Local News

Does Anyone Squirrel Hunt Anymore?
By Douglas H. Domedion

Gray squirrel. 

Last week this column was about the Early Goose Season, but there is another early hunting season that is not nearly as popular as it used to be. It also begins Sept. 1 and goes to the end of February. The daily bag limit is generous at six per day, and the squirrels are good eating.

Many of us began our hunting passion with squirrel hunting when we were young. It not only taught us how to wait for good shots and then make quick clean kills, but also introduced us to the great outdoors and all its wonders. We got to watch undisturbed deer, turkey, fox and many other of nature’s creatures that roam our woods.

Squirrel hunting is a great way to introduce young folks to hunting, as the animal is plentiful and not hard to hunt. A shotgun as small as a .410 or a .22 rifle can be use successfully and not much more then some camouflage and a little patience is needed.

When I used to hunt squirrels as a boy a .22 rifle was used most of the time. Using it for squirrel hunting taught me how to move through the woods quietly and to use my eyes more than my feet to locate the quarry. This skill was a great aid when deer hunting became a passion to me.

Sitting in an area where the squirrels worked– nut trees like oaks and hickories– also taught me patience which was a necessary trait needed not only for deer hunting, but also for all other game hunting. In fact that ability has become one of the most important aspects of my nature photography.

Another plus for squirrel hunting is that it begins early when the outdoor conditions are more comfortable, allowing you to concentrate more on enjoying nature. The season is long, so after many of the other hunting seasons are closed you can still go out and hunt squirrels.

While hunting this tree-top resident you also learn more about other game such as deer and turkey. This knowledge may be a big factor in helping you being successful at bagging a deer or turkey.

When you think about it squirrel hunting is a lot of fun and has many benefits to hunters. If you haven’t taken the time to go after this crafty small-game animal in a while or have never hunted him, maybe you should do so.

Well it won’t be long and our little summer entertainer will be gone. The number of hummers have dropped at my feeders at camp and is down a little at home, but they are still keeping me busy refilling every few days. About the time September gets going the hummingbirds will be disappearing as they move south heading to South America. It still amazes me every time I think about that little bird making that nonstop 500-mile trip across the Gulf. I leave my feeders up, periodically cleaning and partly refilling them, until Oct. 1 because that is the latest I have ever seen one at my feeders. Keeping a feeder up for them that late will not delay their migration south as the old myth has it, but it may help a slow-traveling or young bird get through rougher times.

In the plant world one of my favorite late-summer flowers, the cardinal flower, is blooming. Actually it seemed to start a little earlier this year, but our funny weather all year has many things doing stuff a little different time wise. This brilliant red flower is found along the edge of water areas in both shade and full sun. When you see it it just seems to glow and really sets off the area. Of course it will grow in places where it is not wet such as in my woods surrounding my house and just off my front porch at camp that is on a slope and in full sun. They seem to do well for a few years and then they disappear, but there always seems to be a few around where they may have been abundant before. I knew a place a couple years ago along Oak Orchard Creek where they covered a low area with a solid blanket of red, but this year I see only a few there. I still get a few popping up around the house, even in places I had not had them before. Every time I see them they lighten my heart and always pull my eyes in that direction. I hope you spot one so you will be able to feel what I experience. 

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