By Gary Lee
After the latest snowfall some of you may want to check your roofs. In areas that I have snowshoed I have seen about three feet of snow on most places.
Then, another deep freeze is forecasted just in time for this weekend’s Old Forge Winter Carnival at McCauley Mountain.
Many big cities have seen the highest snowfall ever recorded in a month’s time…or even in a winter season.
Bangor, ME has more total snow on the ground—54 inches—than ever recorded, and that isn’t counting what they get from this storm.
Pictures from the city of Boston show buried cars and nothing but piles of snow everywhere.
Their budget for snow removal must be about shot.
Locally, our highway trucks and personnel have been working pretty steady to keep the roads clear. There aren’t many more places to shove it. Where was a January thaw when we needed it?
Some of you must have seen the beautiful full moon that was visible most all night on February 3.
Around midnight I took several shots of tree shadows in the front, side and backyards.
It was mighty cold on the front porch at –20 degrees, but it was so clear you would think it was daytime.
I did 10-second exposures when I took the shots and even got some green in the balsam trees.
The stewards stationed at area boat launches compiled an annual report for Adirondack Watershed Institute Stewardship Program. The full report is available online at: adkwatershed.org.
The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) runs from February 13 through 16.
You can count the birds at your feeder or take a walk or drive to one of your favorite birding spots. Record what you see.
Even if you don’t see anything, report it; that type of information is just as important. Report your findings to:
gbbc@cornell.edu.
On a two-mile snowshoe hike yesterday I saw only one ruffed grouse. I nearly stepped on it as it burst out from under the snow.
It was freezing rain at the time. Sometimes grouse get under the snow and get frozen in, not realizing a hard crust is forming above them.
When there is a foot of powder the grouse will fly into the snow at full speed and sometimes tunnel a couple feet away from the hole they entered in.
This was the only bird I saw or heard in the two hours I was on the trail.
The last time I took this hike I saw a grouse and three hairy woodpeckers.
You should record information such as this along with the time you spent and the weather conditions; the same if you are counting at your feeders.
This count has gone worldwide…it’s amazing the results they get in this four-day period.
At my feeder this week I watched as the northern shrike tried several times to catch a redpoll.
I never saw him catch one, but I’m sure he did as he keeps coming back.
I had over 50 redpolls and three hoary redpolls working the seed feeders.
I put bands on 30 on Saturday along with two hoarys, five black capped chickadees and one downy woodpecker.
I held the hoary and common next to each other and could see the difference in their beak lengths.
The hoary has a shorter, stubbier beak than the common redpoll.
The year 2014 marks the second best one for safe hunting in New York State.
DEC Commissioner Martens and Governor Cuomo commended DEC hunter safety volunteer training programs for much of this success.
New York’s hunting incident rate (incidents per 100,000 hunters) has fallen by more than 75 percent since the 1960s.
The past five-year average is down to 4.3 percent incidents per 100,000 hunters compared to 19 per 100,000 in the 1960s.
A total of 22 hunting incidents occurred in 2014, including one unfortunate fatality which occurred while hunting small game.
Eight of this year’s incidents were self-inflicted, 11 involved members of the same hunting party, and only three occurred where the victim and shooter did not know each other.
This was the first year on record without an incident occurring during the spring turkey hunting season.
The lowest total number of hunting incidents in any year occurred in 2013 with 19 recorded.
Sportsmen education is essential in the field and teaches future sportsmen and women how to be safe, responsible and ethical hunters and trappers. All courses are offered free of charge.
While hunting is safer than ever, accidents happen, and it is important to remember that every hunting related shooting incident is preventable.
Many, if not all of these incidents, could have been prevented if only the shooter or victim had followed the primary rules of hunter safety:
Assume every firearm to be loaded; Control the firearm muzzle in a safe direction; Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to fire; Identify your target and what lies beyond; Wear hunter orange.
The great backyard bird count…but that’s another story. See ya.