Blade Outdoors

Autumn Owl Prowl set for Van Buren State Park

Van Buren State Park will host a "Who Put the WOO! in Halloween?"  Autumn Owl Prowl on Saturday, Oct. 27, from 7-9 p.m.The Black Swamp Raptor Center will have live owls on site for educational purposes, and an evening hike will follow, with a test of the owl-calling skills of the participants. Interested parties should gather at the south shore shelterhouse No. 3, off Township Road 229. Dress for the weather and the night hike that will be part of the event. Contact park naturalist Natalie Miller at 419-832-7662 for more information.

Ohio's forests have grown -- a lot

When we look across the vast stretches of agricultural acreage in Northwest Ohio, it would be easy to conclude that Ohio is mostly farmland today, with very little of the woods or forests that used to cover the landscape. That would be incorrect. The Buckeye State of 2012 is more than 30 percent forested, compared to a mere 12 percent forest in the early part of the 20th Century.  Over the past 80 years, the Division of Forestry of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has planted more than a half billion trees across the state. Private landowners and commercial operations have added millions more.

 

Field guides a valuable hunting aid

Waterford Press has released two new pocket-sized field guides that should be the companions of every hunter. These waterproof fold-out guides are rugged and easy to stash in the pack. The Animal Tracking guide and the Field Dressing Game guide are filled with great illustrations and plenty of information and detail.

The tracking guide includes tips on identifying the feeding signs, tracks, scats, burrows, dens, bedding areas and rubbings of North America’s most common mammals. The field dressing guide provides a simplified introduction to safe practices and procedures for field dressing various species of game and fish, including rabbits, squirrels, deer and large mammals, ducks/geese, pheasant, turkeys and small game birds. There are also useful facts about hunting etiquette, safe cooking of wild game and the edibility of reptiles.

Pollick's Maumee adventure airs Thursday

Blade Outdoors Editor Steve Pollick covered the length of the Maumee River on a canoe trip in 2011, and a documentary film on that expedition entitled “Romancing the River: a Maumee Love Story” will be aired at 8 p.m. on Thursday on WGTE as part of the “Toledo Stories” series. The hour-long film looks at the experience by the now-retired Pollick and his team as they covered the more than 120-mile length of the river, from its source in Fort Wayne to where the Maumee reaches downtown Toledo before dumping into Lake Erie. The film highlights the group’s journey, and the Maumee River’s history, wildlife, natural allure and the environmental challenges facing the waterway.

Black Swamp history to be presented

 A history of the Great Black Swamp will be presented in photos and words at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18, at the Paulding County Carnegie Library, in Paulding. The tales of northwest Ohio's earliest days will be told by local historian Clint Mauk.

There will also be a display of photographs from the National Center for Nature Photography exhibit “10,000 Acres: Preserved Forever”. These photographs by nationally recognized nature photographer Art Weber, show the northwest Ohio lands that are protected forever by the Black Swamp Conservancy.

The presentation is free and open to the public.

Deer hunt numbers go on the web

Ohio's deer hunters will be able to keep track of the harvest numbers from around the state this hunting season at the wildohio.com website. During the hunting season, a new report will go up on the Internet by noon each Wednesday. The weekly reports will offer a comparison of the total harvest this season to the same number of hunting days from previous years. The harvest will be broken down by longbow, crossbow, shotgun, handgun and muzzleloader kills.

The direct link to the website is http://bit.ly/ohiodeerharvest.

Coyote expert to speak at Wildwood

Dr. Stan Gehrt, a nationally recognized expert on coyotes, will speak at Ward Pavilion in Wildwood Metropark on Wednesday (Oct. 10) from 7-9 p.m. Coyotes have established an increasingly larger presence in many urban areas, including Toledo. Dr. Gehrt is an associate professor with the School of Environment & Natural Resources at The Ohio State University. He is the primary investigator of the Cook County Coyote Project, which is looking at the way coyotes have adapted to living in the Chicago area.

 

For more information contact:

Lee Richter, Ohio State University Extension, Lucas County

            419-578-6783      

Richter.71@osu.edu

 

(September 24, 2012)  Do you think you are hearing coyotes? Have you seen acoyote at dusk? Or are you interested in learning more about coyotes?   If you answered yes, we have something just for you!  

 

Originally known as ghosts of the plains, coyotes have now become ghosts of the cities, occasionally heard but rarely seen. A relatively recent phenomenon,coyotes have become the top carnivores in an increasing number of metropolitan areas across North America, including one of the largest urban centers in the Midwest — the Chicago metropolitan region. However, compared to other urban wildlife, many know very little about how coyotes are becoming successful in landscapes dominated by people.

 

Please join Ohio State University Extension in welcoming Dr. Stan Gehrt Wednesday, October 10, 2012, 7pm-9pm, at Ward Pavilion, Wildwood Metropark on Central Avenue, between Reynolds and Corey.  Dr. Stan Gehrt is an Associate Professor with the School of Environment & Natural Resources (SENR) and is the Principal Investigator of the Cook County Coyote Project.  His expertise has been called upon both nationally and internationally.  

 

The program is sponsored by the Extension’s Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalists of the Toledo Area.  Registration is $10.00.   You can RSVP by contacting the OSU Extension office at             419-578-6783      , or emailing Lee Richter at richter.71@osu.edu.

Ottawa refuge part of national celebration

Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, located east of Toledo off State Route 2, is celebrating National Wildlife Refuge Week with special events on Sunday, Oct. 14. A  permanent gallery exhibit has been established at the refuge to recognize the work of Bob Hines in bird conservation and education. The Hines Gallery, located on the third floor of the Visitor Center, will hold its opening on Oct. 14 at 1:30 p.m.

Following the opening of the gallery, the "Naturally Speaking" series will feature a talk at 2 p.m. by Dr. John D. Juriga, who has written a book chronicling the work done by Hines.

The refuge is also hosting a “Big Sit” -- an annual, international bird watching challenge to document as many birds that are seen or heard while the participants sit in a 17 foot circle. Jason Lewis, manager of the refuge, will host the event on Oct. 14th from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. Participants should gather on the west side of the woods accessible from the trail head parking lot.  

For additional information on the National Wildlife Refuge Week, call the refuge at: 419-898-0014.

Fall events keep Magee Marsh abuzz

The Magee Marsh Wildlife Area will join with Mother Nature to stage on a variety of autumn programs that should interest just about everyone. On Saturday (Oct. 6) a night hike starts at 7:30 p.m. at the bird center and after discovering the sights and sounds of a fall evening, there will be refreshments around the fire. BOO! on the Boardwalk takes place Oct. 27 from 6-8 p.m. There will be treats and surprises at the west end of the boardwalk and free pumpkins. Wear a costume, if you like. On Nov. 25 they will celebrate wooden feather day from noon to 4 p.m. You can see carvers at work, talk a walk through the marsh, a warm fire and homemade cookies, and vote on the best carved feather. The holiday open house takes place from noon to 5 p.m. on Dec. 2, with a variety of vendors selling unique gifts, a campfire, along with free food and live music, plus activities for the kids. Magee Marsh is located east of Toledo at 13229 West State Route 2. For directions or more information, call Mary at 419-898-0960, ext. 31.

 

Ohio's 2012 boating season safer than last, so far

Through the end of September, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' Division of Watercraft reported that there had been nine boating-related fatalities so far this season, six less than the previous year's total and well below the average over the last decade of 13 fatalities per year.  Boating fatalities have dropped overall from 184 in the previous decade (1993-2002) to 128 in the current decade (2003-2012), with just less than three months left in the reporting period. Increased public awareness, improved boating equipment, enhanced law enforcement and expanded boater safety education programs, along with the state’s mandatory boater education law, are all believed to have played a role in the reduction.