Pennsylvania Game News- June 2009 - 23

squirrels, the crows still came in for shots. I believe the birds, which can see color quite well, do not relate the orange as something dangerous, because the people shooting at them were normally wearing camo. I have also killed geese as well as jump-shot ducks while wearing orange and, again, being that they rarely get shot at by people wearing orange, they don’t seem to take the color seriously. It’s reverse psychology, but if everyone did it, the birds wouldn’t come within a mile of us. However, while I have taken crows, as well as other migratory birds while wearing orange, a hunter will do better wearing camouflage. Some hunters wear white sheets if it snows, but because snow is relatively infrequent in my part of Pennsylvania, I stick with regular camo. If snow is on the ground, most of the places I hunt have briars and other brush that stay green or brownish-green year long, so I just park myself near or in such cover and use it as a natural blind. However, there are many types of camouflage out there, and many kinds are based on tree bark, not leaves. I use trees for cover a lot of times, particularly if my stand is in a wooded area, so that kind of camo may come in handy. I don’t go nuts with it, though, and I don’t put on a face mask or anything like that, though my hands are covered to keep them warm in the winter. I use an old pair of leather dress gloves I used to use for work, and they fit perfectly and they are warm. Best of all, with the gloves I can still get my finger inside the trigger guard easily and with enough dexterity to feel the trigger. I usually wear pack boots when I go out, and that rounds out my crow hunting ensemble. When crow season is open, you can hunt only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. That’s right, I said Sunday. It is one of the few animals that you can hunt on Sundays. But, what do you do when you get the crows? Well, no one I know has ever eaten them and I haven’t, either. I will eat a lot things (including crayfish caught from the local creeks), but I don’t think I’ll eat crow anytime soon. In the past, I have used their feathers for fly tying, but the past year I have used them for my trapline. I breast them out like I do my doves, and use them for bait. This winter, when you’re sitting next to the fireplace, bored out of your mind, think about crows, and then get out there and give the sport a try. Books in Brief (Not available from the Game Commission.) The Calls of Ducks & Geese, By Lang Elliott and Kevin Colver, Stackpole Books, 5067 Ritter Road, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055, 717-796-0411, www.stackpolebooks.com, 112 pp., includes audio CD, $19.95 plus $4.95 shipping & handling. Complete with full-color photos, this engaging title introduces readers to some of the most interesting waterfowl in North America. Readers will have the opportunity to learn the songs and calls of 50 species of waterfowl. Detailed descriptions combined with an audio CD featuring the calls of each bird make this guide a useful tool for any birder or hunter. JUNE 2009 23 Corsetti.pmd 23 04/27/2009, 9:42 AM

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Pennsylvania Game News- June 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Game News- June 2009