U.P. GEMS, grouse and the chipmunk

In this episode of the award-winning Wildtalk Podcast, we talk to Heather Shaw and Tom Seablom about habitat work on GEMS in the Upper Peninsula, fly away with a discussion about the ruffed grouse, and we wrap up the episode with a chat about the eastern and least chipmunk. Pete Kailing also stops in to talk about hunting and trapping opportunities and more that are available in the month of August. 

Episode Hosts: Rachel Lincoln and Eric Hilliard
Producer/editor: Eric Hilliard

• All things habitat
  • GEMS maps
  • MiHunt hunting lands locators
  • State Forest Management Plan info
• All things feathers
  • Ruffed grouse
  • Drumming grouse video
• All things fur
  • Eastern chipmunk
  • Least chipmunk
• Mug me
  • Spiny softshell turtle

Questions or comments about the show? Contact the DNR Wildlife Division at 517-284-9453 (WILD) or email dnr-wildlife@michigan.gov.

Transcript

Announcer:
The Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app is your digital connection to all things hunting and fishing in Michigan. Buy store and display your hunting and fishing licenses. Check your points and chances for elk and bear. Apply for the draw and view drawing results. Access all the hunting and fishing regulations.
View your hunter safety certificate and report your harvest all from within the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app. Just click the app banner at the top of the page for download instructions at Michigan.gov/hunting. You know what that sound means? It's time for the Michigan DNR's Wildtalk Podcast. Welcome to the Wildtalk Podcast, where representatives from the DNR's Wildlife Division chew the fat and shoot the scat about all things habitat, feathers, and fur.

MUSIC:
Everybody give.

Announcer:
With insights, interviews and your questions answered on the air, you'll get a better picture of what's happening in the world of wildlife here in the great State of Michigan.

MUSIC:
Everybody give.

Rachel:
Welcome to the Wildtalk podcast. I'm your host Rachel Lincoln, and here with me today is my co-host Eric Hilliard for the August episode.

Eric:
Where has the summer gone?

Rachel:
That is a good question. It's pretty hard to believe that we're well over that halfway point and that summer wraps up in a few weeks. I feel like it was here and we were excited and now it's just passed us by.

Eric:
Didn't we just win another award?

Rachel:
Yes, we won another national award and it feels awesome. We took third place for the audio program or podcast from the Association of Conservation Information.

Eric:
Congratulations to us.

Rachel:
No kidding. Congratulations to us, but also to all of our staff throughout the Wildlife Division because this podcast really is only possible with the contributions all of our staff do and give us information to talk about, but they're also on the podcast and they work with us to just have this really great production. And so, it really feels like a win for everybody and we're really proud. And we also thank our listeners because it truly wouldn't be possible if we didn't have listeners who enjoyed the podcast or gave us topics to talk about, sent us interesting questions where we got to talk about it, but also learn while we're doing it. And so, it feels like a real joy.

Eric:
Yeah, I know our listeners will occasionally write in and they especially like the habitat segment where we talk to our staff from around the state about the habitat work that's going on, particularly if it happens to be in an area where they live or nearby where they live. They enjoy hearing about those things and the work that our staff are putting in for Michigan's Wildlife.

Rachel:
Absolutely. We have staff who are always eager and excited to come on and talk about it, which is incredible. We've got people who work really hard and people who want to celebrate the success of their colleagues and we get to be a small part that and we are really grateful to do so. We have a gem of an episode queued up for you this month, literally. This year in 2024, it marks the 10th anniversary of the GEMS's program, the Grouse Enhanced Management Sites program.
Now, we've chatted about the GEMS program many times on this podcast, but if you're not familiar, GEMS are areas of public land where biologists work to create really excellent habitat for ruffed grouse and woodcock, which then turns into really great habitat for all other critters in that area. And it's a really important program for Michigan because grouse and woodcock hunting is a well-loved pastime of so many Michiganders. And our state is often a destination for many bird hunters across the United States because of the premier wildlife habitat and ample grouse and woodcock populations we have here.
There are 19 GEMS across Northern Lower Peninsula and the Upper Peninsula, and over the last decade, DNR Wildlife and Forest Resources Divisions, federal partners like US Forest Service and county governments and other various conservation partners like the Ruffed Grouse Society and the American Woodcock Society have partnered to expand this program to over 73,000 acres. Each of them offering a comfortable yet adventurous opportunity for all types of recreationists, including youths, first-time public land users, or even those with mobility challenges. Now, to recognize the conservation efforts of the program, this episode we'll learn about the iconic bird that makes a gem, a gem, the ruffed grouse, and then we'll pivot to a mammal often found in the GEMS and lots of other places, the eastern chipmunk.
We'll then have Heather and Tom on from the Upper Peninsula who will share with us the wildlife happenings this time of year and a little bit about the GEMS areas they manage. You want to make sure to stick around throughout the episode for your chance to win a fabulous Wildtalk podcast camp mug. And as always, we are excited to bring you another episode of exploring and enjoying Michigan's Wildlife. But before we dive into the podcast, let's hear a word from our forests.

Announcer 2:
Trees provide for the well-being of our state. That's why we work so hard to keep our forests healthy and abundant so wildlife has a home and so do people so that there's clean air and water for everyone. And so, Michigan's economy can be as strong as the trees that support it because every branch of forestry ensures that future generations will always have a tree for life and forests for a lifetime. To learn how sustainable forestry benefits your life, visit Michigan.gov/ForestsForALifetime.

Rachel:
Today we have on not one but two special guests, Heather Shaw, the wildlife biologist with the Shingleton Management Unit for the Wildlife Division, and Tom Seablom, the West UP District Forest manager for the Forest Resources Division. They are both here to talk about wildlife habitat above the bridge in the Upper Peninsula and to tell us about the awesome work they do for the GEMS in their area. Welcome to the show, Heather and Tom. Thank you so much for taking your time to join us today.

Heather:
Thank you so much for having us.

Tom:
Thank you for having us.

Rachel:
Well, why don't you start, we'll kick off the segment by telling us a little bit more about your positions and your backgrounds.

Heather:
I'm the Wildlife the biologist for the Shingleton Management Unit in the Eastern Upper Peninsula for the Wildlife Division, and I work alongside Forest Resources Division to manage over 300,000 acres of state forest land between Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. And that includes two GEMS management units within our area of purview. So, our day-to-day activities and my day-to-day activities typically include wildlife habitat management, planning and implementation, forest management, wildlife population monitoring, wildlife disease monitoring, human wildlife conflict resolution, working closely with the public and stakeholders on any wildlife topics, issues or concerns that pop up.
And then, prior to working for the DNR, I was the wildlife biologist for the Ruffed Grow Society. I'm a diehard bird hunter and have four bird dog that I hunt alongside throughout the UP.

Rachel:
Thanks, Heather. Tom, what's your story?

Tom:
So, I started out as a forester in the what was then the Crystal Falls Forest Management unit in Iron and Dickinson Counties, so some of the heartland of ruffed grouse and woodcock hunting here in the west end of the UP and then moved up to the Ishpeming area Gwinn Management Unit as a forester. I was a timber management specialist for a few years when the GEMS started to take off. So, I was involved with some of the early planning process for that and then a unit manager on the Gwinn Management Unit, which houses the Bill Rollo Memorial GEMS, which was one of the first ones to really take hold in the west end of the UP.
And now I'm the district forest manager, so I work on co-management between the two divisions to make sure that we're meeting all our planned goals here in the west end of the UP.

Rachel:
Awesome. So, it sounds like the collaboration between Wildlife Division and the Forest Resources Division is pretty essential for the GEMS program. I heard you use the word co-management. So, can you tell us a little bit more about what co-management is and how you guys work together to make this program successful?

Tom:
Yeah, so the state forest is roughly 3.9-ish million acres and we have different management units across the state. The lands that we manage were either tax-reburden or purchased, some were gifted. And in the 40s they came up with the co-management philosophy where wildlife and forestry worked together to formulate the prescriptions and come to agreement on the management of the state forest, which is essential for good habitat and good forest management.
So, we work together to make sure that our goals on the forestry side are being met as well as working with the wildlife staff to make sure that the habitat goals are being met as well.

Rachel:
Could you share some examples of those habitat management projects that you've been working on and any specific areas or across any specific GEMS?

Tom:
Yeah, sure. Within the GEMS, we have four of them within the West UP that are situated on state forest land and each specific GEMS has a plan in place so that we harvest certain stands that are specific sizes and certain patterns so that it meets the habitat goals and needs for primarily grouse and woodcock within those GEMS. And on the forest resources side, we go in and set up all those stands and put them out on a contractor bid to be logged, which then creates the regeneration needs to produce the young trees saplings and small full-size trees for woodcock and grouse habitat.

Heather:
I'll pull on that thread a little bit more too. Just to add to what Tom said, we really work together to maintain those habitat components on the landscape that support your own life cycle needs for grouse and woodcock. So, that would include anything from food and cover components for all four seasons, brood rearing, cover, and then recreational opportunities as well for the public.
So, like Tom had stated, we sit down with our counterparts with forest resources division, parks divisions as well and fisheries divisions and we determine how we can best manage these forested stands within these GEMS on an appropriate, specific rotation for these GEMS. So, certain stands of timber being harvested at different times or certain wildlife openings are managed and maintained during different times of the year as well. So, that allows us to maximize our forest health, our current timber markets as well while enhancing wildlife habitat and really creating target locations that our hunters and other recreationist can access and explore and enjoy.

Rachel:
Thank you both for expanding on the different types of projects you've got going on on the GEMS. It's always interesting to hear how multifaceted each project is because you do have those huge components. I mean it's timber for buildings and wood products that we need day to day, but it's also continuing wildlife habitat for a lot of generations and there's a lot of work that goes in. So, thank you both for your collaboration to make those projects be accomplished and be as successful as they are.

Eric:
What tastes better, woodcock or ruffed grouse? I know I can answer that question.

Heather:
I would say [inaudible 00:11:23].

Tom:
Well, it depends on how they're prepared.

Heather:
Yep. This is going to be fun for Tom and I to go back and forth on, I think too. I think everyone would say grouse right off the bat, but woodcock is such a delicacy if you prepare them properly. I think they're my favorite forest bird to pursue, to hunt, to manage and enhance habitat for just to watch with the dogs.
But they're delicious as well, so they can be a really tasty little morsel that we love to share with people who haven't enjoyed them in the past, who have been totally against strong woodcock and feed them to their dogs. Yeah, they can be absolutely amazing with a very simple list of ingredients too. What do you think, Tom?

Tom:
Yeah, I'd have to agree. Woodcock is a fine table fairer. If you find out a way to whisk some simple ingredients where you're not totally flipping it on its head to totally disguise that it's a wild game bird, you can make it a delicacy.

Heather:
Definitely. I think but those-

Tom:
My favorite way is grilled with a piece of bacon wrapped around it or in a piece of jalapeno.

Heather:
Yeah, that's the fun thing about game species too is if you don't bury that flavor too much, it invokes a memory of where you were when you harvested that species or what you were doing and how enjoyable your hunt was, of who you were with too. So, it has another element of woodiness to your table, fair, I guess.

Rachel:
It sounds like you both are pretty big woodcock and grouse hunters, public land hunters maybe. Do you go out on GEMS?

Heather:
No, I hunt almost specifically public land and I have a camp situated between two of our GEMS that are in Tom's management unit as well. I think the only time I really pursue private land birds is during the sharptail season in the eastern UP. So, I'm a firm public land of hunter and GEMS supporter.

Tom:
Yeah. And for me over here it's pretty much exclusively public lands for grouse and woodcock. The private lands in the west UP do hold them, but not in the numbers that are on public. It's just because of the aspen component and how the state forest is managed. There are some honey holes out there that most grouse and woodcock hunters hold close to their chest so that they have a place to go when the pressure is on.
We get a lot of people from out of the area and within the area pursuing grouse and woodcock here in the west UP. So, I try to actually avoid the GEMS just because they are such a draw.

Eric:
So, Tom, can you provide us with some GPS coordinates of those prime locations that you enjoy hunting?

Heather:
I'll have a follow-up email for you.

Tom:
Sure, yeah. I suggest using the Mi-HUNT app if someone is interested in areas to target for grouse and woodcock hunting as well as the old snowshoe hares or other type of wildlife because the GEMS, while we manage for those two, their umbrella species for a lot of other wildlife people.

Rachel:
We have heard from a lot of experienced hunters that grouse and woodcock hunting can be some of the easiest hunting to get into, if you are a new hunter because you're walking, you can be louder, you've got to flush these birds to really see them, but it can still be a little intimidating. I know those thick aspen stands, if you look at them, they're walls of trees. How do you even think about getting through those or a lot of times you have to have a dog, there's extra equipment. So, if you could offer one piece of advice to someone who is interested in woodcock or grouse hunting, what would it be?

Heather:
Boot leather kills birds. If you just get out there and walk, you don't have to have a dog to get into it to enjoy it. The more you walk and just observe everything that's around you, you'll learn more about the bird itself, the habitat, what they're eating certain times of the year, what type of cover they're in certain times of the day and the season too.
They'll help you learn more about the biology of the bird, really fall in love with them. So, I would just say just get out and walk and start looking for them and learning about them.

Tom:
Yeah, I have to agree with Heather on that one, especially with the GEMS where if you're interested in trying to pursue those two birds is to go to a GEMS because you're going to have hunter walking trails where you can walk along pretty unabated for the most part. And because that area is specifically managed for those two bird species, they're going to be there in somewhat greater numbers than maybe in some of the other aspen stands just because there's other things that wildlife is managing therefore to help increase the amount of food, not just habitat, just pure habitat in that area. And they don't have to have a dog because in those areas they're most likely going to be able to flush birds. Just be ready for the wings of thunder.

Rachel:
Smallish bird, huge noise, but it's an awesome experience to have. Well, wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing insights on how co-management works and also some personal insights where projects that you're excited about, tips that you have for potential new hunters.
It's really awesome information for listeners to hear. Are there any big projects or events on their horizon and either of your areas that our listeners should know about?

Heather:
Within our unit, between myself and our Wildlife Division technician John Brown, we've been working hard to improve wildlife openings in and around the GEMS. So, we have the Melstrand GEMS and the Garden Grade GEMS within our management unit. So, we're working in there improving openings, improving hunter walking trails and access by general maintenance or seeding some of those areas to clover just to support insect abundance and forage opportunities for game birds.
And then, adjacent to those specifically in the Garden Peninsula and some of the lands around our GEMS, they don't specifically fall within it, but they're right next door. We've been in the middle of a very large opening restoration projects and we're planning native of warm and cool season grasses and forbs, a pretty diverse mixture in there to support pollinators, create diversity, create vertical structure to support forage and nesting opportunities for upland game birds. But this project will still benefit deer and turkey and bear, you name it.
So, our thought behind this is just introducing native species on the landscape in some of these areas that we've typically managed with clover and buckwheat or other species. It'll allow us to be a little lighter on the land, reintroduce fire to the landscape, and then manage for a broader diversity of wildlife within those areas as well. So, those are some big ones that we've been working on that are more GEMS specific that we're pretty proud of.
We don't have any volunteer habitat workdays planned to this year for the GEMS's 10-year anniversary just due to workload. We did a big one last year, but we're always looking for other opportunities to work with folks and try to improve these areas each year.

Rachel:
That's great. Thanks, Heather. Tom, any projects going on in your area listeners should know about?

Tom:
It's more of a statewide project. We're going through rewrite of the state forest management plan, if you will. And they're putting the final touches on the edits and suggestions from the internal review part and it's going to be going out for public comments.
So, if you're really interested in state forest management and what goes on this plan will be in place for the next 10 years once it goes through the review and approval process. So, it'll be setting the course for all the management objectives across the department for the next 10 years, whether it's forestry, wildlife, recreation, and how those impact fisheries management as well. Fish has their own plans for managing the different populations and different species and stuff, but between wildlife, forestry and forest recreation, they'll all be in that play.
And one other thing I should add is on the forest management side of it right now we're in the heart of getting sites prepared for planting for next spring. So, as part of our reforestation effort, we've got a lot of cultivation activities going on out there right now, especially with running our skidders per crunching to get the sites ready for planting next spring. That's the big project statewide that's going on right now for us from a reforestation standpoint.

Rachel:
Certainly, no shortage of big work, awesome work being done by Forest Resources Division and Wildlife Division. Now, with the GEMS, those are also like a GEMS is typically not an isolated pocket of public land. They are an area within public land, right?

Heather:
Yeah.

Rachel:
So, you can start at a GEMS, but then you can move across the road or just off the trail an adjacent section and you're still in public land. So, I think it'd be really helpful starting points to get your bearings and then you can move off them and still have lots of great opportunity.

Heather:
Mi-HUNT is a great, great tool. I mean it might be worthwhile just to mention too that Michigan is a destination state, the destination state for grouse and woodcock. And there's some great resources out there for anyone who might be coming from out of state or who's new to grouse and woodcock hunting that are pretty attainable. They're right at your fingertips. The Mi-HUNT mapping application online allows you to pinpoint essentially aspen or oak or different conifer cover types.
And once you learn a little bit more again about the biology of the bird, you can dive into what you're seeing on a landscape and also take a look at what forest cover types you're hunting within on the Mi-HUNT application. The GEMS are they're going to be a destination hotspot for anyone coming in from out of state or folks that are new to it too, so they do get a lot of traffic. That being said, usually they're from 2,000 to 7,000 acres size if not more.
Some of them are just vast. So, there are ways that you can get away from the crowd without being obviously on top of anyone within those GEMS and can still hopefully find birds that aren't as pressured and haven't seen too many dogs running around them throughout the hunting season. So, there's some neat tools out there and I just encourage everyone to check those out.

Rachel:
Thank you so much Heather and Tom for joining us to share about work happening across the bridge in the UP and also for all of your efforts that are ongoing across the GEMS. We really do appreciate you taking the time.

Heather:
Thanks for the fun chat, guys.

Tom:
Yeah, you're welcome. This has been great.

Rachel:
Well, folks don't fly away or you'll miss all things. Feather's coming UP next.

Announcer:
There are many camping and lodging opportunities available in Michigan State Parks. When you choose state park campgrounds, you get more than just a campsite. State parks offer a diverse range of recreational opportunities, including hands-on instructional classes, nature programs, places to fish, boat launches, family-friendly events, and much more. Reservations can be made six months in advance, so why wait visit MiDNRReservations.com or call 1-800-44 parks to make a reservation.

MUSIC:
God, it's time for me to fly away now.
Fly away now forever.
Fly away now.
Fly away now.

Rachel:
The ruffed grouse an icon for conservation and beloved bird to hunters and wildlife watchers. These small forest birds are known to make quite a big racket and if you've ever been the victim of an unexpected flush of a grouse, then you know true fear.

Eric:
They can definitely startle you. If you're somebody who's never flushed a grouse before, when you do it for the first time, you immediately know that it is a grouse that you have flushed.

Rachel:
Yes, and it is a shockingly loud noise they can make with their wings, but then on their upward ascent, they crash through the trees. But it's not the most elegant takeoff and can cause quite a stir, especially if you weren't expecting to hear loud noises in a close range, which you often aren't when you're walking through the woods. Now, these birds spend a lot of time on the ground.
They are ground-nesting birds. And if you're going to live on the ground and be susceptible to various land-dwelling predators, then you would better find a way to survive. The ruffed grouse have mastered camouflage.
Now, their feathers are a variation of brown, reds, grays and white modeling that lets them basically hide in plain sight amongst the fallen leaves, downed trees and brown vegetation within the forest. I don't know how many times I have been about two, three, four feet in front of a grouse without seeing it until it finally moves. They can truly blend in with the ground.

Eric:
As a kid, I earned the nickname Hawkeye from my stepdad because I was so good at spotting ruffed grouse. I could give any good bird, dog a run for their money when I was 7 to 10 years old.

Rachel:
It's really something. Ruffed grouse have a punk rock mohawk on the top of their head called a crust and they can fan out their tail feathers similar to a fan of a turkey that displays a dark arc along the tips of their tail feathers. Now, males are particularly striking with their black neck ruff, which is how they get their name. And during mating courtship rituals, they will puff up their downy black feathers and it will appear like they have this very fluffy scarf around their necks. Now, they further persuade the female grouse of their genetic superiority.
Males will also put on a drumming display during those courtship rituals. It's not necessarily a percussion of drums and cymbals, but it is rather a drumming that occurs from the grouse's rapid wing beats that create a low frequency sound that can be heard over very long distances.

Eric:
That's one of the coolest things to me about ruffed grouse is that whole behavior of standing on a log and drumming. And as a matter of fact, there's a really cool YouTube video where they have mic'd up this drumming really well and in addition to the visual display, so you get a really good sound on this video as well as seeing the behavior in action. And I'll make sure to drop a link to that video in the show notes.

Rachel:
Yeah, it is pretty spectacular. And that wing flapping occurs for only 8 to 10 seconds, but in that short amount of time, their wings may be up to 50 times. So, the amount of speed and muscle they have built in their small bodies to beat their wings that fast is really remarkable.
This occurs on a down to log or sometimes a stump or a rock, and those logs are quite necessary. They're a necessary requirement for grouse habitat. So, when creating grouse habitat, they have to make sure that there is some down log or feature that grouse can drum on so that they can be reproductively successful.

Eric:
All the world may be a stage, but the grouse needs a stage within a stage to complete their mating rituals.

Rachel:
The complex bird of the forest. The drumming typically takes place before and after sunrise and wildlife researchers are using that drumming activity as a way of counting and estimating grouse populations during the grouse drumming surveys. So, it's a really important feature and is often how we identify areas that have grouse within them. After mating, females build nests on the ground which are well hidden amongst the vegetation where they will lay a clutch of 6 to 14 eggs. Now, the grouse population is known to fluctuate in cycles of about 8 to 11 years, and those fluctuations are heavily influenced on a variety of factors from predator, prey dynamics to habitat conditions.
While they're not currently threatened or endangered, maintaining these healthy forest habitats that provide shelter, food and good conditions for reproducing are crucial for their continued survival. The diet of the ruffed grouse is incredibly varied and changes with the seasons. They'll feed on a mix of plant material including leaves, bugs, fruits as well as insects. And interestingly, they can eat certain plants that are toxic to other animals such as ferns or mushrooms thanks to their specialized digestive system. Aspen forests are a one-stop-shop bed and breakfast for the ruffed grouse.
Aspen trees grow densely packed together with a leafy canopy overhead that provides concealment for ground nesting birds while also providing a necessary food source. And as the trees grow larger, some of those trees will die and tip over, which provide the drumming logs. So, as we heard Heather and Tom talk about these aspen forests are very carefully managed so that all grouse have what they need throughout the year.
Aspen forest management is the key to making a successful GEMS. Quaking aspen are really a truly beautiful tree species we have here in Michigan with its long, thin, white and black patchy trunk and these green leaves that dance in the wind. They grow really quickly when in direct sunlight.
And at the GEMS as we heard, the biologists are routinely caring for aspen forests to keep them regrowing for grouse habitat. Aspen trees will not grow in the shade of larger trees. So, to keep aspen growing to provide grouse with thriving conditions, timber harvests do occur to remove the mature trees which we then use for building materials.
And with the tree canopy open to allow sunlight to reach the ground, the aspen will naturally regrow providing this ongoing cycle of habitat for grouse and other species that use aspen such as deer, woodcock, bear, and even beaver.

Eric:
We can describe this over the podcast all we want, but getting out there in the woods and experiencing some of this habitat is really the best way to understand it and get to know it better. And the GEMS are a really good way to go about doing that, because the GEMS have walking trails, you don't have to worry about necessarily going over ruffed terrain to get to the aspen trees to experience this habitat.

Rachel:
Absolutely, and just the suite of different animals that live in these systems. If you don't see or hear a grouse, you will still see songbirds, you will see likely deer, turkeys, all of these really charismatic animals that are awesome to see when in nature. So, they're certainly worth checking out these areas.
Well, if you want to see a ruffed grouse we do have them across the northern Lower Peninsula and throughout the Upper Peninsula year-round. Now, winter in the Upper Peninsula can be quite frigid, but these birds are well-equipped for winter survival. To stay warm among the snow-and ice-covered ground, these grouse will actually grow these fancy comb-like fringe feathers on their toes, which act like snow shoes to help them walk on top of the snow. And they're also known to snow roost, so they'll burrow into the soft snow to stay insulated from the cold.

Eric:
Boy that might startle me more than a grouse flushing if I was walking out through the snow and all of a sudden a grouse emerged from the snow like night of the living dead, that might freak me out a little bit.

Rachel:
Nature is wild. You don't often think about birds burrowing. I feel like the most talked about burrowing bird is the burrowing owls that live out west. But when you got to make do and survive a cold winter, you find a way burrowing into the snow is one of them. Now, during the winter, they will keep their same feather coloration unlike their cousins to the west.
The ptarmigan which looks similar to the ruffed grouse, but the color changes to white in snowy winters. As we mentioned earlier, hunting grouse has been a beloved pastime for many Michigan families. It's one of the few hunting opportunities where walking, talking and breeding your dog is actually beneficial to the hunt because it would cause the birds to move and flush making their location known.
Many families and friends partake in grouse hunting together as a social activity and then enjoy their rewards together over the dinner table. If you're interested in trying your hand at grouse hunting, we of course recommend checking out the GEMS. It's an excellent location for new hunters to learn. There's lots of maps and trails and information available online on our website. The hunting season begins September 15th and runs through November 14th and then again from December 1st to January 1st.
And the only license hunters need is a base license to get out and enjoy ruffed grouse hunting. This fascinating bird plays an important role in our forest ecosystems and has been a long-time symbol of conservation. In fact, Aldo Leopold, a conservationist and author of the Sand County Almanac, wrote about ruffed grouse often.
And I will leave you with one of his most famous lines about the charismatic bird, "The autumn landscape in the north woods is the land, plus a red maple, plus a ruffed grouse. In terms of conventional physics, the grouse represents only a millionth of either the mass or the energy of an acre yet subtract the grouse and the whole thing is dead."

Announcer:
Pure Michigan hunt applications are on sale now. If you want your shot of what is considered Michigan's ultimate hunt, pick up a $5 application or two. There's no limit to the number you can buy.
If you're one of the three lucky winners, you'll get a hunting prize package worth thousand as well as licenses for elk, bear, spring and fall turkey, antlerless deer, and first pick at a managed waterfall area for a reserved hunt. Purchase anywhere hunting licenses are sold or online at Michigan.gov/PMH.

Speaker 7:
Look, the round-cheeked moon floats high, in the glowing August sky, quenching all her neighbor stars, save the steady flame of Mars. From the poem August Moon by the American poet Emma Lazarus. I am Pete Kailing, DNR Wildlife Biologist. And here is the August hunting calendar. August 1 through August 28 is the time to apply for a reserved waterfall hunt on DNR managed waterfall areas.
See Michigan.gov/DNR licenses or the very handy DNR Hunt Fish app for details. Good luck with the duck. Bear hunters can begin baiting usually mid-August depending on the opening day in the bear management unit, you hold a permit for. Specifically, the bear-baiting period is 31 days before the opening day and the BMU, you have a tag for. No chocolate allowed for bear bait.
The early crow season is August 1 through September 30, open statewide. And don't be bashful about trying a blackbird pie for the first time. You can find crow recipes online. August is on the cusp of another great fall just ahead. Please get outdoors this month for some outdoor adventure, walk for fitness.
Take your hunting dog along for exercise too. Break in a new pair of boots, keep the rust off your shooting irons, take a friend along, be safe. And until next time, keep the mud off the carpet.

Announcer:
Michigan.gov/DNR trails is your destination for trail maps, trail etiquette and trail closure information. Trail information for biking, cross-country skiing, horseback riding, hiking, off-road, vehicle riding, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, and even water trails for kayaking and canoeing are available. While you're there, remember to check out information about pet-friendly recreation track chairs and the Iron Belle Trail all available at Michigan.gov/DNR trails.

MUSIC:
Try to catch me all and acting (singing).
Try to catch me all and acting (singing).
We try to catch them all, catch them all.

Rachel:
We've all seen a chipmunk a time or two or if you're like me maybe too many times while you watch them dig out the foundation of your house. Chipmunks are a part of the squirrel family, one of nine squirrel species we have it here in Michigan. Squirrels first showed up in the fossil record more than 35 million years ago. Still, that is a long time. I was surprised to know that the evolution of squirrels has been around for that long.
Worldwide, there are about 300 squirrel species with the greatest difference between them is size, fur, color, and their physiology. Now, in Michigan we actually have two species of chipmunks. The eastern chipmunk, which is more common in the Lower Peninsula and the least chipmunk, which is found in the Upper Peninsula. The scientific name of the eastern chipmunk is Tamias striatus. The word Tamias is derived from a Greek word meaning steward or one who is in charge of stored goods.

Eric:
It's the least he could do.

Rachel:
And that's why we're a two-time national award-winning podcast.

Eric:
I'll be here all week.

Rachel:
Now, Tamias is derived from a Greek word meaning steward or one who is in charge of stored goods, referring to the chipmunk's habit of hoarding and storing food. The least chipmunk's scientific name is Neotamias minimus. The neo prefix meaning new and because it is it a relatively new grouping of chipmunks. And minimus, which is Latin for the smallest. So, we could actually say that it is a rodent of itsy-bitsy size.
The eastern chipmunk is between 9 and 10 inches in length from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail and only weighs between two to four ounces. The back of the eastern chipmunk is a grayish-brown to reddish-brown with a patch on its rump. There are five distinct dark stripes that run along its back and sides. And these stripes distinguish the chipmunks from all other squirrels except for their relative, the thirteen-lined ground squirrel, which is similar in size but has 13 stripes of alternating gray and dark brown stripes on its back. Chipmunks are ground dwellers and they can be found in forests, prairies, backyards, parks and habitats that have logs stumped or downed trees to take shelter in.
They tend to avoid wet or swampy areas because it's pretty difficult to create underground tunnels when they're constantly flooded. But they are very tolerant of humans and frequently take shelter near homes, even burrowing under the foundations of homes or buildings. The leased chipmunk found across the UP occupies open stands of aspen and pine where their populations can grow quite large.
So, if you do decide to check out an aspen forest at a GEMS, make sure to keep an eye out for the small critter scurrying around. You can distinguish the leased and the eastern chipmunks by the stripes on their back, while they have the same number and coloration leased chipmunk stripes extend all the way down the rump to the tail while stripes on the eastern chipmunk do not extend all the way down to their rump. Despite their small size, chipmunks are incredible excavators and can create burrows that are interconnected highways underground that can span up to 33 feet in length.

Eric:
Wow, that's impressive.

Rachel:
It's extremely impressive. Chipmunks are quite intentional with their interior design. Now, among the chambers in their tunnel they have specific rooms similar to how we lay out our houses. So, there's one room that's a nesting site where they have crushed or chewed leaves to create a soft bed. Another chamber is their pantry where they store their caches of food and another is like a junk drawer where they store debris and various other materials likely for building.
These tunnels open at the ground level with a two-inch circular entrance from which they leave and enter. And it will be quite inconspicuous because as they are digging these tunnels, they will spread the dirt out along the ground so that you don't notice a large lump of dirt that signals where their entrance is. The eastern chipmunk is a timely mammal and keeps a tight schedule of events. They are the busiest during the mid-morning and mid-afternoon when they're doing their foraging. As a very generalist wildlife biologist, I would assume that this is because that's the timeframe when many potential predators like foxes, coyotes, and bobcats or hawks are at their least active opting for dusk or dawn hunting times instead.
They also can be rather confrontational and we'll get into kerfuffles with fellow squirrels over territory. If an intruder wanders into an area that is already claimed, the resident chipmunk will visually and vocally threatened the intruding chipmunk before engaging in a vigorous and noisy pursuit. So, just to illustrate that interaction a little bit, I read a line from the Mammal of Great Lakes field guide by Allen Kurta, and he says in quotes, "So intent are the squirrels on their dispute that the chase often passes unabated, which means at full force within a few paces of startled humans. So, should you find yourself in the middle of a WWE chipmunk match, maybe just let them finish their business.

Eric:
Good advice.

Rachel:
Like all other rodents, they have a single pair of curved incisors on the upper and lower jaw. Those incisors grow throughout their life so that the surface can be worn away by constant gnawing and chewing and the tooth is gradually replaced exactly like the American beaver. The front surface of the incisors is made of an enamel that's hardened with iron compounds that make the tooth appear to be orange or yellow.
Foxes, as we just mentioned, some predators of this chipmunk are foxes, hawks, and owls, which are amongst some of the most common wild predators of chipmunks. And occasionally you can find owl pellets that will have the chipmunk skull perfectly intact still, and you can tell it's a chipmunk from the small size and the large yellowy incisor teeth. These small rodents put their teeth to work eating seeds, nuts, fruits, and occasionally supplementing with mushrooms, insects, earthworms, or even eggs or nestlings of birds, which is pretty metal.
And as we mentioned before, chipmunks have a habit of hoarding foods. So, they will haul dry food items into their burrows, but they will first pack the food into these storage pouches inside of their mouth. When full, each mouth pouch will be as large as the chipmunk's head. So, you can imagine if we had that kind of storage, our head would be tripled in size and we would just have cheeks packed full of snacks.

Eric:
Like Oreos when your kids come out of bed after you've put them down for the night and you're eating the snacks.

Rachel:
Do kids do that? I still do that.

Eric:
I'm talking about parents like you're sitting there eating your Oreos that you've been saving and waiting for the kids to go to bed. And then, they come out and surprise you like, "Oh no, these aren't Oreos," and you shove them into your mouth to hide them.

Rachel:
Yes, I'm sure it's exactly like that. Food collection occurs throughout the year, but they seem to be particularly active during the fall to store up food reserves before the winter months when food will be in short supply. During those cold months, chipmunks will conserve their energy by slipping into torpor a period of a sleep-like state that lowers the heart rate metabolic processes for one to five days. They do not have large fat reserves to keep them sleeping for long as a true hibernator would. So, they do have to wake up to eat.
However, there is a balance to be had because if they wake up too often, they may run out of food and have to face the cold temperatures of winters above ground. Adult chipmunks will have one to two litters of kits every year. And after 31 days of gestation, four to five, blind and hairless young are born in an underground nest. Chipmunks play a vital role in our ecosystems for two reasons. One, they are the primary prey item for many carnivores such as weasels, bobcats, foxes, or coyotes.
And because of the obvious heavy predation, most chipmunks do not live past two years old. However, there have been a few wild chipmunks that have been found at eight years old. And the second reason they're vital to our ecosystems is because they're often the architect of our forests.
Because of the chipmunk's food-stashing nature, they are very important seed distributors as they spread plants and tree seeds around inevitably forgetting where some of their cache locations are, which allow the seeds to take root and flourish. Well now you know the life of a chipmunk, and perhaps the next time you see a little chip scurrying around, remember that there's much more to these small rodents than what meets the eye.

Eric:
Chipmunkers more than meets the eye.

Rachel:
Now is your opportunity to win a Wildtalk podcast camp mug. As a thank you to our listeners, we'll be giving away a mug or two every episode. Our August mug winners are Dan Rutkowski and Dave Dieters. Check your email as we'll be getting in touch with you soon. They answered the question, what native to Michigan turtle species has a tubular snout and a soft shell? It is none other than the spiny soft-shelled turtle.
These turtles are quite unique with their distinct snout and soft leathery shells. Podcast listener Dale Whedon recently came across a spiny soft-shell turtle while it was trying to lay eggs and he snapped a few photos of it and so kindly emailed them to us and we quite enjoyed seeing those. So, thank you, Dale. Now, to be entered into the drawing this month, test your wildlife knowledge and answer our wildlife quiz question. This month's quiz question is, an animal that walks with its toes and heels on the ground such as bears or humans is called a what?
Is it, A, a digitigrade, B, plantigrade or C, unguligrade. Email your name and answer to us at DNR-Wildlife@michigan.gov to be entered for a chance to win a mug. Be sure to include the subject line as mug me and submit your answers by August 15th. We'll announce winners and the answers on next month's podcast episode. So, be sure to listen in to see if you've won and for the next quiz question. Good luck, everyone.

Announcer:
Michigan conservation officers are working hard to protect and keep the outdoors safe for current and future generations. If you witness a natural resources violation, you can call or text the Report All Poaching hotline, 24 hours a day at 1-800-292-7800, or fill out the complaint form available at Michigan.gov/RAP. If you would like more information on becoming a conservation officer, click on Become a CO at Michigan.gov/Conservation Officers.

Rachel:
Thank you for joining us on this August edition of the Wildtalk Podcast. Remember, if you have questions about wildlife or hunting, you can call 517-284-9453 or email DNR-Wildlife@michigan.gov. We will see you back here in September.

Announcer:
This has been the Wildtalk Podcast, your monthly podcast airing the first of each month in offering insights into the world of wildlife across the State of Michigan. You can reach the Wildlife Division at 517-284-9453 or DNR-Wildlife@michigan.gov.

MUSIC:
Everybody, get up.
Whoo-hoo.