Cardinals are Pennsylvania's iconic songbird that come with some interesting native American lore7/15/2023 Without a doubt, cardinals are the most recognizable songbirds you’ll see in backyards, bird feeders, utility wires and they stand out when perched in a tree. And in the mornings their songs, even before daylight, announce their presence. And many cardinals stay around our area all year round since they don’t migrate and will stay in the same general area year-round. There are a multitude of facts about cardinals you may not know. For starters, and according to Bird Feeder Hub, cardinals are monogamous birds that mate for life. Both the female and male will work together during the mating season to build a nest that typically takes about 8-9 days. They’ll build their nests out of twigs, pieces of grass and other plant products. A pair was even taking some of the brown material from our hanging flower pot liners. They took so much that the potting soil started to fall out. Cardinals prefer building their nests in bushes, dense shrubbery or low branches that are normally less than 10 feet off the ground. And they do not use the same nest twice but will build a new nest each year possibly using pieces of old nest material. As they are open nesters and not cavity nesters, they will not use a birdhouse. As for the number of times cardinals have offspring, it’s normally two broods a year, some times three. The female will lay 2-5 eggs each time and the eggs will hatch in approximately 11-13 days. The baby cardinals will grow very fast and are usually out of the nest in just 9-11 days. The babies are on their own in less than four weeks. Once the fledglings leave the nest, the parents will teach them how to fend for themselves and find food. During this period, the male may take charge of the young birds while the female goes off to build a new nest for the next brood of the season. Cardinal diets consist of different type of seeds that include black oil sunflower seeds, safflower seeds as well as cracked corn, peanut hearts and some fruits such as fresh berries. When baby cardinals are born their skin is pink with a grayish scaling. When the fledglings grow their feathers in the fall, they will begin to look brown with some red undertones. But it won’t be until the males reach maturity and molt at around 12 months old, that they gain the beautiful red color. During the mating season, male cardinals can be very territorial when protecting their breeding grounds and their young. While the female incubates the eggs, it’s the male’s duty to protect both the female and the nest from any predators and intruders in the area. And they will do so very fiercely. Some may have heard a cardinal tapping or pecking on a window. Since they’re territorial and see another bird as a threat, their tapping or pecking on a window means it most likely that they see its own reflection and challenges itself. In the wild, the average lifespan of cardinals is only around three years but this isn’t due to old age. There are a number of predators and other things that can end a cardinal’s life. They have been known to live up to 15 years in the wild in some cases, and there is a report of one cardinal living 28 years in captivity. There’s also some lore related to cardinals that you may have heard. It’s been said that if you see a red cardinal in your dreams, it’s seen as a good omen and is usually associated with good fortune. It’s also thought to be good luck and associated with the number 12, which is considered good luck to native Americans. So the next time you see a cardinal, be a big red or a female, you’re being treated to nature’s iconic songbird.
0 Comments
With Fourth of July week kicking off the vacation season for many people, this is the time many travel to the Jersey shore. And if you’re an angler, you can be treated to some good eating fluke as they’re being caught along with stripers and blues in the ocean, rivers and bays. According to On the Water Magazine, party boats report keeper fluke on the reefs and wrecks while surfcasters are nailing them in the wash on sand bugs. Gulp and bucktails are picking them up in the rivers and bays. And there are plenty of bass and blues in the same places. Capt. Phil Sciortino, at the Tackle Box in Hazlet, said fluking is on fire with good catches coming from the Rattlesnake and Shrewsbury Rocks. In addition, there are a lot of big blues being caught out front and folks are still catching bass on the New York side. Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait & Tackle in Sea Bright, said there are loads of big blues in the rivers and in the surf where they’re hitting top water plugs. A few bass up to 25 inches are being caught in the surf on poppers and bugs. It’s an early morning bite on the outgoing tide. Fluke also showed up in the surf but action cooled a bit as south winds chilled the water. Mike Gleason at TAK Waterman in Long Branch, reported good fluking off the beach and on the boats with Gulp and bucktails luring them to hook. Stripers there continue to eat sand crabs off the beach and a body of blues arrived that were falling for jigs. Bob Mathews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar, said Shark River is yielding some nice fluke with a 25-incher caught earlier in the week. Kyle Tanger at Fishermen’s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach, reported fluking in the Manasquan River is crazy good on light jig heads and Gulp. Anglers are using 1/8 to 3/8-ounce jigs with 5-inch Gulp to catch loads of fish. Tanger said no weight or just a split shot is working best for folks fishing sand crabs for bass in the wash. There are also lots of blues around and a few bonito in with them out in the ocean. PGCs HUNTING LICENSE SALES Last Monday was no picnic for hunters attempting to purchase their general hunting license, antlerless deer license, archery and bear licenses. It seems the PGCs new online license system was overloaded and couldn’t handle the volume at 8 a.m. Monday when licenses could be purchased online or at a license agent. The stories ranged from a sportsman accessing the system online to be notified he was number 53,000 in the wait cycle. Then after a 10-minute wait, got booted off and had to refresh the system. Another was 43,000 in line and just gave up. License agency store sales were no different. The line of buyers at Coplay News Agency went back to the end of the block, then the system crashed at 8:20 a.m. those waiting were told. A buddy went there at 2:30 p.m. and only had a 20-minute wait as did another friend. Yet another had a two-and-a-half hour wait in line at Bucks Sporting Goods. Dick Sporting Goods and Walmart had similar lines and waits. The PGC acknowledged delays but said the system ran smoother in the afternoon and on Tuesday. They reported that as of 11:59 p.m. on Monday, the agency sold 165,503 hunting licenses and a little over 164,000 antlerless licenses. In comparison to the former way of issuing licenses, the PGC said last year 37,694 antlerless licenses were sold on the first day they were available. And as for as general hunting licenses sales in 2022, 140,600 were sold which went on sale 13 days before doe tags were offered. REMINDER: JULY 4 is a fish-for-free day in Pennsylvania when you don't need a fishing license to fish Commonwealth waters Now that the smoke from the Canada wildfires is on the wane, avid hikers and trail walkers can plan on resuming their days in the great outdoors. When doing so, it’s a time when ticks are looking to attach themselves to us to feast on our blood. They’re even more abundant and prevalent now since we had a mild winter with negligible snow. If you have the misfortune of being attacked by one or more ticks, Dr. Thomas Mather, Tick Expert at the University of Rhode Island’s Tick Encounter Resource Center, explains the following mistakes people make when dealing with ticks. Mistake #1Burning the Tick: One mistake people make is to burn the tick with a hot object to make it back out or let go of the skin. This is bad because it can cause the tick to spit more germs into your skin. Instead, use a nice pointy tweezer to remove the tick from as close to your skin as possible, and pull it straight out. Mistake #2: Using products like essential oils, dish soap or Vaseline to try and get the tick to back out may work for certain ticks, but not for all ticks. It’s better to remove the tick right away and as quickly as possible and without squeezing its back end. Remember, the tick is attached to your skin with a straw and squeezing it can push more germs into your skin. Getting the tick off your body quickly instead of waiting for the tick to back out on its own, will limit the chances of the tick spitting its germs into you. Mistake #3: After pulling a tick off your body, it’s tempting to want to throw it away as quickly as possible, but without knowing what type of tick it was, how long it’s been feeding and what possible germs it could carry. This would be a mistake. So always make sure to save the tick after pulling it off. You can put the tick in a Ziploc bag or other container until you have a chance to take a picture of it and send it to a tick expert. It’s essential to identify the tick to know what kind of tick it was and how long it was attached to you. This information will help determine your risk of disease. You can send a photo of the tick to “TickSpotters” and they will provide helpful information about the tick you’ve found, and if there are any possible risks, plus the best next steps for staying protected. Mistake #4: Another big mistake is not wearing tick-repellent clothing. Under current conditions, ticks will likely get on you if you go into their habitat. So to prevent them from attaching to you, spray Permethrin on your clothes especially socks and shoes or boots, pant legs even a hat and collar of your shirt or jacket. For more tick information, go to Equip-4-Ticks Resource Center which is a collaboration with Dr. Mather and Insect Shield Repellent Technology along with a comprehensive video library for tick identification and how to stay protected from ticks and the dangerous diseases they may carry.
If you’re a shad fisherman, reports from Delaware River Shad Fisherman’s website and various Facebook postings indicate the shad run in the upper Delaware River remains productive. In fact, in the lower Delaware, some stripers are also being caught. Kate Dewaney fished the Zane Grey area from shore between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. and managed to hook 36 and landed 31 plus two doubles on double dart rigs with a quarter once on top and one thirty-second on bottom with three foot of line between them. Kurt Miller reported last week that he hooked seven, landed five and released five. And he caught them between noon to 4:30 p.m. Steve Meserve, professional shad fisherman who nets fish in the Delaware, reported last Friday that he managed to net 20 bucks and six roe, 10 catfish, six quillback, four striped bass and one herring. If you’ve haven’t fished for a while, May 28 (and July 4) has been designated as a Fish for Free Day when you don’t need a Pennsylvania fishing license to fish. So, it’s an opportunity to reconnect to a lifelong sport that can also bring some tasty table fare. Speaking of stripers, the northern Jersey shore has hot striper action. According to On the Water magazine, rivers and bays are producing jumbo bass that are being caught by boaters on the troll with live eels and bunker. The beaches are yielding stripers on big plugs, clams and sand bugs. Bluefish seem to be everywhere and black bass catches are upbeat. Rick Hebert at Tackle World in Rochelle Park, says big bass are being caught between the channels on the troll in Raritan Bay. He received reports of jumbo bass at the Shrewsbury Rock falling for live eels. Danny Stolba, at Fish Tail Bait and Tackle in Carteret, said bass were hitting bunker chunks on the Arthur Kill by Perth Amboy. Capt. Phil Sciortino, at the Tackle Box in Hazlet, reported the bass bite in Raritan Bay is amazing with a few 50 pounders caught. Fluke are back in the rivers and big blues are with them. Mike Pinto, at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright, said striper action in local rivers has slowed a bit but is picking up on the beaches. Clams and chunks have been enticing most of the bass while a few are hitting artificials. Anglers are nailing big stripers offshore on metal-lipped swimmers and by trolling eels. Fluking is improving on the Naversink and Shrewsbury rivers by anglers using Gulp and bucktails. Mike Gleason, at TAK Waterman in Long Branch, said the bass bite in the rivers and out front is still very good. A new body of jumbo stripers moved into the area and they’re hitting big metal-lipped swimmers and wooden plugs off the beach. Stripers are also eating clams and sand bugs off the beaches in Ocean Grove. One regular customer reported picking up two linesiders measuring 37 inches on clams. He added that tuna are here but still a good distance offshore. As the Memorial Day weekend traditional kicks off the summer boating season and National Safe Boating Week, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission reminds boaters to always wear a life jacket, never boat under the influence, have proper registrations or launch permits, and tell someone where you’re going and plan to return. PFBC Waterways Conservation Officers will be on patrol throughout the holiday weekend to conduct safety checks and look for signs of impairment. The Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) has set the migratory game bird hunting seasons for 2023-24. As such, there are a few significant changes from last season. The initial change increases the season length for Canada geese in the Atlantic Population Zone from 30 to 45 days and increases the bag limit from one to three per day. According to PGC Wildlife Operation Division Chief Ian Gregg, “The Population of Canada geese had experienced declines as a result of a decade of below-average reproduction including a nearly complete failure in 2018. However, gosling production more recently has been relatively good and the population has increased accordingly.” The other significant change increases the mallard duck bag limit from two, to include no more than one hen, to four, which can include no more than two hens. Again, Gregg goes on to say “After a few years of the reduced bag limits, the mallard population increased slightly and a new population model was implemented.” In addition to these changes, calendar shifts resulted in small changes to the Resident Population Canada Goose season. The Resident Population Canada Goose season saw a week shift from October into January. The last change was to Atlantic Brant seasons, which saw a reduction in bag limit from two to one, and a reduction in season length to 30 days because of population declines. However, Gregg points out that few brant are harvested in Pennsylvania as most of them are on Lake Erie. The PGC asks hunters to report banded ducks, geese, doves and woodcock and to do so online at www.reportband.gov. Hunters will be requested to provide information on where, when and what species of migratory birds were taken, in addition to the band number. This information is crucial to the successful management of migratory birds and in setting hunting regulations. Last year, more than 6,000 migratory game birds, including more than 5,000 waterfowl were banded in Pennsylvania. The PGC in cooperation with other wildlife management agencies monitor migratory bird populations. Reporting banded game birds also allows the opportunity to learn about the bird they harvested says the PGC. Locally, the duck, coot and merganser hunting seasons in the North Zone will run Oct. 7-21 and Nov. 14-Jan. 6. In the South Zone, the season will run Oct. 7-24 and Nov. 21-Jan. 20. The bag limits here are 6 daily of any species, except for the following restrictions: daily limit may not include more than 4 mallards including no more than 2 hen mallards, 2 black ducks, 3 wood ducks, 2 redheads, 1 pintail, 4 sea ducks including no more than 3 eiders and no more than 1 female eider, 3 long-tailed ducks, and 3 scooters. For Resident Population Goose Zone, all of Pennsylvania except for the Atlantic Population zone, Sept. 1-25 (8 goose daily limit); and Oct. 28 – Nov. Nov. 24, Dec. 11 – Jan. 20, and Feb. 24 (5 goose daily bag limit in latter 3 segments). For the Atlantic Population Zone that has a long list of boundaries, the seasons are Sept. 1-25 (8 goose daily limit); and Nov. 18-24 and Dec. 7- Jan. 20 (3 goose daily limit). Light Geese (Snow geese and Ross geese) in the Atlantic Population Zone and regular season will run Oct. 2 – Jan. 27 with 25 daily limit and no possession limit. For the Conservation Order, it’s Jan. 29 – April 26 with a 25 daily limit, no possession limit. For the Resident Population Zone, the season runs Oct. 24 – Feb. 24 with 25 daily limit, no possession limit. For the Conservation Order. Feb. 26 – April 26 with a 25 daily limit and a no possession limit. As for dove season, the annual traditional small game season opener, the season will run Sept. 1 – Nov. 24 and from Dec. 19 – Jan. 6. LEHIGH RIVER TROUT TOURNAMENT The Lehigh River Stocking Association (LRSA) is hosting a Lehigh River Trout Fishing Tournament from May 20 to June 26, 2023 in a limited section of the Lehigh. LRSA will stock a truck load of big trout many of which will be tagged for prizes at the end of the tournament. The official site is at Riverview Park, East Penn Township boat ramp. For details check www.lrsa.org or call 610-730-9359. At their recent meeting, the Board of Game Commissions gave final approval to the 2023-24 hunting/trapping seasons, bag limits, certain season modifications, expanded opportunities for mentored hunters and antlerless deer licenses allocations. They are as follows. *Black bear hunting in WMUs 1B, 2C, 4A and 4D were removed from the extended firearms season because of declining nuisance complaints in these units. *For elk, the archery season will be a week later than in 2022-23 to provide added time between the license drawing and beginning of the season. *Small game season received an expansion of opportunity for put-and-take hunting of captive-reared bobwhite quail in most of Pennsylvania, through an earlier season opening date, later season closing and removal of the daily bag limit. Crow season dates and additional Thursdays as hunting days, were approved to shift hunting opportunity from the peak breeding season to the fall and winter months. *The 2024 youth and regular spring turkey seasons will open five days later than in 2023 due to normal calendar fluctuation and PGCs turkey management plan. *The Saturday start of the firearms deer hunting season will continue on a Saturday. The move from a traditional Monday opener has, says the PGC, saw a license sale increase by hunters ages 18-34 and female hunters due to this opening change. *PGCs board approved a measure that makes all mentored hunters and mentored adults, eligible to participate in the October special firearms season for antlerless deer and bears. *Approved were the allocation of 1,095,000 antlerless deer hunting licenses, which is up from 948,000 allocated in 2022-23. The statewide allocations by Wildlife Management Units are as follows with last year’s allocations appearing in parenthesis. Of special note is that WMU 2H was eliminated and placed within WMU 2G. *WMU 1A, 46,000 (43,000); WMU 1B, 37,000 (34,000); WMU 2A, 46,000 (39,000); WMU 2B, 53,000 (49,000); WMU 2C, 88,000 (67,000); WMU 2D, 86,000 (74,000); 2E, 52,000 (42,000); 2F, 49,000 (37,000); 2G, 35,000 (31,000); 3A, 21,000 (19,000); 3B, 32,000 (33,000); 3C, 40,000 (37,000); 3D, 41,000 (41,000); 4A, 61,000 (50,000); WMU 4B, 46,000 (34,000); 4C, 32,000 (31,000); 4D, 77,000 (55,000); 4E, 54,000 (42,000); 5A, 40,000 (31,000); WMU 5B, 60,000 (60,000); WMU 5C, 70,000 (70,000); 5D, 29,000 (29,000). Only one WMU (3B) had a reduction in allocation while the others saw increases. As for the elk seasons, 144 elk licenses (65 antlered, 79 antlerless) were allocated across the three 2023-24 seasons. For the one-week general season that will run Oct. 30-Nov. 4, 30 antlered and 42 antlerless tags have been allocated. For the archery season, that’s only open in select Elk Hunt Zones, it will run Sept. 16-30, with 18 antlered and 8 antlerless tags available. In addition, there are 17 antlered and 29 antlerless licenses available for the Dec 30-Jan. 6 late season. There will be yelps, cackles and purrs emanating from Pennsylvania’s woodlands Saturday, May 30, when the much anticipated and popular spring turkey hunting season opens in most wildlife management units of the state. Actually, the season began this past Saturday for junior and youth mentored hunters and continues beginning this weekend. According to Mary Jo Casalena, PGC turkey biologist, the prospects look good based on the last summer’s turkey reproduction statewide. Casalena reported that along with summer sightings, it revealed 3.1 poults (young turkeys) per hen on average. That was the highest in recent years she offered. “With all those 2-year old gobblers available, there’s great reason for optimism for the 2023 spring gobble season. There are other gobblers out there as well including wily, mature 3-year old birds and older that are perhaps tougher to fool. And with poult production in 2022 just as good as the year before, jakes or 1-year old gobblers abound,” she explained. Casalena goes on to say that with 172,000 people, on average hunting spring turkeys every year, some will bag a bird while others won’t. Successful hunters are the ones who do a lot of scouting pre-season. She contends that nosier birds tend to be more callable to the gun. “If you don’t see or hear many turkeys where you’re scouting, try a different area. Where you heard birds last year isn’t necessarily where you’ll hear or find them this year. And halfway through the season, or toward the end, return to areas you heard turkeys before the season. Chances are some are still there and if you stay all morning or all day, a gobbler could some in quietly,” she offers. As a reminder, hunting hours are one-half hour before sunrise and end at noon for the first two weeks of the season that runs until May 13. From May 13 through May 30, hunting hours are from one half-hour before sunrise until one-half hour after sunset. Other reminders are that wearing fluorescent orange is not a requirement but is recommended while moving through the woods. And for hunters using a blind, they must be made with manmade materials of sufficient density to block movement within the blind from an observer outside the blind. Blinds must completely enclose the hunter on all four sides and from above. It’s unlawful to hunt turkeys from blinds made of natural materials such as logs, tree branches and piled rocks. Blinds that represent the fanned tail of a gobbler, do not hide all hunter movement and are unsafe and therefore unlawful to use in Pennsylvania. If successful in bagging a gobbler, don’t forget to report it via the PCCs website (www.pgc.pa.gov) on the Report a Harvest link, by calling 800-838-4431, or by mailing it in. These reports, said Casalena, are important to managing turkeys as they allow the PGC to estimate harvest and population trends. And one more thing. Ticks, lots of ticks this season because of a relatively mild winter. Turkey hunters need to spray-up with a good tick repellent. If you’re lucky to bag a bird, guaranteed the bird will probably be loaded with them. With the new tick being publicized, a repellent is a necessity from hat to boots. Pa latest deer harvest numbers are in and reflect a 12 percent increase over the 2021-22 season4/2/2023 The 2022-23 estimated deer harvest numbers are in and they reflect a 12 percent increase over the 2021-22 seasons. According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, there was an estimated total of 422,960 deer harvested. This was an increase over the 2021-22 season when 376,810 deer were taken. The estimated count broke down as 164,190 antlered and 258,770 antlerless deer. The PGC points out that the buck harvest was only two percent higher than the most recent three-year average, and they are seeing more older bucks being available for harvest. Along with that, the agency reports that for five years running, about one of four Pennsylvania hunters tagged a buck, with two of every three bucks harvested being 2.5 years old or older. Interestingly, of the antlerless deer taken, 67 percent were adult females while 17 percent were button bucks, and 16 percent were doe fawns. Hunters filled roughly one of every four antlerless deer licenses last season. As a further breakdown of the total harvest, the regular firearms season accounted for the largest part of the 2022-23 tally as hunters took 251,520 deer with 87,190 being bucks and 164,340 being antlerless deer. Bowhunters, with either bows or crossbows, tallied 145,640 deer of which 75,770 were bucks and 69,870 were antlerless deer. The estimated muzzleloader take was 25,790 deer of which 1,230 were bucks and 24,560 were antlerless. As for local Wildlife Management Units, the totals were as follows with bucks noted as “A” and antlerless as “AL” and with last year’s totals listed in parenthesis: 3D: 5,550A (4,700), 7,400 AL (6,300); 4C: 6,900 A (5,700), 8,200 AL (6,400); 5C: 7,200 A (6,600), 16,700 AL (14,700); 5D: 2,500 A (2,600), 6,700 AL (6,300). Of all the states WMUs, 2D registered the highest totals of 14,000 A (11,500) and 23,000 AL (19,900) for the firearms season. For archery and muzzleloader season totals, they are as follows: 3D, archery, 2,260 A, (1980), 2,030 AL (1,500); muzzleloader, 40 A (20), 770 AL (500); 4C: archery, 3,450 A (2,870), 2,170 AL (1,750; 5C: archery, 5,020 A (4,730), 8,040 AL (6,890); 5D: archery, 2,080 A (2,800), 4,760 AL (4,390), muzzleloader, 20 A (120), 140 AL (210). TROUT/SHAD BITES In addition to inseason trout stockings, volunteers with Lehigh Fish-Game, Pioneer Fish-Game and Trout Creek Fish-Game associations stocked over 60 golden rainbow trout in the Little Lehigh and other area streams. The trout were compliments of Cabala’s in Hamburg. Shad are also being caught in the Delaware River from Lambertville upriver. Steve Meserve, who does commercial shad netting in the Delaware, has reported catching 87 roe and 121 bucks as of March 27, and has returned 182 shad to give him a total of 390 or 12.58 shad per haul so far this season. And that was done in 31 hauls over 26 days. We’ll keep you posted on further Delaware River shad updates. |
AuthorNick Hromiak has been an outdoors and automotive writer for over 30 years. He's been published in numerous national and state-wide outdoor magazines and newspapers.
|
Proudly powered by Weebly