Pennsylvania Game News - January 2014 - 29

a wing from each duck and a tail fan and primary feather tips from each goose
they harvest, along with the date and location of each successful hunt. By examining the characteristics of these feathers, experienced observers are able to
determine the species, age, and in some cases, gender of each bird. With 15,000
to 20,000 parts envelopes received each year, the feathers truly fly. And a few
days into the weeklong wingbee, the work room at Patuxent Wildlife Research
Center resembles the aftermath of an explosion in a pillow factory! Once all
the numbers are crunched, however, managers have an excellent picture of the
species, age and sex composition of the previous year's waterfowl harvest, along
with the geographical and seasonal distribution. Trends over time can reveal
valuable insights for application to future management: For example, if the ratio
of juveniles to adults decreases over time, it may indicate habitat deficiencies
that are reducing reproductive success. In addition to the value of the information for conservation, the opportunity to review more wing samples in a few
days than might be seen in a few years of duck banding allows participants to
hone their identification skills for handling waterfowl back home. - Ian Gregg,
Game Bird Section Supervisor
Turkey Trapping: We're halfway through our four-year hen
wild turkey study to determine if and by how much a
one-week change in the fall turkey season length
affects turkey harvest rates. Our intent is to provide
the longest fall seasons without overharvesting hen
wild turkeys. We calculate harvest rates by trapping,
leg-banding and releasing trapped wild turkeys
before the fall hunting season and then see what
percentage of those leg bands are reported by hunters. This past season was our most successful of the last
five summer trappings, thanks to extra seasonal employees
and tons of volunteers assisting our normal trapping teams; we leg-banded 115
female wild turkeys, compared to 103 in 2010, 74 in 2011, and a mere 55 in
2012. - Mary Jo Casalena, Wild Turkey Biologist
January Elk Count: January is the perfect time for Pennsylvania's annual elk
count. It's when elk are the most gregarious and congregate into large herds.
Biologists capitalize on this behavior and use radio-collared individuals to locate
and count the elk in each herd. Elk are classified by sex - bull or cow - and age,
calf, yearling or adult. We are careful to ensure no animals are counted twice and
attempt to cover the entire elk range to minimize the number of animals missed.
It's inevitable, however, that some elk will be missed and the final number is
referred to as the minimum number alive. This number is the foundation for many
elk-management decisions. In January 2013, wildlife biologists and biologist
aides counted 833 elk in Pennsylvania, a slight increase from the 2012 count of
825. - Jeremy Banfield, Elk Biologist
JANUARY 2014

Pennsylvania Game News - January 2014

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