A picture of a 12 year old boy, with his hair still ruffled from the night before, squatting proudly behind his first gobbler is displayed in the corner of my bedroom. That boy was me, and the person who took that picture was a family friend; he cared enough about me and about passing on the hunting heritage that he dressed me in camouflage and took me afield. Growing up in the suburbs of Dallas with non-hunting parents, I may have never experienced the thrill of the hunt and beauty of the woods if it weren’t for the efforts of this generous friend.
The benefits of introducing someone to hunting are many. The greatest, to me, is the enjoyment of watching and listening as the birds, frogs, squirrels, rabbits, deer, and hogs come alive in response to the sunrise or nestle down for the night as the sun sets. The thrill and excitement as the targeted game presents itself and the shooting skills of the hunter are tested remain unrivalled. Life lessons such as patience, self control, and obedience to rules are easily taught and learned through hunting. Assuming a kill, one learns how to extract roasts, steaks, and sausage from the legs, ribs, or backs of wild animals. Lessons in land management and the importance of population control are learned first hand. Additionally, someone who has experienced ethical hunting will likely go from feelings of indifference (which can easily be swayed to opposition) to feelings of support for the activity. Even if they do not become an avid hunter, creating a supporter of hunting is vitally important to the future of hunting in our state and nation. As a hunter, the enjoyment of sharing in the excitement of someone’s first harvest is second only to your own.
I recently had the opportunity to introduce someone to hunting. This time it was a college buddy of mine who grew up in a non-hunting family in Houston. I took him to the shooting range where I taught him about proper gun handling and safety, followed by a little target practice. The next day, I had the thrill of taking him on his first feral hog hunt. At 31 years old, he was still so excited that he barely slept the night before; I, too, was almost giddy as I remembered back to my first hunts. If you are a hunter, please take a youth or adult who has never hunted before into the woods with you this fall. If you would like to take someone hunting, but don’t know any non-hunters, call me and I will line you up with an eager Texas A&M student . If you own land but aren’t a hunter, ask a trusted hunter to invite a new recruit to hunt on your property. If you have never been hunting and would like to experience it first hand, ask a fellow Harvey WMA member to take you. I promise you won’t regret it!
Friday, September 26, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
I’ve kept the hummingbird feeder hanging outside my kitchen window full of fresh, sugar water since noticing the first hummingbird zooming around my flower garden in March. Since then, there have been at least a few visiting “hummers” each week. They are always a welcomed sight while preparing breakfast in the morning or washing dishes after dinner in the evening as I’m fascinated by their incredibly fast wing beats and helicopter-like ability to hover in place and fly backward. In the last couple of weeks, the 2 or 3 regulars at our feeder have turned into flocks of ruby-throated hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) resembling swarms of mosquitoes. To my amazement, these birds are consuming more than 4 cups of sugar water every day!
From March to May, ruby-throated hummingbirds migrate from Mexico and Central America to and through Texas. They store up fat reserves and increase their body weight by as much as 50% before migrating across the Gulf of Mexico in as few as 18 hours. They can show up in our yards, literally, overnight. Some will follow the bloom of spring flowers and insect hatches northward to their breeding grounds in the northeastern U.S. and southern Canada. They leave their northern breeding grounds as early as July and as late as December in Texas. Males lead both the northern and southern migration.
Similar to most bird species, the females bear the responsibility of building nests, laying eggs, and caring for the young. They build a walnut-sized nest of spider silk, lichens, and plant down. These well-built nests can even be reused the following year. This nest holds two pea-sized eggs which the female will incubate for 12-16 days. Young are fed regurgitated nectar, spiders, and insects for about 10 days. Multiple broods may be raised each year, and hummingbirds can live as long as 12 years.
Adult male ruby-throats have an emerald green back, iridescent ruby red throat that may appear black under some lighting conditions, and a forked tail without white tips. Adult females are larger than males with an emerald green back, white breast and throat, and a rounded tail with white tips. Young of both sexes look like the adult female. These amazing birds weigh only 1/8th to 1/7th of an ounce. They can fly backwards, sideways, up, down, and even upside down for short distances. Their normal heart rate of 650 beats per minute (bpm) increases to 1,250bpm during flight. While hovering, their wings beat up to 80 times per second. The energy needed to maintain this high level of activity is provided by nectar, small insects, and spiders which they feed on 50-60 times per day. Nectar is lapped (not sucked) from plants and artificial feeders using their tubular tongue which extends well past the tip of their bill.
These fascinating little birds can provide excellent wildlife viewing as males try to defend the feeder from intruding hummers, multiple birds at a time will hover around the feeder, waiting for an opportunity to swoop in for a drink of the sugar water, they chirp and chatter as if scolding each other for taking too long, and chasing each other around the yard like young children playing tag. Even more intriguing to me than watching their behavior around the feeder, is watching them feed on their natural food sources of althea, honeysuckle, salvia, zinnia, and lantana. Recently, I even had one make several charges out of the elm tree I was dove hunting under as if to run me away from its territory.
From March to May, ruby-throated hummingbirds migrate from Mexico and Central America to and through Texas. They store up fat reserves and increase their body weight by as much as 50% before migrating across the Gulf of Mexico in as few as 18 hours. They can show up in our yards, literally, overnight. Some will follow the bloom of spring flowers and insect hatches northward to their breeding grounds in the northeastern U.S. and southern Canada. They leave their northern breeding grounds as early as July and as late as December in Texas. Males lead both the northern and southern migration.
Similar to most bird species, the females bear the responsibility of building nests, laying eggs, and caring for the young. They build a walnut-sized nest of spider silk, lichens, and plant down. These well-built nests can even be reused the following year. This nest holds two pea-sized eggs which the female will incubate for 12-16 days. Young are fed regurgitated nectar, spiders, and insects for about 10 days. Multiple broods may be raised each year, and hummingbirds can live as long as 12 years.
Adult male ruby-throats have an emerald green back, iridescent ruby red throat that may appear black under some lighting conditions, and a forked tail without white tips. Adult females are larger than males with an emerald green back, white breast and throat, and a rounded tail with white tips. Young of both sexes look like the adult female. These amazing birds weigh only 1/8th to 1/7th of an ounce. They can fly backwards, sideways, up, down, and even upside down for short distances. Their normal heart rate of 650 beats per minute (bpm) increases to 1,250bpm during flight. While hovering, their wings beat up to 80 times per second. The energy needed to maintain this high level of activity is provided by nectar, small insects, and spiders which they feed on 50-60 times per day. Nectar is lapped (not sucked) from plants and artificial feeders using their tubular tongue which extends well past the tip of their bill.
These fascinating little birds can provide excellent wildlife viewing as males try to defend the feeder from intruding hummers, multiple birds at a time will hover around the feeder, waiting for an opportunity to swoop in for a drink of the sugar water, they chirp and chatter as if scolding each other for taking too long, and chasing each other around the yard like young children playing tag. Even more intriguing to me than watching their behavior around the feeder, is watching them feed on their natural food sources of althea, honeysuckle, salvia, zinnia, and lantana. Recently, I even had one make several charges out of the elm tree I was dove hunting under as if to run me away from its territory.
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