Wildlife of Pike's Peak State Park

 

Kim S. Bogenschutz
Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Wildlife Research Station
1436 255th Street
Boone, Iowa 50036

 

Pikes Peak State Park is located on the highest bluff along the Mississippi River, Clayton County, Iowa.  The confluence of the Wisconsin River with the Mississippi River can be seen from atop the 500-foot bluff.  The rocky bluffs, steep ravines, wooded valleys, and spring-fed streams are home to a variety of wildlife.  Because the Mississippi River is an important migratory pathway for many bird species, Pikes Peak State Park provides excellent viewing of songbirds, hawks, and waterfowl during the spring and fall migrations.  The composition and diversity of trees and shrubs in the forest, the time of year, and the amount of disturbance from park visitors are some of the factors affecting the presence and distribution of wildlife in the Pikes Peak State Park.

 

Wildlife Species

Large populations of white-tailed deer reside within Pikes Peak State Park and the surrounding areas.  Furbearers found within the park and the adjacent Mississippi River area include mink, river otters, muskrats, beavers, red and gray fox, cottontail rabbits, and raccoons.  Many small mammals inhabit the area including weasels, fox and gray squirrels, many species of shrews, mice, voles, and ground squirrels, and several species of bats.  The park is a good place to view bats during the summer, especially near the shelter.  Common species observed are the big brown bat and little brown myotis; however, northern myotis, silver-haired bats,000 eastern pipistrelles, red bats (Fig. 1), and hoary bats also occur in this part of the state during the summer months.

 Pikes Peak State Park and the surrounding area have high bird species diversity.  The Paleozoic Plateau contains Iowa’s largest populations of species that prefer large woodlands, such as the bald eagle, red-shouldered hawk, ruffed grouse, and Cerulean warbler.  The forested landscape of the park and its location along the Mississippi River make it a haven for many breeding birds.  A few of the numerous confirmed nesting birds are wood ducks, Cooper’s hawks, red-shouldered hawks (state endangered – see Fig. 2), yellow-bellied sapsuckers, ruby-throated hummingbirds, blue-gray gnatcatchers, yellow warblers, and Louisiana waterthrush.  A variety of other neotropical migrants are considered probable breeders in the park (e.g., yellow-billed cuckoo, pileated woodpecker, Acadian flycatcher, wood thrush, blue-winged warbler, Cerulean warbler, Kentucky warbler, scarlet tanager – Fig. 3).  Great blue herons and great egrets from nearby rookeries raise their young along the river in spring and summer.  Large populations of wild turkey reside within the park and in the surrounding forest areas.  Ruffed grouse also inhabit woodlands in this part of the state.  Bald eagles are commonly seen during fall migration along with other raptors like broad-winged hawks and sharp-shinned hawks.  Bald eagles also winter along the Mississippi River.

 Large numbers of turtles live in the area surrounding Pikes Peak State Park.  Some species (i.e., map turtle, false map turtle, smooth softshell) are limited to the Mississippi River or adjacent pools and ponds.  Others may be seen near water within the park: painted turtle, Blanding’s turtle, snapping turtle, spiny softshell turtle.  Five-lined skinks (Fig. 4) can be observed along the forest edges near rock outcrops during the warmer months.

Frogs and toads surveyed in Clayton County are northern leopard frog, green frog, chorus frog, bullfrog, Blanchard’s cricket frog, American toad, Cope’s gray treefrog, northern spring peeper, and eastern gray treefrog.  Pikes Peak State Park is in the historical range for the pickerel frog, a species typically found in cold-water streams feeding into the Mississippi River; however, none have been recorded in the county in recent years.  Mudpuppies (state endangered) and tiger salamanders (Fig. 5) are two other amphibians that could be encountered within the park. 

Fourteen different snake species can be found in Clayton County.  The particular habitat that one visits in Pikes Peak State Park determines the snakes that may be observed.  The northern water snake is the only water snake found in this part of the state.  Common woodland or forest edge species include brown snakes, northern redbelly snakes, milk snakes, fox snakes, and bullsnakes.  Eastern, redside, and plains garter snakes are commonly found along the edges of water bodies with good amphibian populations.  Eastern hognose snakes and occasionally blue racers may be found in forest clearings.  Timber rattlesnakes inhabit wooded areas, primarily around rock outcrops or bluff prairies.  Because of their required habitat, they occur only in scattered populations along the Mississippi River bluffs where relatively undisturbed habitat remains.  Timber rattlesnakes are protected as a nongame species in Iowa.

 

 

Wildlife Management

The goals of wildlife management activities at Pikes Peak State Park and surrounding wildlife areas are to develop self-sustaining and diverse wildlife populations and provide public viewing of a variety of species.  Forest management within the park will largely determine wildlife composition, distribution, and population levels.  Natural succession will create old growth stands of red and white oak, maple, basswood, and hickory.  The habitat and mast provided by successional woodlands supports populations of wild turkeys, white-tailed deer, ruffed grouse, neotropical migrants such as Acadian, flycatcher, Cerulean warbler, and scarlet tanager, and a variety of small mammals.  White-tailed deer can have negative impacts on vegetation within state parks if their populations become too large.  Hunting is prohibited in Pikes Peak State Park and all other state parks unless special hunts are implemented.  In the absence of natural predators, hunting remains the most effective tool for controlling deer numbers.

 Populations of many neotropical migratory bird species have declined in the past 25 years.  One theory for this decline is increased habitat fragmentation.  Large forests have been broken-up, resulting in smaller forest tracts that attract edge predators such as skunks, raccoons, fox, crows, and blue jays.  Brown-headed cowbirds are also attracted to habitat fragments.  These nest parasites lay eggs in the nests of neotropical migrants that in turn incubate cowbird eggs and raise cowbird young at the expense of their own young.  The large forest tracts at Pikes Peak State Park offer some protection from habitat fragmentation and are safe nesting areas for many breeding neotropical migrants.  Woodland management needs to be accomplished in such a manner as to minimize impacts to breeding bird species.

 Management activities should also be accomplished with regard for the various species of bats that inhabit the park area.  All of Iowa’s bats live in forest areas during the summer.  Several species of bats use live and dead trees with loose bark for nursery roosts, whereas others use cavities and foliage for roost sites.  In general, woodland management for bats includes protection and retention of trees with loose bark and trees with cavities. 

Planting shrubs and trees near public use areas provides food and cover for a variety of wildlife species and enhances viewing opportunities.  Appropriate tree and shrub species include oak, ash, gray dogwood, chokecherry, wild plum, serviceberry, nanny berry, elderberry, hawthorn, and other native or non-invasive woody species.  The DNR has several guidebooks to assist viewers in identifying species: The Snakes of Iowa, The Salamanders and Frogs of Iowa, The Lizards and Turtles of Iowa, A Guide to the Bats of Iowa.

 Pikes Peak State Park supports a variety of wildlife species, thus making it a valuable resource that requires careful management.  Recreation, wildlife management, and forestry goals for the park and surrounding areas should be coordinated to ensure that all Iowans can enjoy the park while critical wildlife habitat is maintained.

References

Christiansen, J. L. and R. M. Bailey. 1990. The Snakes of Iowa. Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Nongame Technical Series No. 1, Des Moines.

Christiansen, J. L. and R. M. Bailey. 1991. The Salamanders and Frog of Iowa. Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Nongame Technical Series No. 2, Des Moines.

Christiansen, J. L. and R. M. Bailey. 1997. The Lizards and Turtles of Iowa. Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Nongame Technical Series No. 3, Des Moines.

Dinsmore, S. J., L. S. Jackson, B. L. Ehresman, and J. J. Dinsmore. 1995. Iowa Wildlife Viewing Guide. Falcon Press, Helena, MT.

Jackson, L. S., C. A. Thompson, and J. J. Dinsmore. 1996. The Iowa Breeding Bird Atlas. University of Iowa Press, Iowa City.

Lannoo, Michael J., editor. 1998. Status and Conservation of Midwestern Amphibians. University of Iowa Press, Iowa City.

Laubach, C. M., J. Bowles, and R. Laubach. 1994. A Guide to the Bats of Iowa. Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Nongame Technical Series No. 2, Des Moines.

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from                                                                       

Anderson, R.R. (ed.), 2000, The Natural History of
Pikes Peak State Park, Clayton County, Iowa:    
Geological Society of Iowa Guidebook 70,         
p. 49-51.