Family-Outdoors

by Doug Reeves, assistant chief, DNR Wildlife Division As I was walking along a small rivulet adjacent to a field recently, something darted across the little stream so quickly that – even though I glanced as fast as I could – all I saw was a small wake the animal left. Then it darted quickly down the edge of the stream and off into the grass. At that point I was able to identify it as a meadow vole. Meadow voles, or meadow "mice" as I have often heard them called, are the base of the food chain in many grassland-dominated areas. Theirs is a very important function in that regard, and to say that they multiply like rabbits is putting it mildly, when conditions are right. Several species of hawks and owls, shrikes, red and gray fox, coyote, bobcat, weasels, mink and several species of snakes all find meadow voles a menu favorite. So they have to produce like crazy for the population to persist! But they have many other traits and behaviors that are worthy of admiratio...

by Doug Reeves, assistant chief, DNR Wildlife Division A crow-sized bird lit on the specially made suet feeder, a flash of white on its otherwise dark wings. A good look revealed a long beak, bright red crest on the head and mostly white neck and throat. A pileated woodpecker! That would be a good sighting any day. At this location though, it is a regular occurrence because the suet bags are attached to a rough-sawn board that makes a great place for the big woodpeckers to grip so they can feed. They come every day to this spot. When you see your first pileated woodpecker, your thought might well be, “Now that is a serious woodpecker!” Michigan’s other woodpeckers are substantially smaller, starting with the downy and working up through the hairy, red-headed, black-backed and red-bellied woodpeckers and also including the migratory yellow-bellied sapsucker and northern flicker for good measure. Over the years several people have insisted to me that they have seen ivory-billed ...