Saturday

National Hunting and Fishing Day

Safety First: Learning from the Top Three Hunting Accidents




On this National Hunting and Fishing Day, we’d like to take a moment to share some safety tips.

Hunting is safe and getting safer. With the advent of the hunter education course, fewer than three people per 100,000 hunters in Texas are injured in hunting accidents annually — a fraction of the rate of injury in football, biking or swimming. 

But, with over a million licensed h unters every year, that’s still 20 or 30 people too many. All accidents are preventable. Experienced hunters who don’t take hunter education and get complacent about safety cause most of the problems. Every year there is a tragic instance or two of unsupervised youth mishandling a loaded firearm. No one should be killed by carelessness, so let’s learn from our mistakes and make this season the safest one yet.

Here are the three most common causes of injury or death while hunting. 
  1. Careless handling of the firearm.People drop, prop, shove or pull on a loaded firearm, not paying attention to where the muzzle is pointed. Sometimes the firearm falls or is knocked over by the hunting dog. Or, while reaching for the firearm, the hunter accidentally grabs the trigger or the trigger gets caught on something. A hunter stumbles and falls with a loaded firearm. The end result of all of these: The firearm discharges, hitting the hunter or companion, sometimes fatally.
  2. Swinging on game.This most often happens while hunting waterfowl, especially in September. Hunters are side-by-side, shotguns up and following game birds flying overhead. In the excitement of the moment, someone follows the bird beyond his safe zone of fire (the area or direction in which you can safely fire a shot) or steps forward into someone else’s zone of fire. A shot is fired and the victim gets hit, sometimes fatally. 
  3. Shooting from or around a vehicle.Shooting from inside a vehicle or propping a gun over the roof or the hood of a vehicle can be dangerous. Grabbing a loaded firearm in the cramped quarters of a vehicle can easily lead to an unintended discharge. Looking through a scope, the hunter is deceived because the aim is far away; nearby, the barrel is lower than the scope. The hunter ends up shooting into the cab of vehicle, or into someone standing near the vehicle.  

Each of these accidents resulted from not following the rules. Review them and practice them to save lives — yours, your friends’ and your family’s. And finally, even if you were born before Sept. 2, 1971, take hunter education. You will learn something new, and you’ll join the ranks of more than a million Texas hunter education graduates who are safe, legal and ethical hunters. 
  1. Point the muzzle in a safe direction at all times.Never point at anything you don’t intend to shoot, even when you think the firearm is unloaded. Control the muzzle at all times. Never rest the muzzle on your foot. 
  2. Treat every firearm as if it were loaded. “I didn’t realize it was loaded” are hollow words you never want to have to say when someone was shot or killed because of your actions. Every time you pick up a firearm, control the muzzle and check to see if the firearm is loaded. Be sure the chamber and magazine are empty and that the action is open until ready to be fired. Then still treat the firearm as if it were loaded. 
  3. Be sure of your target, what is in front of it and beyond it.Make sure your target is fully visible and in good light. Look at what is in front of the target, and where your shot will go if it travels beyond your target. Determine that you have a safe backstop or background. Since you don’t know what is on the other side, never take a shot at any animals on top of ridges or hillsides. Know how far bullets, arrows and pellets can travel. Never shoot at flat, hard surfaces such as water, rocks or steel because of ricochets. 
  4. Keep your finger outside of the trigger guard until you are ready to shoot.Keep your finger out of the trigger guard until the instant you are ready to fire. Keep the safety on but don’t let that substitute for safe firearm handling.  

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Friday

A Simple Action to Help Birds - #7

Watch Birds, Share What You See



The challenge: The world’s most abundant bird, the passenger pigeon, went extinct, and people didn’t realize how quickly it was vanishing until it was too late. Monitoring birds is essential to help protect them but tracking the health of the world’s 10,000 bird species is an immense challenge.

The cause: To understand how birds are faring, scientists need hundreds of thousands of people to report what they’re seeing in backyards, neighborhoods, and wild places around the world. Without this information, scientists will not have enough timely data to show where and when birds are declining around the world.

Enjoy birds while helping science and conservation: Join a project such as eBirdProject FeederWatch, a Christmas Bird Count or a Breeding Bird Survey to record your bird observations. Your contributions will provide valuable information to show where birds are thriving—and where they need our help. Note: If you don't yet know how to use eBird, there’s a free course to help you get the most out of the project and its tools.

Take it further: Mobilize others in your community by organizing school groups or leading bird walks and submitting your counts to eBird. Support organizations that coordinate monitoring projects.

Thanks to our friends at 3billionbirds.org for these suggestions on how we can all help birds.

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Thursday

A Simple Action to Help Birds - #6

Protect Our Planet from Plastics



The challenge: It’s estimated that 4,900 million metric tons of plastic have accumulated in landfills and in our environment worldwide, polluting our oceans and harming wildlife such as seabirds, whales and turtles that mistakenly eat plastic or become entangled in it.

The cause: Plastic takes more than 400 years to degrade, and 91 percent of plastics created are not recycled. Studies show that at least 80 seabird species ingest plastic, mistaking it for food. Cigarette lighters, toothbrushes and other trash have been found in the stomachs of dead albatrosses.

Reduce your use of plastics: Avoid single-use plastics including bags, bottles, wraps and disposable utensils. It’s far better to choose reusable items, but if you do have disposable plastic, be sure to recycle it.

Thanks to our friends at 3billionbirds.org for these suggestions on how we can all help birds.

Share this post and invite your friends to subscribe to Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine to get more tips like this. We have an all access subscription offer.

Wednesday

A Simple Action to Help Birds - #5

Drink Coffee That’s Good for Birds



The challenge: Three-quarters of the world’s coffee farms grow their plants in the sun, destroying forests that birds and other wildlife need for food and shelter. Sun-grown coffee also often requires using environmentally harmful pesticides and fertilizers. On the other hand, shade-grown coffee preserves a forest canopy that helps migratory birds survive the winter.

The cause: Too few consumers are aware of the problems of sun coffee. Those who are aware may be reluctant to pay more for environmentally sustainable coffee.

Insist on shade-grown coffee that’s good for birds: It’s a win-win-win: it’s delicious, economically beneficial to coffee farmers and helps more than 42 species of North American migratory songbirds that winter in coffee plantations, including orioles, warblers and thrushes.

Take it further: Look for Bird-Friendly coffee, a certification from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center that also includes organic and fair-trade standards. 

Thanks to our friends at 3billionbirds.org for these suggestions on how we can all help birds.

Share this post and invite your friends to subscribe to Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine to get more tips like this. We have an all access subscription offer.

Tuesday

A Simple Action to Help Birds - #4

Avoid Pesticides




The challenge: More than 1 billion pounds of pesticides are applied in the United States each year. The continent’s most widely used insecticides, called neonicotinoids or “neonics,” are lethal to birds and to the insects that birds consume. Common weed killers used around homes, such as 2, 4-D and glyphosate, can be toxic to wildlife, and glyphosate has been declared a probable human carcinogen.

The cause: Pesticides that are toxic to birds can harm them directly through contact, or if they eat contaminated seeds or prey. Pesticides can also harm birds indirectly by reducing the number of insects that birds need to survive.

A healthy choice for you, your family, and birds: Consider purchasing organic food. Nearly 70 percent of produce sold in the U.S. contains pesticides. Reduce pesticides around your home and garden. 

Thanks to our friends at 3billionbirds.org for these suggestions on how we can all help birds.

Share this post and invite your friends to subscribe to Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine to get more tips like this. We have an all access subscription offer.

Monday

A Simple Action to Help Birds - #3

Replace Lawns, Plant Natives






The challenge: Birds have fewer places to safely rest during migration and to raise their young: More than 10 million acres of land in the United States were converted to developed land from 1982 to 1997.

The cause: Lawns and pavement don’t offer enough food or shelter for many birds and other wildlife. With more than 63 million acres of lawn in the U.S. alone, there’s huge potential to support wildlife by replacing lawns with native plantings.

Take it further: Add native plants and watch birds come in. Native plants add interest and beauty to your yard and neighborhood and provide shelter and nesting areas for birds. The nectar, seeds, berries and insects will sustain birds and diverse wildlife.

Thanks to our friends at 3billionbirds.org for these suggestions on how we can all help birds.

Share this post and invite your friends to subscribe to Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine to get more tips like this. We have an all access subscription offer.

Sunday

A Simple Action to Help Birds - #2

Keep Cats Indoors



The challenge: Cats are estimated to kill more than 2.6 billion birds annually in the U.S. and Canada. This is the #1 human-caused reason for the loss of birds, aside from habitat loss. 

The cause: Cats can make great pets, but more than 110 million feral and pet cats now roam in the United States and Canada. These nonnative predators instinctively hunt and kill birds even when well fed.

Solutions that are good for cats and birds: Save birds and keep cats healthy by keeping cats indoors or creating an outdoor “catio.” You can also train your cat to walk on a leash.

Take it further: Speak out about the impacts of feral cat colonies in your neighborhood and on public lands. Unowned cats’ lives may be as short as two years because of disease and hardship, and they are responsible for more than two-thirds of birds killed by cats in North America

Thanks to our friends at 3billionbirds.org for these suggestions on how we can all help birds.

Share this post and invite your friends to subscribe to Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine to get more tips like this. We have an all access subscription offer.