Gray wolves once roamed the entire North American continent, from the scrubby deserts of Mexico to the boreal forests of Alaska. But by the 1950s decades of overhunting and habitat loss had nearly extirpated the species in the contiguous United States. In a remarkable conservation success story, the 1973 Endangered Species Act (ESA) helped push […]
Tag: White-tailed deer
‘An abomination’: the story of the massacre that killed 216 wolves
The woods were full of the sounds of snowmobiles and baying hounds. A group of perhaps a dozen hunters had gathered to give chase to big game along a frozen creek in north-eastern Wisconsin. Hound hunting, chiefly for black bear and coyote, is a popular pastime in this part of the state. But the houndsman […]
POLL: Should children aged 12 be legally allowed to hunt deer and bear?
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s executive budget proposal for this coming fiscal year contains some big changes to New York’s hunting regulations. Among the proposals, the governor would lower the minimum hunting age for big game (deer, bear) with a firearm from 14 to 12, and expand the use of crossbows “in all big game seasons,” including […]
Feature: Stratford Point, Connecticut
This land offers a stunning coastal grassland area near the mouth of the Housatonic River which has of this writing 282 species of bird observed according to eBird data. It was my hope to visit Stratford Point and observe the LeConte’s and Clay-colored Sparrows seen a day earlier at the venue. The Common Loon above […]
A Bird Sanctuary In Killingworth, CT Pt. IV
Young birds became a rewarding event at Casa Almeida in Killingworth, Connecticut, in the 2017 summer season. On the eve of the parade to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the naming of the town of Killingworth, CT, flags drape the utility poles around the center of town. Many are at half-mast at municipal buildings […]
Selfie-Seeking Men Kidnap, Injure Endangered Florida Deer
You think you’ve seen it all, but then you realize you really haven’t. In the Florida Keys, a routine traffic stop led police to discover something deeply disturbing: Two men had captured and hogtied three endangered Key deer. On July 2, 2017, the men stuffed two of the deer in the back seat and one […]
A Bird Sanctuary In Killingworth, CT Pt. II
It was fairly quickly learned that the feeders used to attract wildlife didn’t entice just the birds. In mid-winter as the squirrels appeared to become more numerous, they became destructive and a disturbance to the winged creatures. Eastern Bluebirds briefly investigated a pair of bird houses that had been hung for them but the squirrels […]
Birding at the Bog with Pip and Lisa
This weekend I headed to the Sax-Zim Bog with my little dog Pip and my good friend Lisa. We’re in the silent part of summer now, when parent birds are busy chasing their little ones around more than singing, but we got to hear a surprising number of birds on Nichols Lake Road when we […]