Northern flying squirrel NC Wildlife Resources Commission
A very successful program that has helped countless species across the country has taken a significant cut. 

The State Wildlife Grants Program is the nation’s core program for preventing wildlife from becoming endangered, according to the “State Wildlife Grants Five-Year Accomplishment Report.” From restoring bog turtle populations in North Carolina’s mountain wetlands to monitoring the state’s freshwater mussel populations, the program has been a model for conservation success. Despite the success of the last five years, the program received a major cut in funding by the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this month, recommending only $50 million of the $74.7 in the President’s budget.

When so little of the funds that go into wildlife restoration come from non sportsmen sources  I hate to see any of that cut out.    As a taxpayer I like to see cuts but I’d like to see it in useless failing programs.  How about we make folks prove they are a citizen before we educate and feed them? 

With many state wildlife agencies on the brink cuts like this can not be absorbed and many projects will have to end or be scaled way back.

  “The State Wildlife Grants Program is an essential funding source for every state fish and wildlife
agency and a core program
for conserving our nation’s wildlife,” said Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID), co-chair of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus. “State Wildlife Grants save taxpayer dollars by preventing more endangered species listings, and I hope my colleagues in the Senate will join me in working to restore funding for State Wildlife Grants at $85 million.”

Links

News Story http://www.cherokeesentinel.com/news/2006/0531/home/078.html

Federal Info http://federalaid.fws.gov/grants/grantinf.html

North Carolina’s success stories http://www.teaming.com/Success%20Stories/PDF%20Success%20stories/North%20Carolina.pdf  

 This time of year when my mother, who lives in Maine, and I talk on the phone the topic of hummingbirds no doubt will come up. Many folks in Maine know that spring has arrived when the fiddleheads do but for my Mom it’s when the hummers start hitting her feeder.

Arizona desert 2003 122’F and I spotted this guy taking a break in the shadow of a cactus.

[quote] Hummingbirds fascinate hu-mans with their delicate, two-inch long bodies and iridescent feathers, weighing as much as a dime and fearlessly visiting porch sugar-water feeders.
Their tiny wings beat so fast, it looks like a blur. They have needle-like beaks.
 [/quote]
 The hummingbird is a fascinating creature that can entertain for hours.  It’s not unusual for me to have one or two buzz me when I’m working in the yard and I have a bright red shirt on.  
Anyone from the Sandhills of North Carolina this upcoming weekend there will be a workshop on hummingbirds; [quote] Hummingbirds are definitely special for people,? said ornithologist Susan Campbell, who will hold a workshop Saturday morning at the Pinehurst Village Assembly Hall from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. on how to attract hummingbirds to your yard. The workshop is free to the public and is the third in a series about different birds and wildlife begun in 2006 by the Pinehurst Conservation Commission?s Greenway Wildlife Habitat Committee. [/quote]
What I really found interesting about this article is that Susan Campbell spends most Wednesday’s catching and banding hummingbirds. [quote] Most Wednesday mornings, Campbell does her trapping, banding and recording at Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve in Southern Pines, where she works part-time as a naturalist. She allows visitors to observe while she traps and bands the birds, and examines ones she has already banded that may be caught in the trap.
 [/quote]
 Wow I can’t imagine banding hummingbirds.   If you want to read the entire article here is a link  http://www.thepilot.com/news/052406hummingbird.html

Here is some links to photo journals of hummingbird nests and the raising of the young.
http://community-2.webtv.net/hotmail.com/verle33/HummingBirdNest/
http://community-2.webtv.net/Velpics/HUM/

If you haven’t ever tried it pick up a feeder and some nectar mix ( or google for the correct recipe to make it yourself) and set it up around your home and see if you can attract some hummingbirds in this summer. 
 

One of the best photos I’ve ever seen of a hummingbird from last years NC Wildlife Contest

John Stroud, Raleigh
Hummingbird chasing away honeybee, Raleigh

Link to more info on Hummingbirds
http://www.hummingbirds.net/

 [quote]“Finally!” biologist Mike Seamster said when the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission released the 2006 kill statistics.
North Carolina hunters broke through the 10,000 barrier. They broke through the 11,000-mark also, killing a record 11,706 turkeys during the month-long season that ended May 6.[/quote] The 10,000 milestone was expected to be broken in 2005 but was not but this year there was no doubt about it.  Despite my inability to notch a tag I knew from talking to folks we were going to break the 10,000.  [quote] Statewide, the increase was a whopping 19.1 percent.[/quote] North Carolina does not have anyway to track how many people actually go afield after turkeys but I think there was a lot more hunters out there.  All 100 counties in the state had an open season for just the second year.  There was a lot of interest in learning the sport; I helped out in two turkey schools, and I had a lot of first time hunters contacting me with questions.  http://www.illinoiswaters.net/heartland/phpBB2/weblog_entry.php?e=601
I’m hearing mixed reports on the Jake population; I didn’t see a single one this season, but other hunters are reporting seeing good numbers of Jakes.

[quote] The typical statewide percentage of jakes in the kill is normally between 15 and 20.[/quote] [quote] jakes made up only 13 percent of the overall kill[/quote]  That is a little bit of a drop, I suspect that there are pockets of areas  that had better then average 2005 hatches that account for the mixed reports. 
So what’s the outlook for next year?
[quote] Seamster said that it would probably take fantastic reproductive success this year for hunters to come close to the record level in next year’s spring season.
“We’ll probably come down to earth next year, because we won’t have that many 2-year-old birds in the woods, but a lot of that will depend on whether we have a good hatch this year,” Seamster said. “If we’re fortunate, we’ll have a lot of jakes in the woods next year. There will be some older birds, but there won’t be too many 2-year-olds.”[/quote]
Looks like a tough year but I’m confident that because the turkey population in the state has really taken off that despite a downturn there will still be some good hunting.  Besides if it’s a rough year I’ll share some of my turkey tag soup recipes. 
http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1137836217272&path=!sports&s=1037645509200

 The services at our church this past Sunday was anything but typical.  The speaker was Dan Breeding of Creatures of Creation an animal educator and trainer as well as an “Extreme Evangelist” a fitting description from “Outlook” Magazine. 

Dan utilized a  wide array of live props from Alligator, Horned Owl, Lemur, and white-handed gibbon to share not only myth busting facts about Creation vs Evolution but he also present the gospel message.

By using these creatures he was able to hold the attention of both young and old as he illustrated how they do exactly what God designed them to do and man can not because of sin.  Sin is a disease all men since Adam suffer from and Jesus is the only cure.  [quote] For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:21&22 [/quote]
[quote] For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16 [/quote] American Standard Version
This was one sermon that nobody seemed to fall asleep in but a live 8 foot alligator at the front of the church may have had something to do with that. 

 This is a very unique ministry and Dan has a real burden to share God’s truth where ever he can.  Check out his website if you have the opportunity to see one of his presentations you should go and bring some friends and if you have a church or a group that would like him to come you should contact him.  If nothing else keep his ministry in prayer the animals can open a lot of doors to places that the gospel message needs to be heard.

Links

Creatures of Creation
http://www.creaturesofcreation.com/

Do You Know where you’ll spend eternity?
http://www.billygraham.org/SH_HowToBecomeAChristian.asp
Even Big Kids got a photo with the Gator 

 This week is National Police Officers week and this past Monday was National Law Enforcement Memorial Day I can’t let it go by with out some reflections.  I want to especially remember the men and women who serve as Game Wardens and Park Rangers to keep us all safe.   For most of us our interactions with these officers is at a show or outdoor event and the occasional license safety check in the field.  Wildlife departments have been instrumental in the recovery of many game and non game species that we enjoy today.  Law Enforcement is an integrate part of the stability we see in many game species.  Many of these officers are working in harsh environments with limited backup and support.  Many of our parks and forests have become havens for illegal drug operations, and other illegal activities. The job of a warden and ranger I believe has become even more dangerous as resources get spread thin and the population expands.  Next time you come in contact with a ranger or a warden thank them for the job they do.

Memorial Day for the nation falls the end of this month but little seems to get said about the Law Enforcement Memorial Day which President Kennedy started many years ago.  Lets not forget those law enforcement officers who gave the ultimate sacrifice and the families they have left behind.  Many Park Rangers and Wildlife Officers are included in those ranks.   The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has lost 6 officers in the line of duty, thank God it has been 20 years since the ultimate sacrifice.  http://www.odmp.org/agency.php?agencyid=2816

Other agencies I have had contact with;

Maine Wardens      14 Wardens   http://www.odmp.org/agency.php?agencyid=2292

US Fish & Wildlife    8 Officers   http://www.odmp.org/agency.php?agencyid=3954

National Park Service  25 Rangers  http://www.odmp.org/agency.php?agencyid=2690

Here is a link to all the fallen law officers, broken down by States you can then look up your wildlife service. 

http://www.odmp.org/browse.php

God Bless the family and friends of all these fallen heroes, words can not express are gratitude for your loved one’s sacrifice.

[quote] “It is not how these officers died that made them heroes. It is how they lived.”
  Vivian Eney [/quote]
Words inscribed on the National Monument.

 Sources have told me that when North Carolina wildlife releases the numbers the 10,000 mark will be shattered with the harvest being 11,700+  A record breaking year and I didn’t punch a single one of my tags.
This was a tough season for me and it seemed that I had a bunch of bad luck following me around.  Opening day was a stormy day, I was in the mountains hoping to film my buddy’s wife killing her first bird.  The camera wouldn’t work but maybe that was for the best. We had a bearded hen come into our set up and the hunter would not believe me that was a legal bird in North Carolina to harvest.  Once convinced it was legal, we had so many hens around us, isolating the bearded hen was difficult.  The shot presented itself again and when I told her to take it she again declined.  She could see a couple of gobblers were headed our way but they stayed outside of the range of the shotgun.  After about 30 minutes of strutting they came in close enough to the side of the blind for her to shoot.  The shot was a clean miss but because of the thunderstorms the turkeys showed little reaction when the gun went off.  Moments latter they did react to my buddy walking up to see what she killed. 
A few days latter I was working some birds early afternoon in a field in the piedmont when one of my other hunting partners’s walked in on me and scattered the birds.  I made the mistake this year by not taking a vacation at the beginning of the season and could only get a few days off at the end. The last few days were some of the most exciting with out actual getting anything.  I called a gobbler in one evening and I learned that the foliage blocks a lot of the noise so they are closer then they sound.  I had one come in from behind me I was only half the way turned around when he showed up.  The tree I had been sitting against prevented me from swinging my gun far enough over to get a shot.  The next day I had another one come in behind me and the foliage was so thick I couldn’t see him.
To end the season I took three days in the middle of the week and went to Washington County to hunt.  I got busted by a gobbler by being impatient and moving to soon after he shut down gobbling.  Another 5-10 minutes he’d probably be there instead he was 60 yards from me and caught me moving to another calling spot. 
I also chased two gobblers down a logging road but never got close enough for a shot.  The last morning I set up in a field with two hen decoys out. There was a good breeze that morning and the gobblers were fired up on the roost.  They quieted down once they hit the ground but about 9am a lone gobbler entered the field.  He showed little interest in my calling or the decoys but he slowly drifted my direction.  I had my gun up and I was watching him get closer and closer to my range.  All of a sudden he goes to alert and Putts and I know he is ready to run.  I catch out of the corner of my eye my decoy spinning like a top. [I had put a couple of sticks in the ground to prevent this but the wind had worked them out]   I took the shot and afterwards as I paced it off I realized it was to far (47 paces).  That’s how my season ended but I learned a lot and had a lot of fun.  I may not be part of the record breaking success but next year’s season will be here before we know it  and hopefully I learned my lessons well.  Congratulations to all who filled their tags and to everyone that got out an chased the birds.

Well if you’ve ever found yourself in that position the latest release from the North Carolina Wildlife Commission is right up your alley.  Then again maybe you’re an expert but do you know what the current state record for a pumpkin seed is?  No!!  Then this new on line tool is made for you too.
[quote] Online Sport Fish ID Guide Now Available
RALEIGH, N.C. (May. 5, 2006) — Ever reeled in a fish and wondered, “What the heck is that?”
Well, wonder no more. The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission this week unveiled the North Carolina Sport Fish Profiles Guide on its Web site to help anglers identify their catches.
The fish identification guide provides color illustrations of 33 of North Carolina’s most popular freshwater sport fish species, along with information about identifying characteristics, habitats and habits, tried-and-true fishing techniques and the best places to go fishing in the state.
 [/quote]
http://www.ncwildlife.org/pg03_Fishing/profiles/index.htm

This looks like a handy tool to help identify fish as well learn about the specie  and how to go about catching it.  Seems about the only thing they don’t tell you is the best way to cook them.  Even if your not fishing here in North Carolina there is plenty of information here to make you a better angler no matter where you call home.

 Living most of my life in New England encounters with snakes was minimal but here in the south it is a different story.  Last year while moving an old wood pile at my hunting club I had a close encounter with a copperhead as it was attached to the log I picked up to move.  Luckily for me I grabbed on the tail end and it slid out of my hand and back into the wood pile.  We killed two copperheads that day before we finished moving that pile and I’m much more careful about where I put my hands and feet. 

 With the turkey season winding down and two tags burning a hole in my pocket I decided to try my luck at a friend’s place in Washington County.  Washington County in case you are unaware is loaded with wildlife; black bears (big ones), red wolves, coyotes, turkeys, and snakes.  Not owning snake boots or chaps I knew I’d have to be careful to avoid an encounter.  3 days of hunting I didn’t see any rattlesnakes.  I did encounter a black snake and a rather large corn snake which neither of these is poisonous or a threat to people.

I do get together with friends every summer in Washington County and we enjoy among many things fried rattlesnake.  If you haven’t had it before it is pretty good.  It’s a white meat with kind of a sweet taste to it.  Some says it tastes like chicken but to me its more like gator.

I returned from my hunt and read the story of a West Virginia hunter who had a run in with a timber rattler.
[quote] As he reached across a fallen log to gather a handful of moss, Paul Harvey felt something sting the back of his right hand.
Harvey swiveled his head to find the source of the sting, and what he saw chilled his blood — the catlike pupils and the flickering black tongue of a 5-foot timber rattlesnake.
“I knew right away that I was in trouble,” said the semi-retired coal miner. “The nearest phone was 45 minutes’ drive away, and no one was around to help me.”
 [/quote]

[quote] Harvey — who said he’s had “many, many close encounters” with rattlesnakes without ever having been struck — made the classic mistake most people make when they run afoul of venomous serpents.
“I wasn’t watching what I was doing,” he said. “I reached across a log to grab a piece of moss, but I had my head turned the wrong way and couldn’t see where I was reaching.”
The rattler nailed him as soon as his hand came into range.
“It didn’t start rattling until after it bit,” Harvey said. “Then it started buzzing up a storm.”
The two fang marks on Harvey’s hand measured at least an inch and a half apart.
 [/quote] 

[quote] “That was a big snake,” said the 55-year-old. “It was very dark, almost black, and its head was the size of my fist. Its body was as thick as my forearm. Coiled up, it was the size of a No. 3 washtub.”
Before he’d covered the 25 yards back to his truck, Harvey began to feel the venom’s effects.
“My lips and the tips of my fingers started to tingle,” he said. “By the time I’d driven a mile, my peripheral vision was gone and everything ahead of me started to go blurry, just as if I was looking into the sun. Then I started getting nauseated.”
For nearly 20 minutes, Harvey fought to control the truck as dizziness and waves of nausea racked his body. “I’d drive a while, then pull over and throw up for a while,” he said.
Still less than halfway to the nearest civilization, Harvey realized that his situation had become dire. Stopped beside the road in his truck, he wondered if he’d get out of the predicament alive.
“That’s when my friend came along,” he said.
Roger Kiser, a fellow turkey hunter from Swiss, pulled up behind Harvey’s truck to see what the problem was. “I told him I’d been bitten by a rattlesnake,” Harvey said. “He drove me the rest of the way to safety.”
 [/quote]
After being airlifted to a hospital and given antivenin and other medications he is recovering from what could of easily been an encounter that would of cost him his life. 
[quote] “I can’t wait to get back into the woods,” he said. “It wasn’t the snake’s fault that I got bit. I stuck my hand right where he was. The difference between this and all the other close calls I’ve had is that I was more careless.
“I can tell you one thing, though. I’ll sure have a more respect for what rattlesnakes can do to me this time around.” [/quote]   All of us can learn from this even if we live and play in areas where there are no poisonous snakes you can never be to careful because nature can be very unforgiving whether it’s a snake, wild animal or a rock slide.

Now that turkey season is over I hope to be more diligent on updating the blog.  Look for a detail report on my turkey season along with some great recipes for turkey tag soup.
Links of Interest

http://www.wvgazette.com/section/News/Today/2006050353

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/gaston/Pests/reptiles/snakepix3.html

http://www.southeasternoutdoors.com/wildlife/reptiles/fatal-rattlesnake-bites.html

 Sounds like the start of a joke but Harold  Cerda may beg to differ with you, seeing where he had a run in with a Black Bear. 
[quote] Harold Cerda had just left an outhouse on a southern Colorado ranch when a bear swatted him to the ground and chased him to his car, where he discovered the animal had also eaten his lunch.
“He sent me a good 10 or 15 feet,” Cerda told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Friday. “I’m used to hard falls because I used to ride bulls a lot. It’s pretty much the hardest I’ve been hit.”[/quote]
Getting swatted a good 10 feet and then chased back to your car has got to be an experience.  Then on top of that to discover the bear also ate your lunch too.  Talk about a bad day at least he hadn’t become lunch. 
[quote] Seraphin said the bear was apparently walking toward the outhouse as Cerda emerged.
“I think what happened was I surprised him, so he hit me,” Cerda said. He said the blow knocked him 10 to 15 feet.
After a few seconds, he spotted the bear a short distance away and started walking to his car. So did the bear.
“He started picking up his pace, and so did I,” Cerda said.
Once inside, he started the engine to get the electric windows up and noticed the remnants of his lunch. As the bear sniffed around the windows and chewed on the tires, Cerda snapped photos with his cell phone for a few minutes and drove away.[/quote]
I don’t believe I would of stuck around to snap a few photos for the old photo album.
How big a bear was it?
[quote] He guessed the cinnamon-colored black bear was anywhere from 150 to 500 pounds and nearly 61/2 feet tall when standing[/quote] 
Like I said before its hard for folks to estimate the size of a bear and that’s a classic example of a very broad description.  Well I don’t suspect there are many that read this blog that still have an outhouse but at my hunting club we do ( a 2 seater no less) and it will make me look twice before I open the door.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002960115_webbear28.html

Lately there seems to be a lot of animals attacking human and the big question is why?  At this point in time there has not been any definitive determination on causes of the fatal bear mauling in Tennessee a few weeks ago.  Another attack that has made some press was the hunter in Washington State that was mauled by a bear over the weekend.  The information now coming out on this incident is that the hunter was hunting the bear that got him.
[quote] A man injured by a black bear had been chasing the animal on private timberland when the bear turned the tables on its pursuers, the investigating officer said Sunday. [/quote]
[quote] It appeared the hunters had been pursuing the bear for some time, said Fish and Wildlife Officer Brian Fairbanks.
“It’s like, you have the fight-or-flight response. It ran for so long, and then decided, ‘We’re not going to run any more,’” Fairbanks said.
At that point, the hunter and the bear were in heavy brush, the officer said. “He didn’t realize the bear was there, and when he got close enough the bear jumped out and grabbed him.”
 [/quote]
That is a risk we take when we pursue game especially animals bigger and stronger then us.
[quote] A second hunter shot and killed the bear before summoning help.
The injured man underwent surgery Sunday on a broken arm, Fairbanks said.
“The bear had grabbed his arm and dragged him down an embankment,” he said. “It required some surgery to put him together.”
The man, whose name was not released, also suffered a broken wrist and two bite wounds on the upper thigh.
It was a legal hunt, Fairbanks said, with no violation of conditions of the permit.
 [/quote]

Another report on the events…
[quote] Anton Cebe was following the hunting dogs through thick alder and fir trees when he heard a commotion and a shout — more of a growling yelp than a scream.
Seconds later, he saw the bear and fired. The animal dropped.
“I knew something had happened,” said Cebe, 24, of Cle Elum, Kittitas County. “I just didn’t know what.”
Cebe and three other hunters had spent Saturday on private land just outside Olympic National Park, trying to track a hungry black bear that had been stripping bark from valuable Douglas fir trees to reach the sugary sap on the trunk.
Now it was almost dusk. The bear was dead, and Cebe was racing back, shouting to his partner, Dave Johnson.
“I called to Dave and he just said, ‘It got me, it got me,’ ” Cebe said. “When I finally reached him, I could tell it wasn’t that bad. There wasn’t much blood. But it was startling. What do you do when your friend has bite marks on him? It was weird, man.”
The precise circumstances of the mauling Saturday evening by a 300-pound black bear were still unclear Monday. Johnson, who suffered a broken arm and wrist and bite wounds on his leg, was the only witness, and he remained hospitalized at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
 [/quote]

He is certainly lucky he wasn’t more seriously hurt.  I guess this will be a story that those involved will share around some camp fires in the future. I wonder if next time he’ll rush into the brush or wait to see if the dogs can tree the bear before he moves in. 

My fascination with these stories I have been surfing the web looking for other resources on the subject and stumbled across Southeastern Outdoors a site that compiles records of fatal wild animal attacks in the US.  Check it out some great info

http://www.southeasternoutdoors.com/wildlife/fatal-wildlife-attacks.html 

News Story Links

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420AP_WA_Bear_Attack.html?source=mypi

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002951452_bear25m.html