Pennsylvania Deer Management: My View Part 2

The Hunters

 

My Grandfather, 1972.  A rare "big buck" for the time



Growing up in a rural farming area of Pennsylvania I had an insatiable interest in wildlife, hunting, and fishing.  The two most anticipated magazines were Outdoor Life and Pennsylvania Game News and I knew nearly to the day when each would arrive each month.  When a new edition arrived I could hardly wait until time would permit opening up their glossy covers adorned with wildlife photos or paintings and consume the contents from cover to cover.  Perhaps my obsession with wildlife was stronger than many of my school classmate, but as we came of hunting age in the mid 1960’s virtually all of us at least participated in deer hunting.  Upon returning to class after the deer season opener everyone was asking the same question, “did you get your buck”.   Not only was this prevalent at our school, but it was the question being asked wherever and whenever the local men met.  

At this time most private property was open to public hunting.  Few properties were posted “No Hunting” and most hunters felt free to pursue deer wherever they pleased.  There were two basic hunting tactics being used; stump sitting and driving.  Many hunters hunted in gangs of anywhere from a handful of hunters to as many as 25 with 25 being the most permitted by law.  The gangs would select a section of territory; place standers in spots where the deer were expected to flee, and then push out the section with the drivers.  As the drivers moved towards the standers the drivers would occasionally yell to keep everyone aware of their position.  With most land open to hunting if you were a stump sitter, a person hunting alone waiting on stand, it wasn’t uncommon to find yourself in the middle of one or more drives during any given day of deer hunting.  Regardless of which tactic one was using the presence of gangs beating the bushes kept deer moving throughout the day and increased the chance of getting a shot for everyone.

While scope sights had been on the market for a number of years, they were not universally accepted.  Many hunters still relying on open iron sights; preferring them for the snap shots at fleeing deer.  The rifles they were carrying varied greatly.  30-06's, 8mm Mauser's, .303 British military rifles from the world wars, and even some 30-40 Craig's from an even earlier time were quite popular as was rifles built for the hunting market.  For the gang hunters whose most frequent opportunities were at running deer, iron sighted fast repeating rifles were the hands down favorite.  For these hunters the lever action Winchester 94’s carbines, Marlin 336’s, and Remington 760 Game Master pumps were most popular.  While the stump sitters often had shots at less disturbed deer these fast shooting rifles were still popular among them along with scope sighted bolt action sporters for more accurate shot placement. 

That was the way it was, but slowly hunting began to change as land use and land ownership began to transform the hunting scene.  Slowly one by one the family farms gave way to low farm produce prices and increased land pricing brought on by folks from the Baltimore/ Washington area buying up farms for vacation/retirement homes “No Hunting” signs became more common with each passing year.  As the years passed many of the hunting gangs members aged out and younger folks, with less and less open land to conduct drives on either quit hunting or changed their tactics. Hunting magazines, always in business to promote the sale of products, touted increased success using tree stands, ground blinds, scope sights better suited for shooting at still or slowly moving targets and accurate bolt action rifles capable of downing a deer at a considerable distance.  Deer hunters in large part became stationary, tucked away in a comfortable spot on the ground, in a ground blind or hanging on the side of a tree.  With the accurate rifles and good optics the modern hunter was able to identify legal bucks and harvest them at a higher rate than in the days of iron sights.

Not only did the bucks have the firearms hunters to contend with but archery hunting, a novelty in the 1950's and 60's had became very popular.  With two months or more of archery season and a flintlock hunting season added in the weeks following Christmas the chances of a  legal buck making it through to his second year had become exceedingly slim. 

Pennsylvania, a state with a long deer hunting tradition, had become a state of young bucks and small antlers.  Few states could match us for quantity of deer and harvest rates, but adult bucks carrying nice antlers were sadly lacking.     

 

To be continued………..

Pennsylvania Deer Management: My View, Part 1

The Deer Herd

 

Ten years ago Pennsylvania drastically changed direction in their deer management program.  The two components were total herd reduction coupled with antler restrictions.  Dr. Gary Alt toured the state holding public meetings to sell the new management program.  First and foremost herd reduction was the cornerstone of the new program.  We were told that Pennsylvania's deer herd was too large and was adversely damaging the habitat; that a considerable herd reduction was required.  As an incentive for the hunters to buy into reducing the herd  Dr. Alt offered the second feature of his program, antler restrictions, thus improving the breeding ecology of the herd resulting in large bucks available for harvest. 

 

Deer were practically non-existent in my area of Pennsylvania in the early 1900's.  I well remember my grandfather telling the tale of his very first deer sighing.  I don't know what year it occurred but it was probably in the late 1920's.  As he told the story, a new snow had fallen overnight and sometime during the morning a neighbor stopped by telling him that he had spotted deer tracks crossing a field.  With deer season being in (buck only) they gathered a number of neighbors, picked up their motley collection of guns, mostly single barreled shotguns with slugs, and set off tracking the deer, eventually killing a buck out of the group of three deer.

 

During those long ago years to be a legal buck a deer must have at least one spike 3" long or a "Y" on one side.  This antler requirement was to remain for many decades up until the current AR became law eleven hunting seasons ago.  During this time deer went from becoming very rare to where antlerless season was established; first a single day, then two days with the occasional extension due to bad weather, and then three days every year.  During the 1960's and 70's the deer herd seemed relativity stable in my area but after the gypsy moth infestation killed the mature timber in the mid eighties, the timber salvage cuts, and the resulting forest regeneration provided nearly unlimited cover and browse; deer numbers skyrocketed.  Where in earlier years a first day of deer season may produce anywhere from none to perhaps a dozen deer sightings, by the early 90's seeing 30, 40, 50, or even 60 or more was not that uncommon.  By the late 1990's much of undergrowth was gone severely limiting the amount of browse available and the deer turned their attention to agricultural crops wrecking havoc. 

 

While we had plenty of deer and plenty of bucks seldom did one see an adult buck.  Most bucks were harvested at 1.5 years of age with many being spikes or three points with some even being small 8's.  Seldom could you spot a buck with 8 points or more with a spread reaching 15".  Buck of this size were so rare that most local hunters considered them "wall hangers" and would frequently have them mounted and display them proudly.  Even the avid hunter would at best harvest a couple of this size in a lifetime; if he were lucky.

 

This was the conditions in my area at the time that Dr. Alt was selling his new concept of Pennsylvania deer management.

 

To be continued........... 

Birds at the Deck Feeder

Deck Feeder

 

Photographing the winter birds at the feeders is a pleasurable way to pass time during the cold winter months.  This view of my deck shows my "left-over bird feeder", a feeder that I constructed from odds and ends left over from various other projects from years past including left-over shingles from a shed I built over twenty years ago.

  



To utilize the deck feeder as a outdoor bird studio required a place to hide and my old pop-up Outhouse blind fit perfectly on the opposite end of the deck.  At this distance I could obtain good frame filling shots while still being just a little over the minimum focus distance of the Canon 600 F4 lens.

 

 

 A weathered branch screwed to the deck railing wrapped with a vine still retaining a few leaves provided a good natural looking perch while adding a spot of color to the photographs. 

 

Within just a couple of days the birds were utilizing the new perch as if it had always been there.

Male Cardinal sits on the "natural" perch

The evergreen just beyond the feeder provides numerous scenic perches as well as cover from the occasional hawk attack.

 

Backyard bird feeding is a very popular past-time and with just a little thought and effort nearly any backyard feeder can be converted into an outstanding outdoor bird studio.

 

 

 

 

More Snow and a Towhee

Eastern Towhee Male

 

I awoke this morning to find more snow falling; the third snow storm this week!  A snowy day is the perfect time to spend at the bird feeders and with that thought in mind I set up in the pop-up blind that is now sitting on the my deck.  After a morning of photographing Blue Jays, and Cardinals ( and capturing more blue jay snow scenes that I know what to do with), when the snow stopped in early afternoon it was time to relocate to another feeding location where we have spotted a pair of Eastern Towhees recently.

 

While towhees are not rare in my area they are normally difficult to photograph as they spend nearly all of their time scratching about on the ground in brushy areas.  With the snow covering their natural feed I though perhaps a little bird seed scattered about a small opening would entice them to expose themselves to the camera.

 

 

Snow

While the each season changes the appearance of the landscape nothing changes its appearance as dramatically as does winter's first coat of snow.  Along with altering the appearance of the landscape it also changes the daily patterns of many of our wild critters.

 

Our first snow of the season came Monday afternoon and was followed by snow and ice Wednesday resulting in 7-8 inches of total accumulation covered over with a thick crust of ice.  A fawn with hair fluffed to repel the cold stands silently in a winter landscape covered in snow and ice. 

 Before the storms feeding on grasses was as simple for the deer as dropping their heads and nibbling; now each bite requires the crust to be broken and the snow pawed away.

And walking isn't as easy for each step meets resistance; the crust must be broken by the deer's weight before firm footing can be made on the ground below.

With much of their natural food covered with snow the birds are flocking to the feeders.  I thought this was the white-throated sparrow pic of the day.........

 

Until I captured this one.  While partially obscured by the intervening branchs I was drawn to its inquisitive look as it peered out at the camera.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

A fresh white snowfall brings with it new photographic opportunities.

While I have maintained a bird feeder mounted on my deck for a number of years I had never utilized it for bird photography.  Since I always strive to photograph wildlife against natural backgrounds I set a pop-up blind on the deck in a position which allows me to exploit the evergreen tree only a few feet farther away.  Not only does the evergreen tree create a variety of natural perches but it also provides the birds protection from the occasional hawk attack.

Having erected the blind a few day ahead of the Christmas Eve snow the birds were fully acclimated to it when conditions were right for shooting.  While the Blue Jays are very wary at our naturalized bird feeders; the ones visiting the deck feeder were the most accommodating species.

 This male Northern Cardinal seemed more concerned about my presence than did any of the jays.

While a female Cardinal shows off her food caked bill. 

And later poses on a snow covered bough with a cone directly overhead.

 

Winter is a good time for photographing birds attracted to the feeders and during or just after a snow storm is the very best time of all!

Merry Christmas!

Our first snow of the season started this afternoon; just in time for a

White Christmas!

Wild Turkeys & Motion Blur

Wild Turkeys in Flight

 

A flock of wild turkeys were feeding along a meadow edge under heavily clouded skies as dusk settled over the landscape.  The light was such that decent photos were out of the question so I was standing idly by paying little attention to my camera settings.  When suddenly the flock took flight I was forced to shoot with the settings previously dialed in as there was no time to make changes.  The camera was set on ISO 400, with the auto exposure cranking the shutter down to 1/30th for this shot.  While if I had had the time to make adjustments I would have selected a higher ISO, I actually like the way the action is depicted in this shot.

 

As they birds rose higher against the background of trees the shutter speed dropped to 1/10sec. capturing even more motion blur.  The first shot is my favorite.  Which do you like best?

Chasing Images from the Rut

Buck following a doe

 

With this year's whitetail rut now in the past it is time to review, process, and catalogue the images from the season.  Rut photographs fall into a number of categories, portraits, rubbing, scraping, sparring, fighting, running, and chasing.  This set of images are from the chasing category. 

Buck looks on with the receptive doe in the foreground

 

I usually depend upon Shenandoah National Park for my best rut photos.  However with the collaring and tagging of the ongoing deer study being conducted there the mature bucks were useless as photo subjects.  With no other area holding a significant number of mature bucks within driving distance I was forced to focus on the bucks of my home area.  Hunting pressure seldom allows a buck to grow to full maturity here.

A fawn reacts to the momentary attention of a buck

 

While these local bucks antlers are nowhere in the league of the big park bucks they are significantly better than what our area offered before the current antler restrictions were imposed.  Prior to antler restrictions the bucks pictured in this post would have been considerably above average for our area as most bucks carried spikes or very small 3-6 point racks and were only 1 1/2 years old. 

 

Today a significant percentage of our bucks live to become 2 1/2 years of age and typically carry 6-8 points total.  I cannot say for sure what the age of the buck in the first two photos is but I would guess that he is 2 1/2 years of age, while I can say with certainty the the buck pictured above is 2 1/2. 

Birds of Winter

With autumn nearly past and winter just around the corner it's time to settle down at your favorite bird-feeder photo studio and shoot the "Birds of Winter".

 

White-throated Sparrow

 

Dark-eyed Junco

Female Northern Cardinal