Hunters, birds may be in short supply
As the 2018-19 hunting season unfolds, bird is the somewhat muted word.
Although it becomes legal to hunt American woodcock on Friday and wild turkeys and ruffed grouse beginning Saturday, the Ohio State-Minnesota football game Saturday at Ohio Stadium likely will draw a far larger crowd.
Turkey hunters have through Nov. 25 to tag a single bird of either sex in 70 of Ohio’s 88 counties. Locally, turkeys may be hunted in Franklin, Licking, Delaware and Fairfield counties, but not in Union, Madison or Pickaway.
Licking County surrendered 30 turkeys during the fall hunt of 2017, trailing only Coshocton (56), Ashtabula (46), Gallia and Guernsey (31 each). The statewide take of 1,061 a year ago was a 51 percent decrease from 2016, a season boosted by a 17-year cicada hatch in eastern Ohio.
Some 11,500 turkey permits were procured each of the past two years, suggesting the success rate declined considerably. Turkey hunters should find numbers similar to those of last year.
Deer hunters who hold a turkey permit should remember that only a single hunting implement may be on hand. So someone hunting deer with a crossbow isn’t allowed to pull out a shotgun if a turkey passes by.
Woodcock may be hunted through Nov. 25 with a daily limit of three. The numbers of this long-beaked migratory bird have fallen in recent years, likely because of habitat loss.
Woodcocks use their beaks to probe for worms, grubs and other morsels. The loss of moist, loose soil — like that found around North America’s diminished wetlands A duck splashes around in the pond at the Park of Roses in Clintonville on Monday.
From 1980 to ’82, grouse hunters reported more than 160 flushes for each 100 hours in the field. A few years ago, flushes stood at about 28 per 100 hours.
Grouse, with a daily limit of two, may be hunted through Jan. 31.
Parting shots
Hunters checked 4,965 deer statewide during the first week of the archery season. Last year, the first-week tally was 6,233. … The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission chose not to vote on a proposal to replace 70 years of cooperation among eight bordering states, including Ohio, in setting pollution control standards. … Safari Club International lauded California Gov. Jerry Brown for vetoing a bill that would have “prevented hunters from possessing and in some cases importing animals lawfully killed in Africa.” … A fall color celebration will be held at Conkles Hollow State Nature Preserve from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and next Sunday. Conkles Hollow, in Hocking County, features outstanding hiking trails.