This photo of a large turkey was taken by Pat Clark, of Palermo.

by Roland D. Hallee

Driving into work one morning this week, I noticed a “flock” of turkeys under a tree along Rte. 32, in Vassalboro. (By the way, a flock of turkeys is referred to as a “rafter”.) I hadn’t seen very many turkeys since the heavy snow started flying, which led to the next question: where do turkeys go in the winter, and what do they do?

Well, to settle things right from the start, they do not hibernate, and they don’t fly south. They stay put.

They spend their days in search of food, and the nights perched in trees away from predators and away from wind, snow and ice. With the first light, they glide down from their overnight roosts. They gather around tall pines, and assemble into flocks before beginning a new day.

Winter, for wild turkeys, is a matter of only one thing: survival.

Wild turkeys, in general, have a less difficult time in winter than other wild creatures. They are big, tough birds, able to not only withstand below-zero temperatures, but to subsist on a wide variety of foods.

Still, when snow is deep, finding enough to eat becomes a burden, especially if the snow’s surface is frozen. Then, the situation becomes critical, so critical that any accessible food is likely to draw all the turkeys in the area; separate flocks merging into one large, hungry flock.

The young males return to the same roost every night. Perching on the sheltering, horizontal pine limbs is safe and warm. When feeding, they will wander across the forest, often lingering beneath oak trees, and frequently walking down to swampy sections that provide water as well as bits of green vegetation.

There are times when turkeys will visit hayfields. In summer, those fields are terrific hunting grounds with great numbers of grasshoppers, crickets and other insects.

In winter, however, there is not much to eat in the fields, particularly when deep snow hides the weed seeds.

During mild winters, jakes will fly down from their roosts, a few spread their tail feathers and strut around, as if mimicking the courtship performances of toms. This behavior is more commonly seen in early spring, when mating takes place. Winter time strutting doesn’t mean much – merely practice, and is rarely done in stormy weather.

The second half of the winter is the toughest. By then, not only are most food sources depleted, or buried, but much of the birds’ built-up fat reserves are about gone. If crusted snow comes, it will bring hunger with it.

Turkeys will then strip the remaining fruit off the winterberry bushes and they’ll gulp the last shriveled wild grapes. They will fly up to dogwoods and snip buds. They will prowl the swamps and seeps for winter cress, ferns, even emerging shunk cabbages, if they’re not locked out by ice. Wild turkeys, once associated mainly with old-growth forests, also have learned that farms can mean food. In addition to knowing apple orchards, turkeys seek out cornfields, where they pick up any leftover grain not taken by geese.

Historically, wild turkeys existed in significant numbers in York and Cumberland counties, and perhaps lower portions of Hancock county. The reduction in forest land and unrestricted hunting are believed to be the two most important factors leading to the extirpation of native wild turkey in Maine in the early 1800s.

From the time of settlement until 1880, agricultural practices intensifed until farmland comprised about 90 percent of York and Cumberland counties. Since 1880, many farms have been abandoned and the land has reverted to forest. By 1970, only 15 percent of York and Cumberland counties remained farmland.

Early attempts (1942) to reintroduced the wild turkeys failed because the birds were imported from part wild and part game farm stocks. Poaching also is attributed to the failure.

However, in 1977 and 1978, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife obtained 41 birds from Vermont and introduced them in York County. The birds have now spread to the point where they are present in 11 of Maine’s 16 counties, mostly in the southern part of the state, including Knox, Kennebec, Waldo, and Somerset counties. Snow depth is believed to be the major reason limiting the turkeys from spreading farther north in Maine.

In 1986, 500 hunting permits were issued and nine birds were taken. In 2009, 16,859 permits were distributed and 6,043 turkeys were harvested.

So, with the turkey flocks clearly well established in Maine, two challenges face wild turkey managers: accurately assessing the size of the population, and identifying the factors that limit the size of that population. Because, like they do at the onset of winter, the turkeys aren’t going anywhere, anytime soon.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

What are the most points scored by a winning Super Bowl team?

by Roland D. Hallee

Over the years there have been numerous reports of incidences where weasels have found their way into homes.

Once, a woman in Bangor said she noticed what she thought was a rat or an escaped ferret in her ceiling. It had been running around in the ceiling, so she removed one of the ceiling panels. When it poked its head out, she called the landlord and both determined it was someone’s escaped pet ferret. However, it was later determined to be a weasel, or ermine as they are also known.

Weasels are naturally very curious and do wander from time to time into people’s houses, perhaps in search of mice. Their small size allows them to get into nooks and crannies.

There was one instance when the homeowner captured the ermine in a humane trap, and before she even had it for a minute, the ermine escaped.

Ermines are common throughout Maine and hunt both night and day, but people don’t often see this small animal because it’s well camouflaged, moves fast and tends to keep out of sight.

Weasels are usually brown, gray or black with white or yellowish markings. All weasels become all white in the winter. The winter fur of the least weasel glows a bright lavender color when exposed to ultraviolet light.

Ermines are especially difficult to spot in the winter season, when their coat turns from brown to white, an adaptation that allows it to hide in the snow. The only thing that remains pigmented on an ermine is the tip of its tail, which is jet black.

The different coats of the winter and summer ermine.

As nocturnal animals, weasels sleep during the day and are active at night. Most of a weasel’s time awake consists of hunting, storing excess food and eating. Their bodies don’t store fat, so they need a constant supply of food to provide enough energy. In fact, the least weasel eats 40 – 60 percent of its body weight every day, according to the Nature Conservancy.

The most common weasel is the short-tailed weasel. It can be found in North America, Europe and Asia, in regions as far north as the Arctic. Their homes include marshes, scrubs, hedgerows, alpine meadows, riparian woodlands and riverbank habitats, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).

The genus includes least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and minks. These animals are small, active predators with long and slender bodies and short legs.

Weasels are pretty much anywhere in the world, plus it’s an invasive species in some places.

Ermines are especially ferocious and bold. It is not uncommon for this predator to attack and kill prey that exceeds them in size and weight. For example, ermines, that weigh between 1.6 to 3.7 ounces, have been known to attack gray squirrels, which are much heavier, typically weighing between and 12 and 24 ounces. Ermines are very aggressive, they can go for prey that is bigger than them. Ermines will attack young rabbits and hares, but they prefer smaller prey such as mice and voles. In fact, one of the ermine’s key adaptations is their ability to manipulate their flexible body into small tunnels that are created by smaller animals.

They are also bullies. Although they can dig their own burrows quite quickly, they sometimes take over other animals burrows and make them their own.

In Greek culture, a weasel near one’s house is a sign of bad luck, even evil, especially if there is a girl about to be married, since the animal was thought to be an unhappy bride who was transformed into a weasel, and consequently delights in destroying wedding dresses. However, in neighboring Macedonia, weasels are generally seen as an omen of good fortune.

In North America, Native Americans, in the region of North Carolina, deemed the weasel to be a bad sign: crossing its path meant a “speedy death.” According to Daniel Dafoe, meeting a weasel is a bad omen.

In the English language, being called a weasel is considered an insult, being regarded as sneaky, conniving or untrustworthy.

How do these animals find their way into homes? Usually through some openings in the foundation, broken windows or sometimes through openings in the roof like attic vents or chimneys.

How do you rid yourself of one? Use fresh meat, if possible. Position your bait strategically, so the weasel must bring its entire body into the trap and step on the trigger plate to get to it. Make sure the bait is far enough from the trap walls that an animal cannot reach inside and steal it without entering. Weasels are known to bite, so wear heavy gloves whenever handling the trapped animal and refrain from sticking your fingers inside the trap.

Again, weasels are cute, but do not approach one unless it is safely in a Havahart trap, be careful handling it, and take it deep into the woods, where it belongs.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Who is the only NFL player to be named MVP of the Super Bowl from the losing team.

by Roland D. Hallee

Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home/Your house is on fire and your children are gone/All except one, and that’s Little Anne/For she has crept under the warming pan.

I actually saw my first ladybug of the season just before Christmas.

The ladybug as immortalized in the still-popular children’s nursery rhyme. They have been, for very many years, a favorite insect of children. But what about these little bugs that appear in our houses at certain times of the year?

Well, they come from the beetle family and are found worldwide with over 5,000 species, with more than 450 native to North America.

It is known by numerous names, but only in the U.S. is it called a ladybug. Other names include ladybirds, God’s cow, ladycock, lady cow and lady fly. Scientists increasingly prefer the name ladybird beetle, as ladybugs are not true bugs.

Coccinellids are small insects, and are commonly yellow, orange, or scarlet with small black spots on their wing covers, with black legs, head and antennae. A common myth is that the number of spots on the insect’s back indicates its age.

For the sake of this column, let’s refer to Coccinellids by the commonly-known name, ladybug.

A few species are considered pests in North America and Europe, but they are generally considered useful insects, as many species feed on aphids or scale insects, which are pests in gardens, agricultural fields, orchards and similar places. These insects were introduced into North America from Asia in 1916 to control aphids, but is now the most common species as it is out-competing many of the native species. While predatory species are often used as biological control agents, introduced species of ladybugs outcompete and displace native insects, and become pests in their own right.

Ladybugs are brightly colored to ward away potential predators. Mechanical stimulation — such as by predator attack — causes reflex bleeding in both larval and adult lady beetles, in which an alkaloid toxin is exuded through the joints of the outer shell, deterring feeding. Ladybugs are known to spray a toxin that is venomous to certain mammals and other insects when threatened.

These insects overwinter as adults, aggregating on the south sides of large objects such as trees or houses during the winter months, dispersing in response to increasing day length in the spring. Eggs hatch in three to four days from clutches numbering from a few to several dozen. Depending on resource availability, the larvae pass through four phases over 10-14 days, after which pupation occurs. After a moulting period of several days, the adults become reproductively active, and are able to reproduce again. Total life span is one to two years on average.

Predatory ladybugs are usually found on plants where aphids or scale insects are, and they lay their eggs near their prey, to increase the likelihood the larvae will find the prey easily. A larva uses its sharp jaws to crush an aphid’s body and sucks out the aphid’s juices.

The most common plants where you will find ladybugs include any type of mustard plant, such as other early blooming nectar and pollen sources, like buckwheat, coriander, red or crimson clover, and legumes, and also early aphid sources such as bronze fennel, dill, coriander, caraway, angelica, tansy, yarrow of the wild carrot family, dandelions and scented geraniums.

These insects are sensitive to synthetic insecticides.

Many cultures consider ladybugs lucky. In many countries, including Russia, Turkey and Italy, the sight of a ladybug is either a call to make a wish or a sign that a wish will soon be granted.

In Christian areas, they are often associated with the Virgin Mary, and the name that this insect bears in various languages in Europe corresponds to this. Though historically many European languages referenced Freyja, the fertility goddess of Norse mythology, in the names, the Virgin Mary has now largely supplanted her.

For example, freyjuhoena (Old Norse), and Frouehenge (Norwegian) have been changed into marihone, which corresponds with Our Lady’s Bug.

Although the ladybugs are beneficial insects to have around, they still gather the curiosity of children. In the animated film, A Bug’s Life, Francis the Ladybug (voiced by Dennis Leary) is an aggressive beetle and the clown in P.T. Flea’s circus. The contrast between him being a male and a “lady”bug, is a recurring joke in the film.

Don’t squish that ladybug, it will keep unwanted insects off your plants, and even entertain the children and grandchildren.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Name the four NFL teams to never appear in a Super Bowl.

A feral barn cat.

by Roland D. Hallee

My daughter just adopted a kitten. They are so cute and adorable, especially when you watch them chase a ball of yarn, fight to grab that elusive string hung in front of them, try to catch the red laser dot, or when they lay in your lap and purr into the evening hours.

There is, however, another strain of cat out there that is not so fortunate as to have a warm home, square meals, and the medical attention necessary.

They are feral cats. A feral cat is an unowned and untamed cat separated from domestication. Feral cats are born in the wild or may be abandoned or lost pets that have become wild. They should not be confused with the wildcat which are not descended from domestic cats. A stray cat, or alley cat, though unowned, still exhibits temperament similar to that of a pet. In popular usage, these terms are sometimes used interchangeably.

Feral cats may live alone but are usually found in large groups called feral colonies. The average life span of a feral cat that survives beyond kittenhood is about two years, while an indoor domestic house cat lives an average of 12 to 16 years.

Urban areas, Australia and North America are not native environments for cats. The domestic cat comes from temperate or hot, dry climates and was distributed throughout the world by humans. Cats are extremely adaptable, and feral felines have been found in conditions of extreme cold and heat.

Feral cats are sometimes at the top of the food chain as predators in local ecosystems, although they are sometimes preyed on by feral dogs, coyotes and other mammalian predators. Cats are effective at controlling small-animal populations, which is one of the major justifications for the keeping of farm cats. However, conservationists argue that feral cats contributed to the killing of songbirds and endangered birds, with estimates that bird loss is at 1 million a year because of predation.

Feral cats on islands have been implicated in the extinction of several species in the Caribbean, Pacific Mexico and Stephens Island. In a statistical study, they were a significant cause for the extinction of 40 percent of the species studied.

A ranger at a Hawaiian Island wildlife sanctuary witnessed a single feral cat kill 33 ground-nesting sea birds in a single incident. He also noted that cats killed 45 of 75 chicks in one bird colony.

A feral cat colony is a population, known as a clowder, of feral domestic cats. The term is used primarily when a noticeable population of feral cats live together in a specific location and utilize a common food source – such as food scavenged from refuse bins, dumpsters or supplemantary feeding by humans – and reach a population density which might be regarded to be undesirable.

Feral colonies occur when unsterilized domesticated cats become, intentionally or otherwise, disconnected from their respective human owners and managed domestic environment. They quickly have to learn to fend for themselves and form the breeding communities.

Although cats are traditionally believed to be loners, even despising the company of other cats, these colonies can actually increase the chances of survival with multiple cats to look after kittens. In addition, some cats seem to enjoy the company of others, especially those born as domestic.

There is debate about how to deal with feral cat populations. Some advocate culling feral cat populations by trapping and euthenasia. Others argue that hunting is the most cost-effective method of population control. Opponents to culling argue that if the factors that allowed the colony population to grow in the first place are not addressed as well, a new clowder can form in the same location when cats that escaped trapping and those moving in from surrounding areas continue to breed.

Proponents of Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) programs contend that such program are more effective and humane. Volunteers trap feral cats, sterilize them through neutering, then release them. Tamed animals might be adopted out as pets, although many experts believe that it is prohibitively difficult, if not often impossible, to domesticate and adopt a feral cat unless it is trapped and socialized before six weeks of age. There is some evidence, however, that many people have adopted and domesticated adult feral cats. Some feral cat organizations offer techniques to do this.

Various long term studies have shown that TNR is effective in stopping the breeding of cats in the wild and reducing the population over time.

Regardless of the measures taken to control feral cats and feral cat colonies, wildlife rehabilitation centers are constantly receiving wild animals that have been attacked by cats, and few of these injured animals survive, even if the cat fails to kill them outright.

Do you know where your Tabby is tonight?

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Patriots coach Mike Vrabel once coached the Tennessee Titans. From what city did they originate?

by Roland D. Hallee

Recently, a neighbor came over and warned me that he had just seen a raccoon enter my garage. It turned out to be another neighbor’s rather plump and large Maine coon cat. But it got me thinking.

Raccoons, although they prefer deciduous and mixed forests for their habitat, are plentiful in the city. I have had many an encounter with them, some comical and some a little more serious.

I remember, many years ago, when I heard a commotion outside of my home. I went out, noticed that the lid to my metal trash can was laying on the ground, and went to replace it. That’s when the head of a raccoon popped out from inside the can. I was able to overturn the can, and the “coon” went running off into the woods, from the persuasion of a hockey stick.

They are extremely adaptable to their surroundings, therefore, you’re likely to see them everywhere. They are basically considered pests.

Although they were previously thought to be solitary, there is now evidence that raccoons engage in gender-specific social behavior. Related females often share a common area, while unrelated males live together in groups of up to four animals to maintain their positions against foreign males during the mating season.

The most important sense for the raccoon is its sense of touch. The hyper sensitive front paws are protected by a thin layer which become pliable when wet. The five digits of the paws have no webbing between them, which is unusual for a carnivore.

Raccoons, however, have a rather peculiar intelligence. Only a few studies have been done to determine the mental abilities of raccoons, who have sensory perception, used to interpret tactile impulses, more than any other studied animal. They are able to identify objects before touching them. The raccoon’s paws lack an opposable thumb and thus it does not have the agility of the hands of primates.

In a study conducted, it was determined that raccoons were able to open 11 or 13 complex locks in less than 10 tries and had no problems repeating the action, even when the locks were rearranged or turned upside down. Other studies concentrated on a raccoon’s memory, and showed they can remember the solutions to tasks for up to three years. Another study indicated raccoons were able to instantly differentiate between identical and different symbols three years after the short initial learning phase. They can distinguish boxes containing two or four grapes from those containing three.

Going back to the raccoons that visited my house that night, I figured I would “out smart” them by attaching a bungy cord from the handles of the trash can through the handle on the lid. And, you guessed it, they figured out how to get in anyway. The only things that eventually worked was a cinder block on top of the can, with the aforementioned bungy cord also attached. They were unable to physically remove the heavy object.

Raccoons are thought to be color blind, although their eyes adapt well to green light, allowing them to see well in twilight. Visual perception is of subordinate importance to raccoons because of their poor long-distance vision. Their sense of smell is actually more important. They have a broad auditory range, from high pitch to quiet noises like those produced by earthworms underground.

Captive raccoons have been known to live for more than 20 years, while in the wild, life expectancy is 1-3/4 to 3 years. The most frequent cause of death in North America is distemper, which can reach epidemic proportions and kill most of a local raccoon population. Natural predators are bobcats, coyotes and great-horned owls, the latter mainly preying on young raccoons.

Raccoons are common throughout North America, from Canada to Panama. The population on Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic) was exterminated as early as 1513 by Spanish colonists who hunted them for their meat. They were also extirpated in Cuba and Jamaica, where they were last sighted in 1687.

But, be careful, raccoons are known to have the ability to enter a seemingly secure building. I have a story for that, too. One took up residence in my garage in 1991 (I still can’t figure out how it got there). I was able to capture that one with a Hav-a-Heart trap, and a can of cat food as bait, in pretty short order. It was relocated to a rural area, but not without a fight. He was a little disgruntled about the whole ordeal and actually tried to cut my hand with its sharp claws as I picked up the cage. The move was performed without injury to either party.

Should you encounter a raccoon during daylight hours, it may be looking for food, or, more than likely, is rabid. Do not approach raccoons at any time. Call the animal control officer in your town.

Unfortunately, space doesn’t allow me to relate other raccoon encounters. Perhaps that can be a column for some other time.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Of the five major sports, baseball, football, basketball, hockey and soccer. Which is the only sport that does not have penalties?