Friday, June 4, 2021

HIT or Mismanagement...

Well here it is Thursday again and My blog comes out at Midnight tonight so I better get busy and create a post!  This week sort of got away from me.  

So the first part of the week I was  not 100% then latter part of the week it rained, right there in the middle of all that I went in search of harmony.  Did I find it?  Some of it found me right here at  home. 



I see deer almost daily in my field

 One of the coolest spots I found was on my way to somewhere else.  I have taken to driving the even farther back way to get to Sandhills because US 1 is so busy with log trucks and other semi's I like to mosey, they are in a hurry.  SO I take the back way and even bypass 2 small towns that are only one block long LOL...I know I've drifted well beyond hermitress. 



So I pass through this area where there is some big Ag fields, and open space and I saw these Spanish Bayonets' in bloom.  


And some really Big garlic plants.  I believe this was an old homestead lot as I saw some old foundations here and there.  




And all this lovely stuff is growing under the watchful eye of the Blue Grosbeak up on the wire, 


And the Eastern Towhee on a prickly briar stem...


Once at Sandhills, I spooked a Great Blue Heron up a pine tree...


And a stop at Pool D gave me a look at a young Eastern Phoebe learning how to hunt on his own...I know they had their nest under the boardwalk of Pool D.  



And this shy Grey Catbird hid in the shadows but couldn't resist singing and gave away his location...



I pulled over and watched this Red Headed Woodpecker showing off his brilliant feathers. 



The ponds are kept too deep for waterfowl to flourish...why you ask? So hunters and fishermen can get a boat in the water...too shallow they get stuck...hmmm 

I was on my way to Dove Field A,


...where I never  see any Dove, actually I saw NOTHING there.  It was rather bleak.  Sometimes I have to wonder at the "managed" areas, there is nothing there to see.  But I came to ride my bike across the field and back.   The last time I was here grasshoppers were everywhere and  American Kestrel...today since they plowed up the field Nothing! The field is "managed" so white men with guns (Im on the verge of a rant)  can come to kill Dove...in the process they kill everything that is natural and even the Doves don't fall for it.  BAD management is at the root of why this Refuge has so few success stories in the area of waterfowl and grassland species. They are managing for the WRONG activity.  Plant some millet lets get some Painted Bunting, and some Dickcissel and some Blue Grosbeak in here and Birders will come by the hoards.  Hunters are has beens!!

Almost came a "dirter" here...my start and end point is over at the green tree line in the distance.  

They are growing quite a bit of Wild Onion, in other areas where they burn, then let grow what nature has put there birds are there.  Those areas are marked no Hunting.  So my ?? is does Hunting provide good habitat management? I don't think so. 


And on the edges where the tractors couldn't go some passion flowers



Over on the verge of the field where some natural grasses were growing an Eastern Kingbird was keenly looking for a meal...


Observing wildlife and birds is my hobby and my passion...it makes me happy and it fills me up with good feelings, I don't think setting wild life up for slaughter is a good thing.  WHEN will this tide ever turn left?  Just goes to show the current way is not the best way.  SO Many of our refuges are being mismanaged for the purpose of hunting.  IF they were managing for observation  and continuation of the species more people and more wildlife would benefit, currently a few white men in pick up trucks toting guns have more SAY then a middle aged couple in a Subaru. 


 According to the report I read  put out by the Fish n Wildlife Service in 2016, 43 million people identify as birders, they are on average earning $70,000 a yr and spend $80 Billion dollars in the process. Where as HUNTING:  13.7 Million considered themselves as hunters and spent $12 Billion annually. OK big difference, and yet where is the political clout?


After my dusty ride there and back and some near misses in deep sand,  I drove to lake Mays and had a sit by the water and ate a snack before driving home.  


So in closing I guess what I am saying is let it be known what side of the aisle you're on, we've been fed this line  of misinformation long enough that Hunters are the ones funding our wild spaces, I call BS on that one! Just one more Incorrect piece of info that is driving policy in this country.  

Speak your truth..

PEACE
Every day is a new Adventure.

13 comments:

  1. Why they allow shooting of small birds is beyond me and now days there is no need to hunt for food and these small birds are not even a meal. Malta and Italy in Spring allow the shooting of birds migrating from Africa to Europe, there is no need.
    Here we have uplands moorlands being managed for deer, grouse and pheasant shoots and birds of prey are often found shot and poisoned. Prosecutions have taken place and have been successful but the estate owners are often part of the landed gentry and the establishment and still have huge powers of influence. All the best.

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    1. You said exactly what I feel it is not necessary it is allowing a person to take out their most horrible desire to kill something...and then they go on the tv news and ask "why are these children killing each other?" There is no civility in killing! Of course I take it even farther and I dont agree with the farming of animals...its cruel and it's also not necessary. I say the days of Daniel Boone and the Cave man is over, now it's time to move on and away from that. Thank you Dave as always I enjoy your comments, and share your philosophy.

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  2. Hunting and mismanagement - mostly of moorland is a huge issue here too, unfortunately a sport for the rich, who have political clout - hunting was an exemption at one point during lockdown whilst no other 'sports' were allowed - dreadful. I just saw Dave above has pretty much said the same thing!

    On a brighter note how lovely to be seeing the deer so often and right by home! The Woodpecker is a beauty!

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    1. Hi Pam, it is so troubling to hear the Hunters got a pass when all others were told stay put...it highlights exactly what I am trying to say...the Trophy hunters make policy so they can continue their morbid activities...
      I am not pro gun and I am not pro hunter. Rich Poor whatever KILLING for sport is wrong, and it is causing our public lands to be mismanaged.

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    2. Yes they do, it caused a bit of an uproar here but not a big enough one unfortunately. I hate hunting with a passion, i'll never understand it at all, they banned fox hunting here but we all know it still goes on, vile 'sport' vile people.

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  3. Hello,
    It seems like the hunters have the big money and lots of influence on the politicians. I hope the Doves have found a safe spot to roost, away from the hunting. Observing the wildlife is my passion too. Love your photos, the deer is so cute. Great bird sightings, the Blue Grosbeak and Red-headed Woodpeckers are some of my favorites. Take care, have a happy weekend!

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    1. Hi Elieen, thank you. Writing this post makes me feel like a hypocrite just a bit cause I feed birds to bring them into my yard. But not to murder them...and I help many sick ones that show up...but my decision creates the explosion of the squirrel population far more than this acreage can support if I sudden stop supplying food.

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  4. "Well here it is Thursday again and My blog comes out at Midnight tonight so I better get busy and create a post! This week sort of got away from me"

    Yes, I too find the days and weeks pass by so quickly, and where did May go?

    I enjoyed seeing your photographs here.
    Wishing you a good weekend, and week ahead.

    Take care, my good wishes.

    All the best Jan

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    1. May is like a mirage in the rearview mirror, I can't believe it's half a year over already...Thank you Jan.

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  5. I fear we will never win this battle of the guns. The gun club puts lots of money into the government so they win. Let all the idiots have guns we don't need gun control because these jerks cry foul play against them. I was walking up my driveway and a strange light caught my eye, it was a bullet hole in the roof further checking I have quite a dent in the roof of my truck, as I walked around to the stairs I found the bullet. But who needs gun control?

    Anyway great photos and happy you had a good week and hope you enjoy the weekend and next week. We are into the triple digits already.

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    1. JO, OH MY GOODNESS your truck got shot at? People are always shooting around here I always go inside if it sounds close because IM sure they don't give a damn if they hit someone that is the whole point of their culture to kill, to intimidate, and then deny responsibility. I am extremely prodigious against guns this state just made it easier for ANYONE to get one, it's insane, and TEXAS, is on it's way to bedlam with the changes they put in. Crime is already up by 25% in my state, murder, violent strong arm robberies, and crimes against women. What kind of country is this anymore? The second amendment needs to be retracted and rewritten.

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    2. Some fool must have been shooting up and my house became this jerks target and my truck. Makes me sick to think what is happening in this country. I have to admit I'm already disappointed that not much has changed since elections

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    3. Hi Jo, I completely understand and agree the square wheel is not turning, One thing I know is this fence sitting democrat Joe Manchin, needs to be ousted he is part of the trouble, and now the hated DT is going on rally meets again to spread more lies and have another go at his coup...he says in August he will "be in the White House Again. WTH??? Living in the USA is almost unbearable anymore with the constant pressure we live under...and these radical right wingers are a bunch of nutz Our senate is impotent and the media is constantly stirring the pot.

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