Hunters shouldn’t cock their guns yet
Friday, October 19, 2007
BY FRED J. AUN
Star-Ledger Staff
Source: http://www.nj.com/sports/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1192769000316930.xml&coll=1
Ruffed Grouse and North Jersey woodcock season opened yesterday, but hunters might want to chill out and wait another week, says Jim DeSaye, president of the Ruffed Grouse Society Skylands Chapter.
DeSaye said he’s seeing a fair number of woodcock, but he is confident most of them are full-time denizens. The big influx of woodcock, those that show up after migrating from northern states, has yet to occur, he said.
That’s because, despite the date on the calendar, the birds have no reason to wing it south from New England. The mild weather that is blanketing New Jersey is also being found to the north, noted DeSaye.
“Woodcock numbers should be good this year, but — with all the warm weather we’ve had — people shouldn’t expect to go out the first weekend and knock them dead,” he commented. “They are still staying in New Hampshire and Maine and they won’t come down.”
If meteorologists’ predictions are accurate, that could soon change. “The long-range report has it getting honestly cold sometime next week,” said DeSaye. Some forecasts say night temperatures will dip below freezing by mid-week and “that would probably be a woodcock hunters best bet” for seeking “timberdoodles.”
“If you go out before then and don’t see any, don’t write the season off,” suggested DeSaye. “By next weekend, for all intents and purposes, it should be prime.”
As noted by the state Division of Fish and Wildlife, New Jersey is the only state that has “split zones” for woodcock hunting. This is due to the differences in temperature between North Jersey and South Jersey this time of year.
Woodcock hunting in the North Zone will end November 10, the day the season begins in the South Zone. In that zone, the season temporarily closes on Nov. 24, but reopens from Dec. 21 to Dec. 29.
The daily bag limit is three birds, with six birds in possession and there is no season limit. Gun hunting is banned Nov. 9 on state Wildlife Management Areas designated as Pheasant and Quail Stamp areas.
Hunting hours are 8 a.m. to a half-hour after sunset on Nov. 10 and from sunrise to a half-hour beyond sunset on all days afterward.
DeSaye said grouse hunters might find a few more birds than in the past. The Ruffed Grouse Society has been working hard to provide better grouse habitat throughout the state.
“We’re continuing our quest to try and restore the grouse population,” he said. “They don’t do an official count, but from what we hear, the numbers have been creeping upward for the last two or three years. They’re still not anything to write home about.”
The daily bag limit is two grouse and there is no season limit.
DeSaye warned hunters to be careful if they go out before the first frost. “Keep an eye out for snakes and poisonous spiders and bees this time of year,” he said. “We haven’t had the killer frost to drive these things away yet.”