Opossums are omnipresent after a long, trying winter. This scavenging marsupial has taken advantage of warmer winter to expand its range north some years back, and now any cold snaps still takes a toll on hairless “rattails” and furless ears.
Along with skunks and raccoons, these other non-hibernators, including opossums, are about in earnest. During really cold days we missed seeing them because they stayed put someplace endearing.
The opossum’s unusual ways, forms, and habits consumes wildlife watchers and wonderers and those who feed birds.
Opossums (possums are actually a different animal) are unprotected in Wisconsin, however a small game license is needed for hunting unprotected species.
Family names for Virginia opossums include jacks, jills and joeys, with passels used when they’re all together. Males and females can be separated by fur pattern variations
A lone opossum will ramble out from under a bird feeder, but if chased it may stop and try to mimic the appearance and smell of sick or dead animals. A loud noise, such as a gun, may stop them in their tracks; they may remain motionless, too, even though they were not the target.
These omnivores are opportunistic eaters of plants and animals, often road kills until they become one themselves. Insects, snakes, small birds and general garbage brings them to waste under feeder, which they commonly share with raccoons and skunks during March.
Their prints are unmistakable, due in part to their dragging, prehensile tail and opposable “thumbs” on their hind feet, which are made for climbing.
Others that become common in March, too, are migrants returning from wherever. Many, bluebirds, robins, sandhill cranes, red-winged blackbirds and killdeers have noticeable sounds days before sightings are reported.
Other recognizable sounds belong to wild turkeys, ring-necked pheasants, and ruffed grouse that are expressing their territories, not their returning.
Beginning Monday, March 16, turkey harvest authorizations (tags) that were not claimed during the drawing go on sale, first during specified days for zones, beginning with Zone 1 (southwest Wisconsin) and filing through zones 6 and 7 on Friday, March 20. Then everything is up for purchase at $10 and $15 for residents and non-residents.
Actual hunts begin with youth on April 11-12, and authorization holders with Zone 1, April 15-21. The other zones follow at weekly intervals, Wednesday through Tuesday.
Mark Witecha, DNR upland game biologist, concurred that turkeys entered fall and winter in good condition leading to the likelihood that hunters and observers should have ample opportunities during their spring hunts.
Birds are gobbling and displaying in open fields, beginning at sunrise.
The application period for the 2020 Wisconsin elk hunt is March 1 to May 31. The fee to apply is $10 (residents only). Drawing for tags is held in mid-June, with a very small number (single digit) allotted for bull elk. The hunt dates are October 17 to November 15 and December 10-16. Last year 10 tags were awarded in various ways.
The Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin reported lower bluebird numbers in 2019 than in 2018. According to BRAW the reduction was due to weather, cold spring, and delayed nesting all leading to poor recruitment.
The Wisconsin Chapter of BRAW has a system of nest box monitors who followed 6,454 boxes last year, with some individuals following more than 100 boxes.
Steve Sample, BRAW VP, continues to welcome new monitors in this statewide organization. Some monitors have a single nest box they follow.
The DNR Ethical Hunter Award nominations for 2019 are being reviewed and the ethical hunter will be named in May. The nomination period for the 2020 award is now open until December 2020.
In addition to seeds, fruits and mealworms, bird feeders might consider tapping a yard maple, any species including boxelder, and collecting sap in a vegetable can for birds and squirrels to sip during the flow period.
No one, regardless of how they gather Wisconsin, should say, “what is there to do.”
— Jerry Davis is an Argyle native and a freelance writer who lives in Barneveld. He can be reached at sivadjam@mhtc.net or at 608-924-1112.
