Pennsylvania’s turkeys are talking and the Keystone State’s trout are biting. So, with both trout season and spring gobbler season now open, there’s no better time to travel to the Commonwealth’s big woods to tag a turkey in the morning and tussle with some trout in the afternoon. The turkey in the morning versus trout in the afternoon routine is a factor of the early part of spring gobbler season’s hunting hours that go from one-half hour before sunrise until noon through May 18. After that the hours are one-half hour before sunrise until one-half-hour after sunset from May 20 until the season ends on May 31.
While the outdoors here in our southeast corner of the state have plenty to offer – including some outstanding trout fishing – there are sights and sounds in our upstate counties that our southeastern landscape just can’t match this time of year, not to mention the miles and miles of state game lands open to hunting up in the state’s most rural hinterland.
Case in point – a few years back I travelled to the wilds of Tioga County to test my luck on those wily rainbow, brook, and brown trout. There I reported to Tioga’s legendary Pine Creek in hopes of hooking up with a few finny members of the Salmonidae family. The springtime scenery along the popular Pine was spectacular and I even managed to catch quite a few trout. Another trout fishing bonus offered in these upper tier counties is the abundance of little streams that harbor healthy populations of native and generally smallish brook trout.
If you pay attention when upstate, you may also hear the sounds of drumming grouse. Just as turkeys strut and gobble to attract a hen, male grouse will puff up their feathers and beat the air with their wings producing a sound reminiscent of a two-stroke engine starting up. Drumming the air is the featured component of our state bird’s courtship ritual. On that trip I was lucky enough to hear an amorous grouse drumming one morning on a nearby hillside. I wasn’t turkey hunting on that excursion but I should have been as I was often serenaded by lovelorn Tom turkeys gobbling both near and far throughout the weekend. I also caught sight of more than a few hens, Jakes, and senior gobblers roaming the fields and forests.
And although we do have a limited number of wild turkeys residing down here in our neck of Penn’s Woods, you’re far more likely to encounter them up in the upstate “big woods.” If you have a hankering to hunt for turkey in the morning and fish for trout in the afternoon with an excellent chance of success in both pursuits, now is the time to head out to that upstate campground or hotel to test your turkey hunting skills and trout fishing prowess.
WORLD MIGRATORY BIRD DAY AT MIDDLE CREEK
If you’re not inclined to travel upstate for turkey and trout this weekend, you’ll find another awesome outdoor destination a little closer to home when the folks at Middle Creek celebrate World Migratory Bird Day this Saturday, May 11. There the Pennsylvania Game Commission and conservation partners will host a fun-filled, family-friendly day of learning and exploration to mark World Migratory Bird Day. You may have seen the recent animated motion picture “Migration.” Now you can experience the real thing.
Just imagine if each spring and fall your survival depended on traveling thousands of miles over land and water in all sorts of weather and in the face of untold potential dangers in order to reach places that may or may not be as welcoming as when you last left.
That’s the challenge for migratory birds. The amazing fact that millions upon millions of birds of all sorts, species, and sizes succeed in making such epic journeys each year is cause for celebration like the one scheduled this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on at the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area Visitors Center located at 100 Museum Road in Stevens, PA.
The event, which is free to the public, will feature guided bird walks led by members of the Lancaster County Bird Club, banding demonstrations of live songbirds including American Kestrels by permitted professionals, lessons in how the Game Commission builds bird-friendly habitat, opportunities to meet with biologists and other conservation professionals, and information about fascinating bird research occurring right here in Pennsylvania.
In addition, there will be opportunities for exploring on your own as well. Visitors to Middle Creek – a unique 6,000-acre tract owned by the Game Commission – can expect to see a wide variety of flora and fauna across the wildlife management area and surrounding state game lands. Tuning your radio to 1620 AM offers the chance to hear an informative and educational audio tour, too.
And, of course, there will chances to see lots of birds. Middle Creek was created for the protection, conservation, and management of wildlife and wildlife habitat and educating the public about wildlife conservation. World Migratory Bird Day, meanwhile – which began in 1993 as International Migratory Bird Day – is timed to take place during the peak of migration for many bird species.
For more information about Middle Creek. World Migratory Bird Day or bird migration and conservation around the world, call 717-733-1512 or email middlecreek@pa.gov
SPRING GOBBLER PHOTO CONTEST
It’s time for the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s 2024 Spring Gobbler Photo Contest. Submit any photo taken during the 2024 Pennsylvania Spring Gobbler season for a chance to win a custom Pennsylvania made turkey call and other Game Commission merchandise. Photos can include a successful harvest, your experience, fellow hunters, landscape, nature, or any elements related to the hunt.
Game Commission staff will choose our finalists. Then it is up to our Facebook followers to select our winners! This year, we will be awarding TWO winners the grand prize, one youth and one adult entry. The photo with the most likes, in each category, will be deemed the winner. Finalists will be posted to Facebook for voting the week of June 17, 2024.
The Spring Gobbler Photo Contest from Friday, April 26, through Friday, June 7, 2024. All entries must be emailed to pgc-contest@pa.gov with the subject “2024 Spring Gobbler Photo Contest.” Please be sure to include the first and last name of the photo owner, the first and last name(s) of anyone featured in the image, the county in which the photo was taken, and any other information important to the photo.
TROUT STOCKINGS THIS WEEK
The Fish and Boat Commission’s stocking efforts here in our corner of the state are winding down but a few area streams are still scheduled to get fresh batches of trout this week. In Berks County: Spring Creek and Tulpehocken Creek (5/9). In Chester County: East Branch Brandywine Creek (5/8) and Pocopson Creek (5/13). Delaware County: Darby Creek (5/7).
Tom Tatum is the outdoors columnist for the MediaNews Group. You can reach him at tatumt2@yahoo.com.
Source: Berkshire mont
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