A faithful reader, Wanda Moore, of St. Paul, Ind., wrote this past week, saying, “Just wanted to let you know that while I was out in our yard this afternoon, I looked up to see three buzzards flying over. I was amazed they are out so early, but we have had such nice weather. I do hope it’s a sign of an early spring. I’m so ready. Thank you. Wanda Moore.”

Wanda, thanks for writing! It would be nice if buzzards brought spring-like weather, but actually, the opposite is true… spring-like weather brings the buzzards. Buzzards are an opportunistic lot, and they will only fly south in wintertime as far as it takes to get out of freezing weather. Buzzards aren’t equipped with strong beaks and talons, and can’t eat frozen carcasses. No hard, icy ‘possumcicles or frozen raccoon bites for them.

As I said, buzzards are an opportunistic lot and will come north with each burst of spring-like weather. In the past, I have seen buzzards in Indiana in each month of the year. They don’t have a particular date of arrival but can appear anytime with warming days.

Maybe someone should call the good people of Hinckley, Ohio, to tell them their buzzards have been seen hanging out here in Indiana. The town of Hinckley has had a special day since 1958… March 15, which celebrates the declared prompt arrival of their skyway sanitation engineers to their historic roosting area. According to the good people of Hinckley, the birds arrive at the roosting area each year “like clockwork.” They have now decreed the first Sunday following the 15th of March to be Buzzard Sunday. The town breaks out in celebration with a huge pancake, sausage gravy and biscuit breakfast.

A little further east, we have the good folks of Punxsutawney, Pa., who celebrate Groundhog Day on Feb. 2. Dressed in tuxedos and church finery and well dosed with spirits both high and liquid, they gather at dawn to rudely yank a hibernating groundhog from its den and check to see if the meteorological blessed marmot sees its shadow. If its shadow is spotted by the bleary eyed pasture poodle, it means there will be six more weeks of winter.

Stop the presses… if the groundhog sees its shadow there will be six more weeks of winter? In my diligent research for this article after my nap, I found the number of days between Feb. 2 and March 20 (spring) to be 46 days in a non-leap year. That tallies to be approximately 6 ½ weeks.

The other caveat in the tradition is if the soil swine doesn’t see its shadow, then spring is just around the corner. Yeah… and the corner is about 6 ½ weeks away.

At the end of the day, the good folks of Punxsutawney have had a riotous morning of day drinking followed by a massive breakfast of biscuits and gravy and pancakes.

Sounds like all of our traditional weather revelers like to eat hearty breakfasts.

I’ve already gotten calls and reminders of people telling me, “Spring is here… I saw a robin.”

Like the buzzard, the robin is opportunistic. Some of them are just flat lazy and don’t fly south, but winter-over in Indiana hanging out along undercuts in creek banks. Seeing one or two robins can happen about anytime there is a warmup throughout the winter months. But, when you see large flocks of robins having returned from their migration to Florida, it does indicate spring is getting close.

Input on deer management

This month, you may have received an email inviting you to participate in the 2023 Deer Management Survey. The survey is how DNR receives input from Indiana residents on the state’s deer management. DNR uses the results to set the annual antlerless quota, understand opinions on current deer management topics, and identify new topics needing to be addressed or studied. Please take the time to fill out the survey to voice your thoughts on deer management in our state.

If you did not receive a survey this year and would like to receive an invitation, send an email request to DeerSurvey@dnr.IN.gov.

Funding to reclaim long abandoned mining land

Recently approved federal funding of up to $385 million over the next 15 years will allow Indiana to reclaim more former coal mines to their pre-mining status. Hoosiers who own such property are encouraged to report it to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR), even if you don’t want the work done right away.

Reclamation is the process by which adverse safety, health, and environmental effects of formerly unregulated surface mining are minimized and mined lands are returned to a beneficial end use. In Indiana, more than 2,000 reclamation projects have been completed since 1982 on both public and private lands.

Because reclamation funding is distributed based on need, the DNR Division of Reclamation’s Abandoned Mine Land program (AML) is cataloging future projects. Indiana’s eligibility for the federal grants depends upon the state’s inventory of abandoned mine land. To qualify for funding, the mining land must have been abandoned prior to 1977.

Owners of such land should call 1-800-772-MINE (6463) or the Reclamation office number, 812-665-2207, or email their information directly to the AML program at abandonedminesrestoration@dnr.IN.gov.

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 in paperback or as a Kindle download.