If you’re lucky, you may be enjoying the company of hummingbirds in your yard from spring and now into summer. But like many other birds, some hummingbirds are now on the move. And there are more of them with a new cohort of fledglings joining the populations that migrated north this spring. But the movements of migrations of late summer and early fall don’t have the same intensity as spring, and hummingbirds aren’t in a hurry to head south considering there is a seasonal peak of flowers and tiny insects in certain climates to feed on, say the folks at The Birding Wire.

But avid birders can provide supplemental food in a popular nectar feeder that may help keep hummingbirds returning to your yard longer – possibly weeks longer. 

Providing sugar-water nectar in a feeder for hummingbirds is one the simplest things to do to attract these impressive tiny and fast birds to our yards, and you may be lucky to have more than one species visiting your feeder since there are more than a dozen species of hummingbirds that range north of Mexico. For birders living in the eastern half of the U.S. and southern Canada, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds will probably be our only feeder visitors. 

If you haven’t tried attracting hummingbirds to your yard, it’s fairly easy and considerably cheaper than traditional bird food. It only takes an inexpensive feeder filled with fresh sugar-water nectar that is mixed in a solution that mimics the natural nectar produced by flowers and is available in many hardware or birding stores. Simply mix the water and sugar in a 4-to-1 ratio (4 parts water to 1-part sugar) using only white pure cane sugar. Pour the sweet solution into a clean nectar feeder for hummingbirds, then wait for one or more hummers to arrive. You may also have bees or wasps visit as well, however. 

Any flowering plants that produce tube-shaped flowers that you may already have, especially red-tube-shaped flowers will attract the birds. Hummingbirds are attracted to red flowers because they produce nectar with the highest sugar content. Even though it’s late in the season, you may want to add a few plants from a greenhouse and consider planting one for next season. 

After the nesting season is complete and as hummingbirds disperse and begin early migration, they’ll still provide exciting observations throughout August and September. You may also get hummingbirds that will stopover during their migration. 

PGC/PFBC DEPUTY NEWS

In case you haven’t heard, the Pennsylvania’s Game and Fish/Boat Commissions are ending their deputy game warden and deputy waterways conservation officer programs effective September 1. With little explanation, the agencies are ending this 123-year tradition. 

Some time ago, one PGC deputy I know told me that deputies underwent basic training and firearms training for the part-time position. Aside from assisting the full-time officers, they manned agency information booths at events like the Harrisburg Sports Show and others. 
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Pennsylvania’s House Game and Fisheries Committee resoundingly approved an effort to make Hunter-Trapper Education more accessible to students across the state with courses to be taught in public schools.

According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission House Bill 2460 (180-22) calls for the PGC to develop an age appropriate Hunter-Trapper Education Program, including firearm safety instruction, for students in grades 6-12. Schools, says the PGC, could opt to incorporate this as an extracurricular class, or as part of an existing course for the purpose of outdoor recreation activity. Responsibility for this task will reside solely with the Game Commission, as to not add any burden to the Department of Education. 

“Students are our future, and they represent the next generation of Pennsylvania sportsmen,” said PGC Executive Director Steve Smith. The reality is, kids have so many things competing for their time and attention.” “The agency applauds the committee and this legislative effort to provide hunter education in schools because it’s a great way to expose more students to the lessons of wildlife conservation and potentially pique their interest in wanting to participate in hunting themselves.”

Under state law, all new hunters must successfully complete the PGC’s basic Hunter-Trapper-Education course before obtaining a hunting license. Students who would take the course in school would be eligible to purchase a license after they successfully complete the course in school. 

“I believe it is imperative that hunter and trapper education be provided in our schools, to help ensure that current and future generations have an opportunity to learn safe gun and hunting/trapping practices,” said Rep. Anita Kulik (D-Allegheny), who sponsored the bill. “This is especially important for our youth, who are interested, but may not otherwise have an opportunity.” 

Throughout the course, students are taught the ethics of responsible hunting behavior, basic firearms safety, basic shooting skills, basic firearm and archery hunting techniques, wildlife management, outdoor preparedness, and the basics of fur-taking (trapping). Firearms and ammunition would not be brought into a school building as part of the instruction. 

Pennsylvania isn’t the only state looking to make Hunter-Trapper Education opportunities more accessible in our schools through legislation. According to the Congressional Sportsman’s Foundation, Pennsylvania would be joining several other states including Colorado, Louisiana, Michigan, West Virginia, Illinois, Tennessee, New Mexico, and most recently Georgia whose Governor signed similar legislation into law on May 5, 2026. 

I wish this would have been offered back when I was in that age group. I learned safe gun handling and small game hunting around the fields of Ironton from my uncle and grandfather (my mother’s brother and father). And back then, I initially carried my Red Ryder BB gun. After learning the basics, my grandfather let me hunt with his single shot 16-gauge shotgun. The most memorable times afield. 

If you’re a wildlife lover, you may want to check out the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s online Elk Cam, the state’s most majestic animal. 

The Elk Cam went live on Aug. 1 and it will bring the sights and sounds of bugling elk to your computer/iPad or phone screen. 

Elk Cam is located in the heart of Pennsylvania’s elk range, an area says the PGC, totaling more than 220,000 acres that includes State Game Lands 311 and Elk State Forest. And it will all be livestreamed at www.pa.gov/pgc. On the site, viewers will not only see elk but deer, turkey, coyotes but other wildlife as well. And it will get even more interesting and vocal as bull elk will be competing with other bulls for available cows during the mating season. 

The Elk Cam will run until the first elk firearm season which begins in October. The top times, says the PGC, are mornings and evenings. 

The livestream is provided by HDOnTap in cooperation with the North Central Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission. The stream can be accessed on the PGC’s website at www.pa.gov/agencies/pgc/wildlife-viewing-cams.

WILD TURKEY SIGHTINGS

The Game Commission is once again asking the public’s help to report sightings of wild turkeys. The annual survey started July 1 and runs through Aug. 31. 

Participants are asked to report the number of wild turkeys they see, their county, township, date of sighting and if known, the Wildlife Management Unit. Plus, whether the turkeys are gobblers, hens with broods, hens without broods or even turkeys of unknown sex and age. Reports can be sent in on the PGC’s website, https:/pgcforms.pa.gov/TurkeySightingSurvey. 

The PGC says the data provided is used in a population model to track trends in wild turkey numbers. And data reported is for the survey, not law enforcement and is not shared publicly. 

The statewide reproductive success index from last summer – the average ratio of young turkeys (poults) seen per hen was 2.7, which was down a bit compared to the average productivity observed across the previous 5 years (3.0) poults per hen from 2020-2024). At the WMU level, the number of poults per hen ranged from a low of 1.7 in 5D (for example) to a high of 4.8 in 4D (for example) during the 2025.   

TROUT MINIMUM SIZE LIMIT CHANGED
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At their July 27 meeting, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission approved the minimum size limit for trout in stocked trout waters open to year-round fishing to nine inches, up from seven inches. This includes the Extended Trout Season as well. The new regulation will go into effect January 1, 2027. 
 

Summer fishing is firing on all cylinders across the Mid-Atlantic and Jersey shore say the folks at On the Water Magazine. Fluke fishing continues to improve from New Jersey through Long Island while striped bass remain catchable during key tide changes with offshore crews finding increased success with tuna and pelagics. Meanwhile, reefs are producing sea bass and triggerfish, while Chesapeake anglers are enjoying a diverse inshore bite.

*Gary Carr at Keyport Bait and Tackle, says crabbing is in full swing at the Keyport waterfront while fluke and snappers are being caught off the piers and bulkheads. Croakers and spot are still around while bluefin tuna action is improving as they seem to be moving closer to shore. 

*Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet, reports lots of fluke on the local reefs and good crabbing around Keyport and in local rivers. 

*Joe Julian Jr at Julian’s Bait and Tackle in Atlantic Highlands, also reported loads of fluke being caught but a dearth of keepers. Draggers, he said, are scooping up everything and bear some responsibility for the shortage of legal fish. There is, however, plenty of bait in the bay and lots of snappers off Leonardo. 

*Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright, said fluke fishing in the surf is decent with plenty of short action and occasional keepers. There’s also trigger fish at the Shrewsbury Rocks and good crabbing in Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers. There’s also a lot of interest in night shark fishing by younger anglers. 

*Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch, said fluking has slowed but he spotted plenty of fish around the jetties. As for tuna, Gleason said recreational and giant bluefin are around with a random yellowfin mixed in with the bluefin. Jigs and popping plugs are working well for tuna. 

*Stanley Gola at the Reel Seat in Brielle, said fluke action has been very good on the offshore reefs from the Rattlesnake to the Axel Carlson. He reported bluefin tuna are close and five miles from shore. Yellowfin and bigeye tuna are in the Hudson Canyon and tile fishing has been good.
 
*Kyle Tangen at Fishermen’s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach, said fluking has been good in the Manasquan River with lots of shorts but more keepers as well. Anglers are having success with the Q8 Bullet jerk shad. There’re still stripers in the river at night. He added that fluke fishing has been good at the Axel Carlson Reef while bluefin are biting at the Klondike and the southern lumps with jigs, stickbaits and popping plugs catching fish. 

FRESHWATER FISHING

The best local bite during these dog days of summer are largemouth bass at Mauch Chunk and Leaser lakes. If you don’t mind wading out at bit, Ontelaunee Reservoir in Berks County has been a productive bite for bass on swim baits and weedless lures in the weeds.

​Up the Pocono area, Pecks Pond is always a favorite as is Shohola. I remember some years ago latching onto a huge snapping turtle at Shohola on of all things, a yellow spinner bait. Not wanting my hand bit by its head that was as large as a man’s hand, I cut the line as the turtle got close to me. It would have made delicious snapper soup though. 

At this time of summer, many folks take to the outdoors to be closed to nature be it by hiking local state parks, lake areas or the Blue Mountain trail. It’s also at this time when the chance of a snake encounter could be possible. Be it a rattlesnake or copperhead, these two are the most venomous snakes in Pennsylvania and they are but two of Pennsylvania’s 21 snake species

While the copperhead is more of a deep mountainous snake, it can occasionally be found locally at Leaser and Mauch Chunk Lakes, and more so at Hawk Mountain. 

The copperhead is one of three most venomous Pennsylvania snakes and it’s close cousin to the cottonmouth or water moccasin found in more southerly aquatic environments. 

The copperhead say the experts are quiet creatures that do its best to avoid trouble as it will quietly retreat to a safe retreat whenever it can. However, when threatened its capable of striking out. If its strike hits its intended victim, poison may be injected through two hollow fangs. The venom-injecting apparatus is similar to that found in the rattlesnake, although a copperhead’s fangs tend to be shorter. Its venom primarily affects the bloodstream and the bite and venom is painful. But it’s said with prompt medical attention, it seldom poses any serious threat to life. 
The pupil of the copperhead’s eye is vertically elliptical (similar to a cat’s pupil) which is a feature of all Pennsylvania’s venomous snakes. In comparison, the pupil of a non-venomous snake is rounded, common to non-venomous snakes. And the copperhead has the facial pit located between the eye and nostril that is common to Pennsylvania’s three most venomous snakes. This heat-sensitive organ is missing from non-venomous species in Pennsylvania.

The rattlesnake is the largest of the three venomous species and the most feared.  It can reach adult sizes off 36-54 inches. And like the copperhead, it would prefer to be left alone. A defensive strike does not always include a release of venom as its venom is used to disable prey.

And contrary to popular belief, the timber rattlesnake does not always sound its familiar rattle alarm before striking. In fact, when striking the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (who are responsible for Pennsylvania snakes) says that when striking, because of fear or the need to defend itself, more often than not the snake strikes without an audible warning that is generated by a rapidly vibrating tail that are hollow horny segments fastened to the tail that strike one another to produce the buzzing, rattle-type sound. The rattle may grow by two to four segments annually, because new segments are added each time the skin is shed. 

I recall a Pocono mule trip I was on with a group of other outdoor writers when we encountered a rattlesnake located alongside the mountainous trail we were on. The snake didn’t rattle even though my close friend and mentor the late Tom Fegely got off his mule to photograph it. Amazingly as well, the mules did not spook or rear-up and take off. 
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So if you’re hiking or merely taking a walk into up-country woods and encounter a rattler or copperhead, stay at least five feet from the snake. Don’t try to kill it. Be careful and look before stepping over a fallen tree limb or log and over large rocks where a snake could be resting. They can also be in tall grass where ticks can be lurking and if attached to you could pose a threat of Lyme disease.

With these hot, humid days, we have a tendency to drink more water. And if you’re a wildlife lover or deer hunter, it may come as a surprise that deer do too. 

According to the National Deer Association, deer get their water from three major sources: 
*Free water that standing or natural bodies of water such as ponds, creeks even man-made watering holes. 

*Preformed water is the water in green plants that are abundant in spring and summer. 
*Metabolic water is water released from that food during digestion as carbs, fats and proteins when broken down. 

Water is as important to deer as it is to humans for a variety of reasons. We both need it for daily function, nutrient and mineral transportation throughout the body, waste excretion and more. And just like with food, larger deer require a greater water intake than smaller deer. 

Location is another factor such as in the Southwest where extreme drought is a major concern, as deer are forced to rely almost entirely on water from their food due to the lack of free water. This also means drier food and an increased need for water. 

In the extreme North, free water can also be hard to come by not because it’s not there, but because it could be frozen. During this time, the demand for water is relatively low compared to summer months when even a diet of mostly woody browse and hard mast will quench their thirst. 

So how much water do deer drink? It depends in most cases across their range. A deer’s daily water requirements are more than satisfied with the water in their food and the water released from that food during digestion, with a nice long drink here and there for good measure. 

When herbaceous vegetation, that’s rich with water is most abundant, but when those plants tend to die off and go away, water decreases for deer. 
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As a rule of thumb, a study done by the National Deer Association says as a rule of thumb, about roughly half a gallon of water from the three water sources combined per 100 pounds of body weight, and you’ll be in the ballpark on how much water deer drink. Of course, deer will often drink free water when it’s available, not because they always need it, but because there’s nothing like a good sip of water on a hot day. 

If you didn’t visit the Jersey shore this past holiday weekend, it’s likely a trip is forthcoming. For anglers, this is prime time as good eating fluke are in the rivers, on the wrecks, in the surf and the reefs. For another good eating fish, bluefin tuna moved closer to shore and are 15-20 miles out along with stripers and bluefish. Yellowfin tuna are also in the offshore southern canyons and in the Hudson Canyon. 

According to On the Water Magazine, stripers are still in the surf and hitting clams, sand fleas and plugs. Metals are working for blues at the inlets, in the rivers and in the ocean. 

Triggerfish are also in the inlets and on the reefs, while croakers and spot remain thick up in Raritan Bay. Crabbing is excellent  around the Keyport waterfront and a good choice for some family fun as I remember our kids enjoyed setting traps and pulling them up to see their catch. But mom had to clean and boil them for a dinner delicacy. 

*Mark Fudill at Tackle World in Paramus, said that croakers and spot are all over Raritan Bay and he also had good reports of kingfish in the surf down by Long Branch. There’s also an early striper bite on the beaches on clams and sand fleas. Fluking is also good in the surf on Gulp and bucktails.

*Capt. Phil Sciortino at The Tackle Box in Hazlet, said croakers and spot are everywhere in Raritan Bay. Fluking is good but better out in the ocean with fish up to 6 pounds reported. There are also triggerfish on the rock piles. 

*Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright, reported a ton of fluke in the surf there. However many are shorts. But stripers are in the surf and one customer caught a 45-inch striper earlier in the week on a metal-lip swimmer bait. 

*Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch, said tuna fishing is really good since they pushed into their waters. They’re hitting jigs and a casting jigs. The average tuna was 40-50 inches with even larger ones around. He added that fluking is good in the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers. Plenty of bluefish were caught offshore. Stripers are hitting sand bugs and calico crabs in the surf in Asbury Park, Ocean Grove and Bradley Beach. Mike said he picked up two last week around mid-morning on the outgoing tide.  

*Stanley Gola at the Reel Seat in Brielle, said there are loads of fluke in the Manasquan River along with small blues and stripers at night. Stripers are hitting small plugs and plastics. Ocean fluking is good and getting better on jigs and Gulp. Tuna fishing has really turned on with blues located from 15-50 miles out. Yellowfin are in the southern canyons and Hudson Canyon where tile fishing is also decent in the ocean. 

*Pete Kupper at Charlie’s Bait and Tackle in Normandy Beach, said stripers are still biting in the surf on clams. Fluking is improving off the beach and in Barnegat Bay, especially around the entrance to Point Pleasant Canal. Gulp and killies are doing the job in both locations. Spot are also in the bay and crabbing has been good. 
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Have you seen them? They’re here again. Yes, yards and fields are aglow with their yellow flashes from whence they got their nickname - fireflies. 

As robins signal the beginning of spring, fireflies (or lightning bugs) signal summer is upon us. These inch-long bugs are actually beetles, or nocturnal members of the family Lampyridae. Most fireflies are winged, which distinguishes them from other luminescent insects of the same family, commonly known as glowworms.  And there are about 2,000 firefly species. They live in a variety of warm environments, as well as in more temperate regions, and are, as we know, a familiar sight on summer evenings. 

Fireflies spend the first two years of their lives underground but lawn chemicals can kill them. They are nocturnal and during the day they spend most of their time on the ground. At night they crawl to the tops of blades of grass and will fly into tree branches to signal to mates with their flashes. They love long grasses as it conceals them better and allows them a better vantage point for signaling at night. And when mowing the lawn, it may disturb them. 

During the day, nocturnal adult fireflies hide in grass and low-profile plants. A nice variety of shrubs, high grass and low-growing plants will provide shelter. And did you know they are not found west of Kansas for some reason. Adult fireflies live about two months or long enough to mate and lay eggs in grasses. Their larvae usually live for approximately one year from mating season to mating season, before becoming adults and giving birth to the next generation. Females deposit their eggs in the ground, which is where larvae develop to adulthood. Underground larvae feed on worms and slugs by injecting them with a numbing fluid.

The flashes seen are done primarily by females to attract a male. Sometimes a male will imitate them to attract females of their own species. And when the female shows up thinking its food, they find a mate. Fireflies are said to feed on plant pollen, nectar, insects, other fireflies or nothing at all and can be considered pollinators as well. 

And in case you’re wondering how they flash and glow, they have light organs that are located in their abdomens. They take in oxygen and combine it with a substance called luciferin to produce light with almost no heat. Then when they flash, they flash in patterns that are unique to each species. Each blinking pattern is an optical signal that helps fireflies find potential mates. Scientists, however, are not sure how the insects regulate this process to turn their lights on and off. Their flashes also serve as a defense mechanism to warn other insect's that they are unappetizing.

If you’re seeing fewer fireflies, scientists say their populations are on the decline. It’s attributed to a combination of light pollution, pesticides and habitat loss. And it’s been said that when a field where fireflies lived gets developed, they don’t migrate to another field, they just disappear. 

As a kid I’d catch them then let them go. I remember afterward that my hand would smell from a scent they must have deposited on it, which may be the luciferin. And although some kids continue to catch them today, it’s recommended to not put them in a jar or bottle but give them their freedom so they can live to make a new generation so we can all enjoy their brilliant flashes in the summer night. They may not be flashing much longer, so enjoy the evening light show this summer. 
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You’ve probably recently seen TV newscasts on screwworm infestation in livestock. Well, it can also affect live deer, dogs, other small animals, even people in rare cases, says the folks from National Deer Association (NDA). And Pennsylvania deer hunters should be concerned and on the lookout for infected deer.

According to NDA, the tiny New World screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax) doesn’t look so frightening until you learn it’s horrific life-cycle. The larvae of this particular fly don’t eat dead tissue like normal maggots. They burrow or “screw” into their victims and eat living flesh of deer. 

New World screwworm kills deer by laying their eggs in open wounds, mucous membranes or orifices of its victims. In spring and summer, newborn fawns are especially susceptible through their umbilical cords. In fall, adult bucks are susceptible through wounds on their heads and necks from fighting other bucks, explains NDA. Once inside the wound or opening, screwworm maggots eat the living tissue and burrow deeper. The wound attracts more flies, which lay additional eggs and the infected wound grows. Without human intervention, secondary infection in the growing wound eventually kills the animal. 

Back in 2016, a screwworm outbreak on Big Pine Key killed nearly 20 percent of Florida’s endangered Key deer population. Florida biologists found living deer with maggot-filled craters on their heads, necks, mouths, genitalia, between their hooves and other locations. 

The screwworm fly originated and escaped South America and made it far north including Mexico and 160 miles south of the Texas border. The impact on livestock activated a response from the U.S. Department of Agriculture where researchers came up with a strategy to defeat the screwworm fly by using radiation to sterilize male screwworm flies and release them by the millions in affected areas. As a result, female flies mated fruitlessly with these sterile males, laid nonviable eggs resulting in a crashed fly population. This was back in 1950s in the Southeast. 

Most recently, active cases of the screwworm fly are in cattle, pigs, horses and dogs in northeast Mexico. The USDA is dispersing 100 million sterile flies per week in Mexico, focusing on areas with detected cases, and it’s dispersing them 50 miles into south Texas as a precaution. 
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It's bad enough we have to deal with Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in Pennsylvania deer, now as hunters and animal lovers, we have to be vigilant for screwworm infestation. NDA suggest the biggest thing hunters can do is keep observing deer. NDA says that since hunters aren’t handling deer outside of hunting season, they recommend keeping their trail-cameras out in spring and summer as an aid in keeping an eye on the animals. If spotting a suspected screwworm wound, contact the Pennsylvania Game Commission. As a reminder, they say screwworms attack deer, rabbits, wild turkeys, raccoons and other small mammals which includes livestock, dogs and cats. Symptoms include live maggots in a wound or opening. 

Now that most schools are off for the summer and vacations start for many, Blue Mountain Resort offers outdoor activities for the entire family. 

“For the avid bikers in the family, Blue Mountain Biking returns and offers the only lift-served bike park. It features an exciting vertical drop of 1,082 feet and 30 downhill trails suited for riders of all skill levels from beginner-friendly flow trails to technical singletrack and jump lines,” says Marguarite Clark, Blue Mountain Public Relations Manager. Added to this, the biking park is serviced by the high-speed Comet Quad Lift. Offered too, are rental, protective gear, repair services and introductory lessons. 

Blue Mountain also offers their weekend Summit Adventure Park featuring ziplining, high ropes, laser tag, archery tag, nighttime climbing and the Adventure Cube which is a four-sided climbing structure designed to accommodate multiple participants simultaneously. 

Guests can also enjoy hiking trails, scenic lift ride and disc golf throughout the mountain. This can be followed by dining and live entertainment at Blue’s Slopeside Pub and Grill.

Campers are not left out at Blue Mountain as camping and glamping offers traditional tent and RV sites to upgraded glamping options. Campsites are located on scenic mountain prairie fields and include picnic tables, fire rings and access to bathrooms and showers. Group glamping is also available for reunions, youth groups and team outings. 

Glamping guests can choose from scenic mountain sites featuring amenities such as solar lighting, charging stations, bunk beds with air mattresses, coolers, solar showers, benches, Adirondack chairs and picnic tables. Two stocked ponds are available for fishing, and a camp store offers basic provisions and souvenirs. 

Beginning June 22, Blue Mountain hosts Summer Adventure Camps offering day and overnight programs for children ages 5 to 15. Planned activities include ziplining, rock climbing, hiking, team-building, challenges and other outdoor experiences designed to encourage exploration and confidence in a mountain setting. 

With travel costs reportedly high this year, staying closer to home makes sense and Blue Mountain offers a myriad of outdoor family enjoyment. 

NEW JERSEY SALTWATER FISHING REPORT

Since trout fishing action has ceased, and you crave big, good eating fish, New Jersey’s On the Water Magazine reports there’s plenty of bait around, including squid, sand eels and bunker. Squid are so plentiful that party boats are targeting them at night. 

Beach anglers are catching bass and black drum on clams and blues on bunker chunks and metal. Fluke are in the mix as well, as keepers have been caught in the suds on Gulp and bucktails. 

Anglers fishing the rivers report catching bass and blues along with fluke and weakfish. 
The Jersey tackle shops are hearing rumors of tuna, but no catches have been confirmed as yet. With all the sand eels and squid around, that’s likely to change. 

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