Five weird prairie species for your consideration

By Tim Kalinowski

The prairie region boasts some of the most interesting, if under-appreciated, species of wildlife in all of Canada, says Alberta Conservation Association senior biologist Brad Downey. However, conservation organizations, in partnership with Alberta ranchers and the provincial government, are looking to spark increasing interest.
“For a lot of species-at-risk people simply don’t know about them,” he says. “It’s really just a matter of going out and looking for them, right?
“It is amazing how much we don’t know still. Only 36 per cent of prairie is left in its natural state in Alberta; so for most of these species, when you take away over half of what used to be their territory, it is not surprising they are going to be more likely to be endangered or threatened.
“Partnering and working with ranchers and producers, then, is key … They are the true conservationists and true stewards. They are out there 365 days of the year, and we enjoy learning from each other.”
Downey has put together his own list of Alberta’s most under-appreciated prairie species, and has kindly agreed to share it with Ag-Matters to drive home the message conservation matters.

The Ferruginous Hawk- Endangered

Description:

“It is our largest hawk in Canada, and it is actually considered an endangered species here in Alberta,” explains Downey. “These are the guys producers love to see on their lands because they lover Richardson ground squirrels. A pair of them will eat 500 ground squirrels during a breeding season.
“They like open grasslands. They are one of only two hawks we have in Alberta that actually have feathers that go all the way down to their feet. They have bright white fronts and red legs. The feather there are a rusty colour, which is where the name ‘Ferruginous’ actually comes from.”

What we can do to help them:

“We encourage them to nest in natural structures,” says Downey, “but we also install hawk poles in appropriate locations. They are endangered for a whole bunch of different reasons. It goes from habitat loss to nest site availability. These guys can nest on the ground, but they really need trees and other sites up above to produce their young and keep them safe from predators. But even on those nest poles Great Horned owls can get them too.”

Loggerhead Shrike, also known as the Butcher Bird- Species of Special Concern

Description:

“These are little guys,” says Downey. “They are not a raptor, but they have some of the qualities of a raptor. They have really good eyesight and curved and hooked bills, but they lack talons.
“Basically what they do is go and catch their prey and impale them on barbed wire, thorny buffaloberry or other natural shrubs where they can then tear their meat apart.
“They have a gray body and a black mask through their eyes. When they fly you can often see these white dots which occur on their wings, which really catches your eye.”

What we can do to help them:

“One of the key things for their population health is to maintain hedge rows, or maintain and improve your riparian habitat which contains those kinds of thorny shrubs they need,” explains Downey.
“I find it amazing what they can do. I have heard stories from producers of having a whole 16 foot section of fence, and every one of those barbs would actually have a Plains Spadefoot Toad, which these birds love to eat, impaled on them. Kind of like toad jerky.”

Plains Spadefoot Toad- At Risk

Description:

“Sometimes you won’t see or hear from these guys for two or three years, and you think there is nothing out there,” explains Downey. “Then all of sudden you will get one of these rain events, where you get two inches or more over a few hours.
“All of a sudden, the whole prairie will erupt in a noise which sounds like someone snoring. It drones on and on. You may actually see these little toads crossing the roads. They are an olive green or grayish colour.
“If you pick one of them up you will notice an interesting thing; they have what looks like cat eyes, which is really neat to see.
“These guys can bury down into the ground about three feet. They will live in the ground for years at a time. When these major rain events happen, it will draw them out to breed.”

What we can do to help them:

“We actually know very little about this species,” admits Downey. “Finding more breeding sites would be helpful to researchers.”

Short-Horned Lizard- Endangered

Description:

“It’s our only lizard in Alberta, and we are in the northern fringe of its range,” says Downey; “so these guys are actually considered an endangered species in Alberta. They hibernate under shrubs in loose soil about 10 cm deep. It is almost like they have anti-freeze in their blood.
“They are very cryptic, and they are a sit and wait type of predator. They blend into their surroundings. They are quite small. The adults can fit into your palm, and the females are larger than the males. The young ones can be as small as a penny. They love eating ants. That is their main diet.”

What we can do to help them:

“Like all prairie species, they are running out of native habitat, which threatens their survival,” says Downey.

Prairie Rattlesnake: Species of Special Concern

Description:

“These guys are also on the northern edge of their range here in Alberta, and they extend all the way down to northern Mexico,” explains Downey. “They are a venomous species, which is a concern to a lot of people: Although we have never had anyone die from a rattlesnake bite here in Alberta. The females breed every two years, and give birth to live young. Landowners tend to like them. If you have rattlesnakes on your land, they get rid of all the small mammals like gophers and mice.”

What we can do to help them:

“They key thing for them is have enough hibernacula (dens) to survive the winter,” says Downey. “Road mortality is also probably one of the leading causes of species decline, that and direct human persecution.
“There are still a lot of misconceptions about Prairie Rattlesnakes, and there are a lot of people that simply don’t like snakes. They will often intentionally swerve to hit them or bash them and kill them. That is unfortunate because they serve a vital purpose in controlling those small mammals and rodent pest species.
“Since they started providing those snake prongs to pick them up to landowners, there has been more public awareness of the positive benefits of them.”