On July 13 around 9:15 p.m., a 7-year-old girl was playing with other children at her campsite in Brown County State Park. The girl ran around the outside of the tent into the edge of the woodline, where it is presumed she was bitten by a copperhead snake. After complaining of two puncture wounds on her ankle, her father checked the area and saw a snake. The family called 911 and transported the girl to meet the ambulance at the park entrance, which went to Riley Children’s Hospital. Doctors stated the girl will make a full recovery. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) employees attempted to catch the snake, but heavy foliage allowed it to escape. They were joined by Indiana conservation officers, Brown County first responders, the Sheriff’s Department and Nashville Police. While rare, there have been other copperhead bites in the park, and they have had the same factors in common. The snake bites have occurred after dark, and the person bitten was not using a flashlight in a poorly-lighted area. There are a few tips to consider in order to prevent encounters with snakes in the park: •Stay on designated trails and mowed areas. Snakes are less likely to come out in the open. •However, after dark, snakes will move around to hunt for food or lay on warm roadways. So it is a good idea to stay in well-lighted areas or use a flashlight. •Keep your campsite clean. Snakes feed on rodents; snack wrappers and food debris on the ground may draw rodents to the site and the snakes may follow. •If you are camping in an area where there are snakes, check your site occasionally to make sure none are passing through. •If a snake does come on your site stay away from it, keep kids and pets away from it, and contact the campground office to let park staff know. Copperheads are natural members of the ecosystem and food chains of this area, and mostly feed on small rodents. Together their controls on the rodent population actually have a large impact on reducing ticks. So, they have their part to play in our environment. When we play in the same environment they live in, we just need to take a little extra caution. Also, it is illegal to kill snakes on Indiana State Parks property. Suet cakes going fast Ordinarily, I fill the sunflower feeder twice before I have to replenish the suet cake holder. But lately I find I am replacing the suet cake at least every time I fill the sunflower feeder – sometimes even twice. Generally, it is just the usual traffic on the suet cake feeder: downy woodpeckers, red-bellied, an occasional yellow-bellied sapsucker, and our resident Pileated woodpeckers. Granted, the Pileated woodpeckers chow down on the suet cake, but it seemed the suet was really taking a hit. Watching the feeder recently, I saw the female Pileated woodpecker land and eat heavily from the suet cake. Leaving the feeder, she only flew a few feet to a nearby cedar post. There waiting for her was her young one, which she fed and then returned to the feeder for another round. Mystery solved! It looks like the Spaulding household is now the daycare center for young Pileated woodpeckers. But it’s not just us. My good friends Bill and Rita Keaton live along the timbered Little Blue River in Rush County and have fed the birds at their home for many years. Bill sent me the following message this month: “We have had Pileated (woodpeckers) feeding babies for years, in addition to all the other woodpeckers. To put things into perspective, we feed 24 suet cakes a week!” Now that’s a lot of suet. State parks draw hunt application opens Hunters can now apply online for State Parks Deer Management Draw Hunts by visiting on.IN.gov/reservedhunt – applications are only available online and will close August 26. The first state park hunt was in 1993 as an effort to mitigate damage to vegetation and unique habitat by an overpopulation of whitetail deer in Brown County State Park. Multiple parks have hosted deer management hunts annually since 1995. The decision to start deer management at individual parks has been based on scientific vegetation monitoring. Decisions to continue deer management at individual parks are made annually using harvest data and consideration of occurrences of rare, threatened, and endangered flora adversely affected by excessive browsing by deer. Applicants must possess any valid license to take a deer in Indiana at the time of the application, excluding an apprentice license, and must be Indiana residents who will be 18 years of age by the date of the first hunt. Once an application has been submitted, information cannot be changed. Primary applicants may apply by themselves or with up to two secondary applicants (buddies). Primary applicants must apply with their buddies’ information on the application in order for them to participate, including the buddies’ deer license number(s) and date(s) of birth. Buddies must still meet all age, residency, and licensing requirements of the State Parks Deer Management Hunts. Each applicant may appear on only one application per hunt period. Firearms hunts allow applicants to use any legal firearm to take deer on public land in Indiana. Archery hunts allow applications to use any legal archery equipment to take deer in Indiana, including crossbows. Hunters will be selected through a randomized computer drawing. A link to view drawing results will be posted at the above website by August 30. This year’s draw hunt state parks include: Chain O’ Lakes; Charlestown; Clifty Falls (archery only); Fort Harrison (archery only); Harmonie; Indiana Dunes; McCormick’s Creek; Ouabache; Pokagon; Prophetstown; Shakamak; Whitewater Memorial; Summit Lake; Tippecanoe River; Spring Mill State Park and Cave River Valley Natural Area (drawn and managed together); and Trine State Recreation Area (archery only). Early hunts are Nov. 18-19 and late hunts are scheduled for Dec. 2-3. Explore Monroe kayak trips Explore the quieter side of Monroe Lake during guided paddling trips journeying through backwaters, wetlands, bays, and slow-moving streams. Trips highlight beautiful views, hidden wildlife, aquatic plants, and unique land features. Find your new favorite place to kayak. Trips are 2-2.5 hours in length. There is a $10 per person trip fee (plus $20 for kayak rental, if you don't have your own); each trip limited to 10 people. Trips at Crooked Creek State Recreation Area are: •August 13 at 9 a.m.; register by August 9, as there are six spots available, at http://bit.ly/exploremonroe8-13-2019 •August 18 at 7 p.m.; register by August 13, as there are five spots available, at http://bit.ly/exploremonroe8-18-2019 Wanted dead: Invasive black carp In June, two black carp were captured in the Ohio River about 10 miles downstream of the Indiana state line. Black carp are native to eastern Asia and were brought to the United States during the 1970-80s. They have since escaped captivity and have been moving throughout the Mississippi River basin. Black carp feed on mollusks and pose a serious threat to Indiana’s mussel populations. Many of the mussel species native to Indiana are already listed as species of special concern or endangered due to pollution and changes in river habitat. For more information about the important role mussels play in the state’s rivers, visit wildlife.IN.gov/8684.htm Although it is possible to catch black carp on traditional bait, bowfishing anglers are more likely to encounter them. Black carp look similar to grass carp; see the identification sheet at asiancarp.us/Documents/BlackGrassCarpIdentification.PDF to help tell the difference. If you have caught a suspected black carp, keep the fish and make note of its location. Cool the fish on ice once you have killed it, and call the DNR at 866-663-9684 to report the fish. You may be eligible for a $100 bounty per carcass, funded through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments may contact Jack Spaulding by email at jackspaulding@hughes.net or by writing to him in care of this publication. |
