Photo Essay of Last Day of the Residential Goose Season
September 30, 2006
Location: Orange County North Carolina
Hunters: Rick, Billy, & Moose
Puppy: Hershey
Pre Dawn Set up 
Foggy Carolina Morning
Rick
Sunrise
Look I found a new chew toy
Billy & Hershey
Ducks: they must know it ain’t duck season 
Hershey gets a wing for helping track down our only goose for the day
A great day afield even if the hunting wasn’t the best. Hopefully when the November Season rolls in the geese will back to their more traditional spots.
One of the Handiest Thing I’ve found in a Long Time
September 30, 2006
From time to time I review products that I’ve tried and may be of interest to my readers. This product I bought on a lark one day walking through REI. I saw these Witz cases, they are designed for rugged outdoor activities for sure, they are water and dust sealed containers. If you’ve lived, worked and played in the outdoors there must be a time you took an unsuspecting dunking in a pond or river. With this product you don’t have to worry about everything in your wallet getting soaked and potentially ruined. I bought it to replace my wallet. With all the running around I do and the heat and the humidity here in the South I go through a couple of wallets a year. Not to mention having to replace my license and credit cards more frequently because they fade, crack, and just give out. I have the small one and it holds my license along with my various cards and keeps them in a pristine condition.
They make them in a variety of sizes to protect cell phones, gps and whatever else you may need to protect. I picked up some that are a bit bigger and I’m putting some first aid and survival type things to keep in my pack when I venture out on a outdoor excursion. They are very reasonable price and the amount of peace of mind they give you makes them well worth the investment. I highly recommend this product.
CSI Wild
September 30, 2006
It’s no secret that CBS has a hit series in the CSI show spinning off shows from a variety of cities. Well maybe they should look at a new show called CSI Wild. This week Pennsylvania officials filed charges against a group of men for poaching. Animal DNA played a significant role in building the case. The costs of testing DNA has dropped enough that its affordable for game departments to use in investigations of poaching cases.
7 deer ID’d by DNA Charges were filed Tuesday against three men suspected of poaching deer last year.
Daily Record/Sunday News
York Daily Record/Sunday NewsSep 28, 2006 —
Wildlife detectives said that they heard the shots echo through the countryside and that they rushed to the sound as darkness fell.
Guy Hansen said he found three men, holding loaded rifles and wearing hunting garb, riding ATVs – more than a week before the opening day of deer season.
Hansen, the wildlife conservation officer in charge of southern York County, said the suspects were caught “red-handed.” A freshly killed deer was lying nearby. A tracking dog found more.
This week, Hansen said, DNA evidence confirmed seven deer were found on a property where the Fewster family lived near Delta in November 2005.
One of the defendants, James Fewster Sr., reached Wednesday, said he was set up.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission filed charges Tuesday against Fewster, his son and another man from Maryland on suspicion of possessing deer illegally in Peach Bottom Township.
James and Robert Fewster, father and son, were charged with possessing seven deer on the property on Delta Road in Peach Bottom Township.
The third man, Ronald Wade of Maryland, was charged with possessing one deer.
Using DNA evidence in poaching cases has become more common in the past few years, in part because the price of testing has come down.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission has begun encouraging its officers to add the tool to their arsenals.
To Hansen’s knowledge, it is the first time DNA was used as evidence in a York County poaching case.
The technology, he said, has its pros and cons.
The case was delayed for nearly a year so Hansen could send DNA evidence away to a laboratory to see how many different deer had been killed or somehow taken into possession.
Hansen said he was unsure how many deer or deer parts the men stashed in and around the property, so he sent meat and other samples to a wildlife DNA laboratory at the University of Maine.
The wait was a little disheartening, Hansen said, because other evidence that showed the men illegally possessed at least one deer was immediate and strong.
But, he now has what he calls definitive evidence of seven deer.
“I can go to the district justice and say there are seven deer,” Hansen said. Before, he said, “we didn’t know how many deer we were dealing with.”
James Fewster Sr. said Wednesday he is innocent.
“I didn’t do nothing,” he said during a phone interview. He would not comment further.
Robert Fewster did not return a phone call for comment. Wade could not be reached for comment.
CHARGESRobert O. Fewster
· One count – loaded firearm on a motor vehicleOne count – loaded firearm on a motor vehicle · Seven counts – unlawfully hunt for, trap, take, kill, transport, conceal, possess or use any game or wildlife (white-tailed deer)
One count – loaded firearm on a motor vehicle Seven counts – unlawfully hunt for, trap, take, kill, transport, conceal, possess or use any game or wildlife (white-tailed deer) James L. Fewster Sr.· One count – loaded firearm on a motor vehicle
One count – loaded firearm on a motor vehicle · Seven counts – unlawfully hunt for, trap, take, kill, transport, conceal, possess or use any game or wildlife (white-tailed deer)Seven counts – unlawfully hunt for, trap, take, kill, transport, conceal, possess or use any game or wildlife (white-tailed deer) · One count – making false reports
Seven counts – unlawfully hunt for, trap, take, kill, transport, conceal, possess or use any game or wildlife (white-tailed deer) One count – making false reports Ronald C. Wade· One count – loaded firearm on a motor vehicle
One count – loaded firearm on a motor vehicle · One count – unlawfully hunt for, trap, take, kill, transport, conceal, possess or use any game or wildlife (white-tailed deer) One count – unlawfully hunt for, trap, take, kill, transport, conceal, possess or use any game or wildlife (white-tailed deer) · One count – making false reportsOne count – making false reports
One count – making false reports
The End of the Early Season
September 30, 2006
Sunrise from my layout blind last season
Today is the last day of the early residential goose season and what a dismal season it has been. Some of my earlier stories Some guys have all the Luck and What a Wild Goose Chase
Today is do or die. In a few hours I’ll be laying in a cow pasture surrounded by decoys and a couple of my fiends watching the sun come up over the North Carolina horizon. Small flocks have returned to the area we hunt and we hope they will be there today. I hope to have some geese to BBQ. No matter what I’ll share the story when I get back.
I thought I’d Poach a Story from the Black Bear Blog
September 29, 2006
In today’s post Tom puts forth a good stab at (just kidding) on what is poaching. I actually agree with just about all that he said. The article breaks poachers up into 3 basic groups; Group One is the poor person trying to keep his family fed. Although it’s wrong I think most of us would look the other way and I hope we would offer to help them out. The second group is the trophy poacher who only wants the horns or head. The third one is the one who kills for the jollies of killing. My view is this is the individual who commits animal cruelty, ritualistic killings, spree killing, and thrill killing. These are individuals who are often teenagers and young males that are often on the path that leads them to becoming serial killers. Very sick individuals and calling them poachers I think down plays the seriousness of their crimes. In my professional life I’ve run into a few of these individuals and early intervention is about the best hope for them so if you know someone like this please get them help.
I’ll put forth another group of poachers that in the past I’ve taken a lot of heat for talking about them. I suspect because many of us have knowingly and unknowingly crossed the line from hunter to poacher. Have you ever shot a deer or bear after legal shooting time? Today’s scopes with great light gathering abilities give us abilities to see well past the end of shooting light. One minute past that time and you are a poacher. These are also the same guys that may over look bag and possession limits. Daily bag limit is 5 fish possession limit is 10 “I only took 4 yesterday I’ll keep 6 today and I’m still legal.”
My first deer I ever killed was in Massachusetts when I was hunting with a group of guys and at the start of the hunt they said we have 2 doe tags to fill so if you get the chance shoot one. I did and it wasn’t until after this that I discovered that the tags were not party tags and only the individual who had the tag could use it. I learned a lot from that experience and I strive not to ever do that again.
I’ve never had a B&C buck walk in just after the end of shooting light but that would be a great temptation but I think my ethics would help me resist the urge to drop the hammer on him. I know many others say that’s crazy and who would know? I guess I would and somehow that trophy I bet would always be a bit less then it could have been much like my memories of my first deer.
Cougar in Moore County?
September 28, 2006
Photo courtesy of the NC Zoo
What is it that is roaming around Moore County? There have been a number of reports of people spotting what appears to be a eastern cougar. The odds are pretty good that this animal, if it is a cougar, is one that has escaped from captivity. Besides the eye witness reports an “wildlife expert” has gathered evidence of a large cat in the area.
Wildlife experts in Moore County say they now have evidence that a large cat — about the size of a cougar — is roaming in the area.
Last week, Moore County Animal Control observed the tracks of a large cat near a horse farm off Youngs Road in Southern Pines. Wildlife experts took photographs and measurements.
“It’s a large cat of some sort,” said Paul Tillman, a wildlife control agent with Moore County Animal Control. “We don’t know what it is.”There were several unconfirmed sightings of what people said was a mountain lion in different parts of Moore County during the summer.
Tillman said people should not panic. Experts say that if there is a large cat like a mountain lion in the area, it is unlikely that it would attack humans.
“People live with cougars out West every day,” said David Rabon, endangered species biologist with U.S. Fish and Wildlife. “The key is to be cautious. … We don’t want the villagers out there with pitchforks and guns.”
Tillman and his father, Robert, hope to capture the animal. The tracks measure about five inches long and four inches wide — roughly the size of a human hand.
“Visual sightings are one thing,” Tillman said. “This is something different. This is the first tangible evidence, proof of a large cat.”
A common conspiracy theory is that a government wildlife agency stocked the creature in to control some other wildlife population in this case it’s the bulging deer herd.
Dr. Tom Lineberger recalls a conversation he had with the forestry or wildlife worker.
“He wasn’t a patient of mine,” Lineberger said. “I was just doing his stress test, and we were just chatting while he was on a treadmill.”
While he is not sure how the topic came up — it may have been the recent bear sightings in Southern Pines — the wildlife agent described some of the carnivore populations in the county.
“He told me there were six bears in Moore County that roamed around the county, migrated around,” Lineberger said. “He said something like several hundred coyotes were here, and the forest service or another group, they had released two mountain lions in Moore County.”
Lineberger couldn’t say for sure, but he recalls that the reason given was to control the deer population.
“What I remember is that the question probably arose, ‘Why would you do that? Why would you release mountain lions in Moore County?’” Lineberger said. “And it wasn’t to control the golfers.”
While Lineberger initially thought the worker was from the U.S. Forest Service, he is not positive that is the case.
“What I do remember is the guy told me he’d been working for whoever it was for 20, 25 years, and it was certainly a government agency,” Lineberger said. “I just can’t remember which one.”
A phone call to Terry Seyden, spokesman for the National Forest of North Carolina, which is part of the U.S. Forest Service, suggested that the patient could not have been a forest worker.
Seyden pointed out that there is no national forest land in Moore County and that the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is responsible for stocking or restocking animals.
“We manage the habitat, and the state has the actual responsibility for managing the animals,” he said.
Wib Owen, section manager in charge of the Wildlife and Land Management Section of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, said that the agency played no role in releasing mountain lions into the state.
“First of all, the Wildlife Commission has not stocked any cougars or have any plans to stock cougars to control the deer population,” Owen said.
Owen said any claims that the government releases mountain lions are rumors, and this claim is no different.
“No. There’s no government agency in North Carolina who has released mountain lions,” Owen said. “I don’t know who this guy was or why he told the doctor that, but that just hasn’t happened.”
While other wildlife officials have questioned whether recent sightings are of mountain lions, Owen was more willing to accept that they could be true.
“We have folks who have cougars illegally,” Owen said. “We’ve confiscated some over the years, and sometimes these critters that are held escape or they’re released. People get them and realize they’re not good pets. So we feel that some of the sightings are these escaped pets.”
He offered the disclaimer that the Wildlife Commission doesn’t feel there are breeding populations of mountain lions in North Carolina.
“This is something we handle every year,” Owen said. “We get reports every year. And I’ve given you the Wildlife Commission’s stance on this.”
As for Lineberger, he stands by what he remembers from his conversation.
“I’m 100 percent sure this guy wasn’t just boasting and making up a story,” he said. “I’m sure it’s true from what he told me.”
Did a wildlife agency release cougars or coyotes for that matter? Although I like to believe that they didn’t the fact that over the past few years wolves have been stocked in many states including North Carolina makes me stop and think. We’ll continue to follow this story and see what they find.
Not Your Typical Road Kill
September 27, 2006
AP Photo/The Daily News, John AlthouseA 12-foot, seven-inch American Alligator is removed from the median by North Carolina Division of Transportation, Highway Maintenance personnel.
12-foot, 475-pound alligator killed on N.C. coastal highway
Associated PressJACKSONVILLE, N.C. – A 12-foot-long alligator killed by a motorist on a coastal North Carolina highway weighed about 475 pounds, forcing officials to use a large excavator to remove the reptile.A 12-foot-long alligator killed by a motorist on a coastal North Carolina highway weighed about 475 pounds, forcing officials to use a large excavator to remove the reptile.The American alligator was about 85 years old when it was struck late Monday night along U.S. 17 in Onslow County, state wildlife officials said. The reptile was removed by state Department of Transportation officials Tuesday.
A 12-foot-long alligator killed by a motorist on a coastal North Carolina highway weighed about 475 pounds, forcing officials to use a large excavator to remove the reptile.The American alligator was about 85 years old when it was struck late Monday night along U.S. 17 in Onslow County, state wildlife officials said. The reptile was removed by state Department of Transportation officials Tuesday.”For this alligator to be the size it was, it’s obviously been here a long time, and this is the first time we’ve known about it. That says something,” said Sgt. Charles Smith, a law enforcement officer with North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.
The motorist, who wasn’t identified, was unharmed.
The American alligator was taken off the endangered species list in 1987, but the legal trade of alligator skin is still regulated, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The reptiles live throughout the Southeast, and it’s not uncommon for them to cross major roadways as part of their seasonal migration, said Warren Wethington, Onslow County DOT maintenance engineer.
North Carolina is about the most northern end of the Alligators range. The population appears to be expanding and many southern states now have gator hunting season, I don’t expect we’ll have a season anytime soon.
How big a boy r you?
September 26, 2006
Photo courtesy of NC Wildlife
From the days of market hunting this Punt Flintlock is on display at the Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education.
The N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences has temporarily loaned a flintlock punt gun – used in the earliest days of market hunting – to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission for a month-long special exhibit at its Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education. The display will be unveiled on Oct. 1 as part of Excursion Day, an annual celebration at Currituck Heritage Park.
Think you are man enough to shoulder this gun?
Standing nine and a half feet tall and weighing more than 100 pounds, the punt gun began its northeast North Carolina career in 1853, blasting dozens of waterfowl from the sky with a single shot. That was very much the gun’s purpose, to effectively kill as many birds as possible, which then were shipped to be sold in distant cities.
I guess I’ll stick with my 50 caliber in-line. If you want to read more about this here is the press release.
Big Land Deal is a Benefit to All
September 25, 2006
The largest single land deal in North Carolina will add 65,000 acres to state game lands. Its great to see a state acquiring land for hunting when others seem to be giving away prime hunting land.
Nature Conservancy closes land deal with International Paper Triangle Business Journal – 10:47 AM EDT MondayThe Nature Conservancy on Monday said it has closed on one of the largest land protection deals in North Carolina history. The nonprofit organization has completed its purchase of about 76,500 acres in 11 coastal-plain counties from International Paper Co. The transaction is part of a deal announced by Gov. Mike Easley in March in which Stamford, Conn.-based International Paper (NYSE: IP) agreed to sell 218,000 acres of forest land across 10 states.The cost for the project in North Carolina is about $80 million, according to the governor’s office.More than 80 percent of the land will be transferred to the The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, adding almost 65,000 acres to the state’s Game Land program and opening the land to public recreation. The remainder will be transferred to the Division of State Parks for an addition to Medoc Mountain State Park, the Department of Cultural Resources for a Civil War site on the Roanoke River, and to private conservation buyers.In North Carolina, the land spans 11 counties and encompasses five distinct landscapes: the Roanoke, Upper Tar and Chowan Rivers in northeastern North Carolina, Juniper Creek in the southeastern tip of the state and Fort Bragg Forest. Story Nature Conservancy link to information about deal including maps
Good Luck to Moose Hunters
September 24, 2006
Tomorrow is the start of the Maine Moose Season
September 22, 2006
Two-week, split moose hunting season about to start
By The Associated Press, wire report AUGUSTA— Maine on Monday becomes the first northern New England state to launch its 2006 moose-hunting season, as more than 2,800 permit holders take to the woods in search of a trophy.The first six-day portion of the split season gets under way at dawn Monday in northern and eastern parts of the state. The second week runs from Oct. 9-14, in the northern two-thirds of the state. Biologists estimate Maine’s moose population at 29,000.Maine’s moose hunt predates the seasons in the other northern New England states. New Hampshire’s runs Oct. 21-29. Vermont, like Maine, has a split season, which runs Oct. 21-26 and Oct. 28-Nov. 2.
In Maine, hunters will search for trophies in designated wildlife management districts covering more than 21,000 square miles.
It looks like the weather maybe ok for the opening day.
Biologist Karen Morris of the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Department said moose are in prime physical shape this time of the year, just as they begin their mating season.
While foliage is still dense in the woods across the state, that disadvantage to hunters will be more than outweighed by the willingness of moose to respond to moose calls, game officials said. The National Weather Service predicted cloudy weather with a chance of rain, and high temperatures in the 50s, when the season starts Monday.
Link to the Rest of the News Story
A couple of my friends who helped me last year with my moose hunt will be out hunting a bull in zone 3. I wish them and everyone else good luck.
Some guys have all the Luck
September 22, 2006
A good morning last season
With the Red Sox out of the playoff race and the hockey season not really going yet there is little reason to turn to the sports section of the News & Observer. However on Thursdays it’s Outdoor news day and Mike Zlotnicki ‘s articles are always interesting. However today’s stories rub salt in an open wound.
Today he was wall to wall geese ( Hordes of Honkers & Calling for an Early Season ) and I’ve yet to even get in the field after them. It’s not the lack of opportunity to get out there and hunt but the lack of geese. We have access to farmland in Orange and Alamance county’s and since the season has started the geese have been scarce.
Mike does not seem to have the same problem.
Lots of Canada geese can be found in North Carolina’s Piedmont region — just ask any farmer or golfer.
Years past we found this to be true but this year the geese have disappeared. Cut silage is like the Golden Corral buffet for geese but fields that have been productive in the past have gone 2 weeks since cutting without the geese hitting them. We are not alone, talking with hunters across the state this early season has been disappointing. Some have had a few decent hunts but nothing like the success they’ve seen in the past. I’m glad that others are having success but with the numbers of geese we were seeing just prior to the season we know there is more then enough to go around. Maybe I should slip my Mossberg into the golf bag and hit the greens this weekend.
Nice Buck Taken in Stokes County
September 18, 2006
This I believe is one of two bucks I’ve heard about that will score around 150 taken in the first couple of weeks of the 2006 Archery season. The photo quality is not great because it’s a scan of the newspaper but I’m sure you can see how impressive a buck this is.
Jerrold Wade of Arcadia became the latest deer hunter to take advantage of Stokes County’s penchant for producing big bucks …Joey Thompson, an official scorer for the N.C. Bow Hunters Association, met Wade when he brought the buck to John Brown’s Country Store No. 2 in King late that evening to register his kill. Thompson put a tape on the big 11-point buck and green-scored it at 1584/8 non-typical and 1452/8 typical.
Check out Dan Kibler’s article for the rest of the story “Jaw Dropping: Huge buck taken on 1st day of archery season”
It looks like the 2 buck limit is working and hopefully we’ll see that statewide at some point. We’ll also keep looking for information on any other large bucks killed in North Carolina.
Moose Droppings is a place that chronicles my journey, Ill explore new places and ideas Ill learn new things and Ill teach the things Ive learned to others. Join me on the adventure and hopefully it will help you in your outdoor endeavors.
