Pretty good loon watching weather pretty good weather for watching anything you care to watch. If you don't mind a bit of precipitation, you can just throw the Slicker over you and head out to the nearest Marsh and take in the sights and indeed. There's a lot to watch these days which was part of the reason we invited Kathy Heidel to join us to Dave's because she's a naturalist with the Hennepin County Park Reserve System at Kathy has one of the nicer jobs in the world. I suppose it's her job to not only observe what's going on with the change of seasons, but then have the luxury of informing all of the rest of us about at 10. We spoke with Kathy some months ago about the change in weather and how it affects life in the animal kingdom and we're going to be giving out a telephone number that you can call to ask your questions ofKathy as it regards the birds and the bees and the furry creatures in the animal kingdom if you have a question for naturalist Kathy High doll, you can call us in the Twin Cities at 2276 Thousand Oaks to 276 thousand listeners. In other parts of Minnesota outside. The Twin Cities can call us toll-free and that number is 1 806-522-9700. 1 800-652-9700. But before we get to those calls Kathy, I want to thank you for joining us today. I imagine you'd probably be off somewhere. I'm making notes or checking in to what's going on is I was just finishing up my cup of coffee and die walking out of doors this morning. I noticed some birds that I call seagulls. I don't know what they're really called, but they were in a section of Saint Paul to Midway area of st. Paul. There wasn't a body of water inside. And as I say, I think they were seagulls what's going on.They're probably checking out the parking lots to pick up any crumbs or anything that people might throw out. They're scavengers got the river right down the hill. And so yeah, they're around the area they hang around here for a while with saltwater. It's all goals in this country. Saw them on the sea. We don't have Sea Calls in Minnesota because we have no seat probably. Well. I I called Kathy to because of the fact that we had seen some other activity animal activity this week that I thought was odd and the Kathy is with us so that she can answer your questions about how the change of seasons affect animal life. And if you're planning on taking a trek weather be today or in the near future and you want some tips on things to look for as youWonder Outdoors, so we invite your questions in the Twin Cities. You can call us at 227-6002 276 thousand letters outside. The Twin Cities can call us toll-free at one 800-652-9700 800-652-9700 just a couple of days ago. I was standing in a city park in Minneapolis watching the crows fly overhead end up since I grew up in a rural area. I'd always Associated Crows with the country didn't think they spend too much time in the city, but they don't seem to be afraid of the urban areas at all. Changing their habits rapidly since we no longer allow hunting in cities. That's one of the main reasons. The population is building up. We have plenty of roosting places for them. No hunting no predators and they're smart. They tell each other where the safe places that's remarkable. I saw this particular Crow on a tree branch that he was going out.Or something that he or she desperately wanted to eat on that branch and did a little acrobatic trick just flopped right over upside down and attacked whatever it is that Crow wanted to eat Kathy. What about the bees this you're everywhere? I went there were swarms of bees if I spilled a soft drink on the sidewalk. They were there almost instantly that's always the case, of course, but this this year it seems they were more bees never before I said, so you're right with your observation this year. We had a higher incidence of what you were saying. We're Yellow Jackets the yellow jackets are very kind of wasp attracted to nectar and they really like soda pop. I think they can smell and I think the population has been building up so maybe because we didn't have rain during that long. Of time the nest in the ground and perhaps it didn't get flooded out or whatever. So they had a chance to build up really suddenly. We're having a good time around the lake Harriet area there and where the park board sells Confections soAre going to take a calls and just a moment and board operator informs me to wait just a moment before we take those calls but we have several people waiting will ask you to wait just a little bit longer to 276 thousand if you want to ask a question of naturalist Kathy Heidel one. 800-652-9700 is the toll free number from anywhere in Minnesota one 800-652-9700. This is a tough time. We're coming up on a tough time for the animal kingdom. I assume fatality will behind us at 9 mortality is always highest during the winter time. And that's why you see that they're getting ready to make it through that tough time where the temperatures are quite at extremes and the food isn't available. So everything that's around now seems to be eating like crazy and putting on an extra layer of fat many of those animals live on that fat that stormed through the winter. What about them some of the legends?We can predict to the severity of a winter by what we see as regards the thickness of a squirrel's fur or the activities of a woodpecker and all of that stuff. What do you think of those Legends? I think most of them are not very well-founded scientifically or else we haven't made enough observations to provide all together to really understand in today's terms what they mean persistent they people swear by those legends that has an animal does something hitting that passed down through time, but we haven't been able to find scientific evidence to totally support most of them. I will take the first question or good afternoon Kathy was listening. Go ahead with your question, please well, we don't have the first questionnaire yet. I think we still have to wait apparently for the technical wrinkles to get ironed out. So Kathy while we're waiting for those colors to get to you. We'll talk a little bit more about the season what happens to Insects during the winter.They don't go south for having seen some do the monarch butterflies hear fly all the way to Mexico where they go into a torpid State and some of the mountain valleys some other butterflies migrate and go farther south even one of the dragonflies does. We have a large dragonfly that migrates to the southern part of the United States for the most part though. They either become dormant in some Heidi hold on underneath or inside of something somewhere. That's the case with bumble bees and some of the Hornets some of them lay eggs in the egg survive through the winter while the adults died as the succeeding Frost come by. So it it just really kind of depends upon the species as to what happens with them. I know that like mourning cloak butterfly so they lay eggs, but they also I survived as adults most grasshoppers die, but there is one the pygmy grasshopper that survives as an adult down there in the grass.And we were noticing that in Western North Dakota. There were a large number of grasshoppers this year that may be normal for Western North Dakota. I don't know but it seems like a great number of grasshoppers. I might be part of a cycle Peppers go in Cycles in the various weather conditions do help them too large in a larger population numbers. And I don't know exactly what the weather conditions would be that would allow for larger populations of grasshoppers. But yeah, so that's a very sick like Thing by and we'll take the first question or good afternoon Kathy's listening at we have a lot of trees and wood end and he was hungry so we gave him a bunch of hippos and we ran out of apples and I don't know what's going to happen to him.Well, what he's doing right now is trying to get nice and fat so that you can make it through the winter when he finds a nice hole in a tree or your basement or an addict or something like that. What I've been doing with the raccoons that have been coming in. My backyard is I've been buying some very very inexpensive dog food. You can't eat that's edible for you. Put it out there for the raccoon this one thing. I'm afraid of everything even when I don't want to examine the dog and the dog, I think that they get very used to people very quickly and if he's not been chased by any human beings nor been attacked by a dog. He has no reason to be afraid.How to make it through the winter then I hope so as to put out maybe some dog food for him. Yes, but then realize that you're going to have him around for a while and I would suggest you if you have garbage cans that you make sure that they're tied down so they can't get in there and make a definite mess of your neighborhood. Thanks for calling. We have other listeners with questions will get to the next one. Good afternoon. Kathy is listening. bird fly over to doctor on its bottom that I see it flies over. What kind of bird would that be the patch on the bottom? Is it on the wings or is it on the upper side of the body? When is flying and has big what you would call a rum patch about the size of a pigeon? How does it fly in a fairly direct flight away from you? That sounds to me like what you're saying is probably a yellow shafted flicker like to eat ants and often times when traffic comes down the road way they all fly up and and they don't gain altitude real fast. So you'll see that white rum patch as they're flying away from you. Thanks for calling. We have other listeners with questions. Good afternoon. Kathy is listening. Record winter we had last year and if she has any idea of how they measure pheasant populations and I'll hang up for you answer. Okay. First of all, last winter was really tough in the metro area are ringneck pheasant population because of all the snow what happened to the heavy snow we began to get in November cause most of the Little Shelter in areas for the pheasants to collapse and they didn't have an area there to hide away from other severe weather. Secondly that snow covered over an awful lot of the food that they normally they pick on the ground for seeds and grit and so most of their food supply was covered consequently. The Pheasant population has gone down an awful lot in the areas where there was snow in the metro area out state where they didn't have is quite as much snow. They probably weren't suffering as badly how they determine the present population. I'm not absolutely sure that's a question. You could probably get answered. If you were to call the Department of Natural Resources in state of Minnesota. I'm sure that they have in their game management division would be able to tell you how they go about doing their senses of pheasant populations what I sent Where I work I kind of eyeball pheasants and if I see a female and I see a male and maybe a few young. I just keep track of the count and if I see them day after day, I in the same place. I know I probably got the same family group and that gives me a handle on how many family groups are in the Park is open right now. If you're waiting to call from outside the Twin Cities call Larry other within Minnesota one 800-652-9700 800-652-9700. We have other colors waiting with questions will get to the next one. Good afternoon. Running from Saint Louis Park gas a droplets in a sunspot minimal at the present time that this one or maybe the toughest one of the twentieth century. And what is the point in general have to look forward to if we have is proper window is may occur when I have a real tough winter to look forward to and we'll probably see a population died off and number of the species or reduced population don't know exactly I suppose were talking mostly hear about cold and perhaps know and those sorts of severe things as far as food supply and or things that they they are depending upon to get ready for the severe winter this year seem to be a fairly good crop of seeds and fruits and nuts. So I think they'll go end of the season. Fairly good condition Do any animals survive in the winter time must do all right. Otherwise, they wouldn't continue living in this area. We've got things like Little Chickadees that you wouldn't think that little bundle of fur would be able to survive in our feathers in this climate and yet they they seem to thrive they find those little insects in the tree branches and on the old leaves and they do well, we'll take the next question or good afternoon. Kathy was listening to people that did to those wolves prepare dance for the winter or do anything in particular to prepare for the coming of winter in a wolf, which I'm not aware of the situation was the Willows at the park. I would think that if you wanted that specific question answered regarding the parks Wolves at your best bet would be to call the people there in terms of in the wild. Really kind of adapt to their habitat as the season progresses. I suppose they may had a little bit of fat to their body systems. But mostly what they do is they change their fur, they get a thicker coat of fur just like your dog does if your dog is outside and the days keep getting colder the dog gets thicker and thicker fur and adapt to that Colder Weather so that they can survive I suppose that the Wolves also grow longer fur on their pads of their feet. So that's how they were able to get across the snow and not get it all tangled up in their toe pads and and I'll get frozen but mostly I think they just carry on as they've had through the season they have an advantage in the snow in the wild because their natural prey the deer sink into the snow and they can't run as fast and the other so the wolf has the advantage of being able to run down The Weeknd pray. I don't know what to do at the zoo. Kathy. Call her in several other people in the Twin Cities area probably already know about the building that's opening today. As a matter of fact at the Como Zoo The Marine Mammal building opens today with the Penguins and other marine mammals on display. So that's happening today at the Como Zoo. Just thought of that as we're talking about where other callers waiting will get to the next question. Good afternoon. You're on the air. I'm calling from Duluth Minnesota, and I'd like to have Kathy about the characteristics of skunks why they spray when they spray and why does the population seem to be so rude? Let me ask answer. The last question first. The population is large now because skunks are cyclical in their populations. They have a buildup of numbers. And then what happens is when you've got a large population nature seems to weed them out some kind of a disease or go through the population and those that are not physically fit and not genetically sound will be the ones that die off and so you get back to a population that can exist within the the habitat as far as their behavior patterns skunks are truly afraid of much of anything and I think that's because they've got a marvelous defense system, but they will give you fair warning if you get in the area where a skunk is and he is threatened by you one of the first things a skunk will do is turn towards you and start drumming drumming or tapping its front feet simply stamping their feet is what many books describe it as but they all drum those front feed. And then that is your last warning before disaster strikes them. You better back up in a hurry because the next thing that happens is the tail comes up the skunk does a quick about-face and you've had it that is the characteristic of a striped skunk. If you run into a spotted skunk, sometimes they'll stand up on their front feet and give it to you just like that. I have had the unfortunate experience of being skunked twice once by a spotted and once by a striped simply because he got to close so that's their only means of Defense you take away the scent gland in the skunk is totally helpless. But one thing you should let me go on talking about skunks. We have discovered that that skunks are often times weeded out by a disease that we're all scared to death of his rabies. Apparently skunk populations are able able to Harbor this disease or the Germans for the disease in their bodies without ever getting sick from it or ever passing it on and it's during the season when the population bill. Stop that then what you have is skunks getting sick from either distemper or rabies or whatever and because of the pressure and that way of nature taking care of it. So then they will come down with rabies and occasionally, you will have them biting dogs or things like that in spreading it out and into other wild mammal populations. But as long as you have a healthy skunk population don't have to worry about rabies outbreaks when you have a high population of skunks, then that those are the years that we have more incidence of rabies. I would never recommend killing off all skunks though. They're neat animals and blow away at beneficial. That's right. If you have a lawn mowed lawn, you're going to have problems with grubs in your lawn. The skunk is your very very best grub cleaner powder coat that well. We know also now know the derivation of skunk very probably so we'll take the next caller right now. Good afternoon. Kathy is listening. Been watching for a couple of years and animal that a mammal with fur that swims at night actually From Dusk and around Dawn the most there. They're small and everybody I know is always called the muskrats. I wanted to find out first if that is what the animal is exactly where they've all gone sometime over the summer. They seem to have disappeared lately. I haven't seen a single one. I think you're right in calling them muskrats. That's truly what they're called looks like a little mini Beaver. Lots of people call them beavers, but they have a more rat-like tail the ones that living around Lake of the Isles probably live in Bank dens. That is they have an underwater entrance that goes up into the den and then there little bedroom is who would like to call it is just above the water level back in under the bank. Sometimes they go all the way up under people's Lawns. I live right next to a pond and I would say that 50 feet from the water's edge. I know that there are dens of muskrats because once in a while I stepped through them when I'm walking on my lawn where have all the muskrats gone. My guess is that if they've run out of of the food supply their Prime Food Supplies Cattails and Cattail Roots & Shoots and if that supplies load and they're going to migrate over land till they find a suitable Marsh to Hole up. For the winter and then they will bill us they'll build two kinds of houses of the bank then or they'll make these humpy houses out of the stems and the vegetative parts of the cat tail and build a similar type of room in that so I would guess that with the population build up in Lake of the Isles. They probably migrated over land to other suitable habitats knows where that could be. That's right. We have callers waiting with questions and we'll get to the next one. Good afternoon. Kathy is listening injured Birds. I have had we had some fledglings in the past, but I'm not doing very well when it comes to taking care of birds that have various disabilities and I haven't been able to find anyone who can get me some help or quit takes of what do you recommend? I recommend after approximately the midpoint of October that you called The Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic The University of Minnesota veterinary hospital in st. Paul. They have Veterinary students there who need practice working on wildlife and trying to rehabilitate them if the animals are not able to be rehabilitated that is if they've lost legs or if they've lost wings or some other part of the body has been permanently damaged then usually what their policy is to euthanize the animals. Sometimes they find foster parents. I happened to be the Foster mother to a half a winged Franklin's Gull. However, I'll be the mother until the animal dies. But anyway, my my feeling about injured animals is unless you can get them to a place like that is to let nature take its course because everything in nature is recycled. If they die something else will live as a result of that and some of the animals even though you care for them you you raise little birds are other small animals and you return the To Nature they are neither wild nor are they human they do not fit in either world and that it's an outcast for most societies and most of the time they don't make it have colors waiting with questions will get to the next one. Good afternoon Kathy Heidel Heidel is listening. Oh, that's a really intriguing question house mice. Rats things that would be in warm places. If you're talkin about animals that are out in the in the out-of-doors in the cold very few of them. Give birth in another winter the brown bear does. I mean the black bear the Minnesota black bear does give birth and I think it's about February when she still denned up she gives birth to some very very small animals and she Rises but she doesn't completely come out of our sleep. And so she does have I have young in the winter time. I believe an animal called the opossum has its young fairly late in the winter early in the spring and since it's a marsupial those little ones live in that little pouch just like a kangaroo baby does and mama takes care of feeding it for a long long time. A lot of animals mate in the wintertime like raccoons and skunks foxes and so forth, but then they have the young later on 27 minutes after 12. We were talking with Kathy Heidel who is a naturalist with the Hennepin County Park Reserve System, and we're taking your questions. You can call us at 227-6000 in the Twin Cities area. If you have a question listeners outside the Twin Cities within Minnesota can call us toll-free at 1 800-652-9700 800-652-9700. We have collars on the line Kathy. So we'll get to the next question. Good afternoon. We're listening. Yeah, I'm calling from Rochester. I'm wondering I have two quick questions one. When should we put seed out we have two sparrows chickadees nuthatches benches and Cardinals in the winter time, but when would be the best time to start putting feed out to start them coming and then second question should you clean up a run house each year. Did you get up and clean that I'll answer your last question first as far as cleaning out the rent houses. It's pretty much up to you. I suppose a little house that's cleaned out ready to go is more attractive to a male ran than one that's all full of old spider webs and maybe a mouse or two and probably molded Twigs from the year before I always clean them out, but you don't have to because if the rent chooses to use it if the female Wren chooses to use that she will clean it out herself and rebuild it. As far as the question about feeding the birds, it's really pretty much up to you. We feed the birds because we like to watch them. Not that it does the birds really any good. It's that it's for our pleasure. They've been getting along without us for thousands of years. So if you want to watch the birds year-round feed them year-round, if you don't want to have starlings and grackles and red-winged blackbirds at your feeder than wait until after they've migrated South and I don't personally start feeding until around Thanksgiving time because I would like to encourage the red-winged blackbirds when the grackles migrate. Alright, we have other colors waiting will get to the next question or good afternoon. We're listening. That's an interesting question. I'm not absolutely sure where Minnesota's loons go to that's a project that I research project that still ongoing number of people have been working on banding looms marking them and trying to determine where they turn up by having those Mark Birds seen again, we have had at least one of our Lives show up in Chesapeake Bay on the Atlantic coast, and I believe a loon has showed up on the gulf coast of the United States. I would suggest that to get more specific data on that. You would call the University of Minnesota the Bell Museum of Natural History and asked to talk with perhaps a Dwayne Warner or bite off would be able to tell you who's doing the research and what sorts of information they've been coming up with. I'm surprised. We don't know much about where the loons go. I thought since they were the state bird. We do everything about him almost everything. Well, we're in the process of trying to get a better handle on route. Now there are several groups that are working on studying loons. We know that some of the loons go North to Lake Superior after they have the young have gained their flight feathers that died very deeply and some of the best returns we're getting on Bandit Lunes is from fishermen who catch them in their Nets and of course when they catch them they're dead because they've dive down and they've gotten caught in the net. We also had Minnesota loons show up in Lake Michigan in the same situation as far as the migrating loons where they show up Nationwide that still something that's open for for study. Next question or good afternoon. Kathy is listening at the Lake Rebecca and Crow Hassan Park Reserve in the late fall say for October on what unusual birds and animals might be able to see and I if you were a cross-country either what sorts of up and life would you be able to see As far as animal life might be able to see a few rabbits. I would think they'd be cottontails rather than snowshoes. Probably some mink tracks. Certainly. There are deer populations there. That would be visible. As far as birds are concerned occasionally, you might have an eagle going over in the early fall or again late in the winter time on their migration. They seem to occasionally concentrate along the dams where there's open water on the Mississippi River just north of there and then we'll fly back and forth. Occasionally, they even feed in Farmers yards little songbirds. You might find some of the finches because Lake Rebecca Park Reserve in Crow Hassan Park Reserve have a lot of weedy short. We do things like Ragweed and so forth bring along the old roads and the trails and those are very attractive to our Finch like birds. So I would look for things like red poles and Pine siskins. Some of those small birds in crow-hassan park reserve which is sandy soil area very similar to the will the Anoka sand dunes there. We have some of the other Sparrow type bird later on in early spring and you often can find a horned Larks in February horned Lark by the way is out of our very first migrating birds coming back in the spring. So if you have more questions regarding specifics about the park reserves, I would suggest that you call me at Lowry Nature Center in Carver Park and I can attend to your questions for on an individual basis and I can answer them specifically God by the way is where Kathy works as you might suspect from that suggestion. All right, we have other colors waiting so we'll get to that question to right now. Good afternoon. We're listening to your every winter. We never know when to start to put the bird seed in is it too early or should we wait till there's snow? It's not too early. You could put the bird seed in right now if you wanted to if you want to wait until the red-winged blackbirds or migrated to have migrated then put it out a little bit later. You don't have to wait until it's there snow on the ground. You can put it out anytime often times when you put it out when there's no that's a time when they're attracted because their other stuff is pretty much covered up and hold stocks Thames rather with the heads of grain attached to something special about that. I think it's just appeals to their Aesthetics if they have it available and put it out weed seeds and bundles of weave grains of stuff like that are fine to put up. Good afternoon. Not that I miss them. But the last two years that I think it was formed enormously and I have seen neither hide nor and 10 of any around here lately. How are you? Do you still have box elder trees or are they going to remove the few on our own property? But neighbors have them and we barely see any of the other bugs around them either. I don't know exactly what the habits of boxelder bugs are, but it might be that because you move remove some of your own trees. They may have wintered in connection with your trees either in the park or in the leaf litter at the base of the trees. You might have changed their behavior pattern or there a travel pattern slightly or maybe they are cyclical to and that some years. We have a great many and some years. We don't have many at all. I don't know everything there is to know about boxelder bugs. I would suggest perhaps in my call the entomology entomology Department of your local University in south west or else the University of Minnesota and see if you can find out who's studying them. Yes boxelder bugs. I remember them well from my youth I used to invade the church where I used to go drop in Northwest Minnesota swarms of them to the next one good afternoon, we're listening and a different times of the year. I was wondering if they have two litters a year or one of your or when is the grey squirrel give birth will use made some very good observations. They do have two letters of squirrels a year. They have a letter earlier in the spring. I think it's about April or May. I'm not absolutely sure on that and then along about the time that the female has Windows and they've gotten too I would say probably 3/4 size. Then she is pregnant again and she gives birth to a family of grey squirrels late in the summer. And those are the ones that you usually See the littler ones in the fall the ones that were often concerned about where they're going to spend the winter and those will be the ones that have the highest mortality during the winter time because they'll have the least amount of fat stored up. Call is waiting will get to the next one. Good afternoon. Kathy's listening Minnesota's Eagles. And the second question is a detox and natural kind of poetry as you answer these questions, and I'm interested if she's interested in poetry or effective being a personal nature. Well, I'll try to answer the Poetry question first. I do read poetry. I write a little bit now and again not very much. I think that when one is close to Nature the words just sort of, the thoughts come in that closeness to Nature. I don't write as much poetry as I do write prose and I'm putting together all my thoughts so that when I no longer can walk the trails I can write it for someone else as far as Minnesota's Eagles. We have the hot largest population of Reading Ingles in the lower 48 states in Minnesota and they are very very well studied by number of people who are connect with the University of Minnesota. So you could get more specific information on their banding returns their what I do know about it is that when the Eagles leave the Chippewa National Forest, which is where most of them breed. They usually follow the river systems Southward and as the rivers freeze up they go farther and farther south when I want to watch Eagles during The winter time from the time that the Mississippi River is frozen up I go to the areas where there are dams like at Hastings at Red Wing at Wabasha. And then one of the very best places natural places to watch Eagles is done at Reeds Landing where the Chippewa River from Wisconsin flows into the Mississippi and dams it up with its big load of sand and forms Lake Pepin in at the outlet of Lake Pepin is where you will find. Well I've seen anywhere from 30 to 60 Eagles on a on a February day. They're feeding on the dead fish below the dams. They are primarily scavengers. We do know that some of Minnesota's Eagles also go to the same sort of of habitat situation along the, Missouri River. Open Water seems to open water in the winter time where there is a supply of of dead fish primarily wisconsin-river. They have the same thing in Wisconsin and never come to Minnesota to watch the Eagles to just go to Wisconsin River. What have you found a publisher yet? I haven't gotten that far is waiting and we'll get to the next question is a good afternoon. Kathy's listening Cardinals this year or last last winter. I acquired a hilarious bird feeder and I continue to feed throughout the summer and I'm still feeding but my question is about Cardinals. I've had the Cardinals up to August seen some Ian about three males courting one female and not friendly they'll all disappeared. Are they have do they migrate to another area? I'd like to have some information on that. They do fly rather why they from the home range. I have banded Cardinals and I've had them show up as far as five to seven miles from my banding site, which is my feeding area in Carver Park. They will regularly have a 25 to 30 Mi bird feeder run during one day. They may do that twice a day for all I know as far as what's happening. Now, if you have a good area for Cardinals with a lot of evergreen trees, which is what Cardinal seem to prefer in terms of shelter where they build the first nests are in evergreen trees where they shelter during the winter time is evergreen trees where the tecsun baths is in the Sunny Side of an evergreen tree. If you have Evergreens, you will continue to have cardinals but when you have a large population build up, they're going to have to disperse somewhere and right now they are out looking for all the wonderful Ragweed they can find because Ragweed is a Cardinals favorite food. And if you're down in Burnsville in the middle, What about Minnesota River Valley? There's giant Ragweed Galore down there along the river. And so your Cardinals have temporarily abandoned you for a much more desirable Natural Food Co-op. Come back when that food crop has been exhausted. You just need to plan for a Ragweed in your yard. If you want Cardinals, I have that this year. I have a weedy yard full of ragweed and I have cardinals out there just picking those seeds out right and left but no allergies presumably you can do that and I don't have to worry about Ragweed some people do so I should say we have other callers waiting will get to the next one. Good afternoon. You're on the air running around the Twin City and I'm wondering how long he can survive with the winter coming on and if there's anything that the public can do to Aid him I guess. I need to fill in a few blanks. So I don't know anything about this monkey. Maybe the caller if the caller is still on the line if I recall correctly. This is a monkey that escaped I believe from Como Zoo and it was last seen in some North Saint Paul communities and can you help me on that and they've been trying to catch him but he's just been moving around so much that it's very slippery fellow. This is not the real and it depends upon what species of monkey it is. If it's a tropical species of monkey, he's not going to make it through winter. If you would be a monkey from one of the colder regions like from Japan or something like that. You probably could make it a thing is when the food supply is exhausted. I'm not sure what this monkey species of monkey would eat but whenever whatever it's finding in the wild is exhausted that He's probably going to go to a free handout. So if you call the zoo and find out what they said that monkey and if you know the area where it was in when that food supply in nature is exhausted. I would think the monkey would show up. Alright other callers waiting with questions will go to the next one. Good afternoon. Kathy is listening and when As far as I know Lunes do gather together in Fairly large groupings, and I suspect that they are the loons that are hatched on a particular lake or lake. I know when I was in The Boundary Waters canoe area in September one year there were lots of loons on on the one Lake and I think they kind of gathered just like human beings kind of like together as far as migrating. I don't know if this day in those groups during the entire migration. Or whether they break up again again, I guess you'd have to probably try to get in contact with the researchers at the University and see if you could they could tell you more about the habits of loons have a couple of thing. A lot of folks have been on the lines in the Twin Cities. You can call us at 227-6050 or question for naturalist, Kathy Heidel. 227. 6000 Watts. Is open that's a toll-free call. You can call us free from outside the Twin Cities within Minnesota one 800-652-9700 865 to 9700. We have some callers waiting. We'll get to the next one. Good afternoon. Kathy is listening. It's very much smaller than the gray squirrel and it's bright rustic color. Some people have told me it could be a chipmunk. How do I tell the difference and what is the difference between red and grey squirrels? Okay, if the animal has any stripes on its back, it's not a skort. Not a grey squirrel or a red squirrel that would be how you can decide whether you have a red squirrel or chipmunk a chipmunk will have two white stripes on its back and a couple of black stripes into the side of a white stripe. It's a very small animal only about four five in long red squirrel is a rusty colored animal with a whitish tummy and a white line around I often times has found feeding on the ground to be up in the trees that like to feed on mushrooms and sunflower seeds and apples and all kinds of things like that which taste or they'll take their food and stored up entry jobs in Tennessee mushrooms tucked up in crotches of tree branches and that's from the red squirrels. They are active all winter though. If you have a really really really cold Sub-Zero temperatures, they may hold up for two or three and maybe 4 days in their nice little tidy Warmness gray squirrels are larger than red squirrels almost twice the size of of a red squirrel. They have a sort of a light whitish tummy likewise, but they are usually fairly Gray colored sometimes of the few Rusty hairs down the back in with the gray. They do not have the white line around the eye and they feet on the ground almost entirely. They rarely ever take food up into the tree. They will bury seeds and things in the leaf litter and when you see squirrels digging into the snow in the winter time, that's gray squirrels usually digging down because they can smell that food supply. They buried earlier, where's the red squirrels are probably be feeding up in the in the trees. They have two kinds of nests. Both of them. Mostly the baroness would be the ones cavities in tree trunks on the living there, but the red squirrels often build Shredded bark nest in an evergreen tree. They Shred the bark off of the juniper trees the red cedar trees and then they make up a waterproof warm circular Nest up in the tree branches the anchor it so that the wind doesn't blow it out and they construct an entrance hole on the side, you know, if it was in the bottom that fall out of bed when they the Nightmare and if it was on top to get wet when it rains, so the side entrance is the only logical entrance. I've had that feeling sometimes I think I know how they would feel us waiting with questions and we'll take the next one right now. It's let me see. What is it? It's 18 to know. It's 13 minutes before 1 so we've got about 10 minutes left and we'll take the next car. Good afternoon. We're listening about loons. They gather on Lake Milacs in October and November to very large numbers and that's a good place to see them in large numbers in the fall and in the spring I have seen as many Is 27 on Lake Nokomis Minneapolis has some years ago. How do you have you studied at some length of time agreed not to one of the best bird watchers in the State the numbers of moons and also to see some of the rare species that are found dead in the fall migration such as the red phalarope in the black-legged kittiwake and some of the wonderful information while I'm glad you were listening and called in with that information because now we we have a little bit more to a gone good. Thanks for calling and we have others waiting. So we'll take those questions. No, good afternoon. Kathy's listening. My wife is heavier than needle punching and I'd like to get some play three pictures of wildlife like this kind of thing that we can make a pattern off of you have any recommendations on two monitors that might have this kind of book out in the blank for me on that one. I'm not that I'm not on needlepointer. I need to punch person. I have friends who do that. I know several people who who do beautiful Creations in needlework from things that they take out of bird books, but I think they create their own designs. Maybe some of the listeners could help. I simply don't have that information. I suspect there's somebody out there right now is just moving up to the phone saying I can help that fella from St Cloud. So if you can call us within the next 10 minutes will be standing by with other colors. In the meantime. We'll get to the next one. Good afternoon. You're on the air. What can I do to try to keep them from invading the bird feeder and is it legal in St. Paul to trap birds in a have a heart trap and release them along the riverbank? I don't know what your city ordinance would be regarding trapping squirrels trapping birds that cannot do unless you have a federal permit to do it unless you're trapping starlings are house sparrows are rock doves are pigeons. Those don't have any any rules on them. Any other birds. You cannot trap and release as far as squirrels are concerned. I think they're covered by the game laws. You would probably have to call the Department of Natural Resources to find out if any state laws were applicable here. What I do to beat the squirrels and provide food for the birds at the same time as first of all I look at the squirrels and I say you little buggers you eat too much but I don't know exactly how to keep them out. As long as I have trees in my yard. I bought a hilarious bird feeder. It's a metal bird feeder with a counterweight so that when the squirrel gets on the front Eco automatically closes the door and that's the only thing I have outside of I know one of the bird feed of the Audubon bird feeder, which is also supposed Squirrel proof types of feeders. I know that can keep squirrels out. My answer to the to the problem is to just put out more bird feeders in different places. What is this hilarious bird feeder business and I think it's White Bear Lake where is to watch the squirrels try to get in and they can't make it. It's an expensive bird feeder, but it does keep squirrels out to take the next one. Good afternoon. Kathy's listening all the seeds out of sunflowers. Every morning, but I wanted to know is when is the migration of the geese? Well, we're starting to get a migration of geese right now. Not a whole lot of them in this local area here but the migration of geese is beginning to get started in out stayed in other areas because of that goose hunting has started then they don't usually start goose hunting until the geese are starting to move. So yes, the migration is on this metro area is not the best place to watch a goose migration. We are not right on a migration route to either go west or you go east and you'll get many many more of the migrating birds flying overhead 8 minutes before we have other colors waiting good afternoon your on the are running in the morning that blackbirds and they congregate and rather long line to have an undulating wave motion that starts from the back of the pack. What's explanation for that infested observe observe that quite a few times when they're either going into the rooster coming out of the roost it seems as though it's a response to the train below and that they will rise over a tree they will dip down into a valley. They will go up and down over structions below. My observation has been that what I've seen is it usually started at the beginning of the flock when the the flock would go and the leader Birds would would establish this up and down and it will just follow over the same point as all the birds stream past. I'll have to watch more carefully to see if it does start in the rear. But anyway, I think it's a response to the train because it always occurs over the same spot usually as they're going their colors waiting. The next color is on the line. Good afternoon. We're listening. Kathy could tell me what to do in regard to a purple mountain Martin house. We put up early this spring and was quickly moved into by starlings. Oh dear, I would say get those starlings out of there same thing with house sparrows. If you don't have any purple martins coming into your house then take the house down. Don't leave it up as a breeding box for these foreign birds that have come in that don't have any of their natural controls. Don't put your Martin house out on till the first Martin Scouts have been seen in the area and that's usually sometime around the beginning of April and then get your house up make sure it's cleaned out and that it's high enough. So the Martins can be attracted to it. It's got to be above the Treeline a little bit and if it's close to water that's even better and then if within a few weeks if no Martin's have come in or even checked it out and you still simply got house sparrows and starlings then I would say take it down if you do have some Is it come in and you still have problems with the with the starlings and the house sparrows out? So maybe let one Starling in one house sparrow each have a compartment and then just close up the rest of them so that they can't just completely overwhelm The Colony. Alright other callers waiting. Good afternoon. We're listening for your question at least in the case with a great horned owl Nest immediate vicinity. We're just wondering if this all of your promise far as our small dog is concerned about 5 pounds or so dangerous that the dog outside. I rather doubt that your dog's going to become prey for the owl the owls Prime food in the city area is cottontail rabbits and goodness knows we've got zillions of those running around. So a city with wooded area like you're in is a very good place for a great horned owl as long as you have a rabbit population. The second thing that the great horned owls like is skunks. And so you don't really have to worry until the skunk and the rabbit Supply is all gone. And then I guess I keep the dog inside on the air. I have been calling from Millville and Southeastern Minnesota breath, but there's a cool way it looks like a red tail hawk in the fall. Do they do they pass through an area and also do they migrate and what kind of train do they prefer to live it? Let me ask the answer the questions about the bob-whites as quickly as I can first. The bob-whites could be there wild birds or they could be game farm Birds released in your area bob-whites is far as we're able to determine prefer to stay around Farm feedlots. That's where they get their best food in the winter time. They don't call throughout the entire season after the breeding season is over. They would probably not be calling anymore. As far as we know they do not migrate getting to the red tail hawk. I believe what you saw was a red tail hawk. They're readily identifiable by that beautiful big white breast. If you saw a red tail on it was a mature bird at least 3 years old the young birds don't have that red tail until there about 3, we do know that rent. Hawks semi great. They move South as the food supply dwindles during the fall and they will move as far as they have to continue getting food. And their Prime food is field mice we have time for one more question to call her is listening. Go ahead, please. Red-winged blackbirds in the area. Can you comment on that? It could be the result of winter decimation in the areas where they spend the winter. Sometimes they are in the rice fields in Arkansas and Missouri and I caused such depredations to the Farmer's Rice crops that the fish and wildlife service is called in to do a decimation project where they actually kill hundreds thousands of them or it could be that your habitat is changing and they're not as many Cattail marshes where the Red Wings might be able to nest and so then they would move on to other areas. Kathy Heidel, thanks very much for visiting with us today and thanks to all of our listeners for calling in with questions. All I can say is that we're simply going to have to try to have you back sometime in the near future to take more question.