Have you ever heard of a timberdoodle? A goatsucker? Both are nicknames for birds found in Michigan’s young aspen forests.
The woodcock, nicknamed the timberdoodle for its long beak – which it uses to probe in moist soil looking for earthworms – is a prized upland bird game species. The whip-poor-will, or goatsucker, has the familiar “whip-poor-will” song that many people recognize. Both of these birds, along with many other wildlife species, depend on young aspen forests to survive.
Young aspen forests must be intensively managed or, as time passes, they will grow into older forests. Historically in Michigan, young forests occurred in areas where there were significant weather events or large wildfires. The wind would blow over a large area of trees or a large fire would burn acres of trees, allowing a new, young forest to appear. In addition to natural events like wind and fire, humans also created young forest as land was cleared in the late 1800s for farming and wood products and pockets of young forests were planted and scattered across the landscape.
Young aspen forests contain many trees close together, providing great cover for wildlife and reducing the threat of predators. In addition, these forests provide a bounty of food, from the buds on the trees to the insects found on and in the ground.
Recently, the Department of Natural Resources, the Ruffed Grouse Society and the Conservation Resource Alliance have teamed together to focus on maintaining young forests in a core area of the northern Lower Peninsula. This core area in Emmet County, selected because woodcock populations are abundant here, holds great potential for creating additional young aspen forests based on the current forest conditions.
“The only way we can have young aspen forests is to create them,” said DNR game bird biologist Al Stewart. “We can assist landowners who are interested in providing this valuable habitat, which benefits many different wildlife species, both hunting and non-hunting interests.”
Teams of resource professionals are currently working with private landowners, power line companies and state forest systems to put young aspen forest habitat back on the landscape. There are many species besides woodcock and whip-poor-wills that benefit, such as white-tailed deer, turkey, snowshoe hare, golden winged warbler and ruffed grouse.
Landowners in the northern Lower Peninsula who are interested in young aspen forest habitat management can contact Brian Piccolo at 989-275-5151 or go to Managing Michigan’s Wildlife: A Landowner’s Guide at www.michigan.gov/landownersguide.
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