Following an unusually snowless beginning, more “typical” winter weather has finally arrived in Chenango County and much of the Northeast. The problem, at least as some see it, is it arrived with far too much gusto and, now, endurance. Although the cold and deep crusted snows have been greeted with elation by most skiers, snowshoers and snowmobilers, they've been less welcomed by those who enjoy other winter activities such as hunting. Even some ice fishermen have felt as though the recent cold and snow is “too much of a good thing.”
Rabbit (and what few winter grouse hunters there are) complain that the sheer depth and the crusted snow that supports their beagles as well as the rabbits won’t support a hunter’s weight. Hunters of any small game who’d normally be afield without a dog complain that the ordeal of just trying to walk atop the crusted snow is keeping them indoors (I wonder if they're familiar with a tool called snowshoes?). Others say that the snow depths and cold discourage game from moving about and keep most of it hiding out in the thickest of sheltered covers or in the security of burrows and dens. It all boils down to the same attitude by some: Why bother?
But even when winter decides to flex its seasonal muscles, as it's recently done, there's a couple of hunting activities that arestill available in the dead of winter and that very few partake in – crow and varmint hunting. If sportsmen dress warmly and limit the time they’re out in the cold, both these hunting activities can be done without risking frostbite or hypothermia.
Ever since a treaty was agreed to a couple decades ago by the U.S. and Mexico to reclassify common crows as migratory game--which meant the implementing of hunting seasons as well as closed seasons – crow populations have steadily increased. And nowhere is this more evident than here in New York.
The increase is as much a result of greatly decreased hunting interest in the species as it is the protection of the birds during their spring nesting. With the crow hunting season opening in September – the same month we now hunt Canada geese – and hunting being restricted to just Fridays through Mondays only, precious few hunters see much sense in hunting inedible game when all the edible game seasons will be open by October.
The crow season closes in mid-April and by then most hunters are thinking of spring gobbler scouting and hunting, so there's little motivation or interest in hunting crows at that time of year either.
I'm sure many residents have seen some of the daily crow flights as huge flocks fly between winter roosting areas and feeding areas in morning, then back again in the evening. On occasion, when the majority are in the air at the same time, the sky is literally filled with crows in some areas.
I've been fascinated with the crow – it's an intelligent, ingenious bird. But like any wildlife species, when given the right circumstances and abundant habitat, it can become too numerous for its own good. The crows in NYC that were found to be carrying and spreading the West Nile encephalitis are a pretty good testimony to that. So periodically removing a few crows from the overall population doesn't harm the species, it actually benefits it.
Crows are usually hunted by calling and decoying. A great-horned owl decoy is used as the visual attractor, and a crow call, either mouth blown or electronic, is used as the audio enticer. Camouflaging one self is important as crows have keen eyesight. The hunting is a great test of wingshooting skills as a diving, darting crow is not an easy target.
