Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Time to gear up for upcoming hunting seasons
Here in the midst of the dog days of summer with temperatures climbing into the 90s and above, it’s hard to believe that Pennsylvania’s hunting seasons are set to begin in less than two weeks. And while both saltwater and freshwater fishing action should remain strong well into the fall, outdoorsmen (and women) may soon want to set aside that rod and reel for a while and pick up their shotguns and bows and arrows.
It all kicks off on Saturday, Sept. 1, when the early seasons on Canada geese and mourning dove kick in. Down here in the southeastern corner of the state (the Atlantic Population Zone) the first stage of our three segment goose season runs through Sept. 25 when hunters can bag their 8 goose daily limit with no more than 24 in possession. While those numbers may seem fairly generous, anyone who travels our local highways and byways knows that we have plenty of geese to spare and if hunters were permitted a daily limit of twenty or more it still wouldn’t put much of a dent in our Canada goose populations. Canada geese are extremely wily, adaptable, and prolific. It’s estimated that throughout North America their numbers have skyrocketed by more than ten percent each year for the past 40 years. The second and third segments of our goose seasons run from Nov. 15-24 and again from Dec. 15-Jan. 31 with a reduced limit of 3 geese daily with 9 in possession).
Sept. 1 also marks opening day for dove hunters, a season which runs statewide from Sept. 1 through Nov. 24. A second segment begins on Dec. 18 and runs through Jan. 5. The daily limit on doves is 15 with a possession limit of 45 throughout both segments.
There’s one significant change this time around – unlike past seasons when legal shooting hours for doves didn’t begin until noon during the early season, this year will be different: legal shooting hours will start onehalf hour before sunrise throughout the entire dove season. This change was incorporated by the Pennsylvania Game Commission in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Incidentally, if you’re a fan of falconry and your hunting weapon of choice is the razor sharp talons of a bird of prey, your 20182019 hunting season on squirrels, rabbits, hares, grouse, pheasants, and quail also opens on Sept. 1 and runs clear through March 30 .
Shotguns will be the weapon of choice for dove and goose hunters with those gunning for the diminutive dove often opting for a 20 gauge (or even a 28 gauge) model with number 7 or 8 shot as their ammo. Goose hunters will carry heavier artillery into their blinds, mostly favoring 12 gauge guns loaded
with steel or composite BB shot.
But two weeks after our opening day on geese and doves here, archery season opens in Wildlife Management Units 5C and 5D (and 2B out near Pittsburgh) on August 15. Both antlered and antlerless deer will be fair game. That’s when many hunters will be trading in their shotguns for archery gear, most favoring modern compound bows and crossbows with a few purists staying loyal to the more traditional recurve bows and longbows. The rest of the state will have to wait until Sept. 29 before they can carry their archery gear afield in quest of whitetail deer.
**** BACKYARD BUCKS DINNER. The Chester County Backyard Bucks, our local Chapter of Whitetails Unlimited, will host their Annual Freedom Dinner on Saturday, September 8th at the Wagontown Fire Hall, 412 West Kings Highway in Wagontown. Featured in the event is Travis “TBone” Turner, acclaimed bowhunter and spokesperson for Whitetails Unlimited. Doors open at 4:00 p.m. followed by games of chance, raffles, auctions and more with buffet dinner at 6:00 p.m. Tickets for the event are $40 single and $30 for spouse and kids under 15. For more info contact Art Lyle at 484-643-6132, Andy White at 610-505-6676. Information is also available online at http://www.whitetailsunlimited.com.
**** ANTLERLESS DEER LICENSES UPDATE. Antlerless deer licenses will go on sale over-the-counter at the county treasurer’s office here in Wildlife Management Units 5C and 5D starting Monday, Aug. 27. While at this writing antlerless deer licenses were already sold out in 10 of the state’s 23 WMUs, WMU 5C had 28,482 still available of the 70,000 allotted and WMU 5D had 11,389 still available of 28,000 allotted.
**** FEWER BATS, MORE MOSQUITOES, MORE WEST NILE, FEWER GROUSE. Have you noticed that there are more mosquitoes out there than ever before?
Have you also noticed that there are fewer bats patrolling our skies than ever before? If you haven’t you soon will. Our relentless rains this summer have created perfect conditions for the incubation of mosquitoes whose larvae thrive in standing water. Why is this infestation of the little bloodsuckers worse than ever? One answer: No bats (at least very few bats). Historically, Pennsylvania’s little brown bats have feasted heavily on mosquitoes, each bat consuming as many as 1,000 mosquitoes or more on any given night. Unfortunately, the state’s bat population was decimated by the white nose syndrome, a disease that has wiped out untold numbers of these tiny flying mammals.
As a result, cases of West Nile virus have spiked considerably among humans, manifesting itself in 51 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties. Even more devastating is the affect on the state’s official bird, the ruffed grouse, whose numbers have plummeted catastrophically, mainly due to the specie’s vulnerability to West Nile. Let’s hope that the little brown bats can recover, and maybe save the ruffed grouse in the process.