So far this winter we’ve had our share of tough weather and I’m starting to look forward to spring
Mary and I took advantage of Friday’s fresh snow to take an afternoon walk in the woods in back of our house to look for animal tracks. There was a slight breeze and it had a sharp bite to it. The temperature had been above freezing in the morning, but it was dropping quickly as the sun sank lower in the sky.
The snow was only a couple inches deep in most spots and the tracks we found were sharp and clear. In the areas where we walked there were deer, coyote, squirrel and rabbit tracks. Deer were the most plentiful and coyote tracks were second.
We’ve been hearing the coyotes howling almost every night and they are loud. Going by the high-pitched commotion they can make when chasing something, it sounds like a big pack, but the tracks we found on our walk were all from one group of four. Two of the sets of tracks were big and two were small. It may have been a pair of males and two females or perhaps one male, one female and two pups.
While following their trail, Mary and I both wondered if four coyotes could make all the howling and yelping we’ve been hearing during the night. Although we see their tracks and hear them, we hardly ever see coyotes as they are mostly nocturnal. Here and there, though, usually while deer or turkey hunting we do catch a glimpse of one sneaking cautiously through the woods.
On the other hand, deer, which are also mostly nocturnal, have been showing up in our backyard just about every day to feed on shrubs, ground cover and bird seed. We usually see them early in the morning and late afternoon, and occasionally they make an appearance during the day, especially when a storm is brewing.
Most of the time it’s been one or two deer, but there have been up to five on the lawn and one of them is a good-size buck without antlers. Knowing that the deer had lost them, Mary and I kept an eye out for the sheds while walking. Looking for shed antlers has become an outdoor activity for many and February and March are good months to look for them, especially when there is light snow on the ground.
So far this winter we’ve had our share of tough weather and I’m starting to look forward to spring. Looking through my notes from last year, I was reminded that on Feb. 24 and 25 we had temperatures in the 70s. Mary and I heard spring peepers in a vernal pool that is covered with ice right now and we also saw red-winged blackbirds and found pussy willows. After that, my notes indicated March was mostly cold and wet and good weather was slow to arrive. It will be interesting to see how the rest of winter goes this year, but meanwhile I’m going to start practicing my turkey calls and get my trout fishing gear ready for spring.
Record deer season: MassWildlife reports the preliminary statewide deer kill for 2017 is 13,220, which is a new record high. Once again Wildlife Management Zone 11, which includes Plymouth County, had the highest season total at 2,972, followed closely by Zone 10, which is to the north and west of Zone 11. The total there was 2,551. The archery and primitive firearms season also set new records.
The preliminary figures by season are as follows:
Youth Deer Hunt Day (Sept. 30): 109
Paraplegic Deer Hunt (Nov. 2-4): 4
Archery Season (Oct. 16-Nov. 25): 5,191
Shotgun Season (Nov. 25-Dec. 9): 5,162
Primitive Firearms Season (Dec. 11-Dec. 30): 2,754
While total harvest by zone can be informative, it doesn’t provide the complete picture for monitoring trends in deer density because total harvest is influenced by antlerless deer permit allocations in each zone as well as annual changes in hunter effort, weather, etc. The MassWildlife Deer Project Leader analyzes harvest, biological and hunter-effort data, along with hunter success rates, female versus male harvest, and other factors to manage deer populations in each zone. An analysis of this information is underway for the annual spring deer management review. A complete harvest summary will be posted on the MassWildlife website shortly after the annual deer review.
Extended archery season proposal: A public hearing to extend the archery deer season in eastern Massachusetts will be held March 7, 2018 at 7 p.m. at the MassWildlife Field Headquarters, 1 Rabbit Hill Road, Westboro. The proposal is to open the archery deer season two weeks early in eastern Massachusetts (Wildlife Management Zones 10-14). Visit the MassWildlife website to find more information about the public hearing, learn how to provide a public comment, and read proposed regulatory language.