Looking Ahead ... And Looking Way Ahead

It’s a fact. The hours of sunlight are getting longer from now until late June. But that doesn’t mean the days won’t feel short with the early setting sun. Switching to a new calendar is always a good time to mark things you want to do again or for the first time if you missed the opportunity. (Note to self: mark a date in June to find green walnuts for Nocino for real this year. Just do it.) There are lots of things that mark the seasons personally for me. By no means am I anywhere near Bill Felkner’s level of knowledge and detail recording seasonal happenings (don’t forget the average part of this outdoor column), but looking back is a good reminder for opportunities taken, and missed, and where more could be done. 

Take a class, or go on a hike. 
Of course, you can always visit our public lands on your own. Winter is a great time to get away outside and there is seldom anything that approaches the crowds of summer. Cottontail Rabbit, Ringnecked Pheasant, deer archery, and squirrel seasons are still open. And if none of that suits you, read or reread “A Sand County Almanac” by Aldo Leopold. It’s a timeless series of great essays on our connection to the world and our place in it. I’m going to mark a date in June to find green walnuts for nocino, in what’s become a stretch goal for me. 

Read the complete column here: The new year brings new opportunities to connect with the outdoors

Five Rivers Metro Parks

National Trail Parks and Recreation Department

Metro Parks of Butler County

Buckcreek State Park

Ceaser Creek State Park

A Sand County Almanac

Nocino

1. https://www.themeateater.com/wild-and-whole/wild-recipes/how-to-make-nocino

More to come

Ohio Christmas Bird Count

Knowing is critical. Actually wanting to know is the most critical - and to care. At the end of the 19th century, wildlife conservation was barely a thought. Many people thought that animals couldn’t go extinct or be eliminated by humans. Until they were. 

The first Christmas Bird Count (CBC) happened in 1900, proposed as an alternative to the “side hunts” by Frank Champman, an early officer of what would become the Adobon Society in 1905. The thought was that the birds could actually be counted without bringing all of them to bag. The interest was immediate, including 25 locations from California to Canada, and counted 90 different species. Today, there are bird counts in all 50 United States and 20 foreign countries, involving tens of thousands of participants and counting millions of birds.

Read the complete column online here: The Christmas bird count: The tradition that shocked America into saving wildlife

https://www.audubon.org/content/cbc-data-bird-trends 

https://www.fws.gov/story/tis-season-christmas-bird-count 

https://audubon.maps.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=ac275eeb01434cedb1c5dcd0fd3fc7b4 

A Murder ... and Then Some

 

A murder of crows is a group of three or more. What happens in Springfield every year has no problem flying past that threshold. One … five … nine … 100 … 130 … I was stuck in a parking lot on Upper Valley Road on the west side of Springfield.

Well, not really stuck — because I chose to be there — and the car was running fine. But I was waiting in the parking lot as the sun was just beginning to fade and one group of five or six crows passed by. Then another and another. It went on like that in a steady stream for more than 30 minutes and was still going when I left.

They didn’t pass over in organized flocks like geese in a V formation. Or fly in tight clusters like pigeons. Or giant murmurations like starlings, although the numbers could support it. And they were all headed to the same place - to roost in downtown Springfield for the night.

Read the complete column here: Counting Crows

Resources and Links

https://ohiodnr.gov/discover-and-learn/animals/birds/american-crow 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/crows-perform-yet-another-skill-once-thought-distinctively-human/ 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gui3IswQ0DI

https://www.cnet.com/tech/watch-a-wild-crow-tackle-a-complex-eight-step-puzzle/ 

https://www.facebook.com/clarkcountyhistory/videos/750962162965021 

You Don’t Have to Look Far to See Wildlife

Many people move around the landscape and just see cars, people, and signs of places to surrender their legal tender. Unless there is a snow-covered mountain peak, palm trees by a white-sand beach, or a herd of bison charging through the snow, they’re bored. They think nothing is happening. I feel bad for those people. While they might not see it, they’re is always something happening outside, even on the coldest days of winter.

Wanna bet? If you’re reading this in Southwest Ohio, no matter where you are, I’ll bet real money that a Whitetail deer has been within ¾ mile of you in the last 24 hours. That’s hedging my guess because I think ½ mile is the real number. Although it varies by specific locations, with estimates of deer density at 16 deer per square mile, it’s almost a given. That also means just a few days ago, somewhere nearby, a pair of bucks were fighting in the woods. In the spring, does will give birth to and raise their fawns within earshot of humans and passing cars. 

Read the complete column here: Wild Neighbors: How to Spot Wildlife Living Near Your

Aviation Trail - The Pinnacles

https://www.aviationtrailinc.org/additional-trail-sites 

Spring Valley Wildlife Area

https://ohiodnr.gov/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/find-a-property/spring-valley-wildlife-area 

Field Guides and Backyard Guides

https://ohiodnr.gov/discover-and-learn/safety-conservation/about-odnr/wildlife/documents-publications/backyard-wildlife-documents

Deer Density

https://www.bestdeerfences.com/blog/deer-population-in-us-by-state/ 

Straight Shooter for Safety

“Why?” said a deer hunter I was talking to from Missouri a few years ago, as he was baffled by an Ohio deer hunting regulation. “Why would they do such a thing?” he asked. I was talking about Ohio’s change 10 years ago to allow straight-walled rifle cartridges, a big step in accuracy and consistency from shotgun slugs, pistols, and muzzleloaders. But throughout most of the country, not allowing shouldered cartridges, including some of the most traditional calibers, the 30/30 and 30/06 for example, would feel alien to deer hunters. He couldn’t fathom hunting deer without them.

What is a Shouldered Cartridge?

Image from Ohio Department of Natural Resources 2025-26 Hunting Regulations https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/ohiodnr.gov/documents/wildlife/laws-regs-licenses/Ohio%20Hunting%20and%20Trapping%20Regulations%20ENGLISH.pdf 

I touched on this topic more than a decade ago, but apparently, Ohio hunters couldn't wait for the change. Sales for straight-walled cartridge rifles have soared. Cartridges available aren't just the standard high-power revolver options, but a range of new offerings created specifically for the purpose, as well as the grand daddy of them all, the 45/70. As of last year, the newly allowed rifles were second only to crossbows, which have a much longer opportunity with the number of days allowed. The numbers dwarf those taken with shotguns. Handguns are just for those looking for an extra challenge now. And hunting accidents continue to decline. You can read more in my column, Ohio hunting regulations prioritize safety — and accidents are declining.

Legal Ohio Deer Hunting Firearms

Shotgun: 10 gauge or smaller shotgun using one ball or one rifled slug per barrel (rifled shotgun barrels are permitted when using shotgun slug ammunition).

Muzzleloading rifle: .38 caliber or larger.

Muzzleloading shotgun: 10 gauge or smaller using one ball per barrel. 

Handgun: With 5-inch minimum length barrel, using straight-walled cartridges .357 caliber or larger. The barrel is measured from the front of the cylinder or chamber to the end of the barrel.

Straight-walled cartridge rifles in the following calibers: All straight-walled cartridge calibers from a minimum of .357 to a maximum of .50. Shotguns and straight-walled cartridge rifles can be loaded with no more than three shells in the chamber and magazine combined.

Ohio Deer Harvest 2024-25 by Implement

Crossbow: 78,254 (33%)

Straight-walled cartridge rifle: 77,027 (32%)

Shotgun: 34,338 (14%)

Vertical bow: 30,839 (13%)

Muzzleloader: 17,092 (7%)

Handgun: 587 (less than 1%)

I don't currently personally have a straight-walled cartridge rifle and I'm not in the market, but these would be on my short list for reasons that don't extend out of my head into actual experience.

Marlin 1894 in 44 Magnum

Savage 110 Trail Hunter in 350 Legend

Ruger No. 1 in 45/70 Government, (if they ever make it in that caliber again)

A (New) Traditional Bird

 Rooster! Wild ringnecked pheasants were not present on the first Thanksgiving Day table. Nor were they on the menu for anyone in North America returning home after the Civil War. It wasn’t until the late 1890s and early 1900s that pheasants were introduced across the country. With the right environment, their populations took off, quickly becoming a favorite in the field and on the table from coast to coast. Thanksgiving Day pheasant hunts became a family tradition in many homes. This was especially true across the agricultural center of the country during the middle of the last century.  The number of phesants has declined significantly since then.

There are a lot of variables in nature. Weather, predators (including humans), all play a role. But given the right habitat, wildlife populations can bounce back. This is especially true of pheasants. Polygamous roosters and relatively large brood sizes can repopulate areas quickly. Across the country, we saw numbers increase in correlation with the federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) through the late 1980s to mid ‘90s. That program pays farmers to take highly erodible and environmentally sensitive land out of production. Pheasants probably liked it more than farmers. The program moved the landscape closer to that 50/50 grass/crop land and bird numbers responded. When the program was reduced or the land was not reenrolled, numbers dropped. It’s a pretty simple equation. 

Ready for a Comeback

Iowa has gone through similar swings lately, pulling back to the positive slide dramatically with back-to-back best seasons in more than two decades. The right habitat, combined with a mild winter, dry spring to aid ground nests, resulted in a 43% increase in observed pheasant numbers in one year. Of course, it takes pheasants to make pheasants, but given the right circumstances, they can take care of it. 

Read the column in its entirety here, This bird used to be plentiful in Ohio, now it is harder to hunt 

Ohio Department of Natural Resources Pheasant Status

Pheasants Forever Upland Forecast

Ohio Pheasant Releases

Ohio Private Land Hunter Access

Sleep Champions

“I haven’t slept for 10 days, because that would be too long,” said comedian Mitch Hedberg. Sleeping for 10 days straight might be excessive for humans, but I think I know some people willing to test that theory, especially with the time change, less sunlight overall, and the deep grey of winter approaching. For some wildlife in Southwest Ohio without a holiday to-do list to prepare for, retiring to their favorite sleeping chamber for an extended period is the only thing on their schedule. It’s how they survive. While many think of hibernating bears, true hibernation is just one strategy to avoid the relative cold of Ohio winters.

Read the complete column here: https://www.daytondailynews.com/lifestyles/not-just-bears-these-are-ohios-true-hibernators-and-winter-survivors/T4XVWFQQMFDIZELAZGHZXBLW4Q/ 

Witness Ohio's Sleeping Champion - the Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel - in a non-sleeping moment. 

 

Resources

https://ohiodnr.gov/discover-and-learn/animals/mammals/woodchuck-goundhog  

https://ohiodnr.gov/discover-and-learn/animals/mammals/thirteen-lined-ground-squirrel 

https://championcitysupply.com/blogs/news/story-behind-the-crow

https://ohiodnr.gov/discover-and-learn/animals/birds/american-crow 

While Black Bears are known for hibernating, it’s a strategy to beat the weather. Bears in Florida, for example, don’t hibernate. They have other weather to worry about.