[Comments in brackets are by Jeannine and Duane]
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From the Northern Crew:
Greetings from the North!
It’s been another productive week. We’ve captured another six deer and now have all 12 of our collars deployed. My crew has worked their tails off this past month trying to catch up and they’ve done an incredible job. The weather has been very cooperative, with daytime highs in the 40’s–50’s for most of the week.
We closed traps for the weekend due to warming temperatures and rain but have since reopened them for our final week of trapping.
Starting this week, we’ll begin pulling traps and transition to FLIR surveys for April. We’ve begun clearing trees from our FLIR routes, so we don’t have to do it in the middle of a survey. We have a total of 21 FLIR routes to complete and each will be done twice, so it will be a busy month. We anticipate completing 2–3 routes per night, weather permitting. Turkeys and grouse are everywhere in the Susquehannock and any day now I expect to start seeing woodcock sauntering slowly across the roads doing their rather odd dance.
Until next time, enjoy the spring weather!
-Tom
Northern Crew Leader
PA Game Commission
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From the Southern Crew:
Hello all!
The season seems to be racing to a conclusion, but there are still deer out here to be captured! We did manage to recapture a little female fawn earlier in the week. After confirming her identity, we quickly let her out. We also had another successful rocket net! A doe and fawn were safely captured, handled, processed, and released. The doe got a shiny new collar before she headed off to join her fawn!
Vernal pools are teeming with life as our twitterpated native amphibians congregate to lay eggs, and spring peepers are a near constant presence with their nightly calling. Every once in a while watching a field near sunset, we’re also treated to the calls and flights of timberdoodles.
Our trap sites still have some activity as deer seek out sustenance after a cold winter – fingers crossed we’ll have some success before the end of the season! We are of course continuing to keep these sites baited until corn needs to be off the ground for youth turkey season.
Just another week or so and then onto FLIRs.
-Michaela
Southern Crew Leader
PA Game Commission
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