Notebook: Archery season peaking
Signs of whitetail deer rutting behavior have begun showing at area hunting sites.
Chills and warm spells alter behaviors somewhat, but those distinctive scraped openings below overhanging, low tree branches tell it all. Bucks are out making their annual doe- see-does moves typically seen in early to mid-November.
Bear season also opened Oct. 17 for big-game hunters giving it a go with the bow.
West Seneca hunter Mark McNerney Jr. hunts family property at Portage in Livingston County. On opening day afternoon McNerney passed up a 6-pointer at 3:30 p.m. and a smaller 8-pointer at 3:45 p.m. "It thought something bigger might come along," he said. It did.
At 4:30 p.m. a solid 8-pointer moved through, which measured out as a mature 2.5-year old with a rack measuring 16 7/8 inches inside and just over 18 inches outside.
He went back with a video camera to check on deer as his buddy Gary Carter, 26, of West Seneca took a nearby ladder stand. He had encouraged Carter to take up bow hunting to see more game. They did.
"I happened to see and tape a bear about 80 yards out in a field," McNerney said, "and a half-hour later it walked right under Gary's stand."
Gary took up gun hunting two years earlier, but he had yet to harvest a big-game animal through the gun seasons. On Oct. 25, he filled his first big-game tag, a 250-pound bruin taken with a 12-yard bow shot.
McNerney added, "Before he got out of his stand, Gary said a buck and doe came up to where the bear had stood. But he was shaking so much from the bear shot that he couldn't knock an arrow to aim at a deer."
With foliage drop, corn and hay cutting, and hormonal highs, archery season approaches its peak. Bow season continues to Nov. 20 and firearms season starts at sunrise on Nov. 21.
Bird behavior course
Find out why our feathered friends flare wings, how courtships sail, and other things to look for in behaviors of back yard and rare/exotic bird species.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology offers a five-week "Investigating Behavior: Courtship and Rivalry in Birds" online course. All interested birders can register for this cyber class, which begins Wednesday. Another course starts Jan. 6.
To review course content, go to ecornell.com/birds and click on the video. The cost is $295 or $255 for Cornell Lab members. To learn about lab membership or sign up by phone, call (866) 326-7635.
Leasing well
The Erie County Soil and Water Conservation District and the Town of Sardinia offers landowners sound about negotiating gas leases for their properties.
Brett Chedzoy, with Cornell Cooperative Extension Ag Team, will discuss issues such as water quality and other environmental and legal concerns at the Sardinia Town Hall, 12320 Savage Road, at 6:30 p.m. Monday. Call Norm Uhteg (496-5396), Sheila Vrenna (496-5540), or Mark Gaston with ECSWCD (652-8480).
Crossbow count
What do Oregon and New York State have in common? These are the only states that deem crossbows totally illegal. Some states restrict use to certain times of hunting seasons; some states only allow use by handicapped hunters who have obtained a state-approved permit. Other states allow crossbows for hunters of a certain age. In Illinois, for example, "Hunters 62 years of age and older are now permitted to use a crossbow without a special permit."
Hunter's Friend has compiled a complete listing of crossbow hunting regulations for each of the 50 states. The summations do not include regulation changes state may have made since June 2009. Each entry includes a Web site at which current regulations can be reviewed. To check out this listing, go to huntersfriend.com/crossbows/cross- bow-state-regulations.htm.
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