DATE: Wednesday, November 5, 1997           TAG: 9711050455

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LINDA McNATT, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   84 lines

EXPECT HUNGRY CRITTERS IN BACK YARDS SHORTAGE OF NUTS AND BERRIES WILL BRING ANIMALS OUT THE WOODS.

Dueling critters at backyard bird feeders are likely to be common sights this fall and winter, state naturalists say.

That's because a late frost in April damaged buds on trees that already had blossomed during unusually warm February and March.

There are far fewer nuts and berries in the woods than in previous years, and the critters are in search of something to eat.

The problem is most apparent east of Interstate 95, said Glen Askins, regional wildlife biologist and southeastern regional manager for the Virginia Commission of Game and Inland Fisheries.

``Wildlife is going to have to work a little harder to make a living,'' Askins said. ``You're going to see more venturing out along the edge of the roads, crossing the highways.''

He added, ``Individuals who are historically bird feeders need to invest this year in protecting their feeders from squirrels and raccoons.''

Food production in nature normally runs in cycles, said James Parkhurst, extension wildlife specialist with Virginia Cooperative Extension at Virginia Tech.

The state is coming off of two very good years of nut and berry production. This year, the ``mast,'' as nuts, fruits and berries are called, is spotty.

Here's why: Local temperatures last February and March were more than 2 degrees above normal, said Betty Gray, who keeps weather statistics at the Tidewater Agricultural Research Center in Suffolk. That was just enough time for everything to bud.

Then came April. Temperatures dropped to 4 degrees below normal and stayed that way through May and June. The last killing frost of the season came on April 20, after most everything had bloomed.

That wasn't unusually late. The last frost normally comes between April 9 and 15. But with the warm weather the area already had, five days made a difference.

Acorns - a favorite food for deer and wild turkeys - have been drastically affected, wildlife specialists say. The late spring caused a shortage; the summer drought caused what acorns there are to be smaller than normal.

In Hampton Roads, the acorn crop from pin oaks looks fair, game warden Phillip Townley said. There are few acorns from red and white oaks.

Animals will have to travel farther to find food.

This could be good news for hunters. They will be able to spot game more easily as the animals travel into open areas and unfamiliar territory, he said.

But it's bad news for farmers, homeowners and motorists.

The animals will move into farm fields to forage for whatever they can find.

Suffolk Virginia Tech extension agent Clifton Slade said he was already beginning to see a difference a month ago, when deer started to move into peanut and soybean fields.

``And bears in a peanut field - well, they are like a bunch of little children, like Yogi Bear at a picnic in the park,'' Slade said. ``They can really tear up a peanut field.''

Most of the peanuts in this area have been harvested, but the pressure is definitely on late soybeans, Slade said.

``I often question the marksmanship of the hunters out here in Surry,'' said Virginia Tech extension agent Rex Cotton. ``There seem to be a significant number more deer than in previous years.''

There will appear to be a lot more squirrels and raccoons around, too, Parkhurst said. Those critters will show up at bird feeders in suburban back yards. And don't be surprised, he said, to see a wild turkey.

The animals can take advantage of homeowners' generosity and turn landscaped yards and gardens into feeding stations, he said. The food shortage will probably even increase the number of mice in houses this fall and winter.

And - a more serious impact - the movement of the animals is likely to result in more deer-vehicle collisions on the roadways.

Motorists need to be especially careful in the early mornings and late at night, Townley said.

Animals, the game warden said, move outside of their normal habitat for two reasons - food and sex.

The fall rut, or mating season for deer, is beginning about now. If they have to keep moving in search of food, you could see the mammals in a lot of unfamiliar places.

``The deer have already started moving around more,'' said Townley, who works in the Southeastern District, including Suffolk. ``And with all of the housing that's popping up around here, that just gives them greater potential to cross a road somewhere. They're going to keep moving until they get their stomachs full.'' ILLUSTRATION: Earle

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