Wildlife and Conservation News | December 2019

Photo Credit: Ron Ferguson

Northern Cardinals - A Holiday Icon

Northern Cardinals, also known as “red birds,” are an iconic symbol during the holidays and snowy winter scenes. Cardinals are a medium sized song bird known for their brilliant red coloration and beautiful songs. Males are nearly all brilliant red in color with a coral red, conical shaped bill that is surrounded by a black mask. The female cardinal is buff brown with red on their crest, wings, and tail. Their diet consists of a variety of seed, grain, insects, leaf buds, berries, and fruit. Up to one third of the cardinals summer diet consists of insects whereas their winter diet consists mostly of large seeds. Cardinals are commonly found throughout all of Alabama during all seasons and utilize a diversity of habitats.

To attract these beauties to your backyard put up a bird feeder and fill with black oil sunflower seeds! After a couple days, this common species, should be a regular visitor to your feeder. Also, don’t forget to fill your bird bath to offer clean water, especially during really cold times of year. To learn more about the Northern Cardinal or other winter birds in Alabama visit our watchable wildlife page.

  Buff-bellied hummingbird photographed in Baldwin County, January 2012

Keep Your Hummingbird Feeders Up

Once temperatures begin to drop, many people clean and put their hummingbird feeders away for winter. If your intention is to attract our only breeding hummingbird, the ruby-throated hummingbird, then go right ahead, but you will deprive yourself the possibility of attracting a representative of nearly twelve other hummingbird species that may pay you a winter visit.

Feeding hummingbirds is a popular practice. One-part sugar dissolved in four parts water poured into any of the various designs of hummingbird feeders is a simple and inexpensive practice to attract these tiny birds. Most homeowners keep their feeders up during spring, summer, and fall to attract and enjoy the more common ruby-throated hummingbird. However, eleven other species have been documented in the state. All are western breeding species that have made winter appearances in Alabama over the years. In January 2019, black-chinned, rufous, and Allen’s hummingbird were sighted in Alabama according to online ebird data.

Alabama winters are mild but there are cold spells. To survive cold temperatures, hummingbirds can lower their body temperatures by half and almost suspend their metabolic functions. By going into this state of torpor, hummingbirds can survive periods of otherwise high energy demand.
There are no guarantees you will be visited by a winter hummingbird if you put out a feeder. But if you do keep your feeder out and maintain fresh sugar water, a hummingbird visit in the winter will guarantee a brighter day!

To see a list of potential winter hummingbirds that have been found in Alabama check out our watchable wildlife page!

Biologists banding 'Coon Dog', a golden eagle that was captured at Freedom Hills WMA in 2016

Golden Eagles are Headed South!

Alabama WFF has been monitoring golden eagles wintering in the state using game cameras and telemetry units since 2011, and all five of our tagged eagles have checked-in for the winter! Through “checking-in,” we are able to see where the birds are currently located, their migratory movements, and their previous summer breeding locations. While most of the birds are still on the move, Coosa, an eagle captured and tagged this past January, is already settled-in at her wintering grounds in the Talladega NF. We gain a lot of valuable data from the cellular transmitters that we use to tag the birds, and we recently received an animated flight of the movements of two of our tagged golden eagles on February 8, 2019. Coon Dog, captured in 2016 at Freedom Hills WMA, and Trace, captured this past January also at Freedom Hills WMA, at one point meet up in a thermal and throughout that day Trace traveled over 200 miles! Check out the animated flight data by clicking Learn More below, and keep an eye on our Facebook page for updates on wintering golden eagles in the state.

Eastern Garter Snake finding refuge under a log pile

Baby, It’s Cold Outside...I Got to Get Away: What Happens to Snakes When It Gets Cold?

During the warm days of spring and summer months, most of us in Alabama are familiar with the saying, “watch for snakes!” However, as temperatures begin to drop and jackets come out, our concern for snakes begin to drop as well. This is due to snakes exhibiting a physiological behavior called brumation. Brumation is a state of lethargy or inactivity exhibited by reptiles during winter or extended periods of low temperature. During this time, a snake’s activity, body temperature, heart rate, and respiratory rate will drop as they take refuge in rock crevices and burrows to stay warm. Sounds a lot like hibernation, right? However, brumation is not true hibernation, snakes being cold-blooded animals, will sometimes move on warmer winter days to find water. True hibernators will remain in a deep sleep and not move at all. So, the next time you find yourself out and about on a warm winter day, do not be surprised if you see a snake out taking the opportunity to warm up!

To learn more about the different snake species found in Alabama check out our watchable wildlife page!

Christmas Trees for Wildlife

Each year, millions of Christmas trees are sold in the United States. Families and individuals across the U.S. pick out the perfect plush tree, decorate it with lights and ornaments, and it becomes the centerpiece of Christmas in the home. As the holiday festivities come to an end there are many ways to repurpose your Christmas tree to benefit wildlife. If you are a backyard wildlife enthusiast, you can repurpose your tree by setting it up in the yard and decorating it with edible ornaments. Hang a pinecone covered in peanut butter mixed with bird seed, fruit and raw nuts strung together, and net materiel bag filled with bird seed. Species such as songbirds, squirrels, and chipmunks will benefit from your redecorated wildlife Christmas tree. Another beneficial way to repurpose your Christmas tree for wildlife is to create a brush pile. Many species including rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, birds, reptiles, and many more small mammals will utilize these areas for escape cover, thermal shelter, and a food source. So, get the kids involved and repurpose your Christmas tree after the holidays to benefit wildlife.