May 2008 Updates page 2
5 May
Turkey Hunting
Like most spring turkey seasons, the hunters have been working against a lot of rain, wind and unseasonably cool temperatures.
The success has been above average with the bulk of the birds being adult gobblers. The hens are sitting on the nest right now, so let's cross our fingers that they and other ground nesting birds have a good hatch.
We have not tallied the total number of hunters, but it appears the numbers are about the same in Kansas and Iowa, but Missouri appears to be down considerably.
A series of photos of a tom that came in just out of range and moved off out of fear the setup was not convincing enough for him to come any closer. Short green pastures and wheat fields have been primary strutting areas recently, but that can change once the grass and wheat reach a certain height.
7 May
Fishing
The bass fishing has been pretty good the last couple of weeks, but the crappies have got off to a slow start. The water temperatures are ideal, but the rain, wind and cool nights have made them tough to catch, but some nice ones in small quantities have been reported like these two in the 13 and 14 inch range.
The Other Side
"...the group [PETA] had possession of 1,997 dogs, cats, and other “companion animals” in 2007. And PETA -- which professes a belief that animals should never be slaughtered for food, used for medical research, or killed for clothing, nonetheless put 90.9 percent of them to death at its Norfolk, VA headquarters. And despite its official status as a “humane society” and a pet “releasing agency” in Virginia, PETA found adoptive homes for only 17 animals all year. Just 17..."
This is on top of their earlier well publicized kill rate for 2006 that together since 1998 amounts to an average of 85% PETA’s Pet Death Toll Grows Again, The Center for Consumer Freedom, May 6, 2008.
PETA has a much higher kill ratio than MAHA hunters.
6 May
Jon had another successful hunt with MAHA. Hunted for two days in [location deleted] before finding a pocket of birds on another parcel which where roosted right off the road. Went in on Friday and set up to close to roost but eventually had this tom come back up the creek on opposite side and got him to respond to a box call but wouldn't cross over to me. In desperation a tried a call I haven't used for years because it normally sends them running but with the high winds I felt I needed to make sure he was hearing the call and thought I might challenge him so I used my gobble call. Boy did it work as he came running over to my side coming within feet of the blind to stop puffed up in front of my tom decoy. That’s bow hunting for you, hours of sitting thinking what if and should of, then all of a sudden wham all heck breaks out, you gotta love it. Thanks again for all your hard work.
Great habitat picture, thank you for the extra picture taking effort. Congratulations on the bow harvest!
