It started out to be a normal year of sightings of returning birds from the south. Of course we are still blessed to have some year around birds such as Mourning Doves, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Nuthatches, Chickadees and the Slate-Colored Junco. A rather large flock of American Goldfinches stayed also along with several species of sparrows. In addition we also have a variety of woodpeckers which keep us entertained over the winter; which seemed longer this year.
The Rain/Ice Storm of 1977
It was mid October in 1977 that a group of us from Williamsport traveled to an area of the North Branch of the Susquehanna River for our annual duck hunting and river fishing experience. One of the members of our group leased an island in the river connected to a farm field by a concrete bridge. We were camped about one mile south of the Ulster Bridge. Maple Weekend 2015
One of the very best outdoors events that our family enjoys, is the annual Maple Weekend that the Tioga & Potter counties Maple Producers Associations holds. This year is the 11th annual event. For more detailed information than we can fit into this short column, you can go to their website www.pamaple.com The event runs Saturday & Sunday, March 21st & 22nd from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. both days. Wildlife Observations & Memories – Part VI
Another thing to know for folks who have never hunted with a falcon, when the bird makes a kill, the hunt is over for the day. The bird gets the meal and according to Mike, the hunters celebrate with wine and cheese; a rather foreign thing to this Irish hunter. I would have settled for a cold beer. We pulled into the driveway of a nearby farm and asked the farmer if we could hunt small game. This fellow is also a hunter. He corrected stated that small game seasons were closed. He also asked what type of firearm we were using. Wildlife Observations & Memories – Part V
The year was around 1981; not long after I moved to Canton from Williamsport in the autumn of 1979. In those days, small game season closed around the end of the post Christmas flintlock muzzleloader and extended deer archery seasons. Wildlife Observations and Memories – Part IV
It was opening day of deer season in 1971. We had at least 18 inches of snow around Thanksgiving. I was on the Lewis Dunbar farm in Canton; along with Larry Feist and John Mosher. Larry was 100 yards away on my left; John about the same distance on my right. Wildlife Observations & Memories, Part III
I was just getting ready to fish on Elk Creek, about ½ miles below the Lincoln Falls Bridge in Sullivan County. It was the same area mentioned in last week’s column where Linda & I actually petted a wild deer. There is a huge swimming hole where I started, just at daybreak. Wildlife Observations & Memories, Part II It was September 1991. Linda & I had just met so one could state that we were “courting.” I took her on the trout fishing trip at Lincoln Falls Bridge in Sullivan County. This is a fine trout stream and only stocked from the bridge downstream. Do you know which PA native bird starts their breeding season in January each year? It is the Great Horned Owl. We have a pair in the swamp in Alba. You can hear their distinctive hoots every January. If any reader knows of another bird that starts their breeding season that early, please let me know. I am just an amateur when it comes to things in the outdoors, so this is just from my personal observations or information given to me.
By Jim Collins It is the typical January this year; cold and windy. Unless one spends a lot of time outdoors at this time of year, most folks are unaware that this is a live or die time for most wildlife, especially deer & turkeys.
Of course there are the hibernators and the birds that fly south in winter, like our human snow birds. There are still perilous times for those migraters. If I had to choose, I think hibernation would be my choice. Actually we humans tend to sleep longer during the short daylight hours of winter; many folks have problems with this time of year. From mid September through at least mid October, I enjoy traveling to a nearby pond and fishing for bluegills and black crappies. The weather is usually perfect and the skies are clear with just a hint of the upcoming cooler weather. I have come to the conclusion that fishing is a very dignified way of doing absolutely nothing. Even on the days when the fish are elusive to the bait, just enjoying God’s creation is enough for me. Of course when the live basket contains 10 or 15 or 20 fish, things are even nicer.
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