Article published December 01, 2009
Hunt yields idle time to watch nature at work
UNION FURNACE, Ohio - Deer hunting is a prime opportunity for nature study, given the long hours you spend on stand in what amounts to an open-air refrigerator, waiting for the game to come along.
You might even have the opportunity, if you are really paying attention to details, to watch an earthworm emerge from a rotting, moss-covered log. No kidding.
The thing undulated its way out of its decomposing, mossy fastness and proceeded at, well, a snail's pace, down the side of the log. It hung suspended for a few minutes, dangling by its "toenails," stretching out like a rubber band and then contracting before finally stretching out fully and letting go into a short fall. The worm plopped into some soft yellow mud and proceeded to slip and slide away, eventually finding a crevice in which to burrow and disappear back into its underground kingdom.
Such is not the kind of observation you would get up to witness at 4:30 on a rainy, 40-ish, end-of-November morning in Hocking County in the state's southeast quadrant. But there it is. And the point is, you see lots of stuff, right down to the nitty gritty.
Lots of gray squirrels, some nuthatches and crows, a brown creeper. A red-tailed hawk, a coyote - predators on the prowl. A 20-ish young hunter with more energy than savvy, loping through the woods at 8 a.m. on a mission. He moved so fast and made so much noise you would have thought that he was Hawkeye from the film Last of the Mohicans, in hot pursuit of an elk.
I sort of envied the kid for his vinegar, much of mine having gone south in the last 30 years. But nearly 40 years' experience in the deer woods augurs for patience, and silence. Deer have it all over humans when it comes to sensing their surroundings. Which is why the blundering young gun presently managed to blow two nice bucks off their early morning beds and completely blow an opportunity to kill one.The fairy tale ending would have it that I, the sage old bull, bided his time and bagged one of the bucks in a masterfeat. But that kind of script only plays in
Hollywood. Folks used to semi-tame urban and suburban deer have no notion of how deer react in a wild environ; free-ranging dogs and the ubiquitous coyotes, among other stimuli, assure that rural deer stay on their toes.
But each and every opening day notched in a deer hunter's career is special, buck or not. Like yesterday. [A fine buck did wander by across a wide, brushy ravine a little after 2 p.m. But it moved in a line - slow, straight, stealthily, but purposeful. It had something else in mind, like a nice snaggle-toothed hidey-hole, rather than my crosshairs.]
I never really have taken the time to quietly, patiently observe an earthworm's molasses-in-January odyssey. Especially in refrigerator weather. I probably never would have done it. Till I picked a deerless deer stand. Add it to the list.
That said, several tens of thousands of Ohio deer hunters managed more than worm watching yesterday, opening day of the "shotgun" season. State deer managers forecast a bag of 115,000 to 120,000 deer during the shotgun week, which runs through Sunday. The same season returns for an encore Dec. 19 and 20.
The opening day preliminary bag will not be compiled until late today, but the typical opening day kill is about 25 percent of the annual forecast, or about 40,000 to 45,000 deer. Ideal weather yesterday - the rain quit by dawn here in the southeast - favored a decent take.
The preseason's October statewide herd was estimated at 650,000 animals. As many as 420,000 hunters statewide were expected to participate.
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Young hunters across Ohio killed 9,331 deer during the special two-day season, held the weekend before Thanksgiving. Last year's youth hunt saw a deer harvest of 9,852.
The Ohio Division of Wildlife estimated 40,000 young hunters took to the state's fields and forests during the two-day season.
Counties reporting the greatest number of deer killed were Tuscarawas-445, Washington-362, Harrison-351, Holmes-279, Guernsey-276, Knox-265, Licking-240, Coshocton-212, Athens-209, and Ross-206.
In related news, a lottery card drawing will be held for a youth muzzleloader deer hunt during the statewide muzzleloader deer season Jan. 9, 10, 11, and 12 in portions of the state wildlife refuge on the Pickerel Creek State Wildlife Area in Sandusky County.
To apply, youth ages 17 and younger should mail a four-by-six-inch postcard to the Ohio Wildlife District Two, 952 Lima Avenue, Findlay, OH 45840. Print name, address, and phone number on the card with the words "Pickerel Creek Youth Muzzleloader Deer Hunt" at the top. Postcards must be postmarked by Friday. Eight permits will be issued per day.
Each hunter must be appropriately licensed and accompanied by a nonhunting adult. There will be no check-in or check out, with hunting hours a half hour before sunrise to sunset. Maps for designated hunt areas will be provided to successful applicants. The bag limit is one deer per hunter.
For details, contact the Sandusky County wildlife officer at 419-429-8393. Permits are transferable.
Contact Steve Pollick at:
spollick@theblade.com
or 419-724-6068.
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