Hunting & Trapping Newsletter

Brant Migration and Breeding Study

This winter, DEC kicked off a collaborative brant migration and breeding ecology study with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the Canadian Wildlife Service. Atlantic brant are a small goose species that breed in northern Canada, but winter in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Over 50% of the entire population winters along the shores of Long Island! During the next two years, crews will be marking brant with GPS transmitters and tiny geolocators. The geolocators are attached to a red and white plastic leg band.

If you encounter one of these in the field while hunting or birding, please report your observation. The information obtained obtained from geolocator units is vital to the success of the study.

DEC Tracks Distribution of New England Cottontails

Did you know that New York has more than one species of cottontail? If you didn’t, don’t feel bad because the New England cottontail (NEC) and Eastern cottontail look so similar that it’s nearly impossible to tell them apart with the naked eye! The most reliable way to distinguish between the two species is looking for differences in the DNA and skull characteristics.

As a species of special concern, DEC has developed two surveys to monitor the distribution of New England cottontails in the focus area east of the Hudson River that extends from Rensselaer County south through Westchester County. This winter, DEC staff are conducting field surveys including collecting “pellets” (i.e., rabbit scat) and using DNA extraction to identify New England cottontails.

If you are a rabbit hunter in the focus area, you can help too! If you harvest a rabbit in the focus area, you can send it to us for skull examination and help us determine the distribution of NYS’s New England cottontails. Cottontail season continues through February 28, so don’t hesitate to call us at (518) 402-8883 or email us with the subject line “NE Cottontail” to request survey materials or ask for more information.

Enhance Deer Habitat

February is the shortest month, but it can feel long and cold.  Deer don’t have cozy fireplaces to keep them warm; they fuel their internal furnace with fat stored during the fall and woody browse through winter. Thus, February is a great month for habitat management projects that involve cutting trees to provide new food and cover for deer and other wildlife.

Felling trees for firewood or forest thinning makes the tops immediately available to deer.  Later, stump sprouts and new plant growth caused by the gap in the tree canopy may provide additional browse opportunities.

Hinge-cuts are also a popular method of enhancing deer habitat and can often be accomplished with just a handsaw. Hinge-cutting involves cutting two-thirds through a small tree and pushing it over so that the uncut portion remains attached.  This method allows the tree to stay alive, but the top and the new growth are within deer’s reach. Hinge-cutting can also be used strategically to improve bedding and fawning cover or create natural screening for woodland openings and food plots.

To maximize benefit and preserve future timber value, learn to identify preferred winter deer foods and consult a forester or biologist for guidance.

Quality habitat improves deer survival and productivity and boosts body and antler size, setting the stage so you can “let young bucks go and watch them grow!”