The Meadville KOA Campground, 25164 Route 27 in Meadville, is offering a free night of camping May 11 to all campers who stay at the campground as paying guests May 10 as part of KOA’s 10th anniversary KOA Care Camps Big Weekend.

Campers can to go www.KOA.com to see a list of other participating campgrounds and make reservations. 

Campers also may enter the Great KOA Giveaway for a chance to win a new $40,000 Keystone Cougar recreational vehicle, and a decade of free KOA camping. Weekly prizes from KOA, Cabela’s and Weber Grills are also available.

The Friends of the Erie National Wildlife Refuge will host an owl prowl April 27 at 6:30 p.m.

Meet at refuge headquarters, 11296 Wood Duck Lane, Guys Mills, for an educational program before venturing into the woods with program leader Judy Acker from Audubon Pennsylvania.

Leaders will use recordings of owl calls to try to get a response from the likes of a great horned owl or barred owl, the most common species known to nest on the refuge.

Group size will be limited and preregistration is required. Call (814) 789-3585 to reserve your spot. Dress for the weather, wear suitable footwear for hiking and take a flashlight.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Pymatuning Wildlife Learning Center will open for season April 6.

Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday through the third week in September. The center is located at 12590 Hartstown Road, Linesville, Crawford County.

The adjacent Linesville State Fish Hatchery, operated by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, also opens April 6 with an open house.

The annual open house at the Linesville State Fish Hatchery is scheduled for April 6 from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at 13300 Hartstown Road, Linesville, Crawford County.

Visitors will be able, among other things, to watch the walleye spawning process including fish sorting, and removing and fertilizing eggs; see native fish species in the 10,000-gallon viewing tank; learn how to tell the age of fish; tie knots, flies and cast, rig a rod, and fillet and cook fish; buy a $3 t-shirt and put a fish print on it; buy a Pennsylvania fishing license, posters, patches, and books; practice casting skills in the Kids Casting Area; visit the boating safety tent; and talk to staff from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and other partner agencies.

Shuttle service from the parking areas to the Visitor Center will be provided.

To get to the hatchery, turn off of Route 6 at the only light in downtown Linesville and go half a mile to the entrance.

Learn to birdwatch in time for spring migration with a four-week class starting April 3 in Meadville.

Audubon Pennsylvania in Northwestern Pennsylvania will present Birding 101 for beginning birders and those who want to sharpen their skills. Classes will take place on four consectuvie Wednesdays starting April 3 from 7-8 p.m. at 301 Chestnut St.

Preregistration is required, and there is a $10 fee for registration and materials.

Sarah Sargent, an expert birder and ornithologist, will instruct on the use of field guides, common birds, bird songs, identification tips, where to look for birds, habitats, binocular use and more.

Audubon Pennsylvania in Northwestern Pennsylvania also will conduct bird walks at Erie National Wildlife Refuge’s Sugar Lake Division in Guys Mills on April 27, May 4, May 18 and May 25. Expert guest birders will lead the walks on trails at the refuge from 8:30-10:30 a.m Walks are open to the public.

For information, or to register, call Judy Acker at Audubon Pennsylvania, (814) 333-1170.

Adult trout stockings in Erie County will start in earnest March 28 on French Creek.

The majority of stockings will take place in the days before April 13, the statewide opening day. East Basin and West Basin ponds at Presque Isle State Park and Upper Gravel Pit in Fairview were stocked in early February and will be stocked again in the preseason and after the opener.

Crawford County stockings started this past week in Little Sugar and continue this week in North Deer Creek and East Oil Creek.

To check stocking dates and times for all northwestern Pennsylvania counties and streams, visit the Pennsyvania Fish and Boat Commission’s adult trout stockings page. Select a county, then select start and end dates and press “Go.”

Van Tassel Timberland Bait’s popular ice-fishing tournaments are scheduled to take place in February.

The Canadohta Lake tournament is scheduled for Feb. 9, with a Feb. 23 make-up date.

The Conneaut Lake tournament is scheduled for Feb. 23

Tickets are $15; register at Timberland Bait Shop, 36320 Dutch Hill Road, Union City.

Brian Kightlinger, of Venango, shot a buck Nov. 28 near his home. It was his first-ever 10-point.

2012 PA Rifle Buck

Vote for the NWPA Outdoors Deer of the Year at goerie.com/deeroftheyear. Voting ends Dec. 31, and the Deer of the Year will be announced Jan. 6 in the Erie Times-News and on www.GoErie.com, along with an Editor’s Choice pick.

You can still submit your deer photo to the GoErie Hunting and Fishing gallery.

Kirk P. Hulick, left, and his son, Kirk C. Hulick, each shot a deer on family property in Rockdale Township, Crawford County, during the Pennsylvania general hunting season.

Kirk P. Hulick, of Erie, got his 9-point on opening day at 11:30 a.m. He used a .243.

Kirk C. Hulick, also of Erie, got his 185-pound 8-point Dec. 1 at 11 a.m. with his .308.

Vote for the NWPA Outdoors Deer of the Year at goerie.com/deeroftheyear. Voting ends Dec. 31, and the Deer of the Year will be announced Jan. 6 in the Erie Times-News and on www.GoErie.com, along with an Editor’s Choice pick.

You can still submit your deer photo to the GoErie Hunting and Fishing gallery.

The Black Ash Sportsman Club Winter Classic Skeet League is scheduled to start Jan. 5 at the club grounds, 84010 Clark Road, Guys Mills.

Shoots take place every other Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. until March 30. Cost is $10 for a round of 50 targets; junior (16 and under) cost is only $7. The cost includes an end-of-season dinner banquet March 30.

Shooters can compete back or ahead, so one does not have to be at every shoot. One must shoot at least five rounds to establish a handicap and be eligible for the final match. Practice Targets are $3.50 per 25.

For information, e-mail winterskeet@blackashsportsman.org, go to www.blackashsportsman.org or call Tom Mattis at (814) 720-5045.