Hunters kill giant squirrel !

    Posted June 13, 2011

    By Art Lander Jr.

   OutdoorsKentucky,Com

    Spring Squirrel Season Two Weeks Longer in 2011

    Kentucky’s spring squirrel season is now two weeks longer, and opens earlier in the year.

    The 28-day season begins May 21 and continues through June 17. The daily limit is six squirrels.

    Squirrels, the most stable and abundant small game species in Kentucky, have two breeding seasons. “Our spring season is timed to coincide with the spike in squirrel numbers after the year’s first nesting period, and before breeding resumes in July,” said Ben Robinson, a small game biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

    In the spring, squirrels eat mostly soft mast, such as the seeds of maple, ash, elm, wild cherry, mulberry, hackberry and box elder trees. “Soft mast is now forming on the trees, so there’s lots of squirrel activity,” Robinson said.

    Squirrels also eat grass, along with the occasional mushroom and blackberry. Insects, such as grasshoppers, katydids and locusts, round out the squirrels’ diet.

    With trees already leafed out, squirrels have lots of cover. A .410 or a 20-gauge shotgun is a good choice for a hunter. However, a .22-caliber rifle, air gun or small caliber muzzleloading rifle in .32 or .40 caliber may also be used.

    Squirrel hunting also is allowed at the newly opened Otter Creek Outdoor Recreation Area in Meade County. During the spring season, hunters may only use shotguns for squirrels. Otter Creek has designated no hunting zones marked with yellow signs around buildings and camp areas.

    Good squirrel hunting is available in all 120 Kentucky counties, and hunting pressure is light during the spring season.

    The gray squirrel is the dominant species in the heavily-forested eastern third of Kentucky, with a higher percentage of fox squirrels in the small woodlots and wooded fencerows of agricultural areas in western Kentucky.

    Kentucky’s spring squirrel season started as an experiment on four state wildlife management areas in 1994.The season went statewide in 1999.

Posted August 8, 2011

    By Art Lander Jr.

    OutdoorsKentucky.Com

                   Squirrels First on 2011-12 Fall Hunting Calendar

    The first hunting season of the fall opens in about two weeks.

    Kentucky’s fall squirrel season, a 192-day split season that kicks off the calendar of fall hunting, opens on Aug. 20 and continues through Nov. 11. The season opens again Nov. 14 and runs through Feb. 29, 2012.

    The daily bag limit is six squirrels.

    Ben Robinson, small game biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, said the outlook for the season is excellent.

    “Last fall we had a really good mast (nut) crop, particularly the red and white oak groups, with the hickories close behind,” said Robinson. “There was lots of food and females were in good condition going into breeding. There should be lots of young squirrels this fall.”

    The Kentucky Division of Forestry reported on its website that 47 percent of Kentucky is forested, some 11.9 million acres.

    An estimated 65 percent of Kentucky forests are composed of saw timber. Since 1988, the acreage of stands of these harvestable, mature trees, has increased by 6 percent. Across most of Kentucky, oak and hickory woodlands are the dominate forest type.

    The department’s annual mast survey began in 1953 and evaluates the crop of nuts produced by hickory, white and red oak and beech trees. These nuts are the most important foods for Kentucky’s forest wildlife – squirrels, white-tailed deer, wild turkeys and black bear.

    Biologists walk the same route every year and estimate the year’s mast crop, based on what they observe.

    Hickory nuts begin to mature in August and acorns and beechnuts in September and October.

    Weather extremes, such as late frosts and heavy rains in spring along with summer droughts, can limit the amount and quality of mast.

    “What we’ve been hearing is there’s another strong crop of acorns and hickory nuts, and walnuts, where these trees are available,” said John Morgan, small game program coordinator for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “Due to the excellent growing season there are also vigorous crops of soft mast (berries and seeds).”

    The Squirrel Hunting Cooperator Survey, which started in 1995, supplies information that biologists use to monitor squirrel population trends in Kentucky.

    Hunters simply record information about their hunts as the season progresses. This includes the county hunted, hours afield, number and species of squirrels seen and harvested, number of hunters in the party and the number of dogs used to find squirrels.

    “The use of squirrel dogs continues to grow,” said Morgan. “It’s a great way to get back into squirrel hunting.”

    When hunters are finished hunting for the season, they simply mail in their survey. Postage paid forms are available on request by calling 1-800-858-1549. Logs must be sent to Kentucky Fish and Wildlife no later than May 31, 2012.

    Each year, after the survey information is compiled and analyzed, a report is mailed out to squirrel hunters who shared the details of their hunting activities from the previous season. They also receive a new hunting log and a hunting ball cap for participating.