Biology And Management Of White-tailed Deer In Alabama

servation log should be kept at the same location as the harvest data
log.
Another important point to remember about observational data
is all hunters should be truthful when recording their observations.
Just as estimating harvest data is of little value, failing to record all
deer seen or inflating the number of deer seen while hunting can greatly
reduce the usefulness of a group’s observational data. If some club
members do not want to share what they are seeing during the hunting
season, each hunter can keep a log throughout the season which can
then be summarized at the end of the season. Another option is to
maintain a locked box with a slot on top at the data collection station.
Hunters can fill out cards indicating field observations while hunting
and then place the cards in the locked box. The key for the lock should
be given only to one person—the club president, the landowner, or some
other trustworthy person. At the end of the hunting season, the contents
of the box can be removed and the season’s observations can be
summarized.
The most basic observational data that should be recorded are
the hours hunted and number of deer seen while hunting. Hours hunted
should be recorded as the actual hours spent in the woods hunting.
This should not include the time spent socializing with other hunters
before and after the hunt or the time spent driving to and from the
stand. Including all of this extra time will distort the data by inflating
the number of hours spent in the field.
How the deer observations are recorded can be as simple as the
number of antlerless and antlered deer seen. To get the most benefit
from recording the observations, it is better to further break down the
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