Who's going out this weekend?

Nothing today. Went out for 4 hours, saw a few. Had 3 points on hens, and a couple of wild flushing roosters. No shots fired. Pretty soggy out there.
 
I got out today. Hunted most of the day. Man it was nice. It was a hen day though. Birds at this point are bunched up. Hens with hens, roosters with roosters. Didn't find the roosters just hens.

One small field had 20 or more fresh hen tracks running through it. Good sign.

God willing, I'll get back out for tomorrow. Hopefully bump into roosters.

Nick
 
Just got back in. Windy and cold.

First place we hit put up at least 20 cocks and a few hens. Most busted out ahead of us and out of range. One sneaker tried to make a u turn on us but my dog caught him on the return trip through the grass and I dropped him and dog made a great find and retrieve.

Most of the rest of the day I thin the birds were out feeding but did manage to drop one more cock for the freezer.

All together think I saw about 20 cocks. Had another nice 7 hen flush all around me as my dog Eddie Bo-Beddie held a nice point. And had some other assorted flushes and one other cock that he nailed and I shot.

Heading back out Sunday morning. Hopefully with two or three more guys and at least one or two more dogs. 3 guys and one dog is tough where we go.
 
UplandHntr said:
is the ice from Mondays storm going to effect them? I can walk on top of it in my yard.
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They're fine for now but if it stays the way it is for weeks on end that's no good. The timing of that storm was terrible--in combination with this cold front.

We'll see what happens in the next couple of weeks.

Murph---if you need back up let me know.:D

Nick
 
FYI---Right now is a good time to hunt coyotes around here. This ice/snow layer seems to have them on the move and coming into decoys/calls.

Nick
 
UplandHntr said:
is the ice from Mondays storm going to effect them? I can walk on top of it in my yard.
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I was hoping with this warm up and rain, the ice layer would melt. Doesn't look like it's going away before this next cold front moves in this weekend.

Birds can't get food on the ground with this mess on the ground. I talked with a friend who hunted wild pheasants last Sunday. He and a couple other hunters shot some roosters.

He said they saw a good number of birds--hens and roosters. All the roosters they shot were from this years hatch. Late hatch/very small spurs. Their crops where completely empty.

These are the type conditions where food plots can save the day.

Nick
 
Of all the things that kill pheasants lack food is one of the least. Pheasants can go up to 3 weeks without food. The exposure to harsh weather conditions of blowing and drifting snow will kill them first. Pheasants can also be dumb.
My SD farmer friend told me he once watched a rooster standing out in the open during a blizzard near his home. The blowing snow filled the birds nosterils wiith snow and the bird tipped over and died from suffocation.
 
HockeybobOf all the things that kill pheasants lack food is one of the least. Pheasants can go up to 3 weeks without food.
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Yes, they are a hardy, tough bird to say the least. They can go a long time without food.

More cold is on the way hence locking in the ice layer on the ground and cover. Too much of our thermal roosting habitat has a ice layer/snow crust at it's base. This forces birds to be exposed to temperatures below 40 degrees, hence, their fat reserves begin to deplete faster than normal. As of now they are still okay, but if winter decides to remain for some time around here, birds are going to have some issues. They need a food source to keep their weight on.

We'll see what this next storm does tonight. The snow can actually help by acting as a thermal for roosting birds but again, they need to eat.


Pheasants can also be dumb
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Dumb or desperate? This bird you speak of--let's assume he's wild--had to move out of the habitat he was in. Was it a predator that pushed him out, or hunger? We don't know. Either-way, he had to move. Unfortunately the route to get where ever he was going offered little habitat on the way.



My SD farmer friend told me he once watched a rooster standing out in the open during a blizzard near his home. The blowing snow filled the birds nosterils wiith snow and the bird tipped over and died from suffocation.
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This is called "Red-Ice". It's a terrible way for such a magnificent game bird to die. This bird your friend described didn't decide standing in an open field was a good idea. Between the wind driven snow and frigid temperatures his eyes either froze shut or ice froze over his eyeballs. The bird became blind. This is why he was standing in the open field. It had nothing to do with being "dumb".

photo by NDhntr (Armstrong)
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photo by NDhntr (Armstrong)
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My photo--a pheasant killed by red-ice
 
It's a terrible way for such a magnificent game bird to die.
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While I know that Nature is neither cruel nor kind, but completely void of such considerations; it is simply "Nature," that seems a horrific way for one of my partners in the hunt to expire.:(

Thanks for the education, however saddening.
 
Did anyone get out for this weekend's waterfowl opener (northern zone)? If so, how did you guys do?

Nick
 
A hunter stopped in yesterday. 4 guys on the Fox River on Saturday. 10 ducks and 1 goose. He said it was a slow opener for the guys hunting on the water.

Hunters who set up in the fields did better---at least the hunters he talked too.

All and all, it seems like there's some good bird numbers this year.
 
You Illinois fellas alive out there:confused::D

Any plans for the opener this weekend?

I recently walk a conservation area up this way. Bird numbers were looking good:thumbsup:

I think the northern part of the state may see an increase in our bird harvest this fall. Not sure that's the case down state with some of the heavy storms that came through this past summer.

Either-way, post what you see this weekend;)
 
Plan on hitting one of the very very few walk in areas here in central Illinois. Numbers have been good where the good habitat is but have been seeing a lot of recreational mowing the last few days with the warm weather and dry harvest so who knows where the birds will be. Hopefully new conservation director for Illinois can put more public land at the top of her list to get done.
 
without knowing what he drives I'd have no way of watching for him but - montana is a REALLY BIG STATE !!
 
Boys and I are going Saturday and Sunday. Saturday will be a little shorter since my youngest has a Playoff football game in the afternoon. Next weekend will be a youth hunt at Moraine View on Saturday so we are signed up for that also. We should have a couple of busy weekends. Can't wait it has been a long summer I just wish the temps would be a little cooler but a few extra water bottles for the dog and we will be good to go.
 
Slow morning, only got to hunt about 3ish hours do to the dog being really out of shape. Never got into any pheasants but jumped 3-4 coveys with 5-6 birds each. Only scratched one though.
 
Yeah, it's too dang warm. Indian summers are nice but not so nice for the dogs/sent.

I was out setting beaver traps on a friends farm after work today. Heard a few roosters on the farm down the road. Hopefully I'll get a chance next week to get out after them.

Anyone else out there have any news on our opening day? Hometown---Any luck?
 
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