Golden ragwort
I debated heading to the woods this morning. Instinctively I didn’t have a positive feeling of hearing birds. This stagnant low pressure system has the birds in the area I have been concentrating on gobbling very little. Yesterday, I didn’t go out hunting. Allergies were bothering me and I decided to stay in and work on the Gettysburg painting.
Wet woods!
However, today the moon and stars were shining as I left the house. At 5:00, the clouds were thickening and at 5:45 A.M. the woods were actually darker than at 5:15 A.M.! I traveled back and forth a hill-top trying to hear a gobble on both sides. I covered a mile while actually traveling only several hundred yards in any given direction.
I did see 3 red fox kits early on and was thrilled to hear two woodcocks in the midst of their mating ritual that consists of interesting flying patterns along with whistling and a “snipe-like” call. I called at a half-dozen strategic areas before deciding to go home and paint. The wet feet by 6:00 just wasn’t cutting it this morning and besides I have painting to do! While in transit, I noticed two gobblers in a pasture field under a tree. They just stood still with heads tucked in during a rain.
I did see a few minutes of a beautiful sunrise attempt. The filtered sun with dramatic clouds was an impressive view.
My friend , Frank Maus lucked into a gobbling bird on the roost and a harvest. Congrats! Frank told me he hadn’t heard any gobblers the two previous days. This morning was my first time out to not hear a gobbler. I quit and stopped in at my mother’s home for breakfast by 7:30.
Larry A. Smail's Blog 
Leave a Reply