Most likely, yes. We’re now in the “prescribed burn” season—late winter and spring.  The Commission uses controlled, low-level flames to restore and maintain wildlife habitat on most of the 2 million acres of state game lands used by hunters, anglers and wildlife watchers.

In North Carolina, prescribed burning is commonly conducted between January and March, when most trees are less active metabolically. Repeated burns conducted during the spring growing season eventually kill hardwood sprouts, allowing a diversity of native grasses, herbs and wildflowers to develop. These herbaceous plants are typically more valuable than hardwood sprouts for food and cover for wildlife. Without prescribed burns, wildlife in some habitats may experience low reproduction and eventual displacement. READ MORE

 

One of our long-time Facebook followers Bob Daw has seen a lot in his 66 years on earth. An avid fisherman and outdoor enthusiast, Bob lives on beautiful Blounts Creek in Beaufort County and spends much of his free time fishing, taking photographs and just enjoying the bountiful natural resources offered by Blounts Creek. He recently submitted the photo above, reminiscing about some favorite memories of mid-winter fishing in his youth. He is our guest blogger for this month. This is Goldsboro fishermen Scott Mooring showing one of his fat Raccoon Perch that he caught in Blounts Creek.  I am 66 years old, and one of my favorite memories as a ten year old farm boy living down a path, off a dirt road in Goldsboro was my daddy and uncles waiting for the second week of January to convoy our old trucks & small boats towards Cotton Patch Landing to catch Raccoon Perch.  Blounts Creek offers different types of fish  for all seasons of the year.  Old timers...

If you love to fish or simply keep up with fishing-related news stories, then you’ve likely heard about Zakk Royce. Zakk is the Murfreesboro angler who caught not one but two state record blue catfishes in a 24-hour period in December in Lake Gaston.  The first fish Zakk caught weighed 91 pounds; the second 105 pounds. Incredibly, he released both fish alive so that other anglers, perhaps Zakk himself, could experience the opportunity of reeling in a monster fish. While various news media reported the amazing feat, we have the story in Zakk’s own words below. Also, check out this cool video of the catches here, courtesy of Zakk and his father, Jon Royce. “I started out Sunday morning catching fish up to 30 pounds as soon as I started fishing. About an hour or two into fishing that morning suddenly my rod off the port side of my boat bent completely over. I grabbed the fishing rod and knew it was biggest fish immediately. 20 minutes or...

What’s scarier than bats at Halloween? A world without bats, that’s what. While bats may get a bad rap, they are hugely important in the ecosystem, playing key roles in keeping us healthy and well fed. Consider this:  Bats eat tons of insects, like mosquitoes that can carry diseases that make us sick. A nursing female bat may consume almost her entire body weight in insects in one night.  Bats are important pollinators and seed spreaders, both of which aid in plant reproduction and forest regrowth. But bats are in trouble. BIG trouble because of a deadly disease known as white-nose syndrome. It has killed millions of bats in the eastern United States, including bats in western North Carolina. Some bat hibernacula — caves and mines — in western North Carolina have seen dramatic population declines although these declines associated with the deadly disease appear to be leveling off in some areas. White-nose syndrome, a...

Those fast-flying, tiny jewels of the sky are back. Ruby-throated hummingbirds are now showing up at feeders around the state, having spent the long, cold winter in Mexico and Central America. At one time, they could be found in North Carolina only in the spring through fall; however, with the rise of backyard feeders, many hummingbirds decide to stay throughout the winter, mainly along the coast. The ruby-throated hummingbird is the only hummingbird species that nests in the eastern part of North America. These hummingbirds prefer to breed and nest in deciduous forests, mixed woodlands and sometimes pine forests, and can often be found nesting in wooded residential areas. They typically build small nests of lichens and spider webs that are small in comparison to other birds’ nests — approximately 1 to 2 inches high and 1½ inches wide. They build their nests on tree limbs that can range from 1 to 60 feet off the ground. Anyone who has ever set up a...