While standing along the road near my house, inspecting the handiwork of the township road crew and catching up with the neighbors and their girls' new 4-H project, I saw a motorcycle coming up the road

Sure enough, its rider, Chuck Sack from the old Big Buck Gun Shop, pulled over to chat with me. He wanted to know when bobcat licenses would be drawn for this year's hunt.

He also wanted to know if I could share his idea about saving birds from flying into windows. Here it is: Homeowners should hang badminton nets along the tops of the windows and the birdies will just bounce off without getting hurt. He claims that the nets aren't noticeable to humans.

All of this talk about licenses and birds made me think about the upcoming hunting season as well. It was then that I realized that I hadn't sent my annual application for the state elk hunt.

When I consulted the information in the Hunting and Trapping Digest, I realized that the regular mail application deadline had passed. However, I was in luck when I saw that the deadline to apply online at www.pgc.state.pa.us was Aug. 29, so I rectified the situation.

The application fee is $10 and is non-refundable. You will never get a more reasonable hunt for the money and you'll be helping the resident elk herd with your $10 fee even if you don't get picked for a license in 2008.

I know many hunters feel they never get a break and their chances of being picked are poor. But I became living proof that electronic applications do get picked when my bobcat application was selected two years ago.

If any hunters or trappers want to apply for the bobcat license, it is still available online until Sept. 2. The application fee is $5 and is non-refundable as well. This year, the Game Commission will offer 1,435 permits for the season that runs from Oct. 25 through Feb. 21. The permits will be drawn in September and mailed to the winning applicants.

Another item in the wind that should be of interest to hunters is Senate Bill 1527, which is being sponsored on behalf of the Game Commission to raise hunting license fees in 2009.

Currently, the adult resident hunting license fee is $20 per year, which hasn't changed since 1999. The proposed new hunting license fee will be $26 as of July 1.

The cost of the antlerless deer license will be raised from $6 to $13 per permit as well. The bill then has a built-in increase about every three years after that initial jump.

I know that license fees in Pennsylvania are in the bottom group of all the states in the nation. We also have some of the best opportunities to harvest big game in the country, namely in whitetail deer, black bear and wild turkey.

I think the state's hunters have had it their way for a long time, and, as my buddy used to say, it's time to buck up.

Deer hunters also should remember that Monday is the deadline for the second antlerless deer application. A change in the doe season hunting in WMU 2D that covers most of Butler County has the season starting Dec. 6 and running through the 13th. You should look over the rules digest to make sure of your favorite WMU hunting areas.