Tuesday, October 28, 2003
Hunters in Pennsylvania took to the fields Saturday for the opening day of that state's pheasant season.
A few days before opening day, game commission workers were busy around the state releasing birds as part of the state's pre- and in-season stocking program. Approximately 200,000 ring-necked pheasants will be released during the season.
The regular season for Pennsylvania ringnecks runs through Nov. 29, and the state's late season runs Dec. 15-23 and Dec. 26-Feb. 7.
In Mercer and Lawrence counties, the Pennsylvania Game Commission will distribute approximately 7,260 pheasants during the program.
State game regulations limit hunters to the specific sex of the pheasant in various wildlife management units. Those units and their limitations are outlined in the state's hunting and trapping digest available where licenses are sold or online at www.pgc.state.pa.us.
The daily limit for pheasants is two, and the possession limit is four.
Ohio's ring-necked pheasant season opens Nov. 7 and runs through Jan. 4. The daily bag limit is two, and hunters may take only male birds.
Turkey report
State wildlife officials reported a decline in the turkey harvest for the first few days of the eighth annual fall wild turkey gun-hunting season in Ohio. The season opened Oct. 11 and runs through today.
About 100 birds fewer were taken during the start of the season, but state wildlife biologists said the lower numbers were not surprising.
Dave Swanson, an Ohio wildlife biologist, said in a press release about the fall season that the lower harvest was like a result of three years of cold, wet spring weather that affected wild turkey reproduction success.
He added that the state's turkey population was in good health and hunters who showed "patience and persistence" would find success.
The archery-only season for turkey, introduced in 2002, begins Monday and runs through Nov. 30.
Turkey story
In the Nov./Dec. issue of Bird Watcher's Digest, W.H. (Chip) Gross, an Ohio outdoors writer, has an interesting story on the wild turkey and its resurgence in the United States.
Gross, who has also spent the past 21 years working for the Ohio Division of Wildlife, takes the reader through the bird's history and characteristics and explains how the bird made a comeback from nearly being wiped out.
The magazine is available at Wild Birds Unlimited in Boardman or wherever magazines are sold.
braun@vindy.com