Wildlife Report – February 2021

The 2020-2021 deer season has drawn to a close. By all accounts, we had a pretty good year on our farm. 24 deer were reported taken on our farm, about a normal number (16-25) that get reported each year. Thank you all that reported their deer and from the reports, some large mature deer were harvested.

We had one reported deer taken by a straight-walled cartridge, a new feature this year and so far no adverse reports have been noted. Across the state, MD DNR reports that 31,571 deer were harvested during gun season, which is 16% higher than last year.

The prevailing reason for this increase was the favorable weather conditions, with more hunters in the woods. In Montgomery County, the reported firearm deer harvest was 21% higher than last year. The overall numbers for all deer seasons have not come out at this writing. From casual observation, we did seem to have an increased number of members out on the farm in pursuit of deer, and we seem to have fared well.

Even with the wet weather and muddy conditions, now is a good time to wander around the farm and explore, the leaves on the trees and bushes have not blossomed yet making it easy to see through the woods. During the upcoming weeks, bucks will have finished shedding their antlers leaving them as prizes in the woods. If members find sheds that they don’t have a use for, please consider contacting our group that puts on the global ecology programs, they have uses for visual aids in their demonstrations.