Galliform

An interesting article published by the USDA, covering the formal study of nest predation by invasive swine (hogs/pigs/boars/etc) in Texas. http://blogs.usda.gov/2016/04/04/the-little-known-threat-to-wild-turkeys/ You can be sure that any other ground-nesting bird has been impacted as well.

I have livestock, and I've witnessed it elsewhere too. It's scary, and even moreso because they were people's pets (not truly "feral"). They get into that group mentality and they aren't afraid/wary of people because they are domestic dogs, and it's really messy. Some of the very traits we have bred into them over the centuries gets pretty ugly when this happens. That said, respectfully, a lot of domestic dog pack behavior is still quite different than that of most wild wolves, especially when it comes to livestock (sounds like these elk were fenced?).

Feral or even pet dogs running in a pack, killing livestock, is MUCH different than the behavior of wild wolves. Folks thinking that thousands of years of domestication doesn't change much when it comes to dogs, do a great disservice to both dogs and wolves.

Thought this would be of interest here. http://www.dec.ny.gov/press/105649.html

I know someone that has one as a pet. They are actually pretty intelligent and as mentioned their mimicry skills are very good. They do mount up pretty and are fairly easy to do, if anyone needs practice with bird taxidermy. They are actually very pretty birds in good light. I confess I've eaten them before, wrapped in a slice of bacon. I don't know if mine tasted better because they are not eating city garbage, but they weren't bad at all. In rural locations, their diet isn't much different than some of the larger birds we hunt and eat.

Very interesting.

Tanning can take a while, as can the amount of work to be done. Any practiced taxidermist can put together a standard mount pretty quickly once the tanning, etc, is done, and you are next in the queue, but a real artist taxidermist will spend that little extra time making the piece incredible. It's why highly sought out taxidermists have a long turn around time. It really is a form of art, which is why there are as many bad mounts out there as good ones, and lots in-between. You might as well ask why a painting takes 'so long' for an artist. If any of you are ever interested in seeing some amazing work, check out the Taxidermy forums. Click a sub-forum "Deer and Gameheads", "Birds", etc, and look for the threads called "______ of the month". Or, in some forums, "____ of the week". There are a lot of gems in there. Here's a link to the Feb Game Heads of the Month. http://www.taxidermy.net/forum/index.php/topic,394901.0.html

For whatever it's worth, on my property the deer prefer hemlock, especially after we get snow on. They bed under it and it is a favorite browse item once winter hits and easy food sources dry up. I don't know if it's ideal for your situation, and one must be careful to check if there is HWA in your area (hemlock wooly adelgid) http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7250.html

I was just coming on here to post info but you found it first, Mike. I talked to George Rockey from the Southtowns/Hamburg chapter the other day on the phone and they seem like some really nice people.

The Webster Penfield DU dinner is a lot of fun, those guys have a hoot. I'll be there. The next day, the 27th, is the Hamburg/Southtowns DU dinner also, if you are closer to Buffalo.

I cook nearly every day because I'm nuts about food sourcing. But more on topic, we still do family dinners on Sundays with my folks. No kids of our own.

I'm 34, and I've been hunting since age 12 (legal age for small game at the time), so I've been hunting for 22 years. My dad would let me go with him to watch when he small game hunted, since I could walk, but I'm not counting that because I was not participating.

There is lots of research out there that points to food cholesterol not having an impact on your blood cholesterol. Saturated fats and trans fats can, but food cholesterol, not so much. If you look at the gritty biology of it all, it's true. Even the government's dietary guidelines is hearing the science and has greatly reduced the warnings on food cholesterol intake. http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/07/health/2015-dietary-guidelines/That is not to say that high blood cholesterol is not a problem, just that the cholesterol you eat is not impacting it too much. Eat your venison, salmon and eggs (medium-chain fats are some of the healthiest foods you can eat, which are found in things like fish, coconut oil, avocado...). Enjoy your beef and pork too, in moderation. If you are eating genuinely pastured animals, know that their fats are "healthier" in general, and they tend to be leaner. I used rendered suet to cook in regularly, though I will only use it from pastured animals that I get from local farmers so that I know what I'm getting. Sugars and carbohydrates have a greater negative impact on your blood chemistry (especially if you are borderline diabetic) than almost any other food. If nothing else, try to cut back on the heavy saturated fats, sugars, and carby foods for a few months and see how your blood tests come back. I'm not a doctor and I don't want to cherry-pick articles for you to read, but there is a lot of science behind this and doctors and the governing bodies are slowly catching up. Also remember that everyone's body is different and processes things differently. There is no 'one size fits all' diet or lifestyle out there.

I actually found this while I was searching for information about the film being made (a work of fiction) about a boy and a golden eagle. I strongly suspect that the opening shot of the incoming eagle was a totally different shot; this is behavior I would expect an eagle coming to the glove to do (a young bird begging), with the camera being set up near the bird's handler so that the eagle appears to come right at the viewers. I think this was just added to the beginning of a real hunting video for drama. I agree that young raptors are often prone to dumb hunting mistakes. It's partially what makes the mortality rate in first year bird so high. Here's a trailer, complete with added Red-Tailed hawk screams... And their other videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJm-xleWM0gajLDKCd3CCtw The eaglecam videos are worth checking out.

How do you capture them? Is it a method similar to turkey capture with fired nets? I imagine bow nets and the like would be difficult to set up in the situation with deer carcasses.

The National Wildlife Refuge system in particular is a unique treasure in the USA. I can't imagine any sportsman, hunter, fisher, nature lover or conservationist hating NWRs. If you are interested in learning more about the ideals and management of the NWR system here is a lot of info out there. http://www.fws.gov/refuges/ History: http://www.fws.gov/refuges/history/over/over_main_fs.html Mission: http://www.fws.gov/refuges/about/mission.html Land acquisition and funding: http://www.fws.gov/refuges/about/acquisition.html Land and Wildlife Management: http://www.fws.gov/refuges/whm/ (etc) They exist primarily because of federal level funding (through the Migratory Bird Fund, etc). States, frankly, could not handle this, financially nor in terms of manpower or orgnization. The nation and continent-wide network of science coming out of the NWR system is priceless. As are the benefits to land, water, plants, animals, and people too. I respect state's rights, but the fracturing of NWRs to the state level would be devastating to the progress we have made in conservation in the last 100 years. Given how the world is going, they will prove to be crucial in the future. I'll just leave this as well. https://medium.com/@travislongcore/i-stand-with-linda-sue-beck-a651895b71ce#.r6ye9mgc6

Another article: http://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/open-country/sportsmen-and-women-have-major-stake-oregon-refuge-standoff-led-bundy-family?src=SOC&dom=fb

Much of the birding community are great allies to conservation, and could be to hunters as well if approached correctly. There will always be some antis in the birding community, but we share more in common with birders and they with us than either 'side' tends to realize. I once attended a seminar for birders where some bird banders were doing a study on bird populations and nesting habits in different habitats (old growth, mid- successional, early successional forests, etc), and found universally in areas that are over-browsed by deer, bird numbers and nesting success plummets for all species that depend on understory growth. By the end, I think nearly everyone in the audience was pro-deer hunting! Back on topic: Audubon of Portland released this statement: http://audubonportland.org/news/audubon-society-of-portland-statement-on-the-occupation-of-malheur-national-wildlife-refuge Mike Rossi, the ABA (American Birding Association) put this article out in response to the ones you posted above: http://blog.aba.org/2016/01/birders-the-media-and-the-malheur-standoff.html

I've seen squirrels fall out of the canopy of tall oaks a number of times and were seemingly none worse for wear. It seems a bit unlikely your squirrel perished from a fall, but not impossible. Poison is vile.

Watching a group of 7 does graze and move slowly through the woods behind my house. At least some are up and moving, despite the sheeting rain.

I'm not hunting as I don't have a bow or smokepole, but I sure am thinking of you guys that are out there today. It's pouring like a summer thunderstorm here. Good luck!

I was just reading that one. Here's a link for anyone that wants to see. http://huntingny.com/forums/topic/30768-more-development/

Permethrin itself is a common insecticidal synthetic chemical. Saywer's is just one of the major brand names that sells it for outdoors persons. I personally use a quart of the agricultural/veterinary stuff by Martin brand (10% Permethrin), dilute it with distilled water to what Saywer's is (0.5%), and soak my outer hunting clothes in it. It's much less expensive, just a bit more work. I still haven't run out of the first quart I purchased, and I had to use some to treat my chicken coop too. Be careful for those with pets, Permethrin can be fatal to cats.

For the price, I will stick with treating with Permethrin, known to work. Flea and tick collars are sometimes a cocktail of nasty pesticides out of China that I would not only not want on myself, but I don't even want them on my pets. Some are okay and some are quite questionable. At least with Permethrin I know exactly what it does and the risks.

At the end of the day, a cleaned bone is a cleaned bone. The symbolism you assign it is, of course, a personal thing... Most primates (humans are one of the few exceptions), rodents, bats, bears, felines, canines, mustelids, raccoons, walruses, sea lions, and seals have a baculum (penis bones). Whales actually do not have them, nor do dolphins. More than you ever wanted to know about the darn thing: https://books.google.com/books?id=2rkHQpToi9sC&pg=PA68&dq=pinniped+baculum&hl=en&sa=X&ei=otYCU4rBHKuR1AHXxoDgDg&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=baculum&f=false