WILDLIFE IN YOUR Young Forest 1 More Wildlife in Your Woods CREATE YOUNG FOREST AND ENJOY THE WILDLIFE IT ATTRACTS WHEN TO EXPECT DIFFERENT ANIMALS his guide presents some of the wildlife you may used to describe this dense, food-rich habitat are thickets, T see using your young forest as it grows following a shrublands, and early successional habitat. timber harvest or other management practice. As development has covered many acres, and as young The following lists focus on areas inhabited by the woodlands have matured to become older forest, the New England cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis), a rare amount of young forest available to wildlife has dwindled. native rabbit that lives in parts of New York east of the Having diverse wildlife requires having diverse habitats on Hudson River, and in parts of Connecticut, Rhode Island, the land, including some young forest. Massachusetts, southern New Hampshire, and southern Maine. In this region, conservationists and landowners In nature, young forest is created by floods, wildfires, storms, are carrying out projects to create the young forest and and beavers’ dam-building and feeding. To protect lives and shrubland that New England cottontails need to survive. property, we suppress floods, fires, and beaver activities. Such projects also help many other kinds of wildlife that Fortunately, we can use habitat management practices, use the same habitat. such as timber harvests, to mimic natural disturbance events and grow young forest in places where it will do the most Young forest provides abundant food and cover for insects, good. These habitat projects boost the amount of food reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals. Both rare and available to local wildlife. They also provide dense cover common wildlife use young forest, and more than 60 species where animals can rest, evade predators, and take shelter in the Northeast need it to survive. Other terms sometimes during inclement weather. 2 3 Will I See a New England Cottontail? In young forest created by either a natural disturbance or through habitat management, New England cottontails may show up after three or more years of tree and shrub growth. They’ll be more likely to occupy a new habitat if it’s within a mile or so of an existing New England cottontail population. New England cottontails generally remain in the habitat until the forest is 15 to 20 or more years old, at which point trees shade out shrubs and other low plants that the rabbits need for feeding and hiding. Your Forest is Unique . and Important Remember, each habitat project will look a bit different because of soil characteristics, the amount of sunlight a Native goldenrod, aster, and Virginia rose site receives, or the types of plants and seed sources present. Also, the years when various animals appear may How to Use This Guide differ from site to site. Different animals may use the habitat at different times of the day, including at night. Some will Animals that require young forest at some time during breed and feed there in spring and summer, while others their lives are listed in boldface; many are rare, and their will rely on food and cover resources during spring and fall populations are declining. Notes in parentheses following a migrations or in winter. species’ name indicate a certain season in which an animal is likely to use young forest, or a different name by which the animal is known. The following lists are only partial; you will likely see other kinds of wildlife as well, or discover signs of their presence, such as tracks and scats (droppings). Not all of the species listed are found throughout the geographic area covered by this publication; consult a reference book to be sure of a correct identification. Throughout the New England cottontail’s range, many young forest habitats are quickly occupied by the eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus),a non-native rabbit introduced to the region many years ago. The eastern cottontail is now more abundant than the New England cottontail. It is not included in the following species lists, although it can be found in all of the forest ages described. Forests are important habitats. Creating enough young forest will let us help the New England cottontail and other wildlife now and in years to come. New England cottontail 4 5 THE First YEAR... Checklist OF WILDLIFE IN A FOREST’S Spot-winged glider dragonfly FIRST YEAR Insects Ants Bumble bees Honey bee Solitary bees Crickets Grasshoppers Red-spotted purple butterfly Fireflies Hoverflies Tiger beetles American lady butterfly Red-spotted purple butterfly Spring azure butterfly Blue dasher dragonfly Green darner dragonfly merican woodcock use newly cleared areas as singing Box turtle Skimmer dragonflies A grounds in spring. Mourning doves, dark-eyed Reptiles and juncos, white-throated sparrows, and other birds find food Amphibians on the exposed ground. Bees emerge from winter nests in American toad soil, plant stems, and cavities in wood. Turtles and snakes Spadefoot toad bask in the sunlight and lay eggs in sun-warmed soil. As the Box turtle growing season progresses, caterpillars feed on leaves, and Wood turtle wildflowers provide nectar and pollen for bees, butterflies, and Black racer Black rat snake American toad Brown snake moths. Dragonflies, Garter snake birds, and bats hunt Hog-nosed snake for flying insects Milk snake above fresh clearings, Ring-necked snake and hawks perch Smooth green snake nearby to watch for Worm snake prey. Foxes and other predators may find the patch and add it to their hunting circuits. American woodcock 6 7 Black racer Checklist OF WILDLIFE IN A FOREST’S FIRST YEAR (CONTINUED) Birds Broad-winged hawk Whip-poor-will Northern flicker Cooper’s hawk Red-tailed hawk Fox sparrow Wild turkey (winter) Bobwhite quail Song sparrow American woodcock White-throated sparrow Mourning dove Common nighthawk Mammals Whip-poor-will Opossum Chimney swift Big brown bat Ruby-throated hummingbird Little brown bat Bobcat Ruby-throated hummingbird Northern flicker Eastern phoebe Coyote Barn swallow Mink Cooper’s hawk Short-tailed weasel Tree swallow (ermine) Eastern bluebird Raccoon Baltimore oriole Red fox Dark-eyed junco White-tailed deer Mourning dove Tree swallow Bobwhite quail Bobcat White-throated sparrow Red fox 8 9 IN 1 to 5 YEARS... Checklist OF WILDLIFE IN 1-5 YEARS Bumble bee Insects Ants Bumble bees Honey bee Solitary bees Hoverflies Flower beetles Crickets Grasshoppers Smooth green snake Fireflies Leafhoppers Great-spangled fritillary Monarch butterfly Silver-spotted skipper Spicebush swallowtail Tiger swallowtail single summer can yield a lush growth of grasses Reptiles and A and wildflowers. In succeeding years, vines and Yellow-breasted chat Amphibians shrubs spread, and saplings spring up. A wide range of birds on the ground or in American toad feed themselves and their young on increasing numbers of low shrubs. Turtles, Spadefoot toad insects, especially butterflies and moths and their caterpillars. Box turtle snakes, and toads use Wild turkeys, field sparrows, and blue-winged warblers nest Spotted turtle the site for basking, (near wetlands) Wood turtle feeding, and breeding. Black racer The expanding food Black rat snake and cover resources attract mammals, Brown snake including small Garter snake rodents, such as mice Milk snake and voles, and the Ring-necked snake Smooth green snake weasels, foxes, and bobcats that hunt Worm snake them. In areas of new habitat near existing New England cottontail populations, these native rabbits may show up after around three years. Monarch butterfly 10 11 Wood turtle Yellow-breasted chat Baltimore oriole Checklist Northern cardinal OF WILDLIFE Indigo bunting IN 1-5 YEARS Purple finch Pine grosbeak Coyote (CONTINUED) (winter) Common redpoll Birds (winter) Broad-winged hawk American goldfinch Eastern towhee Cooper’s hawk Red-tailed hawk Chipping sparrow Sharp-shinned hawk Field sparrow Wild turkey Fox sparrow Snowshoe hare Blue-winged warbler (winter) Ruffed grouse Song sparrow Bobwhite quail Dark-eyed junco American woodcock Mourning dove Mammals Yellow-billed cuckoo Opossum Great horned owl Big brown bat Screech owl Little brown bat Whip-poor-will New England cottontail Snowshoe hare Ruby-throated hummingbird Wild turkey Eastern kingbird Deer mouse Eastern phoebe Meadow jumping mouse Willow flycatcher Meadow vole Yellow-bellied flycatcher White-footed mouse (spring, fall) Southern red-backed vole Barn swallow Coyote Tree swallow Gray fox Brown thrasher Red fox Gray catbird Raccoon Northern mockingbird Long-tailed weasel Yellow-billed cuckoo Black bear Hermit thrush Mink Cedar waxwing Short-tailed weasel (ermine) Northern shrike Striped skunk (winter) Bobcat White-eyed vireo Black bear Blue-winged warbler White-tailed deer Common yellowthroat Moose Brown thrasher Golden-winged warbler Mourning warbler Nashville warbler Prairie warbler Yellow warbler Opossum Ruffed grouse 12 13 IN 5 to 10 YEARS... Checklist OF WILDLIFE IN 5-10 YEARS Monarch caterpillar Insects Ants Bumble bees Honey bee Solitary bees Hoverflies Bush crickets Grasshoppers Fireflies Sphinx moth Buck moth Showy emerald moth Sphinx moths Promethea moth Mourning cloak butterfly Monarch butterfly Viceroy butterfly nsects abound, including flies, bees, wasps, and Spicebush swallowtail I caterpillars and their adult-stage butterflies and moths. Common yellowthroat Tiger swallowtail Reptiles and amphibians feed on insects, vegetation, and Reptiles and in older forest – such fruits, and find shade during summer’s heat. Wild turkeys, Amphibians as scarlet tanagers woodcock, and ruffed grouse nest on the ground, and many and rose-breasted American toad other birds nest in shrubs and small trees. Birds that breed grosbeaks – visit the Fowler’s toad Box turtle site and catch insects Black racer to take back to their Black rat snake nestlings; when the young birds leave the Brown snake nest, their parents Garter snake bring them to the Hog-nosed snake dense habitat, where Milk snake they learn to feed Ring-necked snake themselves.