Curmudgeon

He isn't 4 seasons anymore. He is redefining "real" for us.

When I checked in a few times today, and hit the "next" page button for this discussion, it has taken me to Dinsdale's profile. Just so you know D, I am not stalking you.

I don't even view hunting as left or right issue. I think that view is nonsense. Most of the new, adult hunters I know are leftist foodies. Even here, the majority are conservative but not all. Compared to the regulars in the political discussions, I'm a flaming pinko. And, much of the political stuff has to do with guns, not hunting. 2nd amendment issues overlap with hunting to some degree, but do not conflate the two things. As the bumper sticker said "The second amendment ain't about duck hunting". With hunters being such a minority, support from non-hunters becomes a political necessity. Actually informing yourself before spouting off would go a long way towards improving the public perception of hunters.

I hope that includes NPR!

Thank you Belo for once again trying to talk sense in an environment of knee jerk reactions. Stormy is new here but I noticed he is very quick to yell "fake news" and "leftist" bias. It must be the times. FACT: Hunters are declining in number due to attrition. This has been going on for a long time. FACT: P-R money funds a huge amount of wildlife conservation, even for species that are not hunted. FACT: There are many people who object to hunting on moral grounds. Some of these people love wildlife and what benefit from P-R funds. Just the shear numbers of non-hunters leaves us with many millions of Americans who have no first hand knowledge of hunting. I am not even addressing the animal rights people. Like many people on the site, I hunt and engage in a lot of wildlife observation. I encounter these people all the time - those who oppose hunting for moral reasons. Reporting it is not "leftist" or "Superior". Whenever I speak publicly about raptors - which I have probably done 20 times in the past 5 years - hunting comes up because the lead poisoning issue comes up. I tell them I hunt, always. I am often speaking to non-hunters and even anti-hunters. Whenever I have been challenged by someone who objects to hunting, I ask if they eat meat. If they do, I assert that hunters have the moral high ground. People who buy meat wrapped in plastic from factory farms, people who take no responsibility for the death of that animal is pretending. If they are vegetarians, I ask them how I am supposed to deal with the ag damage from too many deer. Sometimes they want wolves.

Oh good Woolly is still here. With all this talk about people leaving, I miss Mike Rossi. Yeah, he got out of line, and couldn't suffer fools at all, but it sure was a lot more interesting.

I shoot vermin all the time. We just disagree on the definition.

I thought the season ended the 25th.

Looks like she took it through a scope or binoculars. Thanks.

It's just a question.

I've been surveying eagles in the northern Catskills in an area where you would expect small numbers. Since early February - at least - there have been very large numbers in the area. There is no large water nearby, or any visible food source. I've been trying to identify a food source without success. I have a simple question for the coyote hunters who use bait, is it common to have eagles visit your spot?

Politics sets the goals. Science is supposed to then make the goals reality.

According to this biologist, no. Wildlife conservation in North America may not be science-based after all March 07, 2018 By Justin Wong A study led by recent SFU PhD alumnus Kyle Artelle has unveiled new findings that challenge the widespread assumption that wildlife management in North America is science-based. He conducted the study with SFU researchers John Reynolds and Jessica Walsh, as well as researchers from other institutions. In the study, published by AAAS Open Access journal Science Advances, the researchers compiled and analyzed all of the publicly available documents describing 667 hunt management systems. These included 27 species groups across 62 U.S. states and Canadian provinces. They also identified four hallmarks that provide rigour to science-based management: clear objectives, use of evidence, transparency and external review. After applying these hallmarks to the hunt management systems, they found that 60 per cent of them featured fewer than half of the indicator criteria. In addition, some of the most basic assumptions of scientific management were almost entirely absent. For example, only nine per cent of management systems had an explanation for how quotas were set. Similarly, less than 10 per cent of management systems underwent any form of review, including internal reviews, with fewer than six per cent subjected to external review. These and other findings in the study raised doubts for the researchers about whether North American wildlife management can accurately be described as science-based. “The key to honest discussions about wildlife management and conservation is clarity about where the science begins and ends,” says Artelle, who is now a biologist with Raincoast Conservation Foundation and a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Victoria. “Our approach provides a straightforward litmus test for science-based claims.” These findings come at a time of heightened controversy in wildlife management, where contentious policy is often defended by agencies claiming adherence to science-based approaches. “We are not saying that wildlife hunting decisions should be based only on science, as there can be important social and economic considerations,” says SFU biological sciences professor John Reynolds. “But the extent to which these dimensions influence management decisions should be clearly articulated alongside claims of scientific rigour.” The researchers note that claims of science-based management would, however, be supported if management defined clear objectives, used evidence to inform decisions, was transparent with the public about all factors contributing to decisions, and subjected plans and approaches to external review.

An invasive disease carrying Asian tick has arrived in NJ - https://www.sciencealert.com/ticks-that-kill-cattle-by-draining-their-blood-have-just-mysteriously-reached-the-us From the article: "Somehow, an east Asian tick that has the ability to essentially clone itself and is a noted invasive species in other parts of the world made its way to Hunterdon County. And it wasn't just an isolated tick. There were more than 1,000 found in the western area of New Jersey."

I know a falconer who tries very hard to keep his birds away from squirrels. Even if grabbed, if the don't die quickly, they are flexible enough to turn and bite the bird's legs. Good to see the kitten eating hawk turning the usual roles on their heads.

Cooper's and Sharp-shinned are very difficult to tell apart. Juveniles are even harder. The lightness of streaking on this one, combined with its size in comparison to the pigeon have me leaning towards Cooper's. Many times it is easier to ID these species in flight. They have a different profile, beat their wings at different rates and the tail shape is generally different.

Interesting. Pigeons are really fast.

So, what kind of hawk was it?

At home things have been boring. Boring if you consider it's just eagles and ravens. Oh, and an occasional skunk. I've got one golden eagle coming in - you've seen it - but it generally feeds alone without any drama to make the photos more interesting. Here are a few recent shots.

And, historically the forested habitat was much less productive for mice.

While I thought the analogy between coyote hate and religious/racial hate was valid, especially for Belo who argues forcefully against both, maybe I shouldn't have put that shiny bauble out there. I'll take the credit or blame. You bring up an interesting point. I could make the same argument that timber wolves are not native to North America. It is just a timing issue. So, if coyotes are not acceptable because they expanded their range into NY, does that mean you would find eastern wolves - Canis lycaon - acceptable? We could bring in some from Algonquin Park (even though they are not pure, having some coyote genetics) to restore a "native" predator. What critters are you hoping to help survive? What if those critters have a negative effect on other critters. The worst critter for habitat damage in NY is deer. Agreed, coyotes have no significant predators in NY except people. To assume that makes any difference in the overall state population is wrong. People killing coyotes drives their evolutionary adaptation to increase reproduction. Killing them only provides a momentary lowering of a very local population. It has no significant impact. Your question about their value, or lack of, to the ecosystem is interesting. If you only care about game, knowing coyotes kill some can seem troubling. As we see on this forum, it can even cause some people to react with hatred. Consider, NY has lacked a predator this large for over a century. We have a severe over-population of deer and sedentary Canada Geese in most of the state. Nesting geese are just as non-native as coyotes. These animals impact a whole range of species. Coyotes are failing to control these populations, though even I believe they do help manage them a little. Coyotes also help control a range of other species that can become problematic for birds, especially those that prey on ground nests. While I hear complaints from farmers about coyote hunters removing a control on woodchucks, this demonstrates a lack of information just as severe as believing coyote hunters have any real influence on deer populations. Re your last question, killing for fur is less wasteful. It provides a justification anyway. Anyone who kills a coyote for no other reason than thinking they are doing something good is a fool.

Belo, You're right, the coyote haters won't get much heat. It is expected, just like the religious hate and racism on other parts of the site. What is not expected is seeing that you "like" these posts, and agree with them. You have demonstrated that you are intelligent, educated, and on most topics exhibit extreme amounts of reason. This blind spot seems out of character.

That is, in fact, a Christmas tree, yet to be harvested.

Woody, I just googled Tuscarora SF. You are in southern PA, more central to the winter range of eastern Golden Eagles. I generally don't watch online video due to data limits. Yes, the ravens may be a problem for individual goldens. They certainly know the difference between the eagle species. I watched 5 balds and a golden circling above my site one day. Ravens bombed the golden, ignored the balds. I have hundreds of my own videos. In them, ravens relentlessly yank the tails of balds. With few exceptions, they give goldens a wide berth on the ground. The effect of large numbers of ravens on goldens is not always negative. One of the sites operating under my license regularly has as many, or more than my home site. That site has multiple goldens feeding every year. It is where half of the NY GPS tagged birds were caught. When we released one at dusk, over 100 ravens came boiling out of nearby hemlocks where they had gone to roost.

Here is a sampling of recent photos. Golden Eagles have been recorded at 5 of the 7 sites we are operating in Delaware and Otsego County. It is my belief that with ~70 ravens present, Golden Eagles here at home are behaving more like Cooper's Hawks than scavengers. They have been observed around the site this year and last while rarely being photographed. A photographer in the blind last year watched an adult came charging in. It didn't catch anything and quickly exited. Now, about once a day everything erupts like shrapnel from a bomb. When I got there for a card swap yesterday, the long strap for the camera had been unwound. It was laying on the ground. The camera was askew. Take a good look at first photo. It appears the raven tried to fly off with it and got jerked back just as the camera triggered. As a final note, I got a refresher safety course this morning. I was using the 7' wide snow blower on a farm tractor to clean up the staging area where DOT drops carcasses. There was one under the snow I had forgotten about, or somehow missed . All I can say is stay away from snow blowers. It would have nice if the shear bolt sheared. It was a mess. Raven in the air while attached to the camera strap. Bald Eagle and Common Ravens. Eagles and ravens. Adult Golden Eagle and ravens.