Wildlife Observations

Where I live, I've noticed a lot of changes in the patterns of the wildlife. About 15 years ago, when I moved into my house, there was an abundance of squirrels, and plenty of acorns, walnuts,and hickory nuts to sustain them. Then a few summers ago we had a bad drought, and the nut crop suffered...and so did the squirrel population.

In the past couple of years, the squirrel population has bounced back SOME...but not nearly to what it was before. I recall 20 or so years ago sitting next to a tree when I was deer hunting, and I thought the deer were stampeding toward me from behind...and when I got up to check the source of the sound, it was 7 or 8 squirrels frolicing in the leaves, and sounding like a hundred of 'em. Haven't seen or heard anything like that in a long time.

This year while deer hunting, I noticed that the hawk population is way up, over what it was when I started hunting. When it started to get good shooting daylight in the woods, between 7:30 and 8 am, the squirrels would start moving. But when the hawks appeared, the squirrels on the sides of the trees would disappear...and then the entire woods would go quiet, at least until the howks would move on. I don't recall seeing hawks in the numbers I saw this past season, nor had I seen the squirrels NOT seemingly oblivious to what was going around them [except for me passing through "their" woods].

I don't think I'm getting THAT much more observant in my "old age," as my eyesight and hearing aren't nearly as sharp as they were in the past. But the patterns are definitely changing, at least where I live and hunt in Southern Indiana.

Anyone else notice similar changes in the patterns and habits of wildlife in YOUR area?

Driving along interstates one can make a game of counting the redtail hawks sitting on power lines here in Kentucky. Killing one can get you in all kinds of trouble. Hawks are hard on mourning doves, squirrels, quail, and purple martins.

We have seemed to be getting a lot more jackrabbits than we have had in the last 25 years. There were so many at one point they had a bounty and then all of a sudden they were more or less gone. Now, although still fairly uncommon they are around more and more. 25 years ago turkeys were around but not something you saw every day. Now there are so many its pretty common to see them even in town. In fact there are several flocks around that have over 100 in a bunch. Coyote population has been decimated by mange but the bobcats and fox havent seemed to have suffered too much.

I'd suggest it's that 'Mother Nature' thing; 50 years ago, cottontails were as common as could be. There were NO coyotes; coyotes moved in, rabbits almost disappeared. Almost never see or hear a coyote now and the rabbits are slowly returning. We had no deer or wild turkey 'til 25 or 30 years ago; now they're everywhere. Just don't let the 'tinkerer's/do-gooders get-a-holt of this information; they'll be wanting to 'fix' it.

When I was building my house, there was a small herd of about 25 elk in the area. They are gone now, but there have been wild turkeys sighted recently where there were none before. When I was a kid in North Dakota, the pheasant population was decimated and it was extremely rare to see a coyote. Then local farmers started raising pheasants to repopulate the area and the coyotes returned.

Back around 30 years ago when I first started deer hunting on the property where I hunt, it was common to be still-hunting and have the holy...err...WITS...scared out of you when a grouse took flight. In recent years, I can't remember seeing a grouse during deer season.

Four or 5 years ago, whenever I crossed a picked cornfield when deer hunting I always carried a couple of shells of number 7-1/2 shot in case I got a chance to pop a quail or two. Last couple of years, haven't seen as many quail either. But about 2 years ago I did manage to have a turkey walk up to within 20 feet of me when I was "resting" [napping? I'll never tell!] at the base of a tree while deer hunting. From the time I first saw the turkey, it must've taken 30 minutes of zigging and zagging as he worked his way towords me...and when his curiosity was satisfied, he sauntered off.

Here in Iowa , over the last several years i have noticed some trends too . First ,,decline in Quail , used to see lots of them . Rabbits,,,they seem to be in cycles , up years ,,preditors and disease coem along and they decline . Pheasants ,several bad winters , wet springs ,increased preditors have really hurt them ! We used to see hundreds of out of state plates opening weekend . Motels in southern iowa were boooked solid ! Not anymore. We struggled to get 5 birds opening day . 4 guys , 5 dogs.. slim pickings. I have seen several Red tail hawks dining on Rooter pheasants ! I think the DNR made a big mistake. I have had lots of landowners where I hunt mention that if one happened to fly in front of my gun ,,they would be very happy .

Around here. Beaver populations way up, Coyote"s up, Eagles and hawks up. Ducks are way down, to many low lands drained in recent years and low rainfall, plus alot of good wetlands have filled with cattails and offer no benifit to waterfowl and the DNR will not allow a guy to dig them back open. Squirrels are about average but nothing like they were in the mid 80"s when woodland were pastured. Deer are way down. MNDNR pushing sales of antlerless and bonus tags way beyond what actual population can take. Tags should be based off herd management, not revenue needs, they seem to have forgoten that. Geese are high in #"s, but way down from where they were 8-10 years ago. Coons up, and most other furred vermin are abuntant as a lack of trapper is apparent. pocket gophers are exploding here in Minden township of Benton County MN, the township will not put a small bounty on them to encourage kids to trap them. Shame on you guys!

I hate to see them get quail .... but luckily they are hard on mice and rats too.

It"s all caused by global warming. Where have you been for the last 10 years?

Grouse populations are cyclical.

And if you cook them right they taste just like Bald Eagle.
Ron

quail and rabbit population down as well as squrril here .......... , too dammany turkeys, got so bad some are in DNR office.

Growing up as a kid in the 1960's in Central MO.
lots of quail, rabbit, racoons, possums, squirrels, groundhogs and skunk. Very few coyote, and foxes so thick they were dying of distemper.

I had never seen a deer, otter, beaver, turkey or bald eagle.

Now we have deer out the butt, turkey, bald eagles and Otters have killed every fish in my creek and ponds. The deer, turkey, and otters were all "intoduced" or repopulated.

The quail are gone, the fish in my creek are gone, dont hear bullfrogs croaking on the creek anymore. The first fish to disappear on my creek were the bullhead catfish.

Wonder why the DNR doesn't classify them as endangered?

Gene

It was that naked short trading on the wildlife market that hosed things up.

A current wildlife recession.

thats f'd up! ha ha ha

Here in the hilly portion of central IL I see a lot of hawks that I never saw as a kid. Raccoons are about to overrun us. No one will let you coon hunt. Makes a mess of combines. Had a few pheasants on the prairie a few years when some ground was in the crp but gone now. Saw a ground hog last summer on the home place, first I have seen since a kid. Used to be so many that the county had a bounty on them. Deer,coyotes,turkeys,and crows as thick as can be. Not many rabbits and quail. Couple of years ago my brother had to replant the corn around the edge of the field several times because of the turkeys and crows. He finally gave up and dumped a few bushels along the edge. My Dad told me about hunting rabbits with a club when he was a kid.

We used to have pheasants, my dad and granddad went pheasant hunting every year. But the pheasant population started dropping off in the late 50's - all the farmers went from cultivating to spraying for weeds - the spray does a much better job of keeping the weeds down, but leaves less of a habitat for the birds. Pesticides, knocking down fencerows didn't help nor did suburban expansion. Local farmers tell me that 50 years ago, deer were pretty rare in southern Michigan. Now they are so numerous that they are pests.

Can't find a ring neck pheasant here till they stock them. Quail are a treat to see one. fox are as popular as a buffalo, bobcat I've seen two in my lifetime of 64 years in the wild weasels are all but extinct haven't seen one in 30 years.

Eagles are making a come back, Have to watch my Shitssu while out side in the day time.

Redtails and turkey buzzards, and screech owls are very common.

What is really sad is when you have to look at an old print to see what a passenger pigeon looked like.

Here(West Pa.) deer are every where. Hit all the time on the road however i have noticed I don't see the big groups of them like I used to. about 10 years ago it would be nothing to see 40+ together. Now I'm lucky to see 10.. A lot of hawk too. Maybe thats why I never see any rabbits anymore either.. I'm sure its different threw out all the country. read in a local paper the other day about the lack of water. Seems that tere are many creeks and small rivers drying up due to the demand for water from the public. I'm sure that has a effect on wildlife since water is the #1 need for life. One reason for the lack of water is the large number of gas wells being drilled in the area. Trucks come and pump water out of streams and ponds for the drilling operations. here in West Pa it seems there is a new well being drilled ever week. The place will be swiss cheese before you know it,,

When I grew up ( my 2 ex-wives say I never did) here in Hillsdale County in the southern tier of counties in lower Michigan in the 1940's and 1950's there were no deer at all but plenty of ring-necked pheasants, now the deer are a downright menace and a serious nuisance and not pretty any more and the pheasants are few and far between. There are far too many raccoons and woodchucks too. And it seems like there aren't nearly as many fox squirrels in the woods or cottontail rabbits either. I'd trade the deer for more pheasnats, squirrels and rabbits and go back to going north to hunt deer like we used to....(and I always took my rifle too).

Wild life numbers will rise and fall over the years. Preditor, prey thing. Used to have a bunch of small game around here. Foxes became numerous until their numbers were wiped out by mange. Here now, coyotes have moved in, and the small game is almost nonexistant. Haven't seen a pheasant in couple years, used to go out and cackle to them almost anytime. No more. No wild bunnies, no quail, no partridges. Haven't heard a Bob-White in couple years. Few hunting seasons ago, you could hardly take a step in the fields or woods without scattering mice. Thank goodness they're not that prevalent anymore. All we got plenty of right now are possums, coons, skunks, deer, and turkeys. We need to promote coyote hunting, maybe we could get some real wildlife back!

I've been out walking in the woods, most often with a hunting license and a gun. I haven't been worried about Al Gore or any other environmental hypocrites; I've been worried about the trends I see. Quail and squirrels and rabbits and deer don't particularly care what party's in Washington. To them it's all about habitat and procreation; mankind would do well to learn from them.

And just between you and me, when I'm in the woods or in deer camp, my TV is off.