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 As a sportsman we’ve all heard of piebald or albino whitetail deer, and on occasion have seen a piebald version. Most recently, there was a black or melanistic deer, spotted in Lehigh Township, Northampton County. But how many have seen or even heard of a silver deer yet alone a buck? Well two hunters in northwestern Wisconsin have a silver buck in their area, and they’re trying to protect it from hunters. According to the National Deer Association who featured this particular buck since it came to their attention as a silver buck or ghostly deer, learned it has been seen for three hunting seasons by Kevin O’Brien, his uncle and three cousins who all hunt in this area where the buck has been seen and photographed on trail cameras. This frosty whitetail doesn’t fit into any well-known color phase of deer. In 2024, Kevin contacted a Wisconsin DNR wildlife biologist about this buck who admitted it didn’t appear to be based on any previous known cases of such a deer. The silver buck was photographed on August 12, 2025 as a 2 1/2 -year old and on earlier sightings when it was younger. It first showed up in 2023 as a button buck, reappeared on trail cameras as a yearling and subsequently spotted from tree stands this fall. One Wisconsin biologist suggested it was a “gray phase” melanistic deer, but melanism involves a lot of dark, black hair over most of the body. And. Melanistic deer usually lack white patches of hair on the face and neck. But this silver deer, like most whitetails, has them. Even lighter cases of melanism are still very dark gray, not frosty silver, explains the biologist. In attempting to find someone who could identify this deer more definitely, Dave Osborn a Georgia DMAP biologist, a deer researcher at the University of Georgia Deer Lab, said this silver buck reminded him of a doe named Crystal that lived for 10 years at UGA Deer Lab that was born as a piebald fawn. “When Crystal molted into her adult pelage, she no longer was a piebald as she went from almost no white to no white at all. The rest of her life she had unique summer and winter colors. In summer, she couldn’t be distinguished from any other of 30-plus does in her pen, unless you got close to see her gray eyes. In winter, she was almost silver,” Osborn explained. Crystal stumped Osborn who admitted that he could not explain Crystal and why she was a piebald, not a piebald and why she was silver in winter and red in summer. “I have no understanding of this unique color phase.” He then reached out to Jim Heffelfinger a wildlife biologist with Arizona Game & Fish Department who recalls seeing a photo of a similar colored Sitka black-tailed deer from Alaska Department of Fish and Game. “The “glacier” black-tailed deer was sighted in 2012 on Baranof Island in the Alaska Panhandle and was running in a group of other normal-colored bucks and does and was described as “a very light, bluish gray,” he recounted. There was also a black bear who had a silver phase and was called a “glacier bear.” This color pattern was reported as a recessive gene like piebaldism and melanism. For now, the silver Wisconsin buck does not seem like a true piebald or true melanistic and it’s not an albino which is a complete lack of pigment – even eye color. It seems to be some kind of anomaly that is even more rare. The biologist concluded, “We simply do not know.”  So far Mother Nature has not allowed Lehigh Valley area ice fishermen to walk on water. Despite the recent freezing temperatures, down and up air temperatures will play havoc with ice conditions. As such, it’s never a good idea to walk onto a frozen lake or pond without following proper protocols and knowing how long it takes and what temperature must be hit, for that body of water to freeze, says the folks at US Swim School Association (USSSA). And not everyone has a friend nearby or carries an item such as an ice pick to help them out of the water if they should fall in on thin, worse yet, skim ice. As such, USSSA created a list of what to do if you should fall through the ice. They are as follows: * Brace Yourself: This may be difficult to do at first but due to the immediate change on body temperature and shock from the cold water, the body’s immediate reaction is going to be to gasp for air and hyperventilate. Breathing or inhaling freezing water increases the chances of drowning. * Keep Calm: Do not flail your arms; this will release more body heat. The body loses 32 times more heat in cold water than in cold air. Panicking will do nothing. Instead, keep your head above water and grab onto the ice in the direction you came from. This ice should be strong enough to help you out of the water. * Do Not Undress Winter Clothes: Keep winter clothing on while in the water, it will not drag you down. It will help keep in body heat and any air inside the clothing will help you float. * Get Horizontal: Once you’ve gotten most of your upper body out of the water, kick you legs as strongly as possible in hopes of getting yourself out of the water and onto the ice. * Roll Onto The Ice: Do not stand up. Roll over the ice once you’re out to help prevent more cracks in the ice and from falling in again. Always stay off ice that’s only 3 inches thick or less. * Retrace Your Steps: Once out and far enough away from the hole you made, trace your footsteps back to safety. Take is slow because your body is still dealing with the affects of the freezing water. * Throw, Don’t Go: Never enter the water to rescue someone. If someone is there to help you it’s safer for that person to throw a lifesaving device like a branch, coat or rope into the water. Wait until you grab hold and then tow you to safety. Otherwise you could both end up in the water. * Get Warm: Once out of the water, seek medical attention to bring body temperature back to normal. These smart tips could save you life, especially if caught alone with no help in sight. When temperatures remain below freezing, it’s usually the Pocono lakes that freeze first. Such spots are Lake Minisink, Shohola Lake, Promised Land Lake, Pecks Pond and Tobyhanna that are the initial ones that can offer some ice action. Early reports from recent NEPA Ice Fishing posts had 2-inches on Tobyhanna and 2.5 on White Oak.  For avid birders, December is the meaningful start of bird feeding season because it’s at this time when natural food is scarce and birds could use this supplemental feeding. It’s especially important during periods of extreme weather such as a heavy snow cover. Winter feeding is a great way to observe and learn about our year-round birds and perhaps some new arrivals that haven’t been seen during summer months. The Birding Wire suggests making a feeding mixture to maximize the number of species visiting your backyard feeders such as goldfinches, chickadees, siskins and nuthatches to eat. But larger birds like cardinals, woodpeckers and jays will also feast on them as they provide the highest level of food value or any seeds. Since black oil sunflower seed is a favorite of many birds, you may want to splurge a bit and get shelled sunflower kernels, which eliminates the mess of empty shells that are spread around the ground and pile up beneath feeders. They also eliminate the need to rake and shovel and bag the sunflower shells that accumulate around your feeder(s). The shelled version creates a mess so don’t buy them. Another advantage of the shelled version is that birds will eat every crumb of seeds contained in a bag of shelled seeds. And you’re not paying for the shells which saves you money says the Birding Wire as you don’t need to buy as many bags as shells take up a lot of space in a bag of sunflower seeds and they take up a lot of space in your feeder. This also means you don’t have to refill your feeder as often. You may also want to sprinkle in some safflower seeds as squirrels don’t like them if you don’t have a squirrel-proof feeder. Peanut halves or chips are another good option many birds prefer, but so do squirrels Suet is a premium year-round feeding station staple and there’s a brand that sells no-melt suet that squirrels and other mammals distain. And it’s offered as a Hot Pepper Suet blend that birds relish including woodpeckers, nuthatches, jays and ground feeding birds like juncos, native sparrows and other that feed on small pieces that fall below the suet feeder. You can also a crush-up a bit of suet into crumbs for the ground foraging birds. Don’t forget water. Fresh water attracts a greater variety of birds than any given food offered at a feeding station. Every bird needs water in some form. The sound of moving water will alert migrating birds to take a stopover break for water. However, with freezing winter temperatures, you’ll need a heated bird bath of some form. There’s even a solar-heated bird bath that eliminates the need for an AC plug and cord. Most of all, it’s recommended to keep the water fresh and don’t let your vessel to go dry. As winter sets in, and you’ve had you feeders filled, it’s time to sit back in the warmth of your home and watch the birds visiting. It’s an opportunity to identify new species, see that they prefer to eat and a way to learn more about the lives of birds around you. You may get to see some new, colorful surprises. And keep your bird identification book nearby. |
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