ThinkingAfield.org

By Glen Wunderlich

On my first turkey scouting expedition this season, our vantage point came from the chalet – our no-nonsense gun blind.  Joe and I were hoping to find out if any wild turkeys were in the vicinity, so we opened up the windows and turned on the propane heat.

In Search of Love

There’s no better justification for maintaining perennial food plots than to see how the wildlife benefit during srpingtime green-up.  Whether they chomp on last year’s rape, which is flourishing from the root, or are devouring tender legume plants, it’s all good.  Worms and night crawlers add to the smorgasbord of nature.

A gang of turkeys began their feast in the field of alfalfa and clover.   The lone gobbler, on the other hand, had nothing but love on his mind.  He pranced and paraded for two and a half hours, hardly ever stopping to share in the nourishing bounty.  He took a few turns at gobbling, seemingly for practice, because the accompanying hens paid no attention.

Later a lone hen was headed up the path toward the chalet, so I hastily moved into camera position.  In so doing, I made enough noise to alert the turkey to my presence and it proceeded to make a wide half-circle pass around us.

"I didn't like the sound of that."

All in all, a good day of scouting and a great day to partake in nature.

The Humane Socitey of the United States may face scrutiny by the feds if these Missouri lawmakers have anything to say about it.  Read their letter requesting investigation below.

http://humanewatch.org/images/uploads/2011-04-18_IGLetter.pdf

The Department of Natural Resources reminds hunters that applications for Michigan elk and bear hunting licenses are now available through June 1.  Hunters may apply online at www.michigan.gov/huntdrawings or at any retail license agent.
There will be 155 elk licenses available for the 2011 hunting season, of which 90 licenses will be distributed for the August/September hunt and 65 licenses for the December hunt. The October hunt period will Read more

Robbin on the Hunt

By Glen Wunderlich

My turkey hunting season began May 2nd in Shiawassee County, Michigan.  With so many projects and routine tasks on the agenda for the 2011 season, it’s diffucult to fit in the turkey hunting.  It seems as though thoughts of seasonal priorities get in the way of concentrating on the task at hand.  Fortunately, I’m sure I’d be able to focus if things had begun to get interesting, but so far after two days, I’ve sighted only one turkey – , and it was a hen.

Decoyed Deer

In the meantime, life goes on in the wild.  Something the average person doesn’t get a chance to appreciate.  And, if I were not a hunter, I’d be rushing off to cross another chore off the list.  But, alas!  I am a hunter – and one with a deep appeciation for Mother Nature’s bounty.  And, while the turkeys have yet to cooperate, the wildlife sideshow continues uninterrupted.

Turkey hunting:  I don’t find the time to go; I make it.

By Glen Wunderlich

My Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Birds has this information of one of Michigan’s most colorful and striking perching birds. 

Smaller than a sparrow.  Breeding male bright yellow with a white rump, black forehead, white edges on black wings and tail.Habitat:  brushy thickets, weedy grassland, and nearby trees.

Love-Struck American Goldfinch

Nesting:  4 or 5 pale blue eggs in a well-made cup of grass, bark strips, and plant down placed in the upright fork of a small sapling or shrub.

Often called the “wild canary.”  Since their main food is seeds, nesting does not begin until midsummer when seeds are available.  Because they nest so late, only a single brood is raised each season.

Yesterday, I found this male offering his rendition of a happy, spring love song.

By Glen Wunderlich

Controlling Michigan’s deer population has been a challenge for many years.  We’ve added seasons and have upped the number of does that can be taken by hunters.  Yet, we continue to be plagued by car/deer accidents, because current means of herd management have failed.

In 2009 the Natural Resources Commission (NRC) exclaimed the only way to obtain antlerless harvest goals is to implement the Earn-A-Buck program, as has been done in neighboring Wisconsin.  Its Earn-A-Buck program requires hunters to take an antlerless deer before taking a buck.  The concept may make sense on paper, but in Wisconsin, it very well may be repealed. Read more

A lawsuit against Remington Arms has been decided in a case filed by a man who said the trigger of his model 700 was defective.  Click on the link below for the story.

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20110429/news/304299989/port-angeles-man-loses-federal-case-against-rifle-manufacturer