The wisdom of March

We're well into February now. We've given our sweethearts their Valentine's chocolates, finished up the hunting seasons, and are watching as the ice fishing gradually melts away with the lengthening days. We're soon to enter the gray days of that "tween" month of March — and it makes me feel restless. It's "make work" time for the sportsman inside of us. We clean and secure our hunting gear to wait for spring turkeys and then for summer's green leaves to transform into autumn's colorful hues. We spool fishing reels with fresh line and organize our tackle which will — within months — once again be in shambles from our trips on the water. Spotting scopes and binoculars will be cleaned and readied for spring's bird migrations while trail camera photos are reviewed for hopeful hints about how our wildlife neighbors spend their time. Farmers finish their maintenance on ground-working equipment and they double check seed orders while the rest of us sharpen mower blades and store away our snow shovels. We might attend a sports show or attend neglected club meetings while we wait for the doldrums to pass, but that fidgety restlessness persists. And as we wait for spring to bring us running walleyes and popping morels, March brings us mud. The ground, still too cool to support rapid growth, becomes saturated while its depths slowly thaw. Late snows don't last long with its remnants looking like piles of dirty white laundry — all being joined by gray-skied tears creating a mire of brown soup we step around and over. We view the days as bleak and can't wait for the grass to green, the spring beauties and daffodils to burst through the leaves, and that first boss turkey to declare his territory with his early morning declaration. We get impatient, bored, anxious ... But not all of us. It seems that kids and dogs are impervious to the muds of March. They see it as just another welcomed change of nature's playgrounds. Neither can pass a puddle without a good splash. The mud itself is for making pies or for tossing. Their canine friends joyfully join them, using it as an impromptu bath tub or to role in the heavenly aromas only their noses can appreciate as the kids laugh at their antics. Together, they ignore the fact that they should be miserable in that quagmire — finding the joy hidden in its sticky mess – even if it means that they both might have to share a shower stall before falling exhausted, side-by-side on the living room floor. The month of March is much like those kids and dogs — it's the "between" month, struggling to find its own individuality. Not quite winter and not quite spring — but itself, anxiously waiting for endless summers and autumn leaves. It labors to find its place. "In like a lion, out like a lamb" offers only one sure bet, there will be mud. Kids and dogs seem to understand this, proving it with a splashing enthusiasm as they follow the month's silent walk toward change. Together, they still understand how to find a joy in the moment — in those things they cannot control. That, I suppose, is true wisdom. "It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade." — Charles Dickens Along the way The Ohio Division of Wildlife is conducting a statewide bald eagle nest census in 2025 and is requesting the public's help to locate active eagle nests. Observers may report bald eagle nest locations at wildohio.gov until Sunday, March 16. By reporting bald eagle nest locations, wildlife watchers help Division of Wildlife biologists understand eagle population dynamics and monitor trends, ensuring this and other species continue to do well in the Buckeye State. Ohio's bald eagle population has increased dramatically in recent years. During the 2020 census, 707 nests were found in Ohio. Ottawa County led the state with 90 nests found during the 2020 census. At least one nest was found in every county except Jackson, Lawrence, and Meigs. Nests were even recorded in metropolitan counties such as Cuyahoga (three nests), Franklin (five nests), Hamilton (three nests), Montgomery (three nests), and Summit (five nests). The counties with the most active eagle nests during the 2020 census were: Ottawa (90); Sandusky (50); Erie (32); Trumbull (26); Seneca (24); Wyandot (19); Lucas (18); Licking (17), and Ashtabula, Knox, Mercer, and Wood in a four-way tie (16 each). Look for eagles near their preferred aquatic habitats such as rivers, wetlands, and lakes. The lack of foliage during the winter season helps in spotting bald eagles, plus courtship and nest building begins in January and February. Bald eagles in Ohio typically lay eggs and incubate in February and March, nesting in large trees such as sycamores, beeches, oaks, and cottonwoods. The bald eagle was once an endangered species, with only four nesting pairs in Ohio in 1979. Thanks to partnerships between the Division of Wildlife, Ohio zoos, wildlife rehabilitation facilities, concerned landowners, and conservationists, its population increased. After much hard work and continued conservation, the bald eagle was removed from the federal list of threatened and endangered species in 2007, and from Ohio's list in 2012. Bald eagle habitat protection and research is funded by the sale of bald eagle conservation license plates, income tax check-off donations to the Endangered Species and Wildlife Diversity Fund, and sales of the Ohio Wildlife Legacy Stamp. Similarly, revenue derived from hunting and fishing license sales helps the Division of Wildlife expand wildlife areas and manage habitats for eagles and other wildlife. Step outside • March 1: Wyandot County Pheasants Forever Annual Banquet. The Masters Building, Wyandot County Fairgrounds, 10171 St. Hwy. 53 N., Upper Sandusky. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. For information: wyandotpf@gmail.com. For tickets: https://events.pheasantsforever.org/events/f0db99f6-f025-4cf9-a638-ee8adcb61a55. • March 2: Primitive Blackpowder Muzzle Loader Shoot, round ball only, 1 p.m. Black Swamp Muzzle Loaders Club, 8831 Township Road 19, McComb. Email: roadkill4u@hotmail.com. • March 2: Trap Shoot, 1 p.m. Mount Blanchard Gun Club, 21655 Delaware Township Road 186. • March 8: Blanchard Valley Friends of NRA Banquet, 5:30 p.m. Old Mill Stream Center, Hancock County Fairgrounds. For information and tickets: https://eventtracker.friendsofnra.org/EventDocs/61313_Findlay.pdf. • March 14–16: Open Season Sportsman's Expo Ohio, Bricker Building, Ohio State Fairgrounds. Industry leading companies, high-tech gear, equipment, and the latest hunting and outdoor products on the market today; Archery Trick Shooting, Field-to-Fork Cooking Demos, Educational Seminars, world class whitetail deer displays and much more. Tickets or information: www.openseasonsportsmansexpo.com/ohio/. • March 15-16: The largest collecting and carving event in the Midwest. Sponsored by the Ohio Decoy Collectors and Carvers Association (ODCCA) and the Great Lakes Decoy Association. Holiday Inn Cleveland South, 6001 Rockside Road, Independence, OH. For information: www.odcca.net. • March 19: Ohio's 41st Annual Wildlife Diversity Conference, Ohio Union — the largest single-day wildlife diversity conference in the country, 1739 N. High St., Columbus, 43210 (OSU campus). Pre-registration is recommended: $35.00 if paid before Feb. 28, after that date or on site will be $50.00. The registration fee includes all handout materials. Information and registration, visit www.wildohio.gov. • March 22: Hancock County Pheasants Forever Annual Banquet, 5:30 p.m. The Old Mill Stream Centre at the Hancock County Fairgrounds, 1017 E. Sandusky St. in Findlay. Advance tickets for this year's event will be sold at $80 for a single and $125 for a couple; covering dinner by Oler's Bar & Grill, annual membership to Pheasants Forever, and subscription to Pheasants Forever magazine. For information: mark_plesec@goodyear.com. For tickets: https://events.pheasantsforever.org/events/1ef67300-2370-4da3-91cb-119b323d7071. • March 22: Seneca County Pheasants Forever Annual Banquet, Meadowbrook Park Ballroom, 5430 W Tiffin St., Bascom. For information: aroby@pheasantsforever.orgo For tickets: https://events.pheasantsforever.org/events/5eca7d77-725f-402e-8313-984be40c0655. • March 25: Deadline to enter your best bird photos and videos in this year's Audubon Photography Awards. The winning images will be eligible for cash prizes and the chance to have them featured in Audubon magazine. Visit: www.audubon.org/section/audubon-photography-awards. • March 28: Deadline for non-Ohio State students and high school students to apply for scholarship support to attend classes at Stone Laboratory, The Ohio State University's Island campus on Lake Erie. To see scholarship requirements and to apply, got to: www.go.osu.edu/aid. Jim Abrams is a retired wildlife officer supervisor for the state Division of Wildlife in Findlay. He can be reached at P.O. Box 413, Mount Blanchard, OH 45867-0413 or via email at jimsfieldnotes@aol.com.