February 22, 2024

Question: As a new waterfowl hunter, how do I learn the difference between duck species?

Answer: This is a common question among beginning waterfowl hunters mostly because they don’t want to run afoul of the law, but some hunters with good identification skills also select preferred duck species to harvest, or they may try to harvest primarily males vs. females.

California hosts 39 species or subspecies of waterfowl, so it can be challenging to learn to identify them. Experience is the best teacher and February is a great time in California to learn duck identification by direct observation.

Our recommendation is to visit any of CDFW’s wildlife areas or national wildlife refuges that are managed for waterfowl habitat, or perhaps wherever there is access to hunt waterfowl during the waterfowl season. Visit those places after the close of waterfowl season while the birds are still around. Bring a good pair of binoculars, a waterfowl identification book and maybe a knowledgeable friend who can help. Not only can you help learn to identify the birds from looking at them, but you’ll also begin to learn to distinguish the birds by their flight patterns and sounds they make.

Fun fact, most waterfowl don’t quack, they whistle or chirp in some form or another.

For more information, visit CDFW’s waterfowl program page ( https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Birds/Waterfowl ). It includes links to resources specific to waterfowl identification.

To find more information on CDFW Lands and their operating hours, please visit the CDFW Lands webpage ( https://wildlife.ca.gov/Lands ). Also be sure visit the Emergency Closures page ( https://wildlife.ca.gov/Closures ) before visiting a CDFW office, facility or property.

He has been accepted for a double-lung transplant.

February 8, 2024

Question: What program does CDFW have that offers hunting instruction for beginners or young people?

Answer: CDFW has apprentice and special hunts that are designed to involve groups not traditionally experienced with hunting opportunities. The hunts are intended for first time or novice-level hunters, with a strong emphasis on hunter education principles and ethics while developing hunting and shooting skills.

Pen-raised pheasants allow for these hunts to happen in locations featuring easy walking, safe shooting and adequate open space for participants to spread out. These birds present a larger and slower moving target than wild birds, allowing more time to follow direction from their CDFW escort and practice safe shooting skills.

CDFW currently holds about 65 apprentice hunts each year. Junior hunts, women’s hunts, family hunts and mobility impaired hunts all fall under the description of apprentice hunts.

Apprentice hunters must possess a valid California hunting license and upland game bird stamp or validation and participants are selected through a random drawing process.

Further information on apprentice and special hunts are at CDFW Apprentice Hunts at https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/ApprenticeHunts/Default.aspx

January 31, 2024

https://cdfwmarine.wordpress.com/2024/01/31/cdfw-proposes-changes-to-open-commercial-nearshore-groundfish-fishery/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

January 24, 2024

Question: Why do some species of birds fly in groups of hundreds – or thousands – while some fly or live seemingly single?

Answer: There can be many benefits to living or traveling in groups. Flocks of birds may gather for longer-distance migration or even shorter-distance local movements. Groups of birds also may assemble during the breeding season with many individual birds nesting in a colony. The main advantages of being an individual bird in a flock or nesting colony have to do with safety and finding food resources. Birds within a flock can help alert others to potential predators and other threats. The more eyes there are, the better it is to detect predators. Being in a group can also decrease the chance of any one individual within the flock or colony being taken by a predator. The scientific name for this is called the dilution effect, the more bodies there are the lower the chances of being the individual taken by the predator. Birds in a flock also can improve food-finding and wayfinding for other members within the group. For example, snow geese are a migratory bird that breed in the arctic and overwinter in parts of California and elsewhere in the U.S. and Mexico. The juvenile snow geese hatched that season in the arctic breeding colony have never migrated south. It’s common for juveniles to migrate in family groups with their parents and siblings within the larger flock, which helps juveniles find their way and locate food resources. For bird species that feed on relatively abundant plants or insects, such as waterfowl or small songbirds, it can be beneficial to be in the company of others both for safety and locating food resources.

The primary disadvantage to group living is competition for food and other resources like mates or territory. When a bird must expend a lot of energy to obtain its next meal, such as catching live prey, it can be beneficial to forage alone. For example, many raptors are mostly solitary outside of the breeding season. An individual raptor is in direct competition with its neighbor for limited food resources. Catching live prey, such as small mammals and birds, can require high energy expenditure to obtain. Given the high cost of catching the prey, the raptor benefits most from consuming the prey itself without having to share.

January 11, 2024

Question: Is it true that frogs hibernate during colder times of the year?

Answer: Black bears aren’t the only wildlife species in California that hibernate in winter months. There are 27 species of native toads and frogs in the state and many hibernate, whether in water or on land. Mountain yellow-legged frogs are a good example. To escape frigid weather, the frogs take shelter in underwater rock crevices and submerged vegetation located in deep pools, which are less likely to freeze over.

Elevation plays a big role in what time of year this happens, with frogs at higher elevations having longer hibernation periods than those at lower elevations. Once the frogs find a perfect location, they can remain there throughout winter. During hibernation, the frogs heart rate and metabolism slow enough that the animals don’t require food.

A common misconception is that hibernating frogs bury themselves in mud at the bottom of a pond or stream. But unlike a hibernating turtle, frogs would suffocate without access to oxygen-rich water.

Terrestrial frogs normally hibernate on land, burrowing deep into the soil and safely below the frost line.

January 11, 2024

Question: Is it likely that Tulare Lake will continue to exist year after year, or could it drain off and disappear again?

Answer: When it’s full of water, Tulare Lake in Kings County is practically the size of Lake Tahoe. The major rivers which feed Tulare Lake are dammed and diverted for agricultural and municipal water uses so the lake only fills during exceptional rain years. Tulare Lake made a dramatic reappearance last year after a heavy rainy season, and the lake is likely to remain present in 2024 with rainfall predictions once again being above average.

CDFW is deeply involved in the monitoring of Tulare Lake because of the health implications for the state’s bird populations. As a main landing spot within the Pacific Flyway, millions of waterfowl, shorebirds and other bird species are expected to spend time there. It’s because the water is stagnant and too warm in summer months that avian botulism occurs.

The disease is caused by a toxin-producing bacteria that appears naturally in bodies of water like Tulare Lake. During bacterial growth, the botulinum toxin becomes concentrated in the bodies of invertebrates, such as fly larvae, which are then eaten by waterfowl and other birds, infecting them.

The last large avian botulism outbreak in Tulare Lake happened in 1983 when approximately 30,000 birds, mostly waterfowl, died. The numbers were far more encouraging last year, with fewer than 5,000 deaths. CDFW worked with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine’s, Oiled Wildlife Care Network and California Waterfowl to quickly collect dead birds to slow the spread of the bacteria and treated more than 1,200 birds releasing nearly 900 healthy birds back into the wild.