W.H. Chip Gross
An attitude is subtly changing in Ohio concerning a certain species of large, charismatic wildlife. In 1969, the Buckeye State had just four pairs of nesting bald eagles remaining, a struggling population on the verge of extirpation due to the indiscriminate use of the chemical DDT. But once that chemical was banned, the birds made a steady, startling comeback, and nesting pairs of bald eagles in the state now number near 1,000. But is it possible to have too much of a good thing, even in the case of our national symbol, the bald eagle? The following two “Ask Chip” questions this month show
In the June 2024 issue of Ohio Cooperative Living print magazine, I wrote my monthly Woods, Waters, & Wildlife outdoors column about pesky poison ivy in a story titled “Leaves of three, let it be!” In the July 2024 issue, I described my custom-made hiking staff in a column called “Walking-stick work of art.” It wasn’t long before I heard from Bertille Mayberry, commenting on both stories.
David Fullenkamp, Midwest Electric
Q. In the November 2025 issue of Ohio Cooperative Living, you wrote an article about migratory raptors. The story helped me identify the pair of birds hunting around my house, a pair of gyrfalcons. I have seen them most days since the first of December. I live two miles west of St. Henry, Ohio, in Mercer County. I have lived in the country all my life, and this is the first year that I have seen them. Is it unusual for gyrfalcons to migrate this far south? Just thought you might be interested and would like a comment.
Kathleen MacMurray, Hancock-Wood Electric Cooperative
Q. Hi Chip: I live on County Road 220 next to the Hancock-Wood substation north of Van Buren, Ohio, and read your very interesting outdoor articles in Ohio Cooperative Living magazine. Perhaps you can solve a riddle for me: I had six very nice laying hens in a fenced yard, and one warm summer afternoon when I went out to refresh their drinking water, all six were lying dead, decapitated, with no signs of any predator around. I wondered, could it have been a fox, hawk, owl, or a mink that killed them?
