The current weather pattern for early March has established itself as being, well, March-like. Bit of snow, bit of rain, bit of cold, bit of warm. The old lamb-lion thing again.
While we are all a bit anxious to see the snowbanks disappear, the wildlife of our area are about to be put to the test of survival; can they hold on long enough for new plant growth to reveal itself?
The abundant snowfall that hit us this winter has rescheduled many spring events, as the depth is still abundant and the weather less than a spring thaw. The moose population has been hit hard in the last decade or so with the combination of March’s cold, wet rain and a high population of moose ticks. The ticks have been attached to the moose all winter and are now about the size of a red grape. Hundreds upon hundreds of them on each infected moose.
As can be imagined, all these ticks make for an itchy hide and the moose have been rubbing against tree trunks trying to dislodge them. Some were scraped off, but so was a lot of hair, leaving large patches of bare skin showing through. Without the insulative winter fur for protection, the cold March rain can easy chill a moose into a state of misery.
Not every moose is so badly infected, but many are, and with the cows being heavy with pregnancy, their energy reserves are running on empty. Little can be done to help them, and hopefully the weather will warm up enough to let the moose wander to their birthing grounds (which are islands in small lakes).
Also found around the water (or ice as the season dictates) are the beaver families. In the autumn they stored a good-sized pile of maple, poplar, birch and alder branches in the pond, adjacent to the lodge. Beavers do not hibernate but are somewhat active all winter, sleeping for a week or so and then waking up for a snack.
Baby beavers are born about this time of year, and that supply of sticks and bark has to maintain mom’s energy high enough to produce milk. Dad beaver and last year’s two young ones are also grabbing a branch or two from the underwater pantry, which means that by late March the larder may be running low.
If the pond ice and shoreline snow is late in melting, the beavers will be forced to walk into the forest to get new food, making them easy prey to coyotes. I have found beaver-cut tree stumps about one metre high, meaning the local beaver family had run out of food and had to cross the snow to cut a fresh tree.
Within the pond itself are several species that are really hoping for a strong spring melt.
When the surface ice formed and began holding snow, the sunlight could no longer penetrate down through the water, making this aquatic world rather dark and bleak. For a while the submergent vegetation continued to release oxygen (as all plants do) but after a while even these weakened shoots and stems failed to function.
Without oxygen being added to the water, the living conditions for fish and insects can get pretty touch-and-go. For pond fish like the central mudminnow and brown bullhead (the later also called ‘catfish’) this lack of oxygen becomes a life-and-death struggle.
As the water beneath the ice is a balmy plus 4 degrees, life goes on, albeit at a much slower pace than summertime. However, this drop in oxygen makes for desperate measures.
I once found a small hole in the marsh ice that became the gathering place for several dozen bullheads, and they were all poking their heads above the surface to gulp air. Tragically, a flash freeze happened and several were frozen in place and killed as they sought to breathe.
Massive fish die-offs often occur each year as fish lose the fight for oxygen-rich water, and when the ice does melt their bodies become a fabulous buffet for gulls and eagles. Some fish will survive and carry on to reproduce and keep the population stable.
A good part of the life cycle for dragonflies and damselflies occurs while underwater, usually in the winter months. Again, these insects need oxygen to survive and an ice-sealed pond can become lousy place to live.
To survive until spring break up, these insects can enter a state of suspended development, whereas they shut down growing and just rest until conditions are again favourable for growth.
March is a month of great anxiety for wildlife. If their winter fat reserves or stocked food piles begin the fail them now, survival to springtime becomes quite compromised.
While I would like to see a slow melt process, many species of wildlife are hoping for the opposite ... a substantial thawing period to open up the ice and get those oxygen-producing plants growing again, asap.