Some Wildlife Sightings

When in the outdoors, sportsmen observe various things.

Let's start with some good things I have seen this year. Most sportsmen know ruffed grouse are having a rough time because of the devastating effects of West Nile Virus. Previous to this year, I had seen only one grouse in the past 10 years. I doubled that this year, which is not especially encouraging but is a slight improvement. The first of these grouse was one of the "tame" type the game commission wants people to report seeing so that its employees can tag and study it. The grouse was feeding along a trout stream this past spring and was not bothered by my presence. It even gave me the opportunity to take several photos of it as it fed. I did not report it to the PGC, not wanting the bird to be bothered unnecessarily. The other grouse ran across the road in front of my Ranger on one of Donna and my evening drives. I hope the grouse population can rebound to healthy levels, though the introduction of pine martens by the PGC could hinder this.

During our evening drives we have enjoyed the healthy numbers of deer we have been seeing along posted properties. A good percentage of these are fawns, so I guess the predators don't get them all. We have also observed several bucks that are going to be "wallhangers." In addition, rabbit numbers appear to have exploded this summer. Many zoom across back roads in front of us on our drives. Unlike most years when they become nocturnal about July 15, plenty of them are still running around before dark.

Negatively, summer storms have knocked down many trees. In fact, one section of a local creek that was once a pleasure to fish is now an obstacle course. I have "surrendered" it to younger, energetic fishermen.

Turkey numbers appear to be spotty. I have observed a modest flock on my way to a creek several mornings, but our evening drives have not produced any sightings.

The most pathetic thing I have seen is a little four-point buck that I think was infected with CWD. I ran into him while fishing one morning. He struggled to rise from lying down; and when he did, he wobbled off. His rear legs splayed as he tried to walk, and his ribs showed. The August "Game News" reported that one-third of hunter-harvested adult deer tested positive for CWD in WMU 4A (our area) last year, so I fear these encounters could become more common.