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American Woodcock

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- In the wild, some species go all out to woo their mates in spring with noisy and colorful shows. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s national wildlife refuges are great places to see or hear them.

Here are a few examples of species to look for at refuges across the country:

The male Attwater’s prairie chicken — a member of the grouse family — does a jig and makes a “booming” sound by filling orange air sacks on the sides of its neck. The daytime spectacle is popular with visitors every March and April at the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge in Texas, established to protect habitat for the critically endangered bird. See and hear booming here. This year’s annual Attwater’s Prairie Chicken Festival takes place April 14 and 15.

Further north, the American woodcock — also known as the timberdoodle — puts on a striking “sky dance” after dark. Starting at the end of March, the male woodcock leaves its cover for open fields, where it calls to females with a series of sharp “peent”s. Then it suddenly flies up, twittering, in a widening spiral, floats briefly and dives zigzag back to earth. You can follow it with a flashlight. In his book A Sand County Almanac, famed conservationist Aldo Leopold wrote of the woodcock’s sky dance: “Since we discovered it, my family and I have been reluctant to miss even a single performance.” Spring woodcock walks are favorites at Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge in Vermont and Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge in Rhode Island. American woodcocks can also be found at Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge in Maine, Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey and other refuges. Hear a courting woodcock here.

At Mingo National Wildlife Refuge in Missouri, White River National Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas, and elsewhere, the grey tree frog makes a racket to attract females in spring breeding season. Beginning in early April, it inflates its vocal pouch to balloon-like proportions and emits a melodic trill. University of Missouri researchers recently found that the male calibrates his love song to attract mates with matching chromosomes. See and hear a grey tree frog calling here.

And along the Delaware Bay, the annual coming ashore of thousands of horseshoe crabs to spawn is a tourist attraction in May and June. Male horseshoe crabs crowd along the water line to vie for arriving females. A male grabs onto a mate and rides ashore, where she deposits her eggs in the sand and he fertilizes them. Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware and Cape May National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey are good spots to watch the show. See a video here.

The National Wildlife Refuge System includes more than 2,500 miles of land and water trails. There is at least one national wildlife refuge in every state and one within an hour’s drive of most major cities. National wildlife refuges are dedicated to the conservation of fish and wildlife and their habitats. The nation’s 556 national wildlife refuges and other units of the Refuge System, plus 38 wetland management districts, offer a wide range of wildlife-dependent recreation — from fishing, boating, hunting and hiking to wildlife observation and photography, nature interpretation and environmental education. Refuges offer many programs and events geared to families and children. These include festivals, junior naturalist classes, boating and fishing instruction, crafts and more.

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals, and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov. Connect with our Facebook page, follow our tweets, watch our YouTube Channel, and download photos from our Flickr page.

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National Wildlife Refuges Play Well on the Silver Screen Could this be an Oscar Year?

Meeks Cutoff

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- This year’s Academy Awards ceremony holds special interest for the Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Wildlife Refuge System.

Some critics are listing “Meeks Cutoff,” with scenes from Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon, as a possible Oscar contender.

“Meeks Cutoff,” starring Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood and Paul Dano, is about pioneers stranded on the Oregon Trail and was filmed from federal lands adjacent to the wildlife refuge.

Malheur Refuge manager Tim Bodeen knows why director Kelly Reichardt wanted to capture scenes of the refuge:

“We’re one of the nation’s great wild places where you can get wide open views of the natural environment,” he says. “And we have bountiful wildlife [including coyotes and mule deer] that people associate with historic America.”

Today’s visitors can hike, bike, fish and hunt on the refuge as well as see wildlife and tour the 19 th-century Sod House Ranch.

What are some of the better known refuge-linked movies? Besides “Meeks Cutoff,” there’s everything from a 1923 silent classic filmed at Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes National Wildlife Refuge in California to a 1971 B movie filmed at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia.

Okefenokee Refuge boasts about the refuge scenes in the 1971 film “Swamp Girl” and shows the movie to visitors. It does so even though the movie’s depiction of the swamp doesn’t match the refuge’s perspective, laughs refuge office assistant Judy Drury, who recalls the filming. It depicts, she says, “what everybody thought the swamp was – scary, bad, dreary, full of alligators and snakes – and not what it actually is. It’s so beautiful out there.”

Okefenokee Refuge is popular with paddlers, nature photographers, hunters and fishermen. Canoeists can follow water trails deep into the 354,000 acre wilderness, and visitors can tour a restored homestead to discover how “swampers” once made their home here.

In the case of the 1923 silent classic, director Cecil B. DeMille set up shop at or near what would later become Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Refuge to film his epic “The Ten Commandments.”

It’s “the only refuge that has an Egyptian city underneath,” jokes Fish and Wildlife Service senior writer/editor David Klinger. He’s not kidding entirely.

DeMille’s colossus of a movie built a lavish set to replicate the ancient City of Seti that boasted of “21 sphinxes, four 35-foot-tall statues of Ramses, and a commanding, awe-inspiring 110-foot-high set of massive city gates,” says Klinger. (The film won an Oscar for best visual effects.) When filming ended, the company simply dynamited the set, costumes and all, and buried them in the dunes. There they lay for decades until bits began resurfacing, exposed by wind and weather. Now, movie artifacts are on display where visitors can see them at the Dunes Center in nearby Guadalupe.

Refuge visitors can walk four miles across the beach to the refuge to see migrating waterfowl and shorebirds and coastal dune plants in bloom. The site is also a popular spot for surf fishing enthusiasts and wildlife photographers.

These days, commercial filmmakers work with refuge managers and need to obtain a special use permit to film on refuge lands. Rules posted by Merrit Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida show the kinds of concerns typically addressed – primarily those of compatibility with wildlife conservation and safeguarding refuge resources.

Klinger says that carefully chosen film projects can enhance the public’s view of refuges “as long as they do not harm the resource,” he says. “Our job is to protect refuges for the present and future.”

About:
The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.

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