Wildlife encounters behind the wheel
I saw an ermine earlier this month and, as usual, it showed itself when I least expected it - as I drove just outside a little hamlet in Franklin County, heading to visit a popular local fly shop in the…
Out There–Online by Steve Piatt
Peaking post-season
Sometimes my friends can't figure me out. Even Paula, who's been riding shotgun for nearly 25 years now, shakes her head sometimes when my focus narrows and a borderline - or maybe not so borderline - obsession kicks in and…
Small game, weather permitting
There are a lot of reasons why I'd be perfectly content to get through this North Country winter without much beyond a dusting of snow here and there to whiten things up a bit, notably around the holiday season. It…
North-South deer hunting
I'm really not sure what it means, now that I've essentially waved the white flag up here in the Northern Zone and have shut down my deer-hunting efforts until the Southern Zone opener Nov. 19. It could mean that, like…
Another stinking hunting season
This is the time of year when our three Labrador retrievers don't get quite as much attention from me, especially during those afternoons when I'm getting ready to head out into a treestand for a few hours. I'm not among…
Bear with me, it's hunting season
I was running two of our three Labs last week when I stumbled, almost literally, on some fallen beech nuts in an area where I'd never seen them before. I was stunned, and immediately thought to myself it's time to…
Going deep, picture perfect
I bought an "underwater" camera earlier this year, not necessarily because I planned on doing any SCUBA diving but because I knew that, as much time as I dangle any camera in the middle of a trout stream, it would…
Best of the bayou: Swamp People
It took a little self-analysis before I finally locked onto the reasons why I'm hooked on the reality TV show "Swamp People," that History Channel offering set in the Louisiana bayou where alligator hunters deal with everything that remote region…
Old school at work and play
To put it mildly, I'm technically challenged. That may explain why I still use a compass instead of a GPS unit, don't re-load my own rounds, rarely use a cell phone and have never sent a text message, still wear…
Calling it a season
There comes a point in the spring gobbler season when you realize it's over, at least as far as your hunting schedule is concerned. It happens to me every spring, and that May 31 season-closing date means little because by…
The evolution of a turkey hunter
In recent years I've become convinced more than ever that experience may be the biggest factor contributing to success in the spring turkey woods, and if that's the case then by the time I'm 138 years old I should have…
A trip to the city
Every once in a while - I try to make it down every month - I head down the road to Albany for the Conservation Fund Advisory Board's monthly meeting. It's really not a bad trip, about two hours or…
Another opener observed
Paula and I didn't have too many options for our ceremonial trout season kickoff, which we made a day after the traditional April 1 kickoff, since it was snowing steadily on that day, a wet, sticky snow which, now that…
Striking up the turkey-hunting season
This is typically the time of year when I really start thinking about spring gobbler hunting. True, anyone who knows me even a little would say it's always on my mind, but when the days start getting longer, the snow…
Goin' Down Flinging: Gobblers with a Bow
Sometime in the next couple weeks, I'll dig into the basement closet and haul out the bow case where my Mathews Z7 has resided since early November. I'll take a quick inventory of arrows, field points, maybe even broadheads if…
Antler restrictions? Let's be honest
Given my fairly well-documented stance on mandatory antler restrictions, it's not surprising I've been taking some good-natured jabs since downing a trophy buck this past season in Pennsylvania, which has had "three points on one side" regulations for several seasons…
Wrestling with winter
When you live in the Adirondacks - and in the heart of the Adirondacks, none of this fringe or foothills stuff - like we do, this is the time of year when, if you're not careful, you can begin to…
Gun-shyness shoots down pheasant hunting
I can pretty much pinpoint when our youngest Lab, Haley, became a bit gun shy. It was a few seasons back, on a New Year's Eve afternoon, just a couple hours before the pheasant season closed. A trio of us…
Memories of Wyoming
I'm literally carrying the memories of my September trip to Wyoming for a long-awaited, much-anticipated archery hunt for pronghorn antelope.And, frankly, I'm getting tired of it.The trip itself was fantastic; I ultimately downed a decent goat in the final hours…
Snowstorms may limit deer hunting
New York deer hunters are always hoping for snow. But it's doubtful they're happy with 2 to 4 feet of the white stuff, which is what many whitetail chasers in central and western New York saw during the latter portion…
Second suburban coyote attack
Rye, N.Y. (AP) — A coyote has attacked a 3-year-old girl playing in her backyard in suburban New York, the second coyote attack on a child in the same suburb within four days. Rye Mayor Doug French says the 3-year-old…
One dead, one hurt in deer-motorcycle collisions
Hartland, N.Y. (AP) — Separate collisions involving motorcyclists and deer on western New York roads have left one man dead and another in critical condition. The Erie County Sheriff's Department says the first accident occurred late Saturday night in the…
Mother falcon attacks dog, people
Buffalo, N.Y. (AP) — Her chicks have left the nest, but a peregrine falcon nesting on a Buffalo tower is proving to be an overprotective mother. Antoine Lanier says he saw the falcon recently chase a teenage boy across a…
Advocates want more wolf protection
Montpelier, Vt. (AP) — Some wildlife advocates are decrying a decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service not to provide special protection for wolves in upstate New York, northern New England and Massachusetts. Wildlife Service officials say the decision…
Group says Upper Delaware 'most endangered'
Allentown, Pa. (AP) — An advocacy group has named New York's Upper Delaware River the nation's most endangered. American Rivers says the Upper Delaware is threatened by plans to drill for natural gas. Energy companies have leased thousands of acres…
About This Blog
Steve Piatt has served as editor of New York Outdoor News since its launch in 2004, and has been a newspaper reporter and editor for more than 30 years. He’s an avid outdoorsman who’s hunted and fished across North America. He loves spring gobbler hunting (taking the grand slam); deer hunting with bow or rifle; fly fishing the Adirondacks and Catskills as well as backcountry brook trout streams; and hunting pheasants with one of his three Labrador retrievers. Steve is a member of National Wild Turkey Federation, Trout Unlimited and National Rifle Association, and works out of his home office in Elizabethtown in Essex County, about 10 minu
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