WALK
ON THE
WILDSIDE
The Minnesota Conservation Federation
February 2016
Turkeys continue to thrive in Minnesota
T
oday the wild turkey is a common
sight throughout
much of southern Minnesota, but it was not long ago
when re-establishing wild
turkey populations in the
state seemed a near impossible task.
Although native to Minnesota, the wild turkey had
all but disappeared from the
state by 1900, due to overharvesting and loss of habitat. Starting in the 1920s,
attempts were made to transplant turkeys raised in game
farms into the wild, but for
decades the efforts were failures.
In 1973, the state acquired 29
wild turkeys from Missouri and
transplanted them in Houston
County. The transplantation was a
success and additional transplants
followed in the southeastern portion of the state. By 1978 there
were enough turkeys in the state to
hold a limited hunt, in which 94
birds were harvested.
Today Minnesota’s wild turkey
population is estimated at more
than 30,000 birds. There are now
hunting seasons in both the spring
and fall, which produce a total
harvest of more than 8,000 birds.
The bird’s range continues to expand northward and recent attempts have been made to establish populations in the northwestern portion of the state. Wild turkeys, however, do not survive
well in areas with consistently
heavy snowfall, because it makes
it difficult for them to find food.
The eastern wild turkey may
not be the prettiest bird in Minnesota, but it has become a popular
bird among wildlife enthusiasts
and hunters, especially in the
southeastern portion of the state
where they are most prevalent.
Wild turkeys inhabit woods
and farmlands. They thrive in
the oak woods of the southeastern corner of the state,
where they feed heavily on
acorns during the fall. Turkeys also eat insects and
plants.
Wild turkeys are the largest
game bird in Minnesota. A
full-grown male turkey,
called a tom, can weigh more
than 20 pounds, while a female, called a hen, weighs
about 10 pounds.
Wild turkeys are tough for
both hunters and predators to
pursue, because they can run
quickly (up to 20 mph) and
fly fast (up to 55 mph), have excellent eyesight and great hearing.
Turkeys see color particularly
well, so any colors that are out of
the ordinary are likely to cause
alarm. They also can see movement from as far away as 100
yards.
Reproduction
Minnesota’s wild turkeys mate
in the spring. The females typically nest in April and May and
lay tan, speckled eggs, which are
larger than a chicken egg. It takes
28 days for the babies, called
poults, to hatch.
Continued on page 4
Cold
Survival
Imagine being stranded one of Minnesota’s most remote areas during a
blizzard.
W
hat would you do if
you where in the
north woods of
Minnesota and suddenly found
yourself stranded in a blizzard?
How would you survive? Here are
some tips on surviving in the cold.
The three keys to winter survival are shelter, water, and
warmth.
A snow shelter should be the
first priority when faced with the
onset of night or the probability of
countless hours stranded in the
cold.
The quickest easiest snow shelter to construct is a snow trench.
Dig straight down in the snow,
about three feet, shoulder width
and a little longer than body size,
piling the snow on the windward
side to form a wind break. If the
snow isn't deep enough, dig to the
ground and scoop up adjacent
snow to provide a wall. Not to be
forgotten, is that snow is a better
insulator than the average tent. If
materials are available for flooring, for example, extra clothing,
that's great. If not, then a layer of
spruce or other vegetation is a
The most important factor when trying to survive while stranded in the winter is to create
a shelter.
good choice.
Once the shelter is prepared, a
fire should be the next priority.
Dig out a small area for the fire.
Gather enough tinder, kindling,
and good dry pieces to last until
morning.
To this point, the exercise will
have kept the person warm, if not
sweating. The fire will help prevent hypothermia and dry out
clothing, but it does nothing for
dehydration. In these weather conditions, some experts suggest, a
gallon of liquids, daily, is essential, even more if solid foods are
unavailable.
The best way to get water is to
melt snow with the fire. Almost
any container will do. It need not
be set directly on the fire, but if
close enough to not only melt the
snow but heat the water, more
heat calories will be obtained. If
containers are unavailable, snow
wrapped in cloth and placed near
the fire will melt, saturating the
cloth, to be sucked for the water.
To keep as much heat in as
possible during the night, get in
your snow shelter and cover yourself with as many pieces of clothing or blankets as are available.
If no extra clothing is available,
use spruce branches, or if possible, dried leaves. Then put snow
over everything.
Snow act as an insulator and
will help to keep you warm. Make
sure no skin is exposed. If possible, pull your arms out of the arm
holes of your shirt and keep them
close to your torso, this will help
prevent fingers and hands from
freezing.
Make sure your feet are well
covered, because, along with your
hands, they are the first extremities to get cold in a survival situation.
Jack pines grow in tough conditions
M
innesota is home to a
number of species of
pine trees. One of the most common in the central and northern
portions of the state is the jack
pine.
The jack pine does not grow as
large as Minnesota’s more popular
Norway or white pine trees. In
fact, a mature jack pine is typically about half the size of a Norway
or white pine of the same age. A
mature jack pine may only measure 30 or 40 feet in height.
Early settles admired the giant
Norway and white pine trees, but
some thought the jack pine was
evil, because nothing they planted
grew near jack pines.
The jack pine proved not to be
the problem, it was the soil it grew
in. Jack pines can grow in sandy
soil, where other plants have difficulty surviving.
When a forest fire burns a sec-
tion of forest, the jack pine is one
of the first trees to begin growing
back.
The lumber industry has long
harvested jack pines for use as
pulpwood and lumber. The tree is
also been harvested as a Christmas
tree.
Native American often used the
wood of the jack pine to make the
frames for their canoes.
Many animals feed on the bark
and seeds of the jack pine, including deer, snowshoe hares, porcupines, red squirrels, chipmunks
and mice. The tree is an especially
important food source during the
winter.
Facts and myths about Minnesota’s owls
T
here are many myths
about owls, but sometimes the truth is as interesting as
the myths.
One myth says that owls are
wise. The truth is, owls are not
any smarter than other bird species.
Another myth is that owls see
well at night. Owls see well in
low light conditions, but cannot
see well when it is pitch dark.
Owls depend greatly on their
sense of hearing to find food at
night. The owls rounded face
helps funnel sounds to its ears.
Another myth is that the great
horned owl’s ears stick up on top
of its head. In truth, all owls’ ears
are hidden below their feathers on
the sides of their head. The horns
on a great horned owl are just tufts
of feathers.
Another myth is that owls hunt
only at night. Some owl species do
hunt mainly at night, but others
will look for food during the day,
as well.
Some say an owl can turn its
head all the way around in a complete circle. This is also a myth.
Owls can turn their heads quite far
toward its back to see behind it,
but it would be physically impossible for it to turn its head completely around.
Another fun fact about owls is
that many do not drink water or
rarely drink water. They get the
water they need from the food they
eat.
A river’s flow is fed by tributaries
R
ivers and streams are
moving bodies of water.
They may move fast or slow, but
their water is moving and must be
replenished to maintain their flow.
A river’s source is one way a
river or stream is replenished. The
source is the place a river begins.
Often this is a lake or spring where
the river or stream that provides
the initial flow of water, but it typically represents a small part of the
flow.
Usually that flow is maintained
by tributaries. A tributary is a
smaller stream or river that feeds
into a larger stream or river.
Sometimes a tributary is nothing
more than a small trickle of water.
Other times it is very large, like
the Minnesota River, which is a
tributary of the Mississippi River.
An extremely long and large
river like the Mississippi is fed by
hundreds of tributaries along its
journey to the Gulf of Mexico .
When you combine a river with
all of its tributaries the result is the
river’s drainage area. If you imagine a tree with all of its tiny
branches connecting to larger
branches, and finally to the tree’s
trunk, it is very similar to a river’s
drainage area.
Rivers and streams depend
heavily on their tributaries. Without them, they would dry up.
In addition to eating the bird’s
meat and eggs, they used the
bird’s feathers and spurs (found
on the legs) for making arrows.
The feathers were used to adorn
clothing and other items. Native
Americans also made tools from
turkey bones.
A closer look
►Male turkeys and some females, have a hair-like growth of
feathers on their breast called a
beard.
►The fleshy growth under the
turkey’s throat is called a wattle.
►Turkeys have a long, fleshy
growth that extends from the forehead over the bill called snood.
►A turkey’s head changes
color when it becomes excited.
►Male turkeys gobble, female
turkeys do not.
►Turkeys roost in trees, most
commonly in oak trees.
Turkeys continued
The young males, called jakes,
and the young females, called jennies, grow quickly and can weigh
as much as eight pounds by the
fall.
It takes about 15 months for
the young turkeys to reach maturity.
Native Americans
The wild turkey was an extremely important bird for Native
Americans.
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