Last week observations.

[BigRand]

Over the last week I have been out running the dog on various tracts of public land getting her tuned up for the upcoming season. We went through ten to 12 different spots where I have found birds throughout the years. Also scouted some new spots. Stayed away from some of my favorite tried and true spots as we only drove by them and I believe they will produce again. We covered ground from Hwy 44 up to Hwy 34 from Sioux Falls west to the river. First thing I noticed is the further south you go, especially south of 90, the crops will need another week until they get rolling on most fields. Silage was being cut but beans still needed time along with corn. I did talk to friends that farm in the northern half of the state and they thought they would be starting on beans this week. The second thing I observed is that it was a wet spring and sloughs and CRP type fields grew up tall and thick. A lot of sloughs have been mowed down due to the summer being dry. Not good for winter cover help. Third, I noticed very little bird activity during the mornings while driving around to different areas. Also noticed far less grass hopper populations. Chicks need food. Of the fields I walked I would say numbers were a bit down from what I had observed last year while doing the same scouting. We got on some birds in new spots but tracked quite a few in to bordering crops. This gives me hope that the numbers are not as low as I felt they might be. We will see as the season starts and winds on as the crops begin to come out. I usually do better once the fields are picked as it forces the birds onto good cover and public land.

 

[Highvoltage]

As wet as we are in MN, it's just hard to believe you're that dry. Been just screwed up whether this year that's for sure. I haven't been able to skip one week of mowing grass.