Charlie Elk

pseudonym of a man

Archives for June 2012

Mother Turkey Hen is Killed by a Predator

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This poult is now an orphan

While hiking this morning, I came upon the scene of the heinous crime, the murder of a mother. Mrs. Hen was apparently going about the peaceful business of raising her brood when some lurking predator struck her dead. Her family terrified jumped into a wild flight, off to who knows where. Those poor orphaned poults are now homeless and vulnerable if they are not dead already.

 

What do you think killed Mrs. Hen?

Hen turkey death scene

 

Hen turkey killed by predator

 

Submit your best guess of the murderer in the comments.

BTW, we can hope the dead hen’s poults get adopted by another brood hen.  If poults survive the attack, they will seek out a new hen by sound and sight.  That is why turkeys are so vocal even this time of year; if you know what to listen for you will hear hens and poults calling out to each other.

 

Sunrise in the Woods

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Sweat is trickling around on my skin with my breath coming in long steady gulps trying to satisfy the hungry lungs burning in my chest. False dawn provides a twilight feel as I rest, listening for the faintest hint of a turkey, rustling feathers or the scratch of feet shifting on the bark of massive oak limbs overhanging my steep hillside trail.

I am here due to a sudden change of plans, last night a good buddy called to report he heard a gobbler while fishing on the Mississippi River yesterday afternoon. He quit turkey hunting a few years ago, a situation I have failed to remedy. Being the kind of fellow who is always looking for a way help someone, he called knowing I would be interested even though that turkey was atop a heavily wooded cliff, which around this area is usually referred to simply as a bluff.
Since there had been no vocal birds anywhere else I’d been hunting; more than willing ears absorbed this hot turkey tip.

At 5:00 am I found myself at the base of a 500-foot bluff thinking just maybe my friend was playing with me, the mental picture of him holding his laughing stomach, face contorted in mirth caused a moment of hesitation every turkey hunter knows when he starts to think about being somewhere else.
There was no turkey talk going on, a beautiful but silent morning and I’m in an area my boots had never before trod. Up the old logging path, hooting and cawing.

At the top, the woods was open, 5:45 not so much as a cluck.
I set up on the most comfortable tree of the season the sun just a red glow peeking over the horizon at my back. Fighting off a bout of tree trunk narcolepsy I made my first calls – quiet yelps, rising to cackles.  Nothing. Let out a series of lost yelps and kee-kees. Still and quiet.

About 6:10 red pinkish sunrise light is filtering thru the upper story leaves dancing and flickering a rainbow of colored bars all around throughout the woods;  a gorgeous unbeatable morning, certainly worth the hike as my mind strains to absorb it all into the pages of my mind.

There – I know not,  from where he came; the most outrageously beautiful strutting turkey I have ever seen; bathed in the glow of those multi-colored beams of sunrise. Irradiance feathers caught and shimmered those colored rays of light changing into little starbursts of color skittling across my glasses at me as he pirouetted on his toes in a manner that would make any ballerina jealous.

As I had many times in the past, I gazed intently over the gun barrel usually a natural thing at a time like this, but it seemed harsh and so out of place this morning. Tomorrow is another day.

Ruffed grouse numbers entering downside of population cycle

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Updated at: Grouse 2016 Wisconsin Outlook; Ruffed Grouse Drumming Survey

WDNR Press Release

Weekly News article published: June 12, 2012, by the Central Office
MADISON – Ruffed grouse populations in Wisconsin appear to be entering a downswing, according to a recently completed roadside ruffed grouse survey.

Ruffed grouse populations are known to boom and bust over a nine- to 11-year cycle, according to Brian Dhuey, wildlife surveys coordinator for the Department of Natural Resources. The index that Wisconsin uses to track ruffed grouse decreased 25 percent between 2011 and 2012.

“While this is a bit of bad news for grouse hunters, it should not be too big of a surprise,” Dhuey said.  “We were overdue for the expected downturn.”

The Wisconsin roadside survey to monitor the number of breeding grouse was conducted by staff from the DNR and U.S. Forest Service, tribal employees, and numerous grouse enthusiasts and volunteers since 1964.  Surveyors begin 30 minutes before sun rise and drive along established routes, making ten stops at assigned points and listening for four minutes for the distinctive “thump, thump, thump” drumming sounds made by male grouse.  Results from this survey have helped DNR biologists monitor the cyclic population dynamics of ruffed grouse in the state.

“Spring arrived early in Wisconsin in 2012, and conditions for the survey were rated ‘excellent’ by 60 percent of the routes, this was about the same as last year’s 62 percent and above the long-term average,” Dhuey said.

The number of drums heard per stop was down 25 percent in 2012 from the previous year.  Both of the primary regions for grouse in the state, the central and northern forest areas, showed declines of 21 and 26 percent respectively.  The only area to show an increase was the southeast, where grouse exist in only isolated areas of suitable young forest habitat and are not common.

The number of routes that showed a decline in the number of drums heard outpaced those that showed an increase by better than 2:1 margin.  Results from the survey matched declines seen on two research areas, with the Sandhill Wildlife Area showing a decrease of 11 percent and the Stone Lake Experimental Area showing a decrease of 18 percent.  Complete survey results are found on the DNR website (search Wildlife Reports).

“This drop in breeding grouse was not unexpected, as grouse populations tend to be at their peak in years ending in a 9 or 0 in Wisconsin.  Last year we had an increase in grouse and were probably at the cyclic peak, a decline was inevitable,” Dhuey said.

“Early weather conditions are excellent for nesting and brood rearing, if we can stay normal or above for temperatures and have a bit of dry weather, we should have a pretty good brood year.  I would expect that hunters will see a decline in the number of birds they see afield this fall, but areas of good cover should still hold birds.  In years with lower grouse numbers, hunters who find success are those willing to explore new coverts, as grouse will tend to occupy only the best habitat available and may not be found in the same areas where hunters found them in recent years,” he said.

For more information search for ruffed grouse hunting on the DNR website.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:  Brian Dhuey – 608-221-6342) or Scott Walter – 608-267-7861

Smitty’s Spring Turkey

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My 2012 Spring Turkey

Written by Smitty, posted by charlie elk.

Slowly sneaking into position I question whether I made a good decision or not. I had been running late that morning so instead of going for a bird that I had roosted the night before, I headed towards a spot that I had seen one earlier in the year.

I am about 40 yards from my planned location when a gobble echoes through the pine swamp. Just as I had feared, the bird is already on the ground.  Belly crawling to the field edge was my only hope for getting a shot.  Soft yelps come from my dad as he sits back and watches my sneak. Once reaching the edge of the field, I try to stay still with all of the adrenalin flowing through my veins. He is close, maybe 60 yards, but I am still unable to see him. Both my dad and I begin calling frantically trying to work him into a frenzy. It works as the gobbler begins cutting and yelping back at us in between spells of triple and even quadruple gobbles. He refuses to come out into the field and into range. Then it all stops. Not another sound comes from the bird. After about 15 minutes I decide to sneak to the corner of the field to look down the wood-line.  Just as I reach the corner, the tom lets loose another gobble.

Using a large pine as cover, we begin another sequence of calls. Again the bird refuses to come closer. The sounds of him digging in the leaves die off and he again slips away. I begin to look around and plan my next move when he appears in the field about 200 yards away. Then two hens come over a knoll in the field and begin taking him away from me. The next 5 minutes entailed near constant gobbling as we cut and yelp at him like mad. Finally he could take it no longer. The tom lets down his tail and begins a full out sprint straight for me. He gobbles a couple times on the run and then drops behind another knoll in the field. All is quite except for the slight ‘click’ of the safety on my Remington 11-87. Many times have I seen a gobbler quiet down as he enters the woods so I knew the crucial time was coming. From behind a blow down at 28 yards he appears. A light squeeze of the trigger and a load of #6 shot drops the bird dead. It took only one hour and fifteen minutes for me to kill my biggest turkey ever but the memories will last a lifetime.

He is double bearded with one measuring 10 1/4in and the other 6in with dual 7/8 inch spurs.

2012 spring turkey harvest up 6 percent from 2011

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Wisonsin Department of Natural Resources press release June 5, 2012

Hunters encounter mild weather, new registration options

Wisconsin Wild Turkey

MADISON – Turkey hunters took advantage of comfortable hunting conditions this spring, judging by the preliminary registration total of 42,612 turkeys, a 6 percent increase over the spring 2011 turkey season. A total of 201,984 permits were issued for this year’s hunt, down slightly from the 2011 total of 210,384.

Unseasonably warm weather characterized much of the season, in stark contrast to last year when snow, wind, and rain hindered hunters during the early time periods.

“It really was an amazing contrast, weather-wise, from last year’s hunt,” said Scott Walter upland wildlife ecologist for the Department of Natural Resources. “Last year, there was snow on the ground, below-freezing temperatures, and high winds during the first time period. This year, spring was at the other extreme, probably two or three weeks ahead of normal, and the green-up was already quite advanced by the first week of May. Those who hunted later in the season definitely had denser vegetation and more mosquitoes to deal with than they likely expected.”

Zone 1 again produced the highest overall turkey harvest at 12,075 birds, followed by Zones 2 and 3, where hunters registered 10,486 and 10,283 turkeys, respectively. The highest hunter success was in Zone 2 with a preliminary success rate of 26 percent, followed by Zone 3 at 21 percent and Zone 1 at 20 percent. Success rates were between 16 percent and 19 percent for Zones 4 through 7. Overall, the statewide success rate was 21.1 percent, up from 19.1 percent last year.

The very different weather conditions during the 2011 and 2012 seasons may also have influenced how hunter effort was distributed throughout the season. Harvest during the first time period was 29 percent higher in 2012 than in 2011, but tapered off more steeply throughout the season.

“After the first time period, I was expecting a big jump in overall harvest,” Walter noted. “We did end up 6 percent higher than last year, but we actually harvested fewer turkeys during the last two periods than we did in 2011.”

Turkeys spread quickly from the initial 1976 stocking in Vernon County, and today are found statewide in areas with suitable habitat. As the number of both turkeys and turkey hunters increased in the state, so have annual harvests. Turkey populations have now stabilized across the state, and Walter says hunters should expect to see annual harvest levels nudge upward and downward from year to year in response to factors that tend to regulate turkey populations; weather is one such influence.

“Successful reproduction by turkeys is dependent upon suitable conditions during the May nesting and June brood-rearing periods, and turkeys in the northern part of the state can be impacted by severe winter weather,” stated Krista McGinley, assistant DNR upland wildlife ecologist. “Given dry spring weather and mild winters, turkeys can increase quickly in number, but wet springs and harsh winters can slow population growth from one year to the next. Hunters should expect to see this sort of annual variation in turkey numbers and annual harvests now that turkeys have saturated the available habitat.”

“With the weather cooperating as it did, the 2012 spring season was exceptional in the opportunities it created for camaraderie with friends and family,” Walter said.

That was reflected in a 16 percent jump in the number of turkeys registered during the two-day Youth Hunt.

“The legion of folks out there who served as mentors or in other capacities to introduce folks to hunting this spring really deserve credit,” Walter added. “They really cast hunting in its most positive light. Their actions serve not only to introduce people to the outdoors, but also to the experiential, spiritual, and community-building aspects of hunting that are all too often neglected in the public’s eye. The National Wild Turkey Federation and its members perhaps best exemplify this emphasis, through their strong support of hunter education and Learn to Hunt programs around the state.”

Telephone, online registration working well

This season was the first spring turkey hunt in which hunters didn’t have to transport their turkey to a registration station to get it registered due to phone-in and online registration systems, first introduced with the fall 2011 turkey hunt. Hunters seem to have transitioned to the new systems well.

“The majority of hunters have expressed satisfaction with the new systems, frequently citing their convenience; quite a few stated that they were able to register their turkey via cellphone right in the field,” McGinley said.

Hunters are reminded that these remote registration systems will be in place for all future spring and fall turkey seasons. No in-person registration will be available.

2012 fall season

Biologists say the recent mild winter bodes well for turkeys in Wisconsin, as well as prospects for this fall’s season.

“The fact that hunters were frequently harvesting exceptionally heavy gobblers this spring suggests that turkeys came out of the winter in good condition. This is especially important in the northern zones, where harsh winters can lead to mortality, and suggests that turkeys statewide likely entered the spring in good condition for breeding,” McGinley said.

A successful nesting and brood-rearing season will help propel turkey numbers upward. Generally speaking, dry conditions during June keep newly-hatched chicks from getting chilled and suffering from exposure, and lead to good production in all upland game bird species.

“Things were relatively dry during the nesting season. Most turkey nests hatch around the first of June in Wisconsin, and though we’ve had a bit of rain lately, dry weather over the next few weeks will help those chicks survive the critical first few weeks,” said McGinley.

The 2012 Fall Turkey and 2013 Spring Turkey regulations are included in the 2012 Wisconsin Small Game Hunting Regulations pamphlet, available on the Hunting Regulations page of the DNR website and in hard copy at DNR Service Centers and license vendors. For more information search for “turkey” on the DNR website.

The fall 2012 wild turkey season will run from Sept. 15 through Nov. 15, with an extended season in Turkey Management Zones 1-5 only from Nov. 26 through Dec. 31. The deadline for applying for a fall permit through the lottery process is August 1. Applications cost $3 and can be purchased over the internet through the Online Licensing Center, at license sales locations, or by calling toll-free 1-877-WI LICENSE (1-877-945-4263).

State turkey management plan revision underway

DNR staff are currently summarizing results of a survey of public attitudes and opinions regarding turkey management in the state. The goal is to incorporate this information into a revision of Wisconsin’s Wild Turkey Management Plan, a document that will essentially serve as the foundation for turkey management in the state for the next decade. Surveys were administered to attendees at eleven public input sessions held at various locations throughout Wisconsin in late April and early May, and an online version of the survey was available through May 31.

The survey asks for input regarding hunter satisfaction with various components of our current turkey hunting season structure, with respondents able to provide their reactions to a variety of possible alternatives.

“Data are still being analyzed but hunters who attended the sessions expressed very strong support for the six separate spring time periods, largely I think concerned by the threat of interference and competition that would occur if we had a single spring season,” McGinley said.

The full revision process will likely extend well into 2013.

“If all goes well, we’ll work with all of our partners to move forward with the plan, hopeful of taking it to the Natural Resources Board for approval sometime next spring,” Walter said.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Walter, Upland Wildlife Ecologist: 608-267-7861 or Krista McGinley, Assistant Upland Wildlife Ecologist: 608-261-8458

Turkey Call with Pen Barrel

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Turkeys can be called in with a wide variety of things, even your common ink pen.

Turkeys can be called in with a wide variety of calling implements.  From all types of friction calls like box and pot calls to wind calls such as trumpets, wing-bones and yes even a common everyday ink pen.  So if you forget your calls as I did one day—–
More accurately I did not forget my calls so to speak; as I was on my way out to hunt something else. There was a group of toms in a field I had permission to hunt. Then I discovered the box call usually kept in glove box was missing, there was the pen. I got out rushed the toms to break em up, only one peeled off a different direction from the rest. I set up in a hurry wearing a blue and black plaid flannel

Smile the Gods did, the gobbler sported three beards

shirt, smeared a bit of dirt on my face, the shotgun was mod choke loaded with #6 Fiochhi pheasant and sometimes as in this case the turkey gods of the hunt smile on you.

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