N.H. Hunting Report - November 22, 2006

Green, green everywhere: This warm wet fall, and now almost officially winter, has been above normal for temperatures, with plenty of rain to keep fields across this state lush and green. These fields have been magnets for the state's deer herd. While there has been a fantastic crop of beechnuts in parts of the state and a plentiful supply of acorns in others, the lush green forage continues to pull plenty of deer into the fields at night. And it is not just deer that have been drawn to the green, but geese, which are essentially cows with wings, love to graze on the green gold too. Same goes for turkeys. Time spent in a tree stand along a good game trail to one of these lush green fields will be time well spent this fall. Think green, not white this fall while hunting. -- Eric Orff, wildlife biologist

Please note that all the Special Unit M deer permits for 2006 are gone.

Got more meat than you need? Share your fall harvest with the Hunt for the Hungry Program. It's part of the New Hampshire Food Bank, which distributes food to more than 270 pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters and group homes statewide, They accept donations of whole or processed game animals. Call (603) 669-9725.

The N.H. Hunting Digest is your best source for hunting season dates and details; click here (and then click on the orange icon) to download, or pick up a copy at Fish and Game offices and license agents statewide.

Click here to buy your N.H. hunting license online -- right now!

IN THIS ISSUE:

• Rut in Full Swing
  
• Got Ducks?
  
• Fall Shotgun Turkey Results
  
• Bear Season Update
  
• Moose Hunters Hit their Mark
  
• CWD Reminder

Rut in Full Swing - Deer Hunters Still Have Lots of Opportunity

Statewide, deer registrations as of November 12 are estimated at 7,670, or about 4% above the 2005 total of 7,366. Belknap and Grafton counties have logged the highest registration estimates since 2000, while Cheshire, Strafford, and Sullivan counties have the highest estimates in the entire 7-year comparison. This is particularly notable given the poor weather we've had on several key days of the season.

For a chart of the estimated deer kill by county through November 12, 2006, with comparisons to the previous 7 years, click here.

Either-sex firearm hunting opportunities have ended in most Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) and the regular firearm season in these units will be legally antlered bucks only through the end of that season on December 3 (November 26 in WMU A). The rut is in full swing, and, with the Thanksgiving holidays here, lots of good firearm and archery hunting opportunities remain. Don't forget -- blaze orange reduces hunting related incidents.

The youth got great results during their special weekend in October. Preliminary figures from the special youth weekend, are that youth had taken a total of 610 deer, clearly the best year ever for youth hunters on their weekend. The previous youth weekend harvest record was set in 2003, when 334 deer were taken. During the 2005 youth weekend, youth hunters took a total of 326 deer. -- Kent Gustafson, Deer Project Leader <Return to top>

Got Ducks?

The second half of New Hampshire's fall duck season gets underway on Wednesday, November 22, in both the coastal and inland zones. For inland waterfowl hunters, the season will last until December 17, and the coastal hunters will actually be able to hunt into the new year, as their season ends January 8, 2007.

This unusually warm, wet fall seems to have slowed the migration of mallards and black ducks to their usual winter haunts. As of the end of November, there is virtually no ice cover in any of the beaver ponds, rivers and ponds in much of the state. I've been flushing mallards and black ducks still tucked away in the high-water beaver ponds while deer hunting. Most years, these ponds have skimmed with ice by now, sending the ducks to our larger rivers and lakes or into urban areas.

There are plenty of ducks and geese that don't leave the Granite State at all over the winter, plus a whole bunch that start arriving to New Hampshire right about now to spend the winter. The fact is, over 10,000 ducks and geese winter right in New Hampshire. Most of them are already here!

Since the early 1950s Fish and Game biologists have been keeping tabs of our visitors down on the coast, particularly Great Bay, and since 1988, biologists have tracked the "inland" waterfowl as well. During the last decade, between 5,000 and 7,000 mallards have been tallied wintering on inland waters, some in every county of this state. While the more southern counties of Hillsborough and Rockingham have the majority of the birds, some were even tallied in Coos County in January! Plus, you can add to this total of mallards several hundred black ducks and a similar number of geese inland. By January, the aerial count on Great Bay has been running upwards of 7,000 birds, with nearly half being migratory geese from Canada. -- Eric Orff, wildlife biologist <Return to top>

Preliminary Fall Shotgun Turkey Results

The first-ever and limited fall shotgun turkey season in New Hampshire saw 824 hunters who purchase the $11 shotgun permit, harvest 115 turkeys (75 hens and 40 gobblers) from 8 WMUs in the western half of the state. The highest percentage of turkeys were shot by residents in western New Hampshire -- 84% were killed in the hunter's town of residence or an adjacent town.

This very moderate harvest of 75 hens and 40 gobblers over more than five counties and 8 WMUs - should have little impact on the total turkey population, the reproductive potential for summer 2007, or the harvest for the 2007 spring gobbler season. The fall 2006 shotgun harvest of 115 turkeys equaled just 3.3% of this year's spring harvest total of 3,559 turkeys taken in the May 2006 spring gobbler season. -- Ted Walski, Turkey Project Leader

Preliminary Bear Season Tally

The 2006 bear hunting season in New Hampshire has ended in all management regions throughout the state, giving us an unofficial tally for the season.. New Hampshire's 2006 bear season stood at 332 bears (205 males, 127 females). This was 40% below the preceding 5-year in-season average of 556 bears for this time period. Additionally, we were 23% behind last year's harvest for this time period. This year's harvest is very similar to the harvest achieved in 2002 (338 bears). -- Andy Timmins, Bear Project Leader. <Return to top>

Moose Hunters Hit their Mark

New Hampshire's 2006 moose season was a success, with preliminary figures showing that hunters took a total of 449 moose (168 cows and 281 bulls), for a statewide success rate of 67%. Once again, weather put moose hunters to the test this year. Hunters were hampered opening weekend by heavy rains, sleet, snow and strong winds that continued off and on all week. There was only one day of sun in the North Country during the season. In addition, this season happened to fall after the primary rut was over. Given the high winds and the lateness of the season, moose were not moving, and this affected success rates, especially in the North Country, where the weather was worst.

Though the success rate was down, the total number of moose taken statewide (449) was greater than last year because more permits were issued. Fish and Game issued 675 permits in 2006. In 2005, 525 permits were issued and a total of 408 moose were taken, yielding a 78% success rate. -- Kristine Rines, Moose Project Leader <Return to top>

CWD Reminder

If you're hunting in New York or any of the 16 CWD-positive jurisdictions, you MUST follow the regulations on importing deer or elk carcasses into New Hampshire. You may bring back ONLY deboned meat, antlers, upper canine teeth and/or hides or capes with no part of the head attached. Antlers attached to skullcaps or canine teeth must have all soft tissue removed. Remember, it's the law. For a Q&A on CWD, click here.

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