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 Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Wisconsin Chief Forester Fined for Illegal Turkey
Posted by Brian Lovett
According to the La Crosse (Wis.) Tribune, Wisconsin's top forester admitted a turkey hunting mistake and paid more than $250 for it.
Wisconsin Chief Forester Paul DeLong mistakenly shot a hen turkey out of season this past spring. Instead of walking away, however, he turned himself in and asked to be treated like any other Department of Natural Resources employee. DNR Chief Warden Randy Stark agreed, fining him $263.
Click here to read the full story.
Check this out to learn all you can about turkeys before you hunt!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010 10:07:22 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00) 
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Thursday, June 17, 2010
A Swimming Turkey?
Posted by TTH Staff
by Brian Lovett, editor
Here's something turkey hunters don't see every day.
Turkey & Turkey Hunting reader Justin Teague, of Knoxville, Tenn., recently shared this incredible experience with us.
"While fishing with a friend back in the spring on a local lake near Knoxville, Tenn., we saw something that was a little odd. We observed a
turkey flying across the lake. We saw it fly from one island heading to another island across the main channel of the lake.
"However, it didn't make it across. About halfway across, it nose-dived into the water and began swimming around. From a distance, it looked like a goose in the water. We continued fishing for about 10 minutes and then decided to go see the bird on the way to another fishing spot. As we got closer, we realized the bird was a mature gobbler that appeared to be in good health, and it was swimming just fine. It was headed down the lake instead of toward the bank.
"We decided to idle the boat toward him and steer him toward the island. He finally made it there, and when he reached the bank, it was obvious he was water-logged and exhausted. He could hardly make it up the bank.
"After he stumbled up, he quickly laid down in a downed pine tree. We guessed he was probably in the water for about 20 to 30 minutes.
"I called my dad and all my friends and asked if they had ever seen or heard of anything like this, and no one had. I had no idea that turkeys could even swim. I though you might be interested in this story and could answer the question if this a strange occurrence or if it happens often around lakes and rivers?"
Justin, we asked well-known turkey biologist Lovett E. Williams Jr. about
swimming turkeys. Here's his response:
"I have seen turkeys swimming when they were half-drugged and waded into a swamp or creek, but I have never seen a sober turkey swimming."
Williams agreed that turkeys typically avoid traveling through water that's
too deep for them to wade.
Think that's incredible? Wait until you check out the T&TH Insider's Club.
Thursday, June 17, 2010 4:52:56 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, June 15, 2010
2010 Harvest Numbers from Two Heavyweights
Posted by Brian Lovett
Harvest figures from Spring 2010 turkey seasons in Wisconsin and Missouri, typically two of the top states, showed mixed results.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said state hunters shot 47,539 turkeys during the 2010 spring season. That's a 9.6 percent decrease from the 2009 harvest of 52,581 birds, which led the nation. Wisconsin hunters shot 52,428 turkeys in Spring 2007 and 52,880 during Spring 2008.
"The wet spring in 2008 and cool summer in 2009 meant below-average brood production for turkeys the past two years," said Sharon Fandel, acting upland wildlife ecologist for the DNR. "When combined with more normal winter conditions, the slight decrease in the number of turkeys harvested was expected.”
Read the full article here.
Missouri hunters registered 42,253 turkeys during Spring 2010, which was a slight increase from the 41,829 birds shot in Spring 2009. State hunters shot 43,416 turkeys in Spring 2008.
“The opening weekend was pretty rough, with lots of wind and rain, and the last Saturday was windy," said resource scientist Tom Dailey. "Other than that, though, conditions were extremely favorable for hunting.”
Also, a slight increase in 2009 turkey nesting success contributed to the higher harvest.
Read the full article here.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010 9:42:53 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, June 14, 2010
Hope in Small Packages
Posted by Brian Lovett
I usually like rainy summer days. There's something satisfying about seeing wet alfalfa glistening in the morning sun or watching a healthy river current wind downstream.
There's an exception, however. I hate rain in early June. That, of course, is when most poults hatch here in Wisconsin, and heavy, prolonged rains can spell doom for many of the new arrivals.
I've been especially worried this year because it's rained quite a bit the past few weeks. Wisconsin's hatches were down somewhat in 2008 and 2009, and I was hoping this year might reverse the trend. The weather seemed to indicate otherwise.
But then hope arrived this morning. As I turned onto a town road on my way to work, a hen popped up in the ditch. Sure enough, at least 10 little fuzzballs — probably less than a week old — followed behind her.
Of course, most of those tiny poults won't make it, but some will. In a few weeks, they'll be jakes and jennies, and in a couple of years, they'll be gobblers and hens. Heck, in Spring 2012, I'll probably cursing their bad behavior. I hope so.
Stay warm and dry, little poults. We're all pulling for you.
Monday, June 14, 2010 4:30:40 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, June 02, 2010
The End Arrives
Posted by Brian Lovett
The shotgun just doesn't look right as I place it in the safe.
Minutes earlier, I'd swabbed the barrel, cleaned the choke tube and even removed some dried grass from the chamber. That was it. The gun was clean, and the Spring 2010 turkey season was really finished.
I can't complain. The season had been good. True, there had been ups and downs, but that's turkey hunting. If it weren't so frustrating and difficult at times, it wouldn't be as enjoyable or gratifying. Likewise, if it didn't end, we wouldn't anxiously anticipate its beginning.
But let's face it, the end is tough. It's always difficult to transition to a regular schedule when you're accustomed to 2:30 a.m. wake-up calls and the constant chess match against Mr. Gobbler.
Still, the end is necessary. It's time to pay attention to the chores and relationships we've ignored these past few weeks. It's also time to start dreaming of fall seasons and next spring.
Here's to the end — and to beginnings yet to come.
Wednesday, June 02, 2010 3:57:53 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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