July 3, 2008
Coyote Rampage
Continues
Earlier this spring, Will
Simonelli set his trail cameras at a known deer crossing in
the Underhill/ Jericho area of Vermont. He was quickly
rewarded with several shots of does accompanied by young
fawns. Then, a new visitor appeared. One that sent a chill
through Simonelli's blood.
As a veteran trail camera
photographer, Simonelli is used to capturing coyote photos on
his set-ups. And when the accompanying picture popped up for
him to review, it took a few glances for what he was seeing to
sink in. Was that a bird in the coyote's mouth? Maybe a pup? A
closer examination shows something different.
When the photo is magnified, the head of a fawn is clearly
seen hanging between the predator's jaws.
Simonelli's photo is the
latest in a series of trail-cam pictures which have surfaced
in the region showing destruction caused by coyotes. These
include a house cat in the mouth of a coyote, and a coyote
ascending on a fawn as it is being born.
Outdoors
Magazine is actively seeking similar photos for publication.
All submissions will be entered in a drawing to win a free
stay at Pine Grove Lodge in Bingham, Maine. Send via email to kyle@elkpublishing.com
or via post to Outdoors Magazine Rumor Mill, 531 Main St.
Colchester, VT 05446.
June 25, 2008
Short-Circuiting
Nesting Trouble
Osprey Get a Safer Nesting Site
WATERBURY, VT – Central Vermont Public
Service utility worker Steve Brilyea knew trouble was brewing
when he saw the sticks on top of a power pole near his home in
Shoreham. He
realized ospreys were trying to nest on the pole and that
something needed to be done.
Ospreys nesting on live power poles are
at risk of electrocution and may also short out the lines and
cause a fire. The
birds needed a safer alternative and Steve, having helped to
install several osprey nesting platforms, knew what sort of
site was needed.
 “We’ve
had other instances of ‘nuisance’ osprey nests on power
lines,” said Tina Scharf, osprey project coordinator for the
Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department.
“What makes this situation unique is Steve
immediately offered to host a nesting platform on his
property.”
Thanks to the efforts of Steve Brilyea
and CVPS Middlebury Operations Supervisor Jon Martin, linemen
Joe LaRock, and Tom Murphy, the ospreys now have a safe
nesting platform with a beautiful view of Richville Dam.
“Fish & Wildlife wanted to put up a
platform at Richville Dam years ago, but couldn’t locate a
good site,” added Scharf.
“We’re very grateful to Steve Brilyea and CVPS for
generously providing the land and resources to install a
platform there.”
Ospreys were once endangered in Vermont.
Surveys for osprey breeding in Vermont found no nesting
activities from 1975 to 1986.
Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department began putting up
nesting platforms in the late 1980s and partnered with
electric utility companies to erect more nesting structures
where suitable osprey habitat was found.
The results were dramatic.
In 2005, the osprey was removed from the state’s
Endangered and Threatened Species List. There are now over 100 known nesting sites in the
state.
Photo Caption:
CVPS Lineman Joe LaRock puts finishing touches on the
new osprey nest platform in Shoreham, while CVPS utility
worker and landowner Steve Brilyea (right) confers with
lineman Tom Murphy. Photo
Credit: Skip Doane
June 23, 2008
Vermont Antlerless Deer
Hunt Applications Available Online
Waterbury, VT – Vermont's antlerless
deer hunting lottery applications for the muzzleloader season
are now available on the Fish & Wildlife Department’s
website and at license agents statewide.
The permits are only for "antlerless deer,"
which is defined as deer without antlers or with antlers less
than three inches long.
Permit numbers and wildlife management
units (WMUs) open to antlerless hunting will not be finalized
until August when the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Board
finishes the regulatory process authorizing season rules.
A hunter who wins an antlerless deer
permit in the lottery may take one antlerless deer by
muzzleloader in the designated WMU during the December 6-14,
2008 muzzleloader season.
Antlerless deer permit applications are now available
on Fish & Wildlife’s website (www.vtfishandwildlife.com). Go to “Buy Your License” and select “Online Antlerless
Lottery Application.”
“We appreciate that most hunters are
supportive of scientific deer herd management,” said Dr.
Shawn Haskell, the biologist who chairs Vermont’s deer team.
“They realize a certain number of antlerless deer
must be removed in some areas of the state in order to keep
the deer population in balance with its habitat.
Wildlife biologists make WMU-specific recommendations
annually, based on winter severity, habitat conditions, deer
population goals, and past harvest success rates.”
Only about 20 percent of hunters with
antlerless permits actually take deer, and only 80 percent of
those are adult females.
The wildlife management units (WMUs)
proposed to have muzzleloader antlerless permits this year are
A, B, F1, F2, H1, H2, J1, J2, K1, K2, M2, N, O2, and Q.
The 22,050 muzzleloader antlerless permits proposed to
be issued to help slow the growth of the deer population in
these units and are expected to net a harvest of about 4,300
deer.
Applications must be received or
delivered in the Waterbury Fish & Wildlife office by 4:30
p.m. on August 22, 2008.
The cost is $10 for residents and $25 for nonresidents.
A person may submit only one application.
The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Board
will hold two public hearings on proposed deer hunting rules
before finalizing regulations for 2008.
The first will be held Monday, June 30th, at the
Lyndonville Fire Department, 316 Main Street.
The second hearing will be Tuesday, July 1, at the
Rutland Middle School Cafeteria, 67 Library Avenue, Rutland.
Both hearings will be from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Click
here to see the map showing the Vermont's wildlife management
units with proposed antlerless deer hunting permits for the
2008 Vermont muzzleloader deer season.
Six-Year-Old Catches Monster Fish
Scott Baker knew he was bending the rules a bit when he made the decision to let his 6-year-old son, Hunter, skip school for a morning and go fishing. The 14-plus-pound reward substantially made up for the scolding Scott received from Hunter's teacher the next day.
 After spending an eventful Sunday slamming walleye on the Winooski, the older Baker caved into Hunter's requests and let him tag along the next morning when he, and his other fishing buddy, returned to the river. According to Scott, around 9:00 a.m. one of the rods they were trolling appeared to be snagged, and Hunter enthusiastically started to reel it up.
It didn't take long to realize Hunter had more than weeds on his line.
"At first I told him to keep reeling—that he probably had a pretty good walleye on," said Scott. "He can be a little stubborn and he wanted to do it all himself."
Soon the fish was at the boat. Upon seeing it roll the older Baker, and his other fishing partner, realized Hunter's fish was something special. Unfortunately, all they had was a small catch-and-release net.
"When the fish was next to the boat I told Hunter not to touch the line—he only had 8-pound flora carbon on and it would snap in a second," said Scott.
After scooping the fish into the boat, the two older fishermen were jumping up and down high-fiving each other. Hunter acted like a seasoned pro.
The group continued to fish and landed several other good walleye including an 8-pounder. When they returned home, Hunter's lake trout was put on a hand-held scale and weighed 14.1 pounds. Equally as impressive is the length. At just under 34 inches it is one of the longest lakers to come out of Champlain in recent history.
This spring, it seems that Champlain is producing a surprising number of large lake trout.
"I have heard about a couple of lakers over 14-pounds being caught this year," said Outdoors Magazine Editor Kyle Scanlon. "You go years without hearing about one that big in Champlain. To see a couple in the same short time span is truly amazing. It makes me wonder what we are going to witness when the derby action heats up on the lake in a couple of weeks," he said.
The Bakers were fishing several miles up the Winooski River—not the typical area one would expect to land a prize laker. What the fish was doing there remains a mystery.
"Of course Hunter goes into school the next morning and tells his teacher all about it…" said Scott with a wry smile.
New Turkey Record Not Without Controversy
Last Sunday William Billings, of South Burlington, Vermont did what no one in
New York or New England had ever done before. At a scant 10-yards, he pulled the trigger on a monster tom with a 16-inch beard. According the National Wild Turkey Federation's scoring system, when the bird's beard length and weight of 21 pounds 8 ounces is calculated with the bird's inch and a half spurs, it equates to a total NWTF score of 83.5—making it the 35th largest typical eastern turkey ever recorded in that category, and the second largest ever shot in the East. It is by far the highest scoring typical bird ever shot in New England or New York.
According to Billings, on Saturday evening he was driving down a road with his father and brother in an area they frequently
hunt in Williamstown, Vermont. They spied a large tom in a field they were familiar with and decided to set up on it early the next morning.
"We were set up by 4:00 a.m.," he said. "The tom flew down by 5:30 or 6:00 and started gobbling."
A half mile down the road, another tom perked up, and the hunters were surrounded by lively turkeys, non of which presented a shot.
As the morning wore on the action faded. Around 9:00 the cold and rain was starting to get to the hunters when Billings' father spied another bird making its way towards their three decoys.
"When I saw him I said 'Dad, he's got a third leg,'" said Billings who at first glance mistook the giant beard for an extra leg. "Then I said 'Dad! That's his beard,'" he said.
The patient hunters stopped calling and let the bird work in close. "I am left handed and couldn't get the angle for the shot," said Billings.
At about 20 yards, the tom came across a woodchuck in the field and fanned out and started strutting around the quadruped. The patient hunters continued to sit still, waiting for the perfect shot.
"I shot him at about 10-yards," Billings said.
After a few quick pictures were snapped with a cell-phone camera, the bird was reported at Messier's General Store in East Randolph. The beard was officially measured at 16 inches. "I measured it three times," said the weigh master at Messier's, who added she had another man come over and verify her measurement.
A Tough Ride Home
After a bit of celebration, the turkey was put in the back of the families pick-up truck for the hour-long drive home to South Burlington. During the trip, tragedy struck. According to Billings, something rubbed against the fragile beard, shortening its length by a few inches.
This is not as unique a situation as it might appear.
Last year Cody May shot what is now the new world record longbeard in Texas. After reporting his bird, that beard was also damaged in transport. After reviewing sworn affidavits by the reporting station attendant, and examining photographic evidence, the NWTF recognized May's tom as the new world record.
"That beard was awful brittle, "said May shortly after the incident. "If we had known it was a world record, we wouldn't have thrown it in the back of the pick-up and driven down the road at 70 miles per hour," he said.
Perhaps the biggest difference between May's situation and the one with the Billings bird is that May had several high resolution photos taken of his bird shortly after it was harvested. Unfortunately, the few photos Billings took only offer marginal detail.
Karen Cavender, who is in charge of records for the National Wild Turkey Federation was optimistic. "If it was a person of authority who was used to measuring beards on a regular basis, and if they sign an affidavit, I see no reason why it shouldn't be recognized," she said.
It should be noted that often with extremely large beards, they are very brittle. Frequently it is only a few hairs that survive for long at an exceptional length. The majority usually get worn down by natural wear and tear, including getting dragged on the
ground.
A
Tom For Samantha
Every
now and then you get to hear a hunting story that just makes
you feel proud to be a hunter and associated with people who
care about the future of the sport. Samantha Bernard's youth
turkey hunt on April 27th is just such an example. Having just
passed her hunters safety course a week earlier at the Putney
Gun Club, the 15-year-old from Jacksonville, Vermont quickly
made her instructors proud. In her own words:
 "I
had to get up on my knees and aim at the turkey's head which
was behind a fallen tree. When it moved and I saw its head and
beard…BOOM…I shot at it. I was about 30 yards
away from it. We all went charging down the hill [after
taking care of my gun] and there was my turkey. I was so
EXCITED. That was the greatest feeling in my life. It was my
first turkey and it was a nice one. It was a two-year-old
mature bird, 18 pounds, the beard was about 7½
inches. We had to walk all the way back to the truck, I
remember that it was a far walk, but I didn’t care. It was
all worth it!"
While we are exceptionally proud of
Samantha, there is another part of the story. Samantha's
mother, Tanya Bernard, adds "Mike Kolsun and Molly Cook
[Sam's hunting education instructors] have been so wonderful!
Their passion and love of the outdoors and hunting have taught
Samantha more than just the 'hunting' aspect. The course we
took in Putney featured 'hands on' lessons that will
stay with her forever. The other instructors saw how Sam
wanted to learn and were bending over backwards to accommodate
her in any way. What wonderful people."
Way to go Samantha and way to go hunter
education instructors! Look for Sam's complete story in a
future issue of Outdoors Magazine.
Chaise "Dead
Eye" Labrie was also a turkey hunting rookie, having just
passed his own hunters safety test a little more than two
weeks ago.  Inexperience
didn't prevent him from harvesting a magnificent tom on only
his second time ever hunting and he handled the adventure like
a seasoned professional.
His 19-pound
swinger had an 8 ½- inch beard and ¾-inch spurs. "Dead
Eye" made an exceptional shot at 30 yards with his 20
gauge single-shot.
"After
the bird was down all you could see was teeth and ears from a
very happy little boy," said Chaise's father, David
Labrie, of Bennington.
Chaise's older
brother, Cody, missed an exceptional bird just minutes before
while hunting with their very good family friend, Jeff Estes.
Rumor has it Cody is counting the seconds until this weekend
when he can hunt again and redeem himself.
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