shallow puddles and pools following late-winter or early-spring rains when temperatures top about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Males call. Females lay as many as 1,500 eggs in clusters in water. Eggs hatch in one to two weeks; tadpoles metamorphose in 50-60 days. Hanging out: Males stay near the pools for two to three months. Females leave after mating. Showing up: During Georgia routes run last year as part of the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program, three survey volunteers reported mountain chorus frogs -- some in areas

nesting sites as early as February in much of the state. Males choose the sites. While you may not see nuthatches inspecting your nesting boxes, they often leave clues. Examine the joints between the boards used to build your nesting boxes. If you see bits and pieces of pine straw and other plant materials stuffed into the cracks, you know a brown-headed nuthatch has been there.
Since not all brown-headed nuthatches seal their nesting sites, not finding their weather stripping doesn't necessarily mean the birds won't use your boxes.
If a nuthatch finds a suitable box, you can watch them diligently weatherstrip it. Their next job is to construct a small nest out of strips of the inner bark of trees, plus grasses, wood chips, hair and feathers. The nests also typically contain the wings and husks of pine seeds. Occasionally you will discover a nest made entirely of this unusual nesting material. If you watch the birds closely as they return to their nest site with nesting material, you may be able to tell what they are using.
Nesting boxes specifically for brown-headed nuthatches are equipped with an entrance hole measuring 1-inch in diameter. A hole this small keeps out larger birds. Unfortunately, few folks erect nest boxes with nuthatches in mind. As luck would have it, these birds will also nest in bluebird boxes sporting 1-inch entrance holes.
Your chances of attracting a pair of brown-headed nuthatches are greatly enhanced if your backyard is blessed with scattered pines. Also, unlike many cavity nesters, they will nest in boxes in the shade.
Ideally, boxes should be mounted at least five feet high on poles equipped with predator guards. Boxes should be at least eight feet from a tree or other cavity.
If you would like plans for a brown-headed nuthatch nesting box, visit the Wildlife Resources Division's Web site. However, don't procrastinate; you
need to erect the box ASAP. Remember, brown-headed nuthatches are either looking for nesting sites or

they had not been documented before. Under cover: As adults and tadpoles, mountain chorus frogs are prey for many species, from fishing spiders to eastern newts, birds and watersnakes. The frogs forage at night and hide by day, mainly trusting their cryptic coloration to keep them safe. Status: Mountain chorus frogs are listed as a species of concern in Georgia, largely because their status is not well known. The State Wildlife Action Plan lists the species among 296 highpriority animal and 323 high-priority plant species. The plan, a comprehensive strategy for wildlife conservation in Georgia, calls for basic research and surveys on mountain chorus frogs. Globally, the International Union for Conservation of Nature considers them a species of least concern. Outlook: Habitat loss is the primary threat for this species.
Largely adapted from an account by Emily C. Moriarty Lemmon in "Amphibians and Reptiles of Georgia," from the University of Georgia Press. Additional sources: Walter Knapp's "The Frogs & Toads of Georgia" Web site, Wikipedia
Ranger reports
Even if it was a hawk ... A man charged with killing a barred owl near Glennville had an alibi that, well, didn't fly. Alerted about the shooting on March 12, Ranger First Class Clint Jarriel quizzed the suspect about the incident. The man's response: He thought he was shooting at a hawk. "I informed him ... you can't shoot at a hawk, either," Jarriel said. The man, who said the raptor was preying on his cats, faces a

nesting right now! Read about nuthatch family life in Terry's complete column online.
Terry Johnson is a former Nongame program manager with the Wildlife Resources Division, a backyard wildlife expert, and executive director of TERN, the friends group for Wildlife Resources' Nongame Conservation Section. His column is a regular Georgia Wild feature.
Nesting tips, sights
q While brown-headed nuthatches will nest in boxes made of finished lumber, some suggest they prefer boxes made from rough-hewn lumber. I always place 2-3 inches of dry sawdust in the bottom of each box to make the box appear more natural. However, they will build nests in boxes that lack sawdust. q Watch this brown-headed nuthatch doing a little spring cleaning in a natural cavity.
Endangered addition at Oconee
Two granite outcrop pools at Oconee Wildlife Management Area are bearing new life, and renewed scrutiny.
Tom Patrick with the Wildlife Resources Division and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Jimmy Rickard planted four plugs of the federally endangered mat-forming quillwort in rainwater pools last month at the WMA's

misdemeanor charge related to killing a protected bird.
Nongame in the news
Florida Times-Union: "Scientists wonder: Could jumping sturgeon return to St. Marys?" about discussion of trying to restore Atlantic sturgeon to the St. Marys. (March 22) Florida Times-Union: "Jekyll Island bird festival reaching great height," about Jekyll authority taking over growing event. (March 21) National Science Foundation: "Prescribed burns may help reduce U.S. carbon footprint" about a new study regarding benefits of prescribed fire compared to Western wildfires. (March 17) The Outdoor Wire: "Georgia looking to reverse checkoff funding drop," DNR release about state income tax checkoff contribution trend for Wildlife Conservation Fund. (March 17) Animal Hour (Radio Sandy Springs AM1620): March 16 show segment featuring Nongame Conservation Section Program Manager Jim Ozier discussing urban wildlife, including peregrine falcons, bats and coyotes. Columbus Ledger-Enquirer: "Researchers seeking right whales find alligator 20 miles out to sea off Georgia coast," about gator possibly swept to sea from Altamaha River mouth. (March 15) The (Orangeburg, S.C.) Times and Democrat: "Endangered gopher tortoises found home in Hilda 72 years ago," about town's adoption of "imported" gopher tortoises. (March 15) Trips2Fun (blog): "Fitzgerald Wild Chicken Festival struts its stuff (and success)," DNR

Eatonton Outcrop. For Wildlife Resources, this marked the first time the primitive fern Isoetes tegetiformans has been raised off-site and planted in the wild, said Patrick, a Nongame Conservation Section botanist who grew the plugs in a baking dish.
The hope is the transplants flourish at the WMA along Lake Oconee.
Mat-forming quillwort is found worldwide only at eight sites in Georgia. Piedmont granite outcrops, home to four federally protected plants in all, are a priority habitat in Georgia's Wildlife Action Plan. Yet, only a few are protected statewide. Heggie's Rock near Appling, Stone Mountain and Arabia Mountain in DeKalb County are the larger, better known sites that are being conserved. Wildlife Resources' Game Management Section, which manages and owns part of the 4,800-acre WMA, and Georgia Power, which owns the rest, have signs warning visitors away from the outcrop's sensitive areas. Patrick also praised Game Management's oversight. He has seen no sign of disturbance at the site in recent months. Threats to outcrops and the tiny but tough vegetation that clings to them include ATV, mountain bike and foot traffic, all unauthorized. The rainy winter and early spring have been a boon for outcrops. The seasonal pools at Eatonton Outcrop are blooming with life and color, islands of vegetation on a landscape of rock. As for the mat-forming quillwort, "We will keep putting in plugs as fast as we can grow it," Patrick said.
Power play for pocket gophers
Plant Vogtle spares rodents with relocation
The expansion of Vogtle Electric Generating Plant near Waynesboro hasn't overlooked one of the state's most inconspicuous mammals.
Staff with Georgia Power, Southern Nuclear Co., licensed operator of the nuclear facility, and the Wildlife Resources Division teamed to trap and relocate Southeastern pocket gophers from sites affected by the proposed addition of two reactors. Three female gophers were caught in five days, evidence of both how hard it can be to nab the burrowing rodents and how

release about fest that replaced rattlesnake roundup 10 years ago. (March 13) Chattanooga Times Free Press: "Several invasive species finding way to Southeast," about regional threat of invasives such as English ivy, Chinese privet and cogongrass. (March 13) Savannah Morning News (and others via AP, DNR release): "Loggerheads recommended for endangered status," about proposed listing of some loggerhead populations as endangered. (March 12) Chattanooga Times Free Press: "Georgia has help on the way for Tennessee hemlocks," about Save Georgia's Hemlocks' mentoring of Tennessee agencies in combating hemlock woolly adelgid. (March 12) The (Gainesville) Times: "Georgians show the thrasher's no chicken," about Georgia Conservancy petition against proposal to change the state bird from the brown thrasher to a chicken. (March 8) The New York Times: "Killing pythons, and regulating them," opinion pieces about how to best control pythons in Florida. (March 5) Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "A tough world for turtles," Charles Seabrook column about freshwater turtle status, legislation in Georgia. (March 5) The Brunswick News: "Turtle Center talks garbage," about Georgia Sea Turtle Center education program for Glynn County thirdgraders. (March 4) The Athens Banner-Herald: "TNR approved in 9-1 vote," about Athens-Clarke Commission approval of controversial trap-neuter-release

little is known about them.

Pocket gophers (Geomys pinetis) were

once common in the Coastal Plain, particularly longleaf pine and sandhills areas. Habit loss has sapped their numbers and range, although a State

Wildlife Grant survey found scattered

pockets of populations. The 10- to 13inch-long animals are common at Plant Vogtle in Burke County. But with pocket gophers state-listed as rare and a State Wildlife Action Plan priority species, the companies volunteered to move those they could catch to gopher colonies protected as part of Red-cockaded

Woodpecker Safe Harbor areas at Vogtle.

"It was the right thing to do from a conservation and an ethical standpoint," said Bob Brinkman, senior environmental specialist with Southern Nuclear.
Georgia Power has been part of the Wildlife Resources Division's Forestry

for Wildlife Partnership since 1999, earning partnership status again in 2009.

Through the voluntary program, the division works with large landholding companies to increase wildlife conservation in their forestry practices.
Jim Candler, Georgia Power environmental team leader, said an inventory of Plant Vogtle's wildlife in the late 1970s marked his first work with pocket gophers. Now, new data are being collected. The areas the gophers are moved to will also be temporarily monitored.
Private lands wildlife biologist Sharon Holbrooks of the Nongame Conservation Section said there is a pending proposal for more pocket gopher research at Vogtle. "We know very little about this species," she said. "Hopefully, this pilot project will lead to an in-depth project."
Plant Vogtle is owned by Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power Co., the

Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (or MEAG) and Dalton Utilities.

Pocket gophers at a glance

q Sometimes called sandy mounders, possibly because of the anthill-like mounds of loose earth they clean out of their burrows.
q Spend most of their time tunneling underground, feeding on plant roots.

method for controlling feral cats. (March 3) Animal Hour (Radio Sandy Springs AM1620): March 2 show segment featuring Nongame Conservation Section senior biologist John Jensen discussing snakes. The Brunswick News: "Number of right whale calves decreases," about drop in calving totals this winter compared to last year. (March 1)
Calendar
April: Georgia Important Bird Area Program volunteer conservation days -- April 2, remove Chinese privet at Joe Kurz WMA, Meriwether County; April 10, re-establish a trail at Altamaha Wildlife Management Area, Glynn County. Contact Charlie Muise. April 16-17: Northwest Florida Birding Festival, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at RiverCamps on Crooked Creek, near Panama City. April 24-May 5: 2010 Pine Tree Festival and Southeast Timber EXPO, Swainsboro. April 27-28: Georgia DNR Board of Natural Resources committee meetings (1 p.m. April 27), monthly meeting (9 a.m. April 28), DNR board room, Atlanta. June 19-25: Paddle Georgia 2010 May 8: International Migratory Bird Day, officially May 8, though dates of events can differ by state, region. May 15: J.A.K.E.S. Day Festival, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center, Mansfield. Submit events
Photo credits (from top): * Brown-headed nuthatch in masthead. Todd Schneider/Ga. DNR * Right whale with newborn calf. University of

q Trapping involves digging down to a main tunnel and placing a trap with doors on both ends in the tunnel run. The influx of air alerts pocket gophers to the disturbance. They are trapped sometimes as they try to repair the tunnel.
Wild encounters
Gator winds up in whale waters
Why was this American alligator swimming where right whales roam, nearly 20 miles off the Georgia coast? Good question.
While doing North Atlantic right whale research on March 9, Nongame Conservation Section wildlife biologist Clay George, along with Nongame wildlife technician Kate Sparks and two New England Aquarium employees, spotted the deep-water gator.
At first, some on board thought it was debris. Maybe a partially submerged tree trunk. OK, maybe even a dead alligator. But a closer look revealed that the 5-foot-long reptile was far from dead, and still able to dive short distances.
The crew snapped a few photographs before moving on. George said in his more than seven years working with whales along Georgia's coast he had never seen an alligator that far offshore. He didn't steer too close to this one out of caution: It's possible the quite-lively gator could have punctured the inflatable boat.
Soon after, the researchers came across a rip-line of marsh wrack, pollen

North Carolina Wilmington * Caroline Vallance of Duluth enjoys a camp at Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center last summer. Linda May/Ga. DNR * Brown-headed nuthatch. Terry Johnson * Mountain chorus frog. John Jensen/Ga. DNR * Eatonton outcrop at Oconee WMA. Tom Patrick/Ga. DNR * Matt-forming quillwort/Pete Pattavina/USFWS * Female Southeastern pocket gopher trapped and relocated at Plant Vogtle. Carey Adams/ Georgia Power * Alligator in the Atlantic/Ga. DNR
Georgia Wild volume 3, issue 3
Georgia Wild is produced by the Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division and focused on conserving nongame species, those not legally trapped, fished for or hunted. The newsletter is delivered free to subscribers. Subscribe or see previous issues.
Wildlife Resources' Nongame Conservation Section conserves and protects Georgia's diversity of native animals and plants and their habitats through research, management and education. The section depends for funding on grants, donations and fundraisers such as nongame license plate sales, the Georgia Wildlife Conservation Fund state income tax checkoff and Weekend for Wildlife. Call (770) 761-3035 for details on direct donations. The nongame plates -- the bald eagle and rubythroated hummingbird -- are available for a onetime $25 fee at all county tag offices, by checking the wildlife license plate box on mail-in

and other debris, most likely at the edge of a freshwater plume coming from the Altamaha River after recent heavy rains.
While freshwater creatures by nature, alligators are common in salt and estuarine waters along the Georgia coast, said Brad Winn, coastal Nongame Conservation Section program manager.
"They feed heavily on marine fish, raccoons and feral hogs in the marshes, and swimming in the surf is not an unusual observation," he said. "On more than one occasion we have pulled stingray barbs out of the cheeks of 12-foot males," further evidence of alligators feeding in saltwater.
But the distance this gator was found at sea is unusual, according to Winn. It's likely the alligator swam into the Altamaha after sunning, was swept out to sea by unseasonably cold water fed heavy rains and was too chilled to fight the surge that left him miles from dry ground. It's also likely the wayward reptile never made it back. The story, however, was told around the world.
Gulf gator
q On May 4, 2004, an American alligator was photographed near an oil company platform in the Gulf of Mexico, 34 miles from the closest island and 39 miles from the Louisiana mainland.
Correction
q The trout lilies at Wolf Creek Preserve are actually dimpled trout lilies (Erythronium umbilicatum). Last month's "Wild encounters" featuring the plants at the Grady County preserve gave the wrong scientific name. The error was Georgia Wild's, not Thomasville's Beth Grant, who wrote to tell about the lilies blooming.
Tell us about your wild encounters
E-mail details (in 200 or fewer words) and any images, plus your name, hometown and permission to use the submitted material to rick.lavender@dnr. state.ga.us.
Noteworthy

registration forms or through online renewal. Also, check here for information on TERN, the friends group of the Nongame Conservation Section.
Looking back Links to three previous issues.
q February q January q December
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Eight young whooping cranes left St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge in Florida March 24, bound for the Midwest on their first migration without an ultralight aircraft guiding them. At last check, the whoopers were in Alabama, but others could be migrating through Georgia and officials are encouraging citizens to report sightings.
Loggerhead sea turtles, the turtle most frequently encountered on Georgia beaches, will receive greater protection if a federal proposal to reclassify it as endangered is approved. Threatened throughout its range, Caretta caretta is now seen as nine population segments, with seven including those along the southeastern U.S. proposed as endangered. A decision is due by summer 2011.
Birds face a looming threat in climate change, one that "could dramatically alter their habitat and food supply and push many species towards extinction," says Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. His comments accompanied the release of The State of the Birds 2010 Report on Climate Change, which contends a warmer planet will disrupt all birds, particularly oceanic and Hawaiian species.
Feathers flew when Augusta-area restaurant owner Chris Cunningham called for replacing Georgia's state bird, the brown thrasher, with the Cornish chicken, a poultry standard. Georgia Conservancy President Pierre Howard started a petition to combat Cunningham's "Flip the Bird" campaign.
A new Georgia Outdoors episode, "Edge of Survival," features efforts to save rare species. Part of the program profiles work by Nongame Conservation Section biologist Phil Spivey with red-cockaded woodpeckers at Silver Lake Wildlife Management Area. The show premiered March 24 and should soon be available online.
The striped newt may warrant federal protection as a federally threatened species. The 90-day finding recently announced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service triggers a more thorough status review of the small salamanders found in the lower Coastal Plain in Georgia and Florida.
Burmese pythons and eight other large constrictor snakes would be listed as "injurious wildlife" under the federal Lacey Act, according to a rule proposed by the Fish and Wildlife Service. The designation will bar importation and interstate transportation of these potentially invasive species, some of which are already established in South Florida.
White Nose Syndrome fungus, deadly to bats, turned up this month in

Ontario and Maryland, a first for each. For a Georgia-centric perspective on WNS, see the Georgia Wildlife Federation's February issue of The Call newsletter.
Florida has documented 431 manatee carcasses this year, a threemonth total that tops the previous annual record, 429 in 2009. Cold stress is blamed for at least 222 deaths. Assessing long-term implications to populations of the endangered manatees could take years.
Guaranteed to brighten spring, the Wildlife Resources Division is offering free packets of wildflower seed designed to attract hummingbirds, butterflies and other nectar-feeders. Provided by a grant from TERN and available here, the packets feature a mix of 12 herb and grass species native to Georgia.
An Arizona wildlife biologist was fired after the state Game and Fish Department said he acknowledged not following supervisors' directions and misleading investigators about Macho B, the only known wild jaguar in the U. S. The jaguar was caught in February 2009, released, then recaptured shortly afterward and euthanized because of health problems.
Convicted in the killing of more than 100 Indiana bats, a Kentucky man has been sentenced to eight months in jail and another man received three years probation. In October 2007, the men killed the endangered bats at Kentucky's Laurel Cave by hitting them with flashlights and rocks and by stomping on them, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Wildlife Society is looking for a few well, more than a few good wildlife videos. Find out about the society's video contest, and your chance for 15 minutes of fame (with a five-minute video).

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