I stopped by the workshop of my good friend Bill Barker of Waldron the other day. When I walked in, Bill put down his tools, shut off the lathe and got ready to talk turkey.
That’s kind of an inside joke, as Bill is one of the most accomplished turkey call makers in the Midwest. Anyhow, whenever Barker and I get together, we usually end up talking about turkey hunting.
Even though the snow is piled up in places and it is a long way ’til April, many hunters are already thinking about the upcoming season. Turkey scouting at this time of year is exciting because of the numbers. Winter is a time of huge flocks of hens and jakes, or flocks of mature gobblers.
Seeing a couple of turkeys during most of the year is exciting, but seeing 25 or more in a single flock in the winter months is an absolute blast.
Gobbler scouts will want to remember the large flocks break up long before the hunting season opens. Keeping track of turkey numbers in the winter months is more a determination of how many birds are in the surrounding two or three counties, than a reflection of how many birds will be available locally in the spring. The flocks break up and the birds disperse and spread out over a large area.
Last spring was a near-record for wild turkey in Indiana. The 2009 spring season harvest was Indiana’s second-highest since modern-day turkey seasons began 40 years ago, exceeding the 2008 harvest by 789 birds.
Of the approximately 59,000 hunters who pursued wild turkey in the state last spring, 12,993 were successful. Wild turkeys were killed in 88 of the 92 counties open to turkey hunting during the regular season from April 22-May 10, and during the special youth season April 18-19.
A total of 978 birds – 7.5 percent of the statewide harvest – were taken during the youth season, which is held before the regular season.
“Adult gobblers made up 81 percent of the total harvest. Many hunters reported not seeing jakes. The below-average reproductive success of 2008, especially in those areas that experienced extensive flooding during the brood rearing period of early June, was a contributing factor,” said Steve Backs, Department of Natural Resources (DNR) wildlife biologist.
Backs said the reasons for the increased harvest number probably were a combination of general turkey population growth around the state and the steady increase in turkey hunter numbers.
“Lower production was most evident in the western portions of the state, especially west-central Indiana, where the only regional decline occurred,” Backs said. “The south-central and southeast regions still account for more than 50 percent of the harvest.
“The harvest in the north region of the state continues to increase as those turkey populations grow, with several county harvests in the north taking over 200-plus birds.”
Switzerland County topped the hunter success list with 530 turkeys, followed by Harrison (511) and Jefferson (447) counties.
No chance for bird feeder blues Santa was good to me this year. One of the presents I found under the tree was a long-needed new bird feeder, and it is a dandy. A tri-section, expanded-wire basket, sunflower seed feeder, this “bad boy” can hold almost two gallons of sunflower seed.
Holding a large quantity of bird seed is a good thing, considering I have to fill it every second day. Needless to say, I go through a lot of sunflower seed.
The number and variation of birds this year has been really good. The extended snow cover and unusually long period of bitter cold brought rafts of birds to the feeder. Sometimes there will be 50 or more, with some hanging from the feeder and many picking up bits and crumbs from the ground.
The other day, I looked out the window to see the bird feeder and immediate area empty: No birds. Figuring one of the neighbor’s cats was on patrol, I peeked out the back door to check out the situation.
No cats – but there was a most unwelcome guest perched on our garden’s hops trellis. Consulting the bird atlas, I believe the hawk was a young, light-morphed, broad-winged hawk.
Regardless the species, and even though it was rather inept at snatching a meal from the flock of visitors at the feeder, it wasn’t well received by any of the birds. I watched the hawk make a few foraging attempts, but it lacked the expertise needed to score a meal.
After the unwanted visitor headed off, the feeder and the ground around it was soon full again. Scanning the crowd, I saw three blue jays, two male and two female redbirds, chickadees, nuthatches, a titmouse, house finches, a downy woodpecker, a red-bellied woodpecker, dark-eyed juncos, several varieties of sparrows and several winter-drab gold finches.
Indiana sets national pace
for recreation fishing licenses Recreational fishing is experiencing a national resurgence, and Indiana is one of the states leading the way. The Indiana DNR sold 49,111 more licenses in the first nine months of 2009 than were purchased in the same period of 2008.
The increase resulted in a revenue boost of more than $748,000 to the state’s fish and wildlife fund.
“Reasons for the 2009 license sale increases range from a slow economy, which may allow people more time to engage in outdoor activities, to recreational fishing being a lower-cost alternative to other forms of recreation,” said Frank Peterson, president and CEO of the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF).
The RBFF is in the second-year of a partnership with Indiana DNR and several other states, promoting fishing to former license buyers through a direct mail marketing campaign. Indiana is one of 11 states selected for the quarterly index because its ability to provide consistent sales data helps illustrate both a national and regional perspective.
Other states included in the initial index were Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Texas and Utah.
The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments may contact Jack Spaulding by e-mail at jackspaulding@hughes.net or by writing to him in care of this publication. |
