Woods, Waters & Wildlife

Chapman had always been drawn to the woods and wilderness, intrigued by Native people, wildlife, and the many medicinal plants the vast forests provided. A kind, gentle, religious man, he was also a born storyteller. And he respected all animals, both domestic and wild — he was never known to have carried a weapon. Historian Henry Howe, who traveled Ohio during the early 19th century, while Johnny was still alive, even related this story: 

But as forests once again began growing in Ohio during the early part of the 20th century, deer gradually returned along with them, only this time with strict hunting regulations in place to protect the herd. Fast forward to today, and whitetails are so numerous that they are common not only in rural areas but also in suburbs and even large cities. 

It’s one of the most intriguing sights in all of nature. Whether from a perch or a hover, the bird folds its wings and drops like a rock, hitting the water with a splash. Within a split second, an opaque nictitating membrane — a kingfisher’s third eyelid — closes horizontally over the eyeball to help protect it under water. The kingfisher doesn’t spear the fish, but instead grabs it between its upper and lower jawbones.

Aggressive mini-predators, dragonflies and damselflies hunt their prey on the wing, capturing other flying insects such as small flies, mosquitoes (hooray!), and, at times, other dragonflies. Larger dragonflies can even take down swallowtail butterflies. And their appetite
is voracious.  

Glotzhober cites an early 1900s researcher in Florida who had reared a cageful of houseflies to present to a large dragonfly of the darner family for feeding. “The researcher kept feeding the dragonfly until he ran out of flies, and all in one sitting,” he says.

More commonly known in years past as sparrow hawks, kestrels measure just a foot or less in body length, but have a wingspan of up to 2 feet, which aids them in their unique hovering style of hunting. 

Despite their small size, kestrels possess the same fierce, intense nature of larger falcons, such as the peregrine, which also lives in Ohio. Kestrels, however, are no match for peregrines’ speed. In level flight, peregrines have been clocked at 70 miles per hour, and in a steep dive known as a stoop, they can reach 200 mph — the fastest creature on earth!

Born in Cleveland and raised in Fremont, Pollick displayed early interests in both the outdoors and writing. He soon discovered, through his high school English teachers, that he had an innate ability to break down complex concepts and make them easy for people to understand.  

He graduated from the University of Toledo and earned a master’s from Ohio State, then went to work as a general assignment reporter for The Blade. His editors noticed his well-researched, accurate stories, and offered him the coveted position of outdoors editor. He jumped at it.  

Just as amazing, however, are the staggering odds that individual wild animals face to survive to adulthood in our modern environment. Take the wild turkey, for example. Joe Hutto, author of the 1995 book Illumination in the Flatwoods (which was made into a PBS TV special, My Life as a Turkey), put it this way:

Large, handsome, fast-flying birds, canvasbacks were not exactly numerous during those years, but they were plentiful enough to be considered fair game. No matter how hard we hunted, however, we never bagged a single one. 

I retired from duck hunting and sold the boat decades ago, but in truth, I never totally lost the desire to bag a “bull can,” as hunters call the male (or drake) canvasback. Recently, I realized that I’m not getting any younger, and I decided that if I’m ever going to do it, I should probably do it soon. And I knew exactly where to begin my “hunt.” 

The rodents are so large (weighing up to 60 pounds) and unrelentingly industrious (“busy as a beaver,” of course), sometimes it may seem their secret motto is “Dam the Humans!” 

Until recently, the main solution to beaver issues has been to do away with the beaver; eliminate the beaver and you eliminate the problem, or so goes the theory. But that kind of thinking is slowly beginning to change. Many rural landowners enjoy having beavers on their property, along with other wildlife their ponds attract — as long as the beavers and their dams can be kept under control. 

Tundra swan (the good)

The tundra swan is Ohio’s only native swan. Large flocks of them migrate through the state late in February and March on their way north to nest in the High Arctic, then come back with their young cygnets the following November and December, especially along the shores of Lake Erie.  If you have an older bird ID book, the tundra swan may be identified as a “whistling swan.”