With deer seasons upon us, DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife is reminding hunters that there is a new toll-free phone number and web site address to access the deer registration system. This phone and internet system is also required to obtain a Harvest Information Program (HIP) Number, a License Exempt Number (LEN) and a Snow Goose Conservation Order Permit Number.

The new toll-free number to access this system is 1-855-335-4868 (1-855-DELHUNT).  The new web address is www.dnrec.delaware.gov/delhunt.  A customer service number, 302-735-3600, has also been established to help hunters with questions about the system.

“We need to remind hunters of this phone number and website change because many have stored the old number  among their ”favorites” on their phone and computer,” said Rob Hossler, Game Species Program Manager. “The requirements for hunters are otherwise similar to previous years although we have tried to improve the system to make it more user-friendly,” he added.

• Similar to last year, all successful deer hunters must register their deer within 24 hours of harvest. Using the phone and internet system, hunters will be asked a series of questions after which they will be given a deer harvest registration number. This number will serve as proof the animal was properly checked and should be kept for the hunter’s records and written in ink on the deer tag for the animal harvested. Hunters who take their deer to a butcher shop or taxidermist also will need to supply this number to the shop owner as proof the deer was registered.

• Hunters and trappers who are exempt from purchasing a license are required to obtain a license ex­empt number (LEN) from the Division at no cost. This number, also known as the hunter identification number (HIN), must be obtained annually and used whenever a hunter is asked for a license number, such as for registering a deer. If a license-exempt hunter chooses to purchase a license anyway, they are not required to obtain a LEN number. The LEN system was created so that game harvest and opinions of license-exempt hunters and trappers could be evaluated and considered when establishing new stat­utes, regulations and policies.

• As in previous years, for the 2011-2012 season Delaware migratory bird hunters must obtain a HIP number as required under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Harvest Information Program. To get the number using the phone and internet system, hunters will be asked to provide name and address, and answer a few ques­tions about their previous year’s hunting effort and success with migratory birds, including ducks, geese, doves, woodcock, rails, snipe and coots. This number is available free of charge.

• Hunters interested in participating in the 2012 Snow Goose Conservation Order (CO) must have a valid Delaware or Maryland hunting license, a 2011 Delaware waterfowl stamp (Federal stamp not required), a Delaware HIP number and the free CO permit issued by the Division. This permit can be obtained, after Jan. 1, 2012, by computer registration at www.dnrec.delaware.gov/del­hunt. This permit is available free of charge.

For questions about the hunter registration system, visit the website or call the customer service number at 302-735-3600.

The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife is alerting hunters that there is a deer season date error in the printed version of the 2011 Delaware Hunting and Trapping Guide.

The table of deer seasons on page 18 lists Oct. 2 as an antlerless deer season day. Oct. 2 is a Sunday, and Delaware has no Sunday hunting. The remaining dates are correct.

Please pass this information along to others.

The online version of the 2011 Delaware Hunting and Trapping Guide (which has been corrected) can be viewed at www.dnrec.delaware.gov/fw/ .

Here is my article that ran in Thursday’s News Journal.

For those of you who follow me on HuntingTheFirstState.com, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, you were treated to a multimedia barrage last Saturday that showed and described my multiple encounters with fawns.

With my bow in one hand and my iPhone in the other, I couldn’t help but capture the day’s events on video.

My predawn arrival in the woods was nearly silenced by the wet ground beneath my boots, so I was able to creep deep into the woods without being heard by the ever-alert ears of deer.

As blue daylight began filtering through the trees, three deer walked about 80 yards from me. Hunting from the ground, I moved toward them, using the low light, chirping crickets, and buzzing mosquitoes to mask my movement. Although I fooled the deer’s eyes and ears, I couldn’t quite fool their noses. One doe caught my scent and blew, just before all three bounded away.

Hoping more deer would move through the small oak grove, I trusted my bright green camouflage and backed myself into some poke bushes. As the sun rose, I saw movement to my right. I thought the slight flicker was a rabbit or squirrel, but then I saw two big ears and two black eyes staring at me. Just 20 yards away was a relatively recently born fawn, curled up in the poke bushes like a lapdog, with its head barely higher than my knee.

I turned to walk away, but the fawn was intrigued and naive enough to stand up and walk with me. Rather than lead the fawn away from where its mother left it, I stopped and tried to shoo it away. I think it mistook my flailing hands for the flicking tail of a deer, and it just stood and stared at me. So I began filming. And tweeting. And posting videos to Facebook and YouTube.

Then I noticed two more fawns walking up behind me.

Now I have been known to spin a yarn or two, but believe me when I tell you that one of these other fawns was going to walk right into me. It didn’t see me camouflaged against the bushes, so I had to shoo this one away before its head plowed into my hip. While this fawn and its friend still had white spots on their tan coats, they were considerably larger than the little one standing behind me. Their natural instincts were more in tune than the little one’s, and they bounded away a bit before stopping to check me out. I filmed the two newcomers before they ran off in the direction from which they came. Astounded, I turned the iPhone’s camera to the first fawn and watched it walk back to the bushes and bed down.

I watched for more than an hour as the fawn slept, nibbled leaves, stood up, circled, and slept some more. When I saw the fawn’s head down, I snuck away.

Beating the early season heat, I left the woods at 9:30 a.m. and returned around 4:30 p.m. for an afternoon hunt. Thinking for sure the fawn would be gone after seven hours, I returned to my morning spot. As I backed myself into the poke bushes, the nearly invisible fawn stood up from its hiding spot and stared at me again. I quickly grabbed my iPhone and filmed the fawn as it walked directly to me. When the fawn was within 6 feet of me, it shook its head, stomped a few times, and returned to its hiding spot.

Though fascinated, I again managed to sneak away, staying just close enough to keep an eye on the fawn’s hiding spot. As I suspected (and as I had hoped), mom returned for her fawn — albeit 13 hours after she left her. Around 7 p.m., I saw the fawn stand up, and I heard it bleat multiple times. A slender doe cautiously walked in behind the fawn, and both walked away together.

Not one arrow left my quiver last Saturday. Not one buck crossed my path. But I had one of my best hunts.

I know some are questioning my last statement and are struggling with the false dichotomy between hunting and nature loving, but rest assured that my love for nature is what fuels my passion for conservation through legal, properly regulated hunting.

Here’s another video of the fawn that walked up to me while bowhunting in Delaware on Saturday 9/10. Cool stuff!

I was in the Delaware deer woods by 5:15 AM today, and I was glad I opted for an early hunt. While I didn’t harvest a deer, I had multiple opportunities.

I jumped a small buck and a couple mature does as the sun was coming up, but I had no shot with my bow. I set up on the ground and noticed a fawn walking to me. My bright green camo worked superbly, and the fawn never saw me. It ended up bedding down directly behind me.

About 30 minutes later, two more fawns walked right to me. Seriously, one came within 5 yards of me. It never saw me until I reached for my iPhone. Check out the video.

I just pulled my memory card from one of my suburban game cameras near Middletown, Delaware. Out of 22 photos, only two of them showed deer near my stand during legal hunting hours.

This big boy came through around 2:30 AM.

Hunting The First State Suburban Buck on Game Camera

Delaware archery deer season and Delaware dove hunting season are weeks away! Now’s the time to learn all you can about Delaware hunting!

For a limited time (now through Friday, July 15, 2011), you can receive 20% off your order of Hunting The First State: A Guide to Delaware Hunting when you order through this site (that’s www.HuntingTheFirstState.com) and use Code BIG305 at Lulu.com checkout!

Order a copy for home and a copy for your hunting pack! Order a copy for a friend! Order a copy for your dad! Whatever the case, order now because you can save 20%!

Remember to use Code BIG305 at Lulu.com checkout!

In desperate need of some down time, I spent four hours of my Saturday reading The Hunt (216 pages, AuthorHouse, ISBN-13: 978-14520123, $14.99) by David Francis. While the novel presents an engaging story about an aging hunter’s pursuit of the whitetail king of Jenkins Mountain, it provides an emotional look into the one obstacle that no hunter can overcome.

Francis uses his knowledge of the outdoors and his keen descriptions to take us back to a time when hunting was more pure and simple, and he deftly captures the heart-pounding thrill of the hunt that continues to drive any outdoorsman who pursues trophy whitetail deer. Through the aging veteran hunter Elmer’s reflections and actions, Francis shows how hunting profoundly affects individuals, families, and communities, and shows how deep hunting values, traditions, and passions run.

The Hunt provides colorful detail of Elmer’s past and present whitetail deer hunts, but it gives the reader insight into a much more profound hunt, one in which Elmer is searching for peace and closure.  With trigger-pulling, hard-hitting, buck-fighting action and soul-searching, tear-jerking, introspective sentimentality, The Hunt kept me thoroughly entertained.

The Hunt is available in paperback at various booksellers, including authorhouse.com, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com.

Find out more about David Francis at http://davidfrancis.posterous.com.

If you are still looking for that perfect gift for the Delaware hunter (ALERT! Father’s Day is coming), order Hunting The First State: A Guide to Delaware Hunting – Second Edition through www.huntingthefirststate.com and receive 15% OFF through MAY 31!

To receive 15% OFF your copy of Hunting The First State: A Guide to Delaware Hunting – Second Edition enter code MAYSAVE305 at checkout!

Receive 15% Hunting The First State through May 31!

According to the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife, Delaware hunters harvested 14,183 deer during the 2010-11 season. The total harvest was more than 14 percent higher than the 2009-10 season and ranks as the third highest harvest all time. Good hunting weather during the October muzzleloader and November shotgun seasons contributed to the high harvest numbers.

“Unlike last season, we did not experience any major negative weather events during any of our productive deer seasons, which resulted in an overall increase in the harvest this past season,” said Joe Rogerson, deer and furbearer biologist with the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife.  “The seasons impacted by weather during the 2009-10 season were the October muzzleloader and November shotgun seasons and the harvest this past year was up considerably during these two seasons but relatively stable during the other seasons.  This clearly shows that the nor’easters were a primary cause of the harvest decline during the 2009-10 season.”

Of the total harvest, 28.1 percent were antlered deer and 71.8 percent were antlerless. Fifty-three and half percent were female deer and 46.5 percent were males.

2010-11 marked the first time that hunters could use crossbows to harvest deer from Sept. 1, 2010 through Jan. 31, 2011 within the newly created crossbow season.

“Although the season was new, Delaware hunters still managed to harvest 398 deer during the crossbow season, compared to 1,400 during the traditional archery season,” said Rogerson. “When the harvest from the two seasons was combined, 1,798 deer were harvested which ranks as the all-time highest harvest for archery equipment, 116 more deer compared to the previous high of 1,682 deer taken during the 2008-09 archery season.”