Residents in Hinckley, Ohio, have long hung their hats on the annual arrival of their buzzards on March 15. On that date, the town of Hinckley breaks out in unbridled celebration much like their neighbors in Punxsutawney, Penn., do over the meteorological shenanigans of their groundhog. The events of the day at Hinckley include television crews, radio interviews and the obligatory all-day-long pancake and sausage breakfast. To say they get excited is an understatement.

Well, I have news for the impatient pending celebrants of Hinckley…we’ve already got some of your buzzards. A couple sharp-eyed readers of the column have already posted sightings right here in the neighborhood. Wanda Moore, of St. Paul, Ind., reported last week, “Just wanted to let you know that this past Wednesday, I was driving SE down U.S. 421 thru the little burg of St. Vincent’s and saw a lone buzzard fly over. Then today, as I was walking my little dog down 650N just outside St. Paul, I saw another buzzard fly over. There was also a beautiful skunk dead on the road near Shelbyville on 421.”

Apparently the dead skunk was a deal clincher and a major attractant for the buzzard near St. Paul. The lone buzzard along with its kindred group, is usually found gliding overhead as soon as a warm front hits the Hoosier State. Buzzards are incapable of killing their own prey; and their beaks and talons are only good for dismantling thawed, rotting flesh. They come with the warm fronts and leave with the cold fronts as they are incapable of eating frozen carcasses.

Indiana roadsides are a cornucopia of dead carcasses come the spring thaw. Many critters during the winter months fall victim to cars and trucks, and their refrigerated corpses lining the ditches are a bonanza for our sanitary engineers of the sky.

In past years, I have seen buzzards every month through the winter. A combination of a warm front and a little sunshine to thaw the roadkill brings them winging overhead every time.

Buzzards are not the only winged critter cashing in on the corpses of winter. The red-tailed hawk will sometimes dine on carrion when meals are hard to come by.

Last week while driving on SR 244, I thought I saw a buzzard as a huge bird took flight from the side ditch. As it took wing, I could see the brilliant white head and realized it was a mature bald eagle. Yep… even our stately national bird will gnaw on a dead carcass when the going gets tough.

Increase In deer tested for CWD

A total of 893 wild deer in Indiana were tested for chronic wasting disease (CWD) through the end of the 2020-21 deer season, an increase from the 823 tested in 2019.

“While CWD has been found in the neighboring states of Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio, we have not detected CWD in Indiana to date,” said Mitch Marcus, DNR fish and wildlife health supervisor.

CWD is a neurologic disease affecting white-tailed deer. The disease is always fatal to deer and is transmitted directly through body fluids, such as feces, saliva, blood and urine, or indirectly through the contamination of soil, plants and water.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there have been no cases of CWD in humans. In areas where CWD is known to be present, the CDC recommends hunters have deer tested before eating the meat.

Although DNR collects wild deer samples for CWD testing throughout the year, Moriah Boggess, Indiana DNR deer biologist, emphasized most deer health samples are collected from hunter-harvested deer during the fall.

“Thank you to DNR staff, participating deer hunters, deer processors and taxidermists for the success of our 2020 CWD surveillance efforts,” Boggess said. “We could not have sampled 893 deer without your assistance and support.”

Any deer hunters who had their harvest sampled for CWD during the 2020-21 deer season can check sample results at reportsickanimal.dnr.IN.gov/search. For information related to CWD surveillance in Indiana, see on.IN.gov/cwd. Information about 2021-22 CWD monitoring efforts during the deer hunting seasons will be available on the website later in the year.

Patoka Lake hike into spring

Join Patoka Lake’s interpretive naturalist on March 20 at 1 p.m. for a “Hike Into Spring”, a 4-mile guided walk along the property’s Fitness Trail. The trail is an extension of the paved bike trail with some small patches of gravel. One participant will win a 2021 Annual Entrance Pass at the end of the hike.

Participants should meet at the modern campground parking lot next to the campground gatehouse. Face masks are required for the program because there may be portions of the trek where hikers are closer than 6 feet from each other.

Participation is limited. Advance registration is required by phone at 812-685-2447 or by emailing mmagary@dnr.IN.gov and must be made by 2 p.m. March 19.

The entrance fee of $7 per vehicle for Indiana residents and $9 for out-of-state residents is required for the Newton Stewart State Recreation Area, located north of Wickliffe, Ind., on State Road 164. For more information about the program and other interpretive events, call the Nature Center at 812-685-2447. Patoka Lake (on.IN.gov/patokalake) is at 3084 N. Dillard Road, Birdseye, Ind., 47513.

Readers can contact the author by writing to this publication, or e-mail to jackspaulding@hughes.net. Spaulding’s books, “The Best of Spaulding Outdoors,” and his latest, “The Coon Hunter And The Kid,” are available from Amazon.com.