Kansas City, Mo. ? Having to survive everything from late freezes to droughts and flooding made 2007 a challenging year for wildlife in Kansas and western Missouri.

Wild animals have had to adapt to extremes, experts say, and some ground-nesting bird species have taken big population losses because of weather this year.

Wildlife that doesn’t migrate or hibernate in winter, particularly ground feeding and nesting birds, started the year by riding out a major ice storm from Kansas City to the south.

In March, weather turned unseasonably warm. Then a major late freeze struck in early April, hurting fruit crops and fruits and seeds of many plants used by wildlife for food during nesting season or as winter food.

“The freeze on Easter weekend killed wild turkey eggs,” said Tom Dailey, a biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation in Columbia. “They began re-nesting. But then we had heavy rains and flooding in June that got them again.”

The lowest wild turkey production in the state this year was in western Missouri, he said, with less than one successful poult per hen.

In late summer, a drought quashed seed production, and this winter has seen periods of snow and ice, with some areas getting major ice storms.

Even squirrels this winter are more numerous at the wildlife feeders at the Ernie Miller Nature Sanctuary in Olathe, said park naturalist Elaine Giessel. The spring freeze killed acorn production in the white oaks and berry production on some wild shrubs.

As winter progresses, natural food sources will diminish and people will see more unusual birds at feeders.

Biologists are hoping 2008 is a bit gentler to wildlife, said Jim Pitman, a small-game biologist for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.

“Hopefully, we’ll get a good summer with good moisture conditions for nesting, so quail and prairie chickens and some of the other birds can bounce back in a hurry,” Pitman said.