Virginia Wildlife

36 Pages·1996·4.9 MB·English

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—
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Enjojing
Virginia's Natural Resources
by Governor GeorgeAllen
With
huntingseason
uponus,Virginia's
wildlifeandabun-
WilliamL. Woodfin,Jr
dantnaturalresourcesprovide
greatopportunitiesforenjoying
Eachwow/^VirginiaWildlife theoutdoors. Sportsmen
providestimelyinformationtoour hunters,fishermenandothermen
constituents. Inthisspace, weinform andwomenwhoaremem—bersof
youofouraccomplishmentsandhoiv thesportingcommunity appre-
wecarryoutthemissionofthe ciatethevalueandvirtueof
DepartmentofGameandlnhind healthyresources. Webelievethis
Fisheries. Thismonthitisour outofanunderstandinggained
—
distinctprivilegetoprovideyouthis onlythroughexperience notbe-
messagefom GovernorAllen. causeanarticle,politician,orgov- sibilitytoensurethatfiituregenera-
ernmentbureaucratdeclareditas tionsolVirginiansareabletoshare
WilliamL. Woodfin,J truth. intheoutdooradventuresourfore-
-Director fathersexperiencedevenwhilewe
Virginiassportsmenaresome ourselvesareenjoyingthem.
ofthemostdedicatedstewardsof
wildlifeandwildlifehabitats. We Hunters, fishermenandothers
haveaspecialviewofthevalue whoenjoythegreatVirginiaout-
anddynamicnatureofVirginia's doorsmustworktogethertoensure
wildlife. Since 1988,Virginiahas thatourchildrencanalsohunt,fish,
re-opened96milesofstream- swimandexplore. Throughoutthe
spawninghabitatforshad,herring historyoftheCom—monwealth,this
andstripedbass. Deerandwild hasbeenthecase thosewhoutilize
turkeyarenowfarmoreabundant andexperiencetheenvironment
thantheyhavebeenatanypoint anditswildlifearetheoneswhotake
inthelastfourdecades. Thesere- theinitiativetopreserveanden-
sultsareinlargepartduetothe hancethem. Solutionstoenviron-
workofprivateassociationslike mentalchallengescomewheneach
huntclubsandnonprofitorgani- ofustakesanactivepartinourown
zations, inconjunctionwithVir- communitiesandwildlifeareasto
ginia'sownfineDepartmentof guaranteethatfiaturegenerationsof
GameandInlandFisheries. Virginianscanappreciateallour
naturalresources.
Hunting,fishingandother
outdooractivitieshavebeenfa- So,haveagreatandsafetime.
voritepastimesforgenerationsof TakeadvantageofVirginia'sfine
Virginians. TheCommonwealth huntingthisseasonandtheunique
isfortunatetohavesomeofthe naturalbeautyandbountyofour
bestforests,waterwaysandbeach- greatCommonwealththroughout
esinthecountry. Itisourrespon- theyear.
RGINIA
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Cover: Photoby©DwightDyke
Features
4 APowerfulWetlandbyPatKeyser
Sendingpowertototirstates,Virginia'sCloverPowerStation
providesawetliuidoasisforavarietyofwaterfowl.
8 HuntingWithoutDogs,ASilentArtbyBobGooch
Youcanhaveaquietdayinthewoodsandstillbeasuccessful
deerhunter.
12 TheHuntforOctoberSmallmouthsbyBruceIngram
Here'showtocatchVirginiasmalhnouthbassinthefall.
16 TealandWoodDucks,aColorfulBeginning
byCurtisBadger
Withducknumbersup,thisyear'searlyseasonmaybeone
toremember.
20 Virginia'sHottestNewDeerSeasonbyDennyQuaiff
BlacKpowderhuntersnowhaveavarietyofequipment
choicesfromhistorictomodern.
OctoberJournal
25 News 31 OctoberAfield
29 Habitat 32 PhotoTips
30 BoatingSafety 33 Recipes
Dedicatedto theConservation ofVirginia'sWildlifeandNaturalResources
VOLUME NUMBER
57 10
V
m£.
byPatKeyser As you adjust to the sight of one representVirginia's largestcomplex
of the largest capital investments in of managed wetlands west ofTide-
the history of Virginia, another sur- water.
Afterwindingthroughmiles prise awaits you. On 419 acres of Whiledeer,turkey,owls,andper-
ofbackroadsthatcrisscross floodplains located inimediately haps an occasional black bear may
cornfields, tobacco patches below the plant is the Virginia De- dowellinthisarea, the realwiiTiiers
androllinggreenpastureswherethe partment ofGame and Inland Fish- could turn out to be the dozens of
greatest hub of human activity is a eries' Open Space Easement. Life in species of waterbirds native to Vir-
quiet country store, you're just not theeasementisasdifferentfrom the ginia. Blue-winged teal, gadwaU,
looking for anything too modern, 24-hour-a-day bustle of generating widgeon, wood ducks, blackducks,
too technological. But there, above power, as the plant is from tlie sur- mallards, and ringnecks could all
oaksbarely stirred by a lazy breeze, roundingcountryside. become commonvisitors. Alsoben-
are two 444 foot tall towers! From Stretched along almost three efittingfromthehabitatwillbegreat
the next ridge you see that these milesoftheStauntonRiver,theease- blue herons, green-backed herons,
chimneys are connected to a large mentareahasbeendevelopedintoa American egrets, and kingfishers.
sprawlingcomplex. maze of wetlands and hardwood You might even see ospreys in the
Located just outside the quiet forests. In nearly 160 acres of man- areaorevenanoccasionalwiiitering
southside town of Clover (popula- madewetlandsthereare14different baldeagle.
tion215), on abluffoverlooking the impoundments. And just for good Perhaps one of the least obvious
Staunton River, is the recently com- measure, an enterprising colony of but most amazing visitors are the
pleted Clover Power Station. Con- beavershasmadetheircontribution shorebirds, such as the greater and
structionbeganonVirginia'snewest bybuildingabout25 acres of "natu- lesseryellow legsandsolitary sand-
electric power generating facility in ral" wetlands. Another 50 acres has pipers. They will visit the wetlands
1992. Four years later, the two-unit been planted back to bottomland mainlyduringspringmigration. It's
848megawattcoal-fired stationwas oaks to begin restoring the native critical for these birds to have high
sendingelectricityacrossfourstates. floodplainforests.Alltogetherthese cjuality feeding areas as tliey work
Sendingpower tofour
states, Virginia's Clover
etiand
Power Stationprovides
a wetland oasisfor a
variety ofwaterfowl
(Left)Otilynfrwliiiiuiivdi/rtnfsbcknvthetirwf.tntc-of-tlic-nrtCloverPoztvi-Station;salu<tiWiihvid.(Smallphotoslefttoright)Egicts(photohiAllenHcanic)are
amongthemanyregularvisitorstothesewetlands. FlashboardriserswillbeusedtoeoiitrolwaterIrvelsinordertoproduceanabundanceofwaterfowlplantssuchas
smartiL'ced(pink)andSpanishneedleixjellow).Precisecontrolofwaterlevelsalsoenablescreationofagoodmixofiypeiiwateramiivetlaud-vegetationbiiportantforwa-
terbirds.Theshallowestareasintheivetlandshaveagreatvarietyofvegetationincludingtheextremeh/importantduckfood,wildmillet(foreground).Ducksliketheblue-
wingedtealwillbenefitfromtheseareas.
OCTOBER 1996 5
their way back north and prepare Each is laid off to ensure that no to waterfowl. This whole process,
fornesting.Thisisespeciallyimpor- more than about 18" of water is in known as "moist-soil manage-
tant—when you consi—der their tiny the impoundment at full pool. This ment," mimics natural wetland cy-
size about80grams andtheirin- in turn allows for fairly precise con- cles and thus provides an abun-
credible migration from southern trol of water levels. The timing, danceofnativefoods.
SouthAmericatotheArctic! depthanddurationoffloodinghasa The plantingofthousandsofoak
(Topleft)TheserenityofClover'swetlandsarearemarkabletestamenttotheabilityof)iatureto
It certainly helps these tiny birds thrivenextdoortothe24-hoiir-a-daygenerationof848megazoattsofelectricitxj. (Above)Virginia
that the Clover wetlands are strate- Poweremployee,BillBolin(right),discussesplacementofiooodduckboxesontheprojectareawith
PatKei/ser, VDGITbiologist.
gically located along the Staunton
River. This river, like many others, l(oAobkoinvgetlheefwte)tCloaonpdesr.atPohrostpolsabnyf©orDzthLeucgohmtplDeytkieo.nofthefirstoftwowildlifeobservationtowersover-
servesasaflywayformigratingwa- (Oppositepage)The Cloverwetlands arestrategically locatedalong thebanks ofthe Staunton
terbirds. Many ducks travelling River,akeywaterfoivlflyway.GraphicsbyPets.
from nesting areas in the Great
LakesandeasternCanadianprairies great deal of influence over what seedlings and construction of the
usethisflywayastheywingtoward typeofwetlandhabitatdevelops. numerous levees that created the
the Atlantic coast. At Clover these To further ensure proper control wetland areas was no accident.
weary travelers can find an abun- offlooding, each impoundmenthas Rather, it was the result of several
dance of high quality feeding and its own flashboard riser, a water- years of planning, designing and
restinghabitat. level control device which will en- most of all cooperating. What has
Oneofthe purposes ofhavingso able floodingand dewateringofthe takenplaceatCloveriscertainlyim-
many different wetland impound- site as needed. Normally, water is pressive for wildlife. But it may be
ments at Clover is to ensure a high pulledoffanareaslowlyoveraperi- even more impressive when you
diversity of habitats can be created od of several weeks in early sum- considerallofthepartnersthatcame
Thisdiversitycanincludeareasbest mer. Later, toward the end of the togethertomakeanideaintoareali-
suited to fall migrating ducks, growing season, the impoundment
spring migrating shorebirds or is gradually reflooded Every few In the mid '80s Old Dominion
breedingheronsandegrets. years the soil in the unit will be Electric Cooperative and Virginia
This is accomplished in part by disced during the drawdown to Power began planning for a new
the design of the impoundments. help stimulate vegetation valuable power plant. As the process moved
VIRGINIAWILDLIFE
on, the idea of donating the flood- And all of this almost literally m with a bald eagle chasing ducks
plain areas that were acquired as a the shadows of two massive steam across a marsh, you just haven't
D
part of the plant site took shape. turbines spinning at an astounding beentoClover.
Soon the Game Department and 3600 rpms! If burning 314 tons of Pat Kei/ser isa wildlifebiologistwith theDe-
Ducks Unlimited became a part of coalperhour,24hoursadaytospin partment's WildlifeDivision.Heworksoutof
thepicture.Togetherthesefourpart- these turbines doesn't seem to fit theFannvilleFieldOffice.
ners contributed 25 percent each to
the cost of constructing the wet-
lands. Later, as plans fora liistorical
park at the site were explored, the
Department of Conservation and
Recreation became involved. Clear-
anceswereobtained fromtheCorps
of Engineers and the State Historic
Preservation Officebeforeconstruc-
tion began in 1995. Work should be
completedin1996.
Anadditionalpartnerbecamein-
volved this summer that should
make what is available to the ducks
and sandpipers available for every-
one to enjoy. Landmark Volunteers,
agroup thatgivesoutstandinghigh
schoolstudents summerserviceop-
portunities,cameonsiteandhelped
construct a 20-foot tall observation
tower overlooking the wetlands.
Localcitizenshelpedthe12students
outduringthetwoweeksinHalifax
by providing housing, leadership
andahomeawayfromhome.
Thetowerisaccessedbyanature
trail built by yet another new part-
ner: the Virginia Army National
Guard. As a part of the Virginian's
for Virginia program, these soldiers
cameon siteand built partofthe y4-
mile long nature trail. Plans are al-
ready underway to build a second
observation tower along the trail
nextsummer.
Although this project is
just now taking shape, the
possibilities are exciting.
These wetlands may be
hometohundredsperhaps
even thousands of migrat-
ing waterfowl and other
waterbirds. These wetlands
will also, be accessible to
school groups, bird-watchers,
duck-lovers, and anybody else who
knows the thrillofwatchinga flight
ofduckscuppingtheirwingsasthey
setfleintoaautumnmarsh.
OCTOBER 1996
-.%** -
-tSSf
^Lr
byBobGooch deer hunting. Just look at the vast confused, the term still-hunting is
west of the Blue Ridge country often app—lied incorrectly to stand-
On where the use of dogs to huiit deer hunting I suppose because the
a wall in the drawing has been illegal for years. Or hunterdoesn'tmove aboutorwalk.
roon^ of Ashlawn, the throughout most of the United Evenhoundhuntersusestands,but
Albemarle County home States for that matter. Hunting deer tlieydonotstill-hunt.
ofJames Monroe the fifth President withhoundsisanexceptioninstead Nope, the stand-hunter doesn't
of the United States, is a mural of a ofthe rule. So let's rule out dogs for move. In fact when a deer is ap-
red deer being chased by hounds. thepurposesofthisdiscussion. proachingMs stand hedoesn'teven
That says several things to the With modern archery tackle and breathe! In most hunting clubs
modern deer hunter. It points out, muzzleloading firearnis comple- where hounds are used, the hunter
for example, that the rich eastern menting conventional firearms, is placed on a stand with orders not
Virginia tradition of hunting deer today's deer hunter enjoys a lot of to move from it until the hunt mas-
with hounds goes back a long time; options. The compound bow has terreturns.
not just to the early days of this Stand-hunting is also popular
country, but even to the Old World among those who hunt without
wherechasingreddeerwithhounds dogs. The stand may be on the
was very popular with the landed ground or an elevated one. The ele-
gentry. It also says that when the vated stand takes many forms. It
early president wrote his famous may be a folding elevated stand
Monroe Doctrine declaring Ameri- ^till be A ^ucct^^{u[ such as is often used in the brush
can independence of European in- country of Texas. Such a stand is
fluence he made an exception for Attr ku^ttr. portable. Itiseasilyerected ortaken
huntingdeerwithhounds. down for moving to another more
Obviously hunting deer with
hounds predates the discovery of
America. Talkabouta richtradition!
Even so the practice is being
threatened today by a mushroom-
ing population that is eating up
hunting land at an alarming rate.
Justfindingaplacetohuntisbecom-
ing a problem for many hunters.
The desire to hunt with hounds
compounds that problem. A pair of
standorstill-hunterscanenjoygood
deer hunting on a 10-acre plot of
land, but turn loose a pack of
hounds on that same 10 acres and
the community erupts. In today's
hunting environment it just won't
work,orasthepoliticiansliketosay
"thatdogwon'thunt."
Today most deer hunting with made the archer a highly effective Still-luintin^^ischalleiigiiigbutpwbablifnotas
hounds is done in clubs where the hunter, and the modern muz- productivenshitntiugfromawell-placedtree
stand.
members pool their resources to zleloading rifles are a tremendous
lease large tracts of land, often the improvement over those used dur-
land of eastern timber companies. ing the period ofhistory they repre- promising point. In Virginia, how-
Given sufficient acreage away from sent. Dogs cannot be used during ever, this stand is rarely used. One
human populations, they can hunt the special a—rchery and blackpow- reason is the abundance of forest-
successfully without disttirbing the der seasons even in eastern Vir- lands and the ready-made stands in
nonhuntingpublic. giniawheredeerdogsareotherwise thewayoftrees.Portabletreestands
Smaller clubs or groups of legal. are very popular. There are many
hunters may u—se only a few small Throughout the vast range ofthe differentstylesonthemarketandall
beagle hounds or even bird dogs white-tailed deer, hunters employ a can be moved easily and quickly.
todrivedeer. Man drivesare anoth- pair of generally accepted hunting The other approach is a perma-
erpossibility. methods, stand-hunting or still- nent stand. These also take many
But hounds or dogs of other hunting. Most other methods are forms.Oftenitisnomorethanalad-
breedsarenotessential tosuccessful variationsofthese.Thetwoareoften der to a platform in the crotch of a
OCTOBER 1996
tree, a sturdy and comfortable seat standputsthehunterabovethenor-
on which the hunter sits quietly. mal vision of the deer, that doesn't
Once in place, it becomes pretty mean that he can throw caution to
mucha fixture. Iliketoadd astrong thewind. Hestillneedstositasqui-
line with which I can pull up or etly and inconspicuously as possi-
lowermyboworfirearm.Ideallythe ble.
permanent stand should be en- Andwhilehishumanscentisless
closedwithnetting,canvas,orsome ofaproblemonanelevatedstand,it
other material that conceals the can still reach an approaching deer.
hunter. For years I've heard that Maskingscentsareagoodidea,par-
deer don't look up, but I'm not so ticularlyforthebowhunter,and toa
sureanymore.Attheminimumthey less extent for the muzzleloading
seem to be able to sense a hunter's hunterortheconventionalrifleman.
presence even when there is no Ialwaysenjoyasessiononanele-
wind to carry his scent to them. vatedstandevenifIdon'tgetadeer.
Sometreestandsevenhaveroofsfor Theopportunitytowatchwildlifeis
protection from the weather. A real enhanced by the elevation. Just this
joyonarainyday. past season I had a dozen squirrels
The location of a stand, particu- play around my stand for hours.
larly a permanent one, is critical. Songbirds flit about close by, and
Thearcherwhoserange isvery lim- honking geese pass overhead.
ited has to place his stand with that Stand hunters often bag turkeys as
inmind. Theidealplaceisjustoffof wellasdeer.Theygenerallypassup
awell-used trail.Anothergoodspot shots at squirrels or other small (Above)Locationofyourtreestandiscritical
is a white oak ridge, but it may not game, feeling the critters are not forsuccess.
be productive during years when worth the disturbance shooting (Beloiu) Deerarewaryandalmost^anymove
the mast crop is low. Just keep in themcreates. by ahunteron theground-willhenoticed.
mind that your stand should give Still-hunring is an entirely differ-
you a shot at 30 yards or less. And ent game, one difficult for the
make sure there are good shooting bowhuntertousebecauseofhislim-
lanes. Having a deer well within ited range. The still-hunter moves,
range, but completely blocked by hoping that by doing so he can get
heavy foliage can be very frustrat- within range of a deer before the
ing. deerdetects him. It's a look and lis-
Firearms hunters have more op- ten,move,andlookand listenagain
tionsinthelocationofstands. Akey approach. Most deer are taken dur-
i
requirement here is good visibility ing the looking and listening stops.
for a reasonable distance. For muz- Adeerislesslikelytoseethehunter
zleloadersashotof100yardsisasafe then than when he is on the move. ¥
one, and the rifleman has consider- Still-hunting is a very challenging
ably more range. Long range shots waytohunt,butprobablyalittleless
from elevated stands are possible if effective than hunting from a well-
the visibility is good. This usually placedstand.
means a stand overlooking a large Still-hunting is a good choice
fieldorotheropenspace.Beingcare- whenhuntingnewterritorythatthe
ful about thebackground is a cardi- hunterhasn't had a chance to scout.
nal rule of safety in hunting with a This does not, however, mean that
rifle,butitislessofaproblemforthe scouting prior to the hunt is umiec-
hunter shooting from an elevated essary. Scouting will tell the hunter
stand. If he misses, the angle of his whenandwheretoexpectdeer,and
shotwillmostlikelyputhisbulletin he can concentrate his efforts in
thegroundinthevicinityofthespot thoseareas.
where stood the deer that escaped The still-hunting technique is
him. somewhat simple, but it calls for
The successful deer hunter sees good woodsmanship. The hunter
the deer before the deer sees him. selects the area he wants to hunt,
This is theadvantageofanelevated checksthewind,andmovesintoitif
stand. It gives the hunter the jump possible. This blows his scent away
on his quarry. While the elevated fromdeerhemightbeapproaching.
10 VIRGINIA WILDLIFE