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MassWildlife
News Release
All Media Inquiries: Contact (617) 626-1809
MassWildlife News is published 1-2 times/month. If you are interested in receiving the MW News electronically, send an e-mail to the following address: Join-MassWildlife.news@listserv.state.ma.us.
August 2009
- BATS IN THE BELFRY
- ANTLERLESS DEER PERMIT DRAWING RESULTS
- THE CHICKS ARE BANDED
- MASS OUTDOOR EXPO NEEDS VOLUNTEERS
- BOARD MEETING, WATERFOWL HEARING & EVENT HONORING SENATOR BREWER
- NEWS AND NOTES: Regulatory Actions Taken By Fisheries And Wildlife Board; Turkey Monograph Published; Early Goose Season Dates Set; Keep Counting Turkeys, Quabbin Deer Hunt Deadline
BATS IN THE BELFRY
With summer's hot, humid weather finally here, some Bay State homeowners may discover bats residing in their homes! Attics are the most common portion of a house in which bats roost and raise their young. After a few hot summer days, an attic may become too warm for the bats, forcing them out and sometimes into people's living quarters as they search for cooler places to roost. What's a homeowner to do? Fortunately, a single bat flying in a room can usually be dealt with quite easily. Open an outside window or door in the room containing the bat and close off the rest of the room from the house. It's usually only a matter of a few minutes of circling before the bat locates the open window and leaves the house. Bats do not attack people or fly into people's hair.
If a bat has landed, it can be assisted out of a house in several ways. For a bat on a curtain, place a jar, coffee can or small box over the bat, carefully working the animal into the container, and cover it. A bat on the floor can be covered with a towel. Another method is to put on leather gloves and simply pick up the bat and release it outdoors --don't use cotton gloves or handle a bat with bare hands. Whatever method is used, don't worry when the bat squeaks loudly when handled. Take the bat outdoors and release it. If anyone has had direct contact with a bat or if a bat is found in a room with a sleeping person, the bat should be safely captured but not released. Contact local health officials for assistance in evaluating potential rabies risk and submitting the bat to the Department of Public Health for rabies testing.
Little Brown Bats and Big Brown Bats are the most likely species to be found in buildings. In some cases, with small numbers of bats, people don't mind their presence and concentrate on blocking holes and cracks leading into the human living quarters. Where there is a large colony in house walls, biologists recommend that homeowners wait to initiate eviction proceedings until the first week of August through November. Waiting to evict the colony allows time for young bats to mature and leave the house on their own.
Because Massachusetts and other northeastern states are experiencing a sudden and unexpected decline of bat populations due to a white powdery fungus on bat faces called White Nose Syndrome, the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) reminds all property owners with a summer colony of 10 or more bats to report report the colony's location, type of structure where the bats reside, and how many bats are in the colony, by calling (508) 389-6360, or emailing natural.heritage@state.ma.us.
Learn how to evict bats safely or live with them using information
from MassWildlife's bat
webpage. The booklet, A
Homeowner's Guide to Bats is also available from MassWildlife offices.
To receive a hard copy of the booklet by mail, send a business-sized,
self-addressed, $1.22 cent-stamped 6-inch by 9-inch envelope to: Bat
Booklet, MassWildlife, 1 Rabbit Hill Rd, Westborough, MA, 01581. Homeowners
who wish to hire someone to evict a bat colony can find a list
of licensed Problem Animal Control agents on MassWildlife's website.
ANTLERLESS DEER PERMIT DRAWING RESULTS
The Antlerless Deer Permit Drawing took place on July 30, 2009 at the Hamilton Rod and Gun Club, Sturbridge. Results from the drawing are posted. Winning numbers are based on the last digit of the hunting or sporting license number. If the last digit of the hunting or sporting license matches any of the numbers listed in the zone for which a hunter applied, the hunter will be awarded a permit for that zone. For partial numbers, there will be a random selection from the total number of applicants with that number Not every applicant with the partial number will receive a permit. The number of random selectees for these partial digits is indicated in parentheses in the antlerless deer permit drawing results table.
All selected applicants will be notified with a yellow postcard in mid-August. This postcard is not a permit. To obtain the antlerless deer permit by the beginning of the archery season, the postcard and $5 fee must be returned by September 3, 2009 to "MassWildlife FHQ, 1 Rabbit Hill Road, Westborough, MA 01581." Permits will be sent out in a mass mailing in mid-September to those hunters who returned the yellow postcard and fee by the September 3rd deadline.
Applicants who were NOT selected through the drawing will receive a pink re-application postcard (also in mid-August). Hunters receiving a pink postcard will have the option to re-apply for a permit in a Wildlife Management Zone for which permits are still available. Re-application postcards will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis, so re-applicants should mail in postcards as soon as possible.
Over the counter sales of any remaining permits will commence October 5th. This will be the final opportunity to acquire antlerless deer permits in those zones for which permits remain. These permits will be available at select locations across the state on a first come first served basis. Please check the antlerless deer permit home page for future details regarding over-the-counter sales.
THE CHICKS ARE BANDED
The Bay State's resident Bald eagles and Peregrine falcons were the
focus of a banding effort by MassWildlife biologists during the months
of May and June. Dr. Tom French, Assistant Director of MassWildlife's
Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, reported an estimated
39 peregrine falcon chicks at 17 nests. "Peregrine nests are
popping up everywhere with two new nests at MIT in Cambridge and an
apartment building in New Bedford," said French. Falcon nest
locations include eight peregrine nesting sites in the Greater Metropolitan
Boston area, while Worcester, Fall River, Lawrence, Lowell, Deerfield,
Amherst and Springfield each host one nest.
MassWildlife biologists and technicians visited known or suspected
eagle nest sites from Fall River to Sheffield, to the Merrimack River
as well as the "core" population on Quabbin Reservoir and
the Connecticut River and banded a 37 eaglets. Of 22 eagle nesting
attempts, 21 were successful, resulting in the fledging of 37 eaglets,
an unusually high rate of success. Eagle nesting highlights also included
the discovery of three new nest sites among the towns of Hadley, Holyoke,
and Lunenburg. MassWildlife has estimated a statewide total of 27
eagle territories.
The banning of DDT in 1972 and subsequent restoration efforts brought
the Peregrine falcon and Bald eagle back from the brink of extinction
in Massachusetts and across the country. Banding of the young has
proven to be an important scientific tool in measuring the success
of restoration programs and learning about raptor survival rates,
dispersal distances, habitat preferences, and causes of death. The
Peregrine falcon was removed from the federal Endangered Species list
in 1999. The Bald eagle was delisted from the Federal Endangered Species
list in 2007, a tribute to the restoration efforts in states like
Massachusetts.
MASSACHUSETTS OUTDOOR EXPO NEEDS VOLUNTEERS
The 13th annual Massachusetts Outdoor Expo (Big MOE) is in need of enthusiastic volunteers to share their passion for wildlife and the outdoors with families and youth groups who are looking to learn new outdoor and wildlife related skills. The Big MOE celebrates outdoor skills, nature, art, and wildlife and will be held at the Hamilton Rod and Gun Club grounds in Sturbridge on September 37, 2009 from 9 A.M. - 4:30 P.M. The Big MOE, sponsored by the Facts About Wildlife and Nature Society (FAWNS), is in need of adult volunteers who would like to assist at several outdoor skills stations, including: bird box building, fishing, the arts and crafts tent, shooting stations, rock wall climb, and kayaking. Help with parking and greeting attendees would also be appreciated. Co-sponsors of the Big MOE include MassWildlife, Hamilton Rod and Gun Club, The Weatherby Foundation, White Tails Unlimited, and the Worcester County League of Sportsmen's Clubs. The Big MOE is the perfect opportunity to introduce young and old to outdoor skills and activities. Prospective volunteers should contact Gary Zima at gary.zima@state.ma.us or call him at (508) 389-6314.
BOARD MEETING, WATERFOWL HEARING & EVENT HONORING SENATOR BREWER
The Fisheries & Wildlife Board will hold its August meeting on Thursday August 27, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. at the Hubbardston Rod and Gun Club, 55 Williamsville Road (off Rte 69), Hubbardston.
A Public Hearing will be held this same day at 7:00 p.m. at the Hubbardston Road and Gun Club, relative to establishing seasons and bag limits for the 2009 - 2010 migratory game bird seasons. Public comment about the migratory game bird regulation proposals is also invited. As in past years, the Board will vote on migratory game bird seasons and bag limits immediately following this hearing.
During the break between the Board Meeting and the Public Hearing,
the Gun Owner's Action
League (GOAL) will host a chicken dinner at 5 p.m. at the Hubbardston
Rod and Gun Club to honor Senator Stephen M. Brewer with GOAL's Hank
Walker Centennial Goose Award. GOAL invites family, friends and other
interested people to join in this celebration for Senator Brewer. Please
RSVP by August 20 to Kim Golinski to reserve a meal. Contact her at
(508) 393-5333 ext. 206 or email kim@goal.org.
NEWS AND NOTES: Regulatory Actions Taken By Fisheries And Wildlife Board; Turkey Monograph Published; Early Goose Season Dates Set; Keep Counting Turkeys, Quabbin Deer Hunt Deadline
Regulatory Actions Taken By Fisheries And Wildlife Board -- On July 28, 2009, the Fisheries and Wildlife Board unanimously voted to prohibit the use of lead sinkers, lead weights, and lead fishing jigs with a mass of less than 1 ounce in the inland waters of Massachusetts. This regulatory change will not take effect until 2012.
Turkey Monograph Published -- The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife has published "The Wild Turkey in Massachusetts," by James E. Cardoza (Research Bulletin 20, 2009). This authoritative, technical work, by the biologist who since the 1969 has conducted much of the successful wild turkey restoration in Massachusetts, provides the first-ever, in-depth history of wild turkey restoration efforts in the Commonwealth. Topics include early, unsuccessful restoration efforts; successful restoration; turkey hunting; population dynamics; habitat; food habits; limiting factors; population assessment; techniques; challenges; and more. While technical in nature, this highly readable 172-page publication will also appeal to turkey hunters, upland bird enthusiasts, and wildlife-watchers throughout the northeast. To obtain a copy, contact the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, 1 Rabbit Hill Road, Westborough, MA 01581. Please include a check, payable to the Mass. Division of Fisheries & Wildlife, for $5.00 for postage and handling, note "Turkey Bulletin," and provide a mailing address with your order. Copies can also be picked up at no charge at the Division's Westborough Field Headquarters or at the Fisheries & Wildlife District Offices located in Acton, Belchertown, Bourne, West Boylston, and Pittsfield.
Early Goose Season Dates Set -- The early Canada goose hunting season dates are September 8 - September 25, 2009, with hunters allowed a bag limit of 7 birds per day. "Data collected from agency goose banding activities this summer indicate the early goose hunting seasons have kept populations stable in the central and western parts of the state and full bag limits are rarely reached," commented MassWildlife's Waterfowl Project Leader H Heusmann. "However, in northeastern and southeastern Massachusetts, where we find our densest goose populations, hunters frequently filled their 5-bird limit. This indicates that the potential to reduce what are often nuisance population levels of resident Canada geese can be increased with a higher bag limit. The early season provides goose hunters with ample hunting and gives more time to landowners to allow hunters to reduce the size of nuisance flocks of resident geese." Waterfowlers are reminded that state and federal waterfowl stamps are required for hunting waterfowl and that hunting hours begin one half hour before sunrise and end at sunset. Hunters planning to hunt ducks, geese, woodcock, and other migratory birds must also be registered with the Harvest Information Program (HIP) after purchasing a hunting license. This free registration number may be obtained by calling 1-800-WETLAND. Other migratory bird season dates and bag limits will be set by the Fisheries and Wildlife Board immediately following a public hearing on August 27, 2009, in Hubbardston. For more information on migratory game birds, go to www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/recreation/hunting/waterfowl/waterfowl_hunting_home.htm.
Keep Counting Turkeys! - Turkey enthusiasts are reminded that from now until August 31, interested citizens are encouraged to report any sightings of turkey broods (families) for MassWildlife's annual brood survey. A brood survey form to report this information may be found on the MassWildlife website. Send completed forms to: Turkey Brood Count, MassWildlife Field Headquarters, 1 Rabbit Hill Road, Westborough MA, 01581.
Quabbin Deer Hunt Deadline - Hunters are reminded that the deadline
to apply for the Quabbin Deer Hunt is August 15. Apply through the Department
of Conservation and Recreation's website at www.mass.gov/dcr/watersupply/watershed/hunt.htm
or call the Quabbin Visitor's Center at (413) 323-7221.
Last Updated: 08/07/2009