Moose Droppings

The severe drought the state of NC is under is beginning to have significant effects on sportsmen across the state. Fall trout stocking is being cut back because of the lack of water, waterfowl impoundments across the state are dry and will remain dry unless we see some significant rain soon.

RALEIGH, N.C. (Sept. 27, 2007) – Due to severe drought conditions, some coastal waterfowl impoundments may lack adequate water levels for hunting, according to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.
Most impoundments are filled by pumping water from adjacent sources, but this approach may not be an option unless the Coastal area receives significant rainfall in the coming weeks.
All impoundments on the Roanoke River Wetlands Game Land currently are unable to be flooded and will be dry during early season hunting.
The following may also lack sufficient water sources to flood completely: Lodge Road Impoundment and portions of the Greentree Impoundments on Holly Shelter Game Land, parts of the J. Morgan Futch Impoundment, and much of the rainfall-dependant Parker Farm, which is part of the Goose Creek Game Land.
Many of these locations offer randomly drawn special permit hunts, which require a $5 application fee per entry. While the drawings will still take place, applicants should understand that drought conditions may negatively impact hunting opportunities.

RALEIGH, N.C. (Sept. 20, 2007) – Due to severe drought conditions, the waterfowl impoundments at Butner Falls of Neuse Game Land may remain completely dry this fall, according to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.
The impoundments are typically filled by pumping water from adjacent creeks, but the Commission is not planning to do so this year unless the area receives significant rainfall in the coming weeks.
The impoundments are open to waterfowl hunting through a randomly drawn special permit hunt, which requires a $5 application fee. Though the permit hunts remain available, prospects look dim for productive waterfowl habitat on Butner’s impoundments.
The permit drawing for Butner’s hunts takes place in early October. When those permits are mailed, the Commission will include updated information about water levels at the site.
Permit hunts are scheduled to take place beginning Nov. 10.

Early Duck season opens next week but hunting opportunities maybe very limited. Some of the private ground I hunt on is dried up so at least the early season may be out unless we get some rain. With the major part of the hurricane season by us now the rain prospects become even slimmer. Pray for rain because just about everyone around here needs it.

Caswell county North Carolina not an area known for bears had an incident that is being called a “bear attack”. Last Thursday around 10 pm a county man investigating odd noises in his yard came face to face with a bear.

Here is what the Caswell Messenger is reporting;

23-year-old Clifton Marshall of Pelham, a big man at 6 foot 3 inches tall and 309 pounds.

Marshall says he’s lucky to be here to talk about his encounter with a “real big” bear last Thursday.

He was enjoying a pleasant evening on the front porch of his home with family and friends when, at about 10 p.m., all were alarmed to hear a frantic squealing noise coming from behind the Marshalls’ house. Clifton Marshall was concerned about the family dog, Cedar, who stays in the back, so he and his friend Kevin Phillips, 20, went to investigate.
They discovered Cedar in his dog house, frightened but okay, and had only walked about 10 yards further when it appeared in Phillips’ spotlight.

“He happened to throw the flashlight up and there was a black bear,” Marshall said.

“It was eating on something. The bear looked up and grabbed at us.”

Marshall screamed at Kevin to run, which he did, with the flashlight, leaving Marshall in the darkness.

Because he’s had three back surgeries, Marshall wasn’t as agile.

“Plus, my feet were caught in kudzu and [Kevin] had the light.”
The bear knocked Marshall down with his head. He said he could feel the bear’s breath on his face as it wrestled with him.

“I didn’t have time to think,” Marshall said. “All I could think of was to get him off of me.”

After a couple of minutes of Marshall’s “hitting and hollering,” the bear got up and disappeared into the woods as quickly as he had appeared.

Miraculously, Clifton Marshall suffered only bruised ribs and a strained wrist and knee.

Asked how he figured he’d survived, Marshall said, “The good Lord ain’t ready for me.”

I’m glad no one was seriously hurt running from a black bear is not a smart move and may actually encourage the bear to attack you. I guess this also shows that you don’t necessarily have to be fast enough to out run a bear just fast enough to out run your buddy Bears moving into the more populated piedmont area of the state will only increase the bear & human conflicts.

Photo by Mike Marsh & Star News

Banding of birds has been done for many years to help biologists better understand the migration of many species of birds. Hunters are most familiar with them being on waterfowl and consider it a trophy to bag a duck or goose wearing jewelry. Well dove hunters need to take a closer look at their doves because North Carolina Wildlife along with 26 other states have been involved in banding mourning doves to help study their migration as well as harvest numbers. This project initially started as a 3 year project in 2003 but with the success of the project the banding study has been extended.

Mike Marsh a noted NC Outdoor writer has a story about how he and his son both bagged banded birds on a recent hunt. Both of theirs were banded here in NC this past August.

So check those birds real close and if you find a band call the number provided or report them here on line. This site also has some great info on bird banding as well as the history of bird banding, it’s well worth checking out.

About 14 hours after the searches started in the heavily wooded Pisgah National Forest one of the leaders walked out and met up with a utility meter reader that drove him back to the command post. Searchers were then able to go into the woods and quickly locate the rest of the group. Everyone was safe and in good spirits so the ending of this story was a happy one.
The happy ending wasn’t by luck but by the preplanning prior to the trip as well as making the right decisions when faced with a problem. First off they had appropriate equipment and supplies with them. They had left detail plans and maps of where they would be hiking and the expected time they would be back. Those who had those plans sounded the alarm when they did not return as scheduled. When the scout troop lost the trail they were hiking and got into an unknown area with nightfall coming on they didn’t panic they made the right choice to make camp and wait till daylight to figure out how to get out. They had cell phones but I can attest to the fact that many of those areas are dead zones for cells and they were unable to call. Once daylight came one of the leaders found a powerline and he hiked to it and then followed it out running into a meter reader that gave him the ride to the command post.

These are all important factors in the happy ending we should all remember them when we take outings.

WRAL Video Link to Press Conference

Boy Scout troop 217 from Raleigh NC that failed to return after a weekend of hiking and camping in the Pisgah National Forest has been located and are safe. Initial reports are that Troop Leaders decided to make camp after losing the trail they were hiking and nightfall was fast approaching. I’ll add additional updates as warranted. We’re just glad everyone is safe and accounted for.

Troop 217 from Raleigh NC is over due from a camping trip in Pisgah National Forest in Haywood County. They were due back yesterday and when they failed to show up in Raleigh concerned parents notified authorities. Haywood County Search and Rescue Teams have been combing the area since 9pm last evening. Additional teams plan to join the search this morning. Troop 217 has 8 boys ranging in age from 12 to 18 as well as 3 leaders. The hope is the distance of the hike was to long forcing them to spend and unplanned evening in the woods and that they’ll walk out this morning. The weather in the area has been good they have proper equipment they just maybe running short on food because they packed for a two day trip. We’ll keep following this story today as it unfolds.

This week we talked to Billy Mosley waterfowl guide and owner of Avery Creek Retrievers and Guide Service. We touched on some tips we picked up from Sean Mann a few years ago. Lots of great goose hunting tips so check out this weeks radio show. Deadline for Tundra Swan Permit is coming up quick if you want to get in the lottery draw.

Rick over at Tails & Trails has a story about throwing a disposable camera in your pack to take on your hunt. Getting good photos on your hunt is important and although disposable cameras will work my experience has been that there are some reasons to avoid them if you can. I opt for a point and shoot digital camera that I regularly use and are very familiar with. Now there is some risk of damaging or destroying your digital camera if you’re not careful. I recall a duck hunt where the camera slipped out of my pocket and fell and sunk to the bottom of the pond. My mistake and a costly one at that but a trip to REI with my replacement camera I found a Pelican Case that fit it perfectly.

5 Reasons I Choose a Digital Camera to Put in My Pack

1. Over time a digital camera will save you money on film and developing costs.
2. View finders in disposable cameras are often not accurately aligned.
3. You only get one opportunity to get trophy photos afield. A digital camera you can review the photos on the screen and get a pretty good idea whether you have it. I can’t be the only one that has had a hunting buddy snap some photos with a film camera to only get them back to discover my head cut off.
4. Hunt by yourself at all? How do you get a photo of yourself with your trophy with a disposable camera? The digital point and shoot has a timer to allow you to get the photo.
5. Digital Point and Shoot has a zoom feature although Rick points out Kodak has introduced a disposable zoom. The camera retails for about $12 add in the cost of developing the film and with about 10 cameras you could have a good digital point and shoot.

I guess it depends on how many photographs you take. I tend to shoot a lot but I know some guys that have a couple of deer seasons and a few turkey seasons on a disposable and still have room. Either way I think it’s important that you take photos to share with others and help you recall the hunts at a latter date. I love looking through my photos and recalling the memories of hunts gone by. Whatever you decide just make sure you capture some great photos for the stories you’ll tell.

My radio show airs every Friday at 1pm on Skinny Moose Radio or you can catch it off the podcast in my show archives. This week’s show is about waterfowl hunting and I have Billy Mosley from Avery Creek Outfitters as a guest.

So join us today and catch some great waterfowl hunting tips.

The US Navy put on hold the proposed OLF site in Washington County after a loud oppositional outcry about the site. The proposed Washington county site would put the landing strip right in the heart of the Pocosin National Wildlife Refuge and threaten important winter waterfowl habitat.

Two of the new alternative sites are centered in rural Gates County, and two are in Camden County in northeastern North Carolina near the Virginia border. Some aircraft noise could affect neighboring counties such as Currituck and Hertford.
The northeastern sites are 20 to 50 miles from Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Va., the base for most of the squadrons of Super Hornet fighter jets that would use the airfield.
Also on the list are two sites in southeastern North Carolina. One site is in the Angola Bay game lands on the border of Duplin and Pender counties. The other is the Hofmann Forest, a research forest in Jones and Onslow counties.
Environmental groups said they wanted to study the sites in more detail before endorsing any. But they did not express the immediate opposition that erupted over the Washington County site.
The secretary of the Navy is reviewing an analysis of the six new North Carolina sites and 10 others offered by Virginia. The Navy is expected to decide by mid-November whether to undertake in-depth environmental reviews of any of them.

All six of these sites were on the original list that the Navy looked at but all were initially ruled out but maybe this time things will be different.

Environmental groups successfully challenged in court the Navy’s selection of the site near the national wildlife refuge. They came away from Tuesday’s meeting encouraged by a tone of cooperation.

N&O

I hope they are right but somehow I think if the sites were rejected once by the Navy there is little hope that they’ll suddenly be acceptable. It will also be interesting to see if any sites will be acceptable to many of the environmental groups.

Other Posts on OLF

WARNING THIS POST CONTAINS GRAPHIC PHOTO!!!!

It appears that a day of snorkeling at Lake Moultrie ended with a man fighting for his life after a gator severed his arm in South Carolina’s worst gator attack.

Bill Hedden, 59, was in critical condition at the Medical University of South Carolina. His arm, retrieved from the belly of the alligator after wildlife officers shot it, was on ice while doctors evaluated whether it could be reattached, said Bill Salisbury, Berkeley County Rescue Squad captain.
Wildlife officials said it was one of the worst gator attacks in the state, but no one saw it except the victim.
Hedden stumbled into a party of picnickers with his arm missing and blood gushing from his wound. Five nurses were among those at the gathering and put ice on his wound and kept him awake until paramedics could arrive.
Jerome Bien followed the man’s trail of blood to the shore, where he saw the gator with victim’s arm in its jaw. “He was just smiling at me,” Bien said.
Department of Natural Resources officers showed up later and shot the animal, which was nearly 12-feet long and weight about 550 pounds. The officers cut the gator open and removed the man’s arm, which was bagged, put in an ice cooler and rushed to the hospital with a police escort.

AJC

Photo Allegedly Taken While Bystanders Waited for Wildlife Officials to Arrive and Kill the Gator

Just like bears & cougars the American Alligator is a predator that given the opportunity will attack man and on his turf he is one tough critter. People can not under estimate the risks they take when we enter their habitat. Sometimes I wonder if our society desensitizes us from the realities of the natural world around us. Those cute cuddle creatures we see on the TV are not as they are often depicted in shows. Swimming in areas that have Alligators is never a good idea.

Hopefully Mr. Hedden will survive this attack and that doctors will be able to reattach his arm.

I do a weekly radio show that airs Fridays at 1pm on Skinny Moose Radio or is available as a podcast. The notes are just some links for people to get further information on what I covered on my show. I’ll normally put them out weekly but the week of the 7th show I was slack in getting them out so here is 2 weeks worth of notes.

7th
Food Plots
Quality Deer Management Association

North Carolina Extension Wildlife Info

Links to Your Local Extension Office

EHD / Blue Tongue

USDA “The Blue Tongue Triangle”

NCWC Info Page

Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study

Show Notes 14th

Hunting from a ground blinds The following are Products I use and recommend.

Ameristep Blinds

All Terrain Seat*

*I initially got a faulty seat but the company was great and I got a replacement. I don’t hunt a lot out of ground blinds so it has taken me a while to fully test this product and to feel comfortable recommending this product. I’ve now used this product numerous times in a wide variety of situations and it has performed flawlessly. I highly recommend the All Terrain Seat.

Sauce For the Troops

A very worthy cause that I featured on my blog a few weeks ago and with this week being the 6th Anniversary of the 911 attacks I thought it was fitting to include another plug on my radio show. Our men and women are in harms way defending and protecting our way of life we can never thank them enough but here is a tangible way to give them a little something to maybe brighten their day I hope you help out.