Some hard-core deer hunters have referred to the traditional deer gun season in the northern tier of states as holy week as they filter into deer camp in the days before the opener. Although my son Kyle and I enjoy deer season as a way to share a father-son bond and, hopefully anyway, secure a winter’s supply of free range, healthy protein, we hunt out of our home and enjoy the creature comforts it provides. This year was no different.
As kids, we called the strange-looking, all-black ducks that we saw on local lakes “Mud Ducks”. But they were actually American coots. About the size of a small duck, the American coot (Fulica americana) is black or a very dark charcoal gray, with a white bill and a bright red eye.
I hate to say it, but those pesky gray squirrels are ingenious! Anyone who has put out a birdfeeder with peanuts or sunflower seeds knows that it usually does not take squirrels long to figure out a way to get at the seeds.
We’ve been home for a while from our nearly three-month-long journey. This post shares some random thoughts, a quick summation, and some of my favorite images from the trip. Random thoughts first. With apologies to the more-is-better crowd, as a society, we need to use less electricity.
Great Horned Owls are first-rate predators. They are the undisputed rulers of the nighttime sky throughout North America, and with wingspans of four to five feet who can argue? They often kill and eat other large birds like hawks, ospreys and even other owls. But those are the large adult owls.
The skunk is certainly one of the most well-known mammals in the United States. Even people who are unfamiliar with wild animals can easily identify a skunk. The reason is simple: just about everyone has smelled the unpleasant and unmistakable odor of a skunk at some time in their life, and they have likely seen pictures of skunks in books or on TV.
William Newman and his son Bill have operated Happy Hollow Hunts in Middleburg, Pennsylvania, since 1997. William purchased five sika does and a stag and began raising a herd of sika deer. Today, he has over thirty sika deer that roam his operation.
Wood ducks are our most colorful native duck species – and they are very beautiful indeed. Male wood ducks, in particular, are truly unforgettable. They have hints of iridescent green and brown on their head, along with bold black and white markings.
One evening, I looked through my Record of Exotic Score sheets and realized I was one animal away from completing the Cazador Slam. The Cazador Slam, through the Records of Exotics, comprises the following exotic animals: Blackbuck Antelope, Axis Deer, Fallow Deer, Aoudad, and Sika Deer.
Grasshoppers are a common insect all over the United States (and the world, for that matter). There are approximately 11,000 species of grasshoppers worldwide and more than 400 species live right here in the USA.
The next morning found us in the van, leaving Massachusetts, heading to East Hampton, Connecticut. Bill and Heather Embacher, old friends from Alaska, live there. The last time I saw them, they were childless. Now they have a beautiful nine-year old daughter. It had certainly been too long.
