upstaterifle Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 No snow is no good for a lot of people I have talked to this "winter" and that is understandable. Do you think that this mild winter could really turn out well for hunting next year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-Man Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 Well it will have more bugs as it never froze them out, but if your talking about deer..they shouldn't be as stressed so larger horns and body weight are probable.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillygunns Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 (edited) More deer will survive and not be killed by freezing or starving due to snow covering the food. Edited March 3, 2012 by Phillygunns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantail Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 I've already seen Birds out. It occurs to me, due to less winter stress, if herds & flocks benifit & reproduce then the following year will be what to watch for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 No snow is good for animal's but not good for the soil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 I think it may be a mixed blessing. Good for some things and bad for others. I have no idea what will happen because I have never seen a winter like this before. All I know is last night I had two bugs that hit the windshield. On March 2nd, that is unheard of. Will be beeaten up by bugs this spring and summer? ..... Only time will tell. How does all this lack of snow affect the water table? ...... I guess we'll see about hat too. Will teh deer herd prosper? ..... Most likely. Will there be any affects on the turkey population? ..... We'll see. How about survival rates of pests and vermin? Am I going to be over run by mice and chipmunks? ..... I don't know. But as the year progresses, it might be interesting to see if we can spot any changes that we theorize relates to this strange winter. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NFA-ADK Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Crazy weather, I wish we could get a nice cold spell for a few weeks before spring to kill off some more bugs but i doubt that will happen... Hopefully it will at least help some deer survive with this mild winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wooly Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 It will be a tough year for polar bear and penguin hunters no doubt! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wztirem Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 I think it may be a mixed blessing. Good for some things and bad for others. I have no idea what will happen because I have never seen a winter like this before. All I know is last night I had two bugs that hit the windshield. On March 2nd, that is unheard of. Will be beeaten up by bugs this spring and summer? ..... Only time will tell. How does all this lack of snow affect the water table? ...... I guess we'll see about hat too. Will teh deer herd prosper? ..... Most likely. Will there be any affects on the turkey population? ..... We'll see. How about survival rates of pests and vermin? Am I going to be over run by mice and chipmunks? ..... I don't know. But as the year progresses, it might be interesting to see if we can spot any changes that we theorize relates to this strange winter. You must be getting old, 2001/2002 wa warmer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wztirem Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 What is interesting is that in 2002 the deer kill was 308,216.00!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 You must be getting old, 2001/2002 wa warmer Warmer with this little snow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 On the bug thing...Is that fact? I mean it makes sense I guess. But does a warm winter really affect how many bugs are flying around in June? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 On the bug thing...Is that fact? I mean it makes sense I guess. But does a warm winter really affect how many bugs are flying around in June? I'm not sure how much of an effect it really has, but I do remember reading somewhere that prolonged low temperatures of a bitter winter has been partially responsible for stopping repeated infestations of gypsy moths because a large percentage of the egg masses where frozen for long periods of time. Winter may very well be another form of insect control. But again, I do not know that for a fact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WNYBuckHunter Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 The fawn death rate should have been way down this winter, so the next couple of years at least should be good ones i would think. Antler size should be up unless we have a really bad spring, which would hamper the crops from growing. It will be interesting to look at the numbers after this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 just means more fawns will be slaughtered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
First-light Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 All of the critters should do well. Just don't want a real wet spring, that would be bad for our turkeys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwhite Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 It's a double edged sword. A benefit to an easy winter is it allows winter yard and feed area's to regenerate. A problem is the deer that shouldn't have made the winter this year will survive and be another mouth to feed next winter. This will likely put added stress on the yards next year, providing a normal winter, leading to a larger than normal winter kill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-Man Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 (edited) Well i looked up my grandfathers old planting records. for those of you in wny this proves the ice boom causes a giant refridgertion effect. before the boom was put in the 60's and the ice was allowed to vacate the lake. his average date for planting was april 12th. After the boom it was moved to may 18th over a month later. Now with this mild winter and no ice on lake erie i would say that it would push the planting dates back to pre ice boom times. so a longer growing season, warmer temps in spring and of course tha means more bugs as there will be more for them to eat and it wasnever was cold long enough to kill off some of the over wintering eggs/larve. As for animal a quicker green up and warmer temps may help the turkey nesting season as well as newly hatched poults bugging. Deer were able to get to food all winter and a quick greenup and lack of winter stress should allow for larger body weights, and horns. Bad for me as my lawn will grow sooner/ faster resulting in more $ spent on gas to keep it mowed down something i'm not looking forward to at 4.00$ plus a gallon... Edited March 4, 2012 by G-Man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upstaterifle Posted March 5, 2012 Author Share Posted March 5, 2012 Well it will have more bugs as it never froze them out, but if your talking about deer..they shouldn't be as stressed so larger horns and body weight are probable.. This is what I was thinking for the most part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tughillhunter Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 ughh.... bugs up here are bad enough..... now its gonna be horrifying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geno C Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Well it will have more bugs as it never froze them out, but if your talking about deer..they shouldn't be as stressed so larger horns and body weight are probable.. +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerClay Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I for one expect tick numbers to be out of control this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I for one expect tick numbers to be out of control this year. My family at the DEC says that the wildlife guys are already suggesting this very well could be the case. Tick numbers were up last year and this mild winter only means it could get worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karpteach Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Besides the bugs the deer are looking nice and healthy. Hopefully, the spring wont kill the Turkey eggs/chicks. At least there is going to be enough bugs for them to eat. LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkln Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 more bugs = more disease spreading, it is truly mixed bag, good for the deer and good for the ticks, can't have mild winter and no bugs during the summer. I have also already spotted swarms of bugs baking in the setting sun this early in March, this is unheard of....I'm ready to wear my new summer cologne Off! "Deep Woods" by SC Johnson company :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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