Camera Critters: Male Cardinal

Cardinals are favorite visitors at bird feeders. Here a male cardinal perches atop a natural feeding station.

Canon 40-D: 100-400mm at 285mm

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More Winter Wildlife: Conditions Improve

Treacherous Walking Conditions

In the last post, we found the ground covered with a layer of snow, with a very hard crust that made walking extremely difficult for wildlife. Here, an adult whitetail doe gingerly walks across the glassy surface. The tracks in the snow were made when it was soft, but later there was a heavy rainstorm, which created the treacherous conditions when the temperatures plummeted below freezing.

For a time living conditions were difficult for wildlife, but we were fortunate enough to have a few days with temperatures in the 40s F, and the snow and ice melted through to the bare ground in certain spots.

The first areas to melt are usually ones shielded from the wind and facing to the southwest. These are the areas that receive the longest period of sunlight during the day.

Eastern Wild Turkey And Deer Feeding Where The Snow Has Melted

Once the underlying grass or leaves is exposed, life becomes much easier for wildlife and they often spend much of the day feeding and resting in these areas.


The squirrels are still coming to the bird feeding station. This is the best photograph of one that I have been able to get so far this winter.

Close Encounter With A Grey Squirrel

Stay tuned for more winter wildlife photos and a detailed account of the road hunting incident, which was discussed in the post of Dec. 13, 2008.

Camera Critters: Winter

Winter, the thermometer hovers near zero, the ground is covered with a glare of snow and ice, caused by substantial rainfall on top of a previous coat of snow. This is the dreaded "Hunger Moon" and the creatures of the great outdoors are locked in a bitter struggle for survival. Fortunately the snowfall is not deep in our area, but the hard crust makes it difficult for the deer to walk and for smaller species to dig through to underlying food sources.

Canon 40-D: Whitetail Family, Canon 70-200mm at 135mm

The birds are visiting the feeders, giving one a lot of super photographic opportunities.

Canon 40-D: Tufted Titmouse, 300mmf4 Canon 1.4 extender

Grey Squirrels soon find a bird feeding operation, and in this case they are welcome visitors. I have few truly excellent squirrel photographs and wish to utilize this situation to remedy that shortage.

Canon 40-D: Grey Squirrel 100-400mm Canon at 400mm

Hopefully I will have more opportunities to photograph them in the days to come.

For more Camera Critters photographs, click Here!

Pennsylvania Game Commission Proposes Seasons And Bag Limits

On Tuesday The Pennsylvania Game Commission released the proposed hunting seasons and bag limits for the coming year. The Commission will accept public comments on these proposals and other Board actions between now and the next meeting of The Board Of Commissions on April 20-21st.

To view the entire list of proposed seasons and bag limits read News Release 013-09 on The Agency's website.

We will focus on the Pennsylvania Elk Herd in this post. A total of 59 licenses will be issued which is four more than last year. Last year's allocation was 45 for the November hunt and 10 for the September hunt, for a total of 55 licenses. This was the last year for the September hunt, so one must bear this in mind when evaluating the impact of the allocations. It is easy to forget the ten licenses allocated for the September 2008 hunt, do the math wrong, and come up with an increase of 14.

Bull 62 and Harem Near Gilbert Viewing Area:10/2/08

An increase of four animals does not sound like a lot, but the important decisions have yet to be made. As of yet information has not been released on how tags will be divided between antlered and antlerless elk, or what the allocations for the Hunt Zones will be.

Bull 8A At Pond-Gilbert Viewing Area: 10/1/08

Will The Agency continue to target the animals that frequent the viewing areas on Winslow Hill? Will there be action to further reduce the No Hunting Zone? Only time will tell!