Remember that this weekend is Free Freshwater Fishing Weekend in Massachusetts! On June 4 and 5, no license is required to fish any public lake, pond, reservoir, stream or river in Massachusetts from 12 a.m. Saturday, June 4, until 11:59 p.m. Sunday, June 5. Other than Free Fishing Weekend, you need a license to fish in fresh water if you are 15 or older. If you’re 15 to 17 or 70 and older, your license is free. Funds from fishing license sales support MassWildlife’s fisheries research, fish stocking programs and angler education programs. All other regulations, including catch limits, apply during Free Fishing Weekend. Before heading out on the water, make sure you know the rules. For saltwater anglers, Free Saltwater Fishing Weekend is June 18–19.
No topic that has appeared in this space recently has generated more response than my mention of people hearing whip-poor-wills calling at dusk. Those of us with a lot of candles on our birthday cakes remember a time when these birds were common. Most people have never seen the nocturnal birds, but the easily distinguishable call is unforgettable.
Whip-poor-will nesting and egg-laying activity is linked to the full moon, timed so they will hatch about 10 days before a full moon. This way, adults will be feeding young primarily on nights when moon is more than half full, when the moonlight makes foraging easier for them. The male sings at night to defend territory and to attract a mate. Courtship behavior is not well known but the male approaches female on the ground with much head-bobbing, bowing and sidling about. Nest site is on the ground, in shady woods but often near the edge of a clearing, on open soil covered with dead leaves. No nest is built, eggs are laid on flat ground.
Eggs are whitish, with brown and gray markings. Incubation is by both parents (usually more by female) and lasts 19 to 21 days. After hatching, the young are cared for by both parents. Adults feed young by regurgitating insects. Young are ready for flight at about 20 days and the pair may raise one or two broods per year, with a female sometimes laying a second clutch while the male is still caring for young from first brood.
Whip-poor-wills feed exclusively at night, especially at dusk and dawn and on moonlit nights. They feed by flying out from a perch in a tree, or in low, continuous flight along the edges of woods and clearings and sometimes by fluttering up from the ground. The bird captures insects in its wide, gaping mouth and swallows them whole. They feed on night-flying insects, especially moths, beetles, mosquitoes, and others night-flying insects.
Whip-poor-will have never been accused of being beautiful and blend perfectly into the forest floor. The eastern whip-poor-will had become very rare over the past decades. There seem to be a number of reasons for the decline, but the loss of early successional forest habitat seems to be the single greatest factor. They do suffer predation by feral cats and dogs, and poisoning by insecticides, but the habitat remains the key.
As has been noted here, forestry work that creates needed openings would appear to have made a measurable difference in the return of whip-poor-wills. Landowners who have engaged in selective cutting practices have received a financial benefit in most cases and also created valuable habitat for a number of wildlife, plant and insect species. Deer, wild turkeys, ruffed grouse, American woodcock and the whip-poor-wills have all been beneficiaries as have those who appreciate wildlife. The repeated call of “whip poor will” at dusk is something that still stirs this writer and hopefully will continue to become more common as openings in the local forest create prime habitat for the birds.
The boat was put in the water this week and there is a trip to Whisperwood Lodge in Belgrade, Maine on the calendar for June. It seems like largemouth and smallmouth bass fishing should be prime and there is also a day trip on the Penobscot River planned. That river trip might put us in contact with some striped bass, smallmouths, or even shad. The shad run is a return that I am told has not happened in a while, so it is all good!
Time for re-spooling the spinning rods; my personal choice is 10-pound test monofilament but there is a spare spool or two with braided line as well. The fly rods will be brought along, and it is important to stretch fly lines out and replace leaders. You can bet that there will be way more tackle than needed. How I long for the days when a Rapala and Jitterbug were all that was needed!
Immediately after the Massachusetts turkey season closed, turkeys seemed to be everywhere! A group of longbeards was observed with a willing hen and then a trio of toms were courting a pair of hens. The three jakes appeared. They were the first jakes to be seen, so clearly the birds are moving during the latter stages of the breeding season. In about three weeks, there could be broods appearing.
One blond coyote also was seen responding to a hen turkey calling and that is a reminder that the cycle of life in the natural world is constant with a balanced predator/prey relationship.
Mike Roche is a retired teacher who has been involved in conservation and wildlife issues his entire life. He has written the Sportsman’s Corner since 1984 and has served as advisor to the Mahar Fish’N Game Club, Counselor and Director of the Massachusetts Conservation Camp, has been a Massachusetts Hunter Education Instructor for over 40 years and is a licensed New York hunting guide. He can be reached at mikeroche3@msn.com.