Hunting and Trapping Newsletter

It’s Fawning Season

Most fawns in New York are born in late May or early June, and the first few months are a critical period for survival. Fawn survival is heavily influenced by habitat quality, and those fawns that have good hiding cover and quality forage have the odds in their favor.

You can improve habitat for fawns on your lands by promoting native forbs in fields and forests.

• Avoid mowing large fields until mid-August - mowing fields in June can kill or injure fawns. Large, un-mowed fields provide excellent cover from predators and high quality native forage for fawns and their mothers.
• Create patches of young forest within your woodlot – removing overstory trees and allowing more sunlight to penetrate to the forest floor will stimulate growth of herbaceous plants and new tree seedlings. Fawn survival is typically lower in wooded areas than in areas with some agriculture and fields, but increased greenery on the forest floor improves cover for fawns, helping them to stay camouflaged and protected from predators. It also provides more food for the fawn and its nursing doe.
• Keep winter in mind – Thinking ahead to winter projects, it is much easier to identify trees by their leaves than by their bark. Summer can be a good time to mark trees for winter-time cutting projects designed to enhance year-round browse and cover. Contact a DEC forester or biologist for advice.

Employing these simple practices can help fawns survive into adulthood. After all, healthy fawns have a better chance of becoming healthy adults and improve our opportunity to Let Young Bucks Go and Watch Them Grow!

Photo courtesy of A. Jacobson 

Nesting Season in Full Swing

Throughout northeastern North America, ducks are setting up nests and hatching out ducklings. DEC is in year 1 of a 4-year effort to better understand mallard movements and how they affect their breeding success. More than 250 female mallards were fitted with transmitters and DEC and partners are monitoring their nesting attempts and success. Mallards are one of the most adaptable duck species in the world. Although most people associate waterfowl with nesting near water, mallards and most dabbling ducks are actually upland nesting birds. In the central part of the country, they commonly nest in short grass prairie near small potholes. In the east, we don’t have a lot of that type of habitat, therefore they have to be more adaptable. They will commonly nest in everything from flower beds to hay fields, to a hollowed-out tree!

When ducks or other birds end up in front yards or gardens, DEC often gets phone calls from concerned people about what to do with the nest. As protected migratory birds, the best course of action is usually to leave the bird alone until she finishes nesting. Ducks take about 25-29 days for their eggs to hatch, so the hen shouldn’t be there for more than a few weeks.

Unlike song birds that stay in the nest for several weeks until the young birds can fly, ducks leave the nest within about 24 hours and will walk their brood to a nearby waterbody. Sometimes a hen will move her brood up to 4 or 5 miles across land!

For more information on the eastern mallard research project, or to follow along with migration, please visit Atlantic Flyway Waterfowl Tracking Studies website.

Living with Wildlife

Being able to observe wildlife close to home is a treasured experience for many people, but sometimes wildlife can get too close or even cause property damage. Woodchucks in the garden, squirrels or other critters in the attic, bears rummaging through garbage and tearing down bird feeders, and skunks under the shed are but a few of the problems people may encounter. There are steps you can take to enjoy wildlife from a distance and reduce the chance that conflicts occur:

• R emove food sources – do not feed wildlife, remove all feeders and suet in the spring and summer, secure or remove garbage immediately and wait until the day of trash pick-up to bring outside, and feed pets indoors.
• E liminate cover and shelter close to homes and buildings – remove or recycle piles of junk and stash brush, logs, and firewood away from your house or other buildings; mow tall grass near houses or other buildings.
• P ut up barriers - use chimney covers and soffit vents, fence in areas such as gardens and underneath decks, and seal entry holes that lead into the house.
• E xcite or agitate - use visual repellents such as scarecrows or lights, create noise by yelling or using noisemakers (be sure to check noise ordinances in your area).
• L egally remove or "take” - contact a licensed Nuisance Wildlife Control Operator (NWCO) to remove problem wildlife from your property or remove or "take" nuisance animals on your own in accordance to New York State laws and regulations. Visit our website for more information on what species may legally be taken and under what conditions you may do so.

Successful Beyond BOW, Bowhunting 101 Workshop

Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) programs teach women a wide range of outdoor skills and foster community at each of the workshops. We hosted a successful Beyond BOW, Bowhunting 101 workshop May 13-15th at Camp Amahami in the Catskills. Twenty-six women traveled to join us for hands-on classes to learn bow shooting skills, including learning to shoot instinctively, shooting compound bows with sites and releases, shooting crossbows, safely using tree stands and shooting from them, and participating in a 3-D shoot in the woods, in addition to learning tracking and blood trailing. Nineteen of the participants earned their NYS Bowhunter Education Certification during the workshop. All participants were able to try something new and discover many ways to have outdoor fun.

For more information on BOW in New York and upcoming workshops, visit DEC's website.