ROYALTON VILLAGE — The ongoing drought is having a mixed effect on wildlife throughout the region.
Just as this summer’s extreme conditions have stressed the Upper Valley’s human population, the creatures in the woods and rivers also have been forced to adapt.
Some species, such as moose, could benefit as the drought shrivels up the tick population. Ticks have become a major threat to moose in New England as the region’s warming weather has allowed the blood-sucking insects to persist year-round. Moose are susceptible to winter tick infestations that can ultimately kill them.
Droughts cause ticks to dry out and die. A few years ago during another dry period in late fall, biologists noticed a decrease in the tick population.
“If there’s sustained drought conditions at the right time of year, (ticks) can die prior to attaching to a host and reproducing,” Bergeron said. “The year that we saw the decline in ticks from the drought, the following year we saw increase weights and productivity in our moose.”
But not all species are benefiting from the historic dry spell.
Fish losing habitat
Fish have been of particular concern due to low water levels in the area’s rivers and streams.
Mary Russ, executive director of the White River Partnership, a Royalton Village-based nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the river and its five main tributaries, said she’s startled by low water levels in the river and its watershed.
The White River begins in Ripton, Vt., before combining with the Connecticut River 56 miles later in White River Junction. But the streams that feed into are drying up.
That’s especially troublesome for fish, including the native brook trout.
“The overall theme is that there’s not enough cold water with the river being so low,” Russ said in a phone interview last week. “The rivers are running on groundwater for the most part and that’s a limited resource.”
In the White River, fish have become stranded because channels that connect deeper pools in the river have run dry. They are congregating in deeper, cooler areas where cold water comes into the river, including through groundwater.
“You’re seeing the big fish in the river stacked up sort of like they’re waiting in line for the bus,” Russ said. “We’re also seeing dead fish everywhere. It’s not good.”
When rivers and other water bodies are low, water temperatures rise and oxygen levels are lower, Will Eldridge, aquatic habitat biologist at the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, said in a phone interview last week.
That can affect trout, which need colder water temperatures to survive.
“We have cool air temperatures so it’s kept our streams pretty cold,” Eldridge said. “The reality is we’re seeing that, where there’s water, the fish are OK.”
There haven’t been any large scale, fish die-offs reported, he said.
“I think a lot of the fish, if they’re dying, it’s going to be by predation,” Eldridge said.
If fish are concentrated in smaller areas, it’s easier for animals such as raccoons and mink to eat them.
“What’s good about the rain we’re getting now is we won’t see more drying,” Eldridge said of last week’s showers. “The water levels aren’t recovering yet, but we don’t expect to see them continue to decline. It’s probably stressful for fish out there now, but it’s not going to get worse.”
Conditions better on land
Mammals, so far, appear to be doing all right, Dan Bergeron, wildlife division chief at New Hampshire Fish and Game, said in a phone interview last week. One thing that has the “potential to have big impact” is the state of the “soft mast” crop, which includes berries and apples that bears, turkeys and birds eat.
“Initial indications show that soft mast species were negatively impacted by the drought,” Bergeron said.
The hard mast crop, including acorns and beech nuts, is doing OK so far, he added, cautioning that it is still too early to know for certain. Birds, bears and turkeys also eat nuts.
“You could have a bad year for soft mast, but if you had a really good year for hard mast species, if the acorns and beech nuts produce well, it can counteract that,” Bergeron said. “There’s still potential to have other food sources become available for them.”
If food is scarce, bears may delay their hibernation as they work to bulk up before their winter sleep. In a year where soft mast is scarce, there are typically more reports of bear and human conflicts, Bergeron said.
“Interestingly, we didn’t see that,” he said. “If anything it’s less than I would have expected given the drought.”
The drought conditions can also have a negative effect on reptiles, particularly turtles.
“If areas where turtles typically hibernate are dried out, they may have to stay out longer and travel further to find areas that are wet,” Bergeron said. “That increases the likelihood of vehicle collisions or if they get preyed on by something.”
Birds may need a bath
So far, the Center for Wild Bird Rehabilitation and Ambassador Care at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science in Quechee has not seen an increase in birds being brought in with drought-related injuries and malnutrition, said avian rehabilitator Celia Reinhardt. Raptors get water from their food, including rodents, reptiles and other small birds, Reinhardt wrote in an email.
“Songbirds, however, do rely more heavily on a true water source for their hydration,” Reinhardt wrote.
If people want to help, they can put out a birdbath to help migrating birds. Those who do so should change the water out every other day to prevent mosquitoes from laying eggs and should try to clean it with diluted vinegar every week.
There is a possibility the drought can affect birds going into next year, Reinhardt said. Birds stopping in the area on their migration paths might struggle to fill their hydration needs, including from food sources such as wild berries.
“There’s also a chance that the resident birds in the state will succumb to lack of water availability,” Reinhardt wrote. “If severe enough, there could be lower population numbers moving into next year. It’s tough to say for certain, but it is definitely within the realm of possibility.”
