Delaware’s Division of Fish & Wildlife is now accepting applications for its low-number hunting license lottery. At 9 a.m. Tuesday, June 5 in the auditorium at DNREC’s main office in Dover, 25 Delaware hunting licenses with numbers less than 1,000 will be drawn via lottery.

Licenses will be awarded to applicants whose names are drawn starting with the lowest and ending with the highest number via a live drawing. The lottery is open to the public, but applicants need not be present. Winners will be notified by mail.

Additional details are presented below.

• The license will be assigned permanently to the successful applicant.
• An applicant must be at least 15 years of age, and not older than 64 years of age on July 1, 2012.
• The license holder will be notified annually by mail for renewal.
• The license is not transferable by the selected applicant to any individual.
• Individuals who currently hold a low-numbered license are not eligible.
• To be considered, an applicant must submit one and only one postcard, either by mail or hand-deliver it to the Richardson & Robbins building in Dover.

Postcards must be addressed to:

Candace Dunning
Low-Number Hunting License Lottery
Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife
89 Kings Highway
Dover, DE 19901

Include the following information on the reverse side of the postcard:

• applicant’s name
• street address
• city
• state
• ZIP code
• daytime phone number

Applications will not be included in the drawing if there is more than one postcard per applicant, or if postcards are received without the information above.

Applications must be postmarked on or before Tuesday, May 22 or hand-delivered to the Richardson & Robbins Building by 4:30 p.m. Friday, May 25. No applications will be accepted after that date under any circumstances.

For more information, please call Candace Dunning at 302-739-9918.

My article that ran in The News Journal on Feb. 2, 2012.

I don’t think I’ve ever really complained about any aspect of hunting.

I have expressed opinions about discourteous hunters, questionable hunting laws and overzealous anti-hunters, but opinions aren’t necessarily complaints.

In all my years of hunting I haven’t complained about season lengths, missed opportunities or my personal harvest totals. In fact, I haven’t even complained about the weather.

Until now.

Did I step into a haunted teleportation device some time around Halloween and get transported to some parallel world where Delaware winter doesn’t exist? Was it really almost sixty degrees in the last week of January? Has Mother Nature finally bought into global warming and retired to Florida?

Before my non-hunting readers question my sanity for complaining about a Delaware winter with hardly any snow or extended cold spells, let me explain: Weather affects hunting.

Ask just about any Delaware duck or goose hunter how they fared this waterfowl season, and you’re bound to receive one of two answers: one, it stunk, or two, it really stunk. Many of us sat for hours in boats, duck blinds and goose pits day after day for the past three months with little more to show for our efforts than windburn, a few completed crossword puzzles, and lessons in humility.

I was lucky enough to harvest a few ducks early in the season, but I continue to receive horror stories from hunters who harvested no ducks at all. What’s worse, I’ve heard from Canada goose hunters who never saw a goose in close proximity to their hunting setups.

I don’t believe there’s a problem with the overall waterfowl populations. Instead, I, like many local hunters, believe that this season’s uncharacteristically mild weather from New England through the Mid Atlantic just hasn’t forced ducks, geese, and other migratory game birds to adhere to their usual migration patterns. If conditions are favorable for birds to find food and resting areas in the northern portions of their migration paths, they may be less apt to fly further south at their usual pace.

Migratory bird hunting wasn’t the only thing thrown out of whack by this season’s phantom winter.

Deer hunting has also been strange. Late season, (usually) cold-weather deer hunters typically count on deer herding together and often focus their hunting efforts near winter food sources. This tactic usually pays off, but this year’s winter food sources are similar to those from the early fall. Granted there is less foliage, but the lack of snow cover makes nuts and other food sources easily accessible (including green grass and tree buds, which have been strangely present at various times this winter). Like the migratory birds, deer seem to have deviated from their normal winter patterns as a result of our disordered winter, and have presented new challenges to hunters.

My complaining may be misguided since it addresses the weather’s adverse effects on hunter success rates. The game animals probably love this vacation from Delaware winter, and their survival rates will only lead to higher population numbers.

On second thought, I withdraw my complaint.

It’s good for the game animals to beat the hunters every now and then.

Hunting the First State: A Guide to Delaware Hunting available at White Clay Creek, Cape Henlopen, Lums Pond, Trap Pond, and Delaware Seashore State Parks

Hunting the First State: A Guide to Delaware Hunting (Second Edition) is now available for purchase at select Delaware state park stores. Hunters, tourists, and park visitors can purchase the 217-page paperback at White Clay Creek, Cape Henlopen, Lums Pond, and Trap Pond State Parks and at the Indian River Life-Saving Station.

Hunting the First State: A Guide to Delaware Hunting (Second Edition) provides an in-depth look at hunting in Delaware and the surrounding region. Author and Delaware native Steven M. Kendus uses his hunting wisdom, experience, and research to preserve Delaware’s hunting legacy by sharing history, tactics, locations, tips, and tricks associated with Delaware hunting. Hunting The First State discusses common game species such as white-tailed deer, Canada geese, and ducks, but it also offers insight into Delaware coyotes, wild turkeys, red foxes, woodcocks, quail, snow geese, crows, rabbits, and more.

“Delaware’s state parks offer a wealth of recreational opportunities – including hunting and fishing,” said Author Steven M. Kendus. “I utilize the state parks year round, so I witness firsthand the number of visitors the parks receive.”

“Many of our state park locations have wonderful stores where tourists, hunters, and other park visitors can purchase Delaware-related merchandise, and I can’t think of a better place for Hunting The First State to be available,” Kendus continued.

Hunting The First State includes techniques, locations, tactics, and folklore from Kendus and some of Delaware’s most successful hunters and includes more than thirty-five photos of wildlife harvested in Delaware and the surrounding areas.

About Steven M. Kendus

Steven M. Kendus is a lifelong Delaware resident and avid outdoorsman dedicated to preserving hunting opportunities, lands, and traditions. He is a professional author, columnist, technical writer, and marketer, and has had various books and articles published. He is an active member of multiple hunting, shooting, and conservation organizations, including the National Rifle Association, National Wild Turkey Federation, Ducks Unlimited, Safari Club International, Brandywine Hundred Rod and Gun Club, and Delaware State Sportmen’s Association.

Mr. Kendus is frequently consulted as an authority on Delaware hunting. He has been a speaker at hunting-related community events, a guest on Sirius XM Patriot’s Cam & Company, and a guest host for Versus, where he interviewed hunting legends Tred Barta and David Morris.

He has a Bachelor of Arts in English – Business and Technical Writing from the University of Delaware. He is a senior member of the Society for Technical Communication and a member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America.

My column from The News Journal on January 19, 2012.

Delaware's 4-H Shooting Sports Program volunteer instructor George Bonniwell shows a young hunter how to range deer from a tree stand.

Although the number of Delaware hunting licenses issued to Delaware residents in 2010 was nearly 35 percent less than in the mid-1970s, the state has seen an uptick in the number of annual hunting licenses issued over the past several years.

Delaware’s strong deer and migratory waterfowl populations entice hunters to hunt the First State, but youth hunting programs are ensuring Delaware’s hunting traditions stay alive.

Through Delaware’s 4-H Shooting Sports Program, a youth development and education program emphasizing positive youth-adult interaction, peer leadership, and development of essential life skills, young people learn the disciplines of safe shooting and wildlife management. The program is open to kids 8 to 18 and is sponsored by the Cooperative Extension Service of the University of Delaware and Delaware State University.

The program encourages participation in natural resource and science programs by exposing participants to related content through shooting, hunting and other activities. It also complements state-sponsored hunter education programs by teaching safe and responsible use of firearms and archery equipment, sound decision making, self-discipline and concentration.

As part of the 4-H Shooting Sports Program, participants attend classroom and field activities, including waterfowl, small game and deer hunting events.

A 4-H Shooting Sports Program deer hunting event was held Jan. 7 on a Middletown-area farm. Following an on-site luncheon, kids 12-18 were teamed with adult mentors for an antlerless deer control hunt.

Delaware 4-H Shooting Sports Coordinator Jim Kemble viewed the event as valuable for developing life skills and strengthening families.

“We are serving an audience that really needs to be served,” Kemble said. “The hunt is really a family outreach event geared toward fun and camaraderie, with the added benefit of possibly bagging a deer.”

Derek DeBloois, 15, of Magnolia, participated in the hunt and harvested two female deer. As a junior instructor in the shooting sports program, he attributed his success to the shooting instruction he received from 4-H and the program’s volunteer hunting mentors.

“I learned different shooting positions and firearms safety from 4-H,” said DeBloois, “and the mentors were very important in [contributing] to our success in harvesting animals.”

Although classroom instruction is an important part of hunting education, there is nothing like live hunting action.

Justin Mabrey, 12, of Hartly, participated in the hunt and encountered multiple deer.

“With the [4-H] deer hunting I’ve actually been able to shoot deer, and any other time I haven’t been able to,” said Mabrey.

He explained how his hunting mentor helped him judge the distance the deer were from his stand before he shot and taught him how to determine button bucks from does.

Girls and boys participated in the hunt, but boys outnumbered girls five to one. Katelynn Norvell, 15, of Smyrna, recognized the small number of female participants.

“We need more females willing to participate. [They] need to realize that [hunting] is not just killing. It’s management of wildlife,” said Norvell. “Even though I didn’t have a chance to harvest a deer this time, it doesn’t mean I won’t try again.”

Hunt coordinator, farm manager and 4-H volunteer instructor Tom Thornton said he enjoys helping out with the youth deer hunts.

“The best part of the whole program is when all the kids come in after the hunt and share the stories they have,” Thornton said. “They’ll talk about this for weeks, and when we run into kids a year or two down the road, they’re still talking about the experience they had here.”

Hunting the First State: A Guide to Delaware Hunting available in Apple iBookstore, Amazon.com Kindle Store, and Barnes & Noble NOOK Book Store

WILMINGTON, DE — January 24, 2012 —Hunting the First State: A Guide to Delaware Hunting (Second Edition), published in paperback format in 2010,  is now available for digital purchase and download from leading eBook stores, including Apple iBookstore, Amazon.com Kindle Store, and Barnes & Noble NOOK Book Store.

Hunting the First State: A Guide to Delaware Hunting (Second Edition) provides an in-depth look at hunting in Delaware and the surrounding region. Author and Delaware native Steven M. Kendus uses his hunting wisdom, experience, and research to preserve Delaware’s hunting legacy by sharing history, tactics, locations, tips, and tricks associated with Delaware hunting. Hunting The First State discusses common game species such as white-tailed deer, Canada geese, and ducks, but it also offers insight into Delaware coyotes, wild turkeys, red foxes, woodcocks, quail, snow geese, crows, rabbits, and more.

“EBook reading devices are everywhere,” said Author Steven M. Kendus. “Hunters are increasingly turning to technology to assist them in the field, and many are favoring iPads, Kindles, and NOOKs over traditional books. After speaking with several ‘old-school’ hunters who received eReaders as holiday gifts, I was convinced that Hunting The First State had to be made available via the major eBook stores.”

Hunting The First State includes more than thirty-five photos of wildlife harvested in Delaware and the surrounding areas and includes techniques, locations, tactics, and folklore from Kendus and some of Delaware’s most successful hunters.

Digital downloads of Hunting the First State: A Guide to Delaware Hunting (Second Edition) are available immediately in the Apple iBookstore, Amazon.com Kindle Store, and Barnes & Noble NOOK Book Store from $8.99.

The Delaware hunting seasons are almost over. As usual, I have been trying to cram in as many hunts as possible (which leaves me little time to post hunt updates). Here’s a chance to catch up. Details of my past 4 weeks of hunts are listed below.

12/28/2011 – Duck hunted a private pond with no success. As soon as I walked into the pond before dawn, about 25 ducks flew out — all before shooting time. None came back. I tried the pond again in the evening and saw nothing. As an added bonus, I stepped in the deepest hole while walking out and flooded my waders.

12/30/2011 – Had a great pheasant hunt at Meadowview Preserve in New Jersey. Two neighbors, one of my daughters, my vizsla Gus, and I went on a stocked pheasant hunt in 60-degree weather. Weird weather for the end of December, but we had a nice hunt. We harvested 12 of the 16 stocked pheasants.

Great Pheasant Hunt at New Jersey's Meadowview Preserve

12/31/3011 – Curt Barkus, Gabriella, and I went on our last Delaware woodcock hunt of the season. What a great day it was! Gus pointed 3 woodcocks, and we harvested two. What’s more, Gabriella harvested her first woodcock — ever! Beautiful!

Steven and Gabriella Kendus with Gabriella's First Delaware Woodcock

1/7/2012 – I had the privilege of covering a 4-H Shooting Sports youth hunt. Literally, I saw about 100 deer. I will provide details in an upcoming post.

1/14/2012 – Since the Maryland woodcock season is still open, I purchased a Maryland license and hunted woodcocks with Curt Barkus. Within one hour of our bitter cold morning hunt, Gus got Curt his limit of 3 birds. We pushed on for 3 more hours, and I harvest one woodcock.

Curt Barkus with his first woodcock of the 2011-2012 season

1/16/2012  – Paul Quigley, Curt Barkus, and I hunted woodcocks in Maryland. It was even more cold than the previous hunt. We hunted hard and Got Paul his first two woodcocks in several years.

Paul Quigley and Steven M. Kendus with Quigley's First Woodcock of the 2011-2012 Season

1/21/2012 – Hunted deer in a snow, sleet, and freezing rain storm. I braved the elements for a morning hunt. While I could take the weather, my bow couldn’t. Ice from the freezing rain encased my bow, quiver, and arrows, so I left the woods by 8:30 AM.

Here is my column from The News Journal on January 5, 2012.

As I begin planning my 2012 hunting- and fishing-related activities, I can’t help looking back at 2011, a year that showed the unpredictable power of Mother Nature, the positive effects of wildlife conservation efforts, the much-needed preservation and sharing of hunting and fishing traditions and the common-sense progress toward hunting law reform.

The 2010-11 late deer, small game and waterfowl seasons were affected by heavy snow and bitter cold in the first weeks of 2011. While the snow and cold helped deer hunters hunting near food sources, the harsh weather hastened the southward migration of ducks, geese, woodcocks and other game birds, causing many hunters to put their guns away early.

Late-summer fishing was adversely affected by the winds, rain and runoff of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. In contrast, a rare October nor’easter led to successful early-season duck harvests for hunters who braved the rain, sleet, snow and wind that drove southward-bound ducks to Delaware’s waterways.

Although the Delaware duck season started out with promise, Mother Nature’s unpredictability surfaced again with above-average fall and winter temperatures from New England through the mid-Atlantic, seemingly slowing down the 2011 fall and winter migrations of ducks and geese. With 40-degree temperature swings over the past several days, it looks like Mother Nature’s bizarre grip will hold us for at least the first part of 2012.

The Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife celebrated a significant milestone in 2011: 100 years of wildlife conservation.

Some hunters disagree with certain seasons, regulations or enforcement techniques. But let’s face it, without the conservation efforts of the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife, hunting and fishing as we know it would not exist. Since October 1911, the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife (formerly the Board of Game and Fish Commissioners) has worked to establish hunting and fishing licenses, protect game species, re-introduce game species to Delaware, procure and preserve hunting and fishing lands and waterways, promote hunting and boating safety, and provide game donations to Delaware residents in need.

Many Delaware hunters and fishermen attempt to share their sporting traditions with others, and in 2011 I witnessed firsthand the positive effects of that.

My effort to share Delaware outdoors traditions ultimately begins with my family and friends, but it quickly spreads via my writings, speaking engagements and volunteer positions with various conservation organizations.

As a result of my involvement with Delaware’s hunting and fishing communities, I spent many hours afield with young people in 2011. I accompanied young hunters and anglers on their first hunts and fishing excursions, and I saw their (and their parents’) reactions when they harvested their first game or caught their first fish. The reactions reinforced the need to share the hunting and fishing traditions with more young people, and I encourage you all to do so in 2012.

Another noteworthy event of 2011 was the passing of a law that allows Delaware sportsmen to hunt on Sundays on private commercial hunting preserves. The law gives commercial game preserves the opportunity to compete with hunting preserves in neighboring states where Sunday hunting is allowed.

Although the new law limits Sunday hunting to commercial preserves, it provides hope for those of us who want to see overall reform of Delaware’s law that bans regular Sunday hunting. Perhaps 2012 is the year in which the law banning regular Sunday hunting in Delaware is lifted.

Mel Toponce with a Delaware Woodcock

Outdoors writer Mel Toponce joined me for a day-after-Christmas Delaware woodcock hunt. Mel, author of many hunting articles for various outdoors magazines and owner of Toponce Ranches (California), has hunted woodcocks from Canada to Louisiana, but today was his first time pursuing timberdoodles in the First State.

Mel is visiting family on the East Coast for the holidays, so he drove up from Virginia to meet me in Smyrna, Delaware. I picked him up around 7:30 AM, and we were in woodcock fields by 8:00 AM.

Mel, my vizsla Gus, and I walked my trusted woodcock spots with little success. Gus found no birds in the first two sapling fields we visited, but the third field proved to be the charm. Several flooded areas surrounded the third field, and I could tell after my first boggy step that there were woodcocks among the saplings. With woodcock splash (droppings) marking the ground, it was only a matter of minutes before Gus locked up on the first doodle.

Mel walked to Gus, and the first bird flushed. Mel dropped him with his second shot. I marked where the bird fell and made my way toward it. Gus and Mel also headed toward the downed bird. As they walked toward the fields edge, I saw another woodcock flush. Astoundingly, he landed mere feet from the location of the downed bird.

I called Gus and Mel over. As Gus approached the live bird, the doodle flushed. Mel swung on him and missed with two shots. As woodcock typically do, it only flew about 40 yards and pitched back into the sapling thicket. After retrieving the downed bird, we made our way toward the second bird.

Gus located and pointed the doodle, and Mel went in for the shot. Gus held the point for at least 3 minutes before Mel was able to flush it. The woodcock flew up, and Mel dropped him with one perfectly placed shot.

Gus pointed another timberdoodle, and I walked in to the flush him. Standing right behind Gus with my eyes into the sun, I stomped the brush and flushed the bird. The bird flew straight up, and I dropped him while the bird was no more than 6 feet from my gun barrel.

Mel, Gus, and I tried another field but found no other woodcocks and called it a day around 1:00 PM. We were both satisfied with the late-season Delaware woodcock hunt, and we may try to reconnect later this week.

If you are interested in hunting Columbian black tail deer, black bear, rio grande wild turkeys in California’s Solano and Siskiyou Counties, give Mel Toponce a call.

Two Delaware Woodcocks by Steven M. Kendus

I had a nice woodcock hunt last Saturday, December 17, 2011.

I deer hunted in the morning with no luck, so I arrived at a public woodcock hunting spot later than usual. I walked the entire field once and didn’t get a point from Gus, my vizsla. I hunted this area numerous times in the past, so I knew birds had to be present somewhere.

I walked the field again, this time paying special attention to the edges and wettest spots.

Within minutes, Gus locked on point. I stepped in and 3 woodcocks flushed from a raised patch of land in a marshy area. I dropped one with my Fox Sterlingworth 20 gauge. After Gus retrieved him, we pushed on. Gus point another lone bird on the edge of the field in a briar and honeysuckle thicket. The undergrowth was so thick, the timberdoodle couldn’t fly up, so it came straight out at my head! I ducked out of the way, and let him pass me. I drew a bead on him, and dropped him at about 25 yards. Check out the video below.

Two woodcocks in about 90 minutes wasn’t bad, so I called it a day. I will be back out this weekend.

I participated in a doe management hunt on Delaware public land on Monday, December 12.I saw a ton of deer, but came home with none.

For those of you who don’t know, this entire week is an “antlerless only” season, so only non-antlered deer can be legally harvested. Because the invited hunters on the management hunt were targeting mature does, we were encouraged to pass up doe fawns and button bucks. Here’s how my hunt went.

I arrived at my stand location about 1:30 PM. I saw my first deer — a 3-point buck — at 2:20. Around 4:00, two fawns and a mature doe came within 15 yards of me. The fawns presented easy shots, but I never had a clear shot at the big doe. I let them pass.

Around 4:30, I saw 8 deer running across the field that bordered the woods in which I was hunting. They entered the woods about 250 yards from me and made their way to me by 4:45. Now all 8 of these deer were in front of me at 20-30 yards. Wouldn’t you know it? Every one of them was a buck! There was one giant, one smaller shooter buck, and 6 little bucks.

Are you kidding me? I see does during buck season, and bucks during doe season!

Bring on the woodcock!