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Upland hunters looking forward to going afield for the late pheasant hunting season may be disappointed thanks to the recent detection of the highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) . 

The Pennsylvania Game Commission has discovered HPAI in a private Northumberland County game farm and has been forced to adjust its late season pheasant stocking program. The intent is to help safeguard the agency’s pheasant program to insure that it will continue next year for the 2024-25 small game hunting seasons.

According to the PGC, in the next two weeks the agency will release fewer pheasants statewide than initially planned. And here in the eastern part of the state, pheasant releases will occur only this week, not next, with properties that receive normally birds during their final two releases, will be combined as one. These adjustments, say the PGC, will impact pheasant hunters and this is why. 

Last week, the state Department of Agriculture announced the recent detection of HPAI at Martz’s Game Farm in Northumberland County, a popular pay-to-hunt farm. While the pheasants released by the PGC originate from a different facility, Mahantongo Game Farm, where HPAI has not been detected nor suspected, that facility also is in Northumberland County. 

The proximity of HPAI to that facility represents a concern, the PGC explains. If there was an HPAI outbreak there, regulations would require euthanasia of many or all of the breeding pheasants that provide stock for the PGC’s stocking program, and could jeopardize the program’s future. 

As such, the PGC is taking measures by first holding onto all of the hen pheasants, and about five percent of roosters that were slated for release in the final two pheasant releases for the 2023-24 seasons. 

Then, if HPAI remains undetected through continued testing of birds at the Mahantongo Farm, pheasants there will be temporarily transferred to the PGC’s Loyalsock Game Farm. That’s why the counties served by Loyalsock will get their final two releases all at once this week. The pheasants to be released need to be cleared out to make room for those coming in. 

The Loyalsock facility serves the following counties to the stocked this week: Adams, Berks, Bradford, Carbon, Centre, Columbia, Cumberland, Franklin (State Game Lands 235 only), Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, Lycoming. Monroe, Montgomery, Northumberland, Perry, Pike Schuylkill, Snyder, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Union, Wayne, Wyoming and York. 

Pennsylvania’s remaining counties served by the Southwest Game Farm, will have rooster-only pheasant releases in those counties and will continue as scheduled in each of the next two weeks. 

According to Ian Gregg, Wildlife Operations Division Chief, “This wasn’t a decision we took lightly because we know that pheasant hunters have been looking forward to the late small game season pheasant releases. They will be inconvenienced by these adjustments on short notice. However, we believe this precautionary approach is the right thing to do because it will significantly reduce the risk of disease impacts that would be more devastating to pheasant hunting in the long run.” 

On a local note, pheasant hunters with hunting dogs traditionally look forward to this late season to have their dogs work the fields to sniff out and flush pheasants. 
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The number of pheasants to be stocked locally in the Southeast that will receive a total of 6,900 males, and 1,340 females. Up in the Northeast, they’ll receive 8,060 males and 1,020 females. 

If you still have an unfilled buck and doe license, and have a muzzleloader license, the traditional post-Christmas flintlock deer hunting season gets underway Dec. 26 and runs until Jan 15 in twenty Wildlife Management Units (WMUs). For those who hunt in WMU 2B, 5C and 5D, that season runs Dec. 26 and extends a bit longer to Jan 27. There’s also the Extended Regular Firearms for antlerless deer in 2B, 5C and 5D from Dec. 26 to Jn. 27. 

For you bowhunters, you may take an antlered and antlerless deer statewide from Dec. 26 to Jan. 15 and from Dec. 26 to Jan. 27 in WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D.

While these big game seasons are ongoing, small game season restarts for squirrels and rabbits from Dec. 26 to Feb. 29. This is a good time to introduce a young hunter to the sport as hunting pressure for these species is virtually nil. And even better, there’s no lack of targets as squirrels are plentiful and seemingly everywhere. And they make good table fare as their meat is on the sweet side. 

As for rabbits, they are more of a challenge to find unless you have a good hunting dog that can flush them from their hiding haunts. If there’s any snow on the ground, they can be easier to spot.  

NATIONAL BOWHUNTER STUDY 

The Archery Trade Association (ATA) conducted a nationwide study on bowhunter participation in 2021 and came away with some interesting numbers, one of which that was Pennsylvania was number one in the country. 

ATA worked with state wildlife agencies and the National Deer Association to determine bowhunting participation for the 2021-22 hunting season. Through the study, ATA learned that there are 3,761,233 bowhunters in the United States. And the numbers reflect younger hunters coming into the sport, and part of that credit goes to the National Archery in Schools Program (NASP) where youngsters 6-17 years of age made up 23 percent of all bowhunters. Hunters 65 and older saw an 8 percent average 3-year growth, and that’s likely due to easier to use crossbows.  

The top state was Pennsylvania who had 331,000 bowhunters followed by the following, all with six digits: Wisconsin, 307,450; Michigan, 306,278; NewYork, 244,226; Mississippi, 202,726; Illinois, 173,710; Ohio, 172,967; Texas, 168,301 and Arkansas with 128,810. 

The states that you would expect to have high numbers were surprisingly low such as Colorado, 11,963; Montana, 58,304 and Wyoming who had 4,063. The least expected state was Florida  at 63,407 and the smallest number goes to Hawaii at 1,384. 

Since Thursday, December 21, marks the first day of winter, it also marks the official start of winter bird feeding season.  

Winter is when birds need supplemental food sources the most, especially for our year-round bird residents such as black capped chickadees, blue jays and winter visitors like evening and pine grosbeaks. As such, here are some basic bird feeding tips from our Outdoor Wire birding friends. 

*Make your own feeding mixture to maximize the number of species visiting your bird feeder. Black or oil sunflower seed is the favorite of many birds, but when mixed with thistle (or nyjer) seeds or cracked corn, you’ll be assured to attract a wide variety of species. And don’t forget suet to attract woodpeckers and even chickadees.

*Mix up the type of feeders you use. Hopper feeders are great for large birds such as blue jays, while tube feeders are best for smaller birds. Elevated tray feeders will attract birds that are usually ground feeders including juncos and larger birds such as evening grosbeaks. Of course, you’ll also have to contend with squirrels who are habitual feeder robbers. You may also want to add a water source like a bird bath or simple tray but you’ll need to invest in a heated that can be purchased at local hardware or birding stores. 

*If possible, place feeders near natural habitat or add a habitat for birds to hide. A Christmas tree is a great addition to a backyard. Instead of throwing out your real Christmas tree when Christmas is over, put it close to your feeder(s) to provide quick cover for the birds. 

*Keep your feeders clean. Only put enough food for a day, and wash feeders every couple of weeks in a 10 percent bleach solution then let it dry to prevent the spread of bacteria and disease. 

*Feeding can expose birds to hazards they might otherwise avoid. The risks of predation are higher close to people, especially from domestic cats. In fact, we see a black feral cat sit by an evergreen bush across the street at a neighbors back yard  that birds use for cover and to sleep at night. It will even hide beneath it to grab an unsuspecting bird. They are the leading cause of birds’ deaths in North America. So perhaps take the feeders down if predators become frequent visitors. 

*Don’t feed birds when bears are active. Most bears are in dens from Dec. 1 to April 1, but some will delay hibernation or re-emerge to feed during periods of warmer weather. Remove bird feeders immediately if you see signs of bears, or know if one is active in your area. 

*Once you’ve started feeding the birds, keep your feeders stocked as they’ll depend on and look forward to having food as it’s an easy food source. If you wish to stop feeding during winter months, gradually taper off the amount of food you provide rather than stopping abruptly. It gives the birds a chance to find other food sources. This is especially important during when food is scarce in winter and during periods of extreme weather. 

*Finally, report your observations such as during the recent Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count and the Great Backyard Bird Count that got underway Dec. 14 and runs to Jan. 5. Your observations can help provide important information for an understanding on local bird populations. Check for a count location in the area by checking the Audubon’s website. 
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Since local freshwater fishing is essentially over for now, but if you don’t mind bundling-up and heading to the New Jersey shore you can get into some big, good eating, bluefin tuna and striped bass fishing. 

According to our fishing reporters from On the Water Magazine, striped bass fishing remains red hot. Fish of all sizes are hitting shads, flutter spoons and topwater baits from Sandy Hook down to Island Beach State Park. 

The bluefin bite is also excellent with giants and regulation-size fish reportedly caught within just a few miles from shore. 

Rick Hebert, at Tackle World in Rochelle Park, said the bluefin bite has been on fire. The hot spots are down south. Hebert goes on to say stripers are all over the place, north and south, with boats getting the best action. 

Danny Stolba, at Fish Tail Bait and Tackle in Carteret, said anglers are still catching stripers in the Arthur Kill and have switched to frozen bunker as fresh has been hard to come by. But, he adds, the bass don’t seem too picky with the best bite occurring when the tide switches to incoming. 

My ole buddy Phil Sciortino, at the Tackle Box in Hazlet, said they’re seeing some of the best striper action of the year right now. Fishing with his son last week he witnessed miles and piles of stripers about a half mile off Sandy Hook. Bass of all sizes, with the biggest up to 25 pounds, were hitting flutter spoons, shads and topwater lures. The fish were stacked from the surface down to 60 feet with spoons getting hit long before they reached the bottom. 

Mike Gleason at TAK Waterman in Long Branch, reported it’s been a pick of bass on the beaches using Avas and teasers. The night bite too has been improving. He was out chasing bluefin and said striper readings under the boat were remarkable. 

Ted Imfeld, at The Reel Seat in Brielle, said bluefin are two to six miles offshore and are all over Barnegat Ridge, the Shark River Reef and in the shipping lanes. Stripers too are all over the place with boaters getting the most action. There were also bass on the beach to the south of the Manasquan Inlet that are falling for Ava  teasers and topwater lures. 

Scott Thomas, at Grump’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park, reported plenty of stripers in the surf that are hitting sand eel imitations from Tsunami, Joe Biggs and Bill Hurley Avas. with teasers and needlefish are also working. Fish are of mix sizes up to 20 pounds. He also had excellent bluefin tuna reports with the Shark River Reef a current hot spot. 

Capt. Pete Sykes of Parker Pete’s Sportfishing out of Belmar, said striper fishing keeps getting better. High hook last Wednesday was 27 stripers with everyone getting their limit. He added that bluefin have been blowing-up alongside the bass as well. He’s fishing north and south of the Shark River Inlet. 

So if you have some venison in the freezer and could use some bass or tuna in there as well, the fishing will be cold temperature wise, but the fishing should be hot. 

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