Wednesday May 31, 2006

NO BIRDS! I went all season without shooting a turkey. This morning Aaron and I went up to the Hughes property where chased the "poop eater" around yesterday. I wanted to try for a different bird, so we hiked to the other end of the 700ac. that he owns. We were standing at the corner of a woodlot looking across a field at another woodlot when I hooted for the first time. Two birds sounded off at the opposite end of the other woodlot. We ran around the field and got setup in the woods before they flew down. They didn't gobble that much, but they did gobble a few times. We were about 300yds downhill from where I ran into that gobbler yesterday, the one that was charging out of the woods at my first call. I assumed that these birds were the same and would want to come in our direction naturally, so I didn't call a lot. Well, sunrise came and went and the fog burned off some, and the birds flew down. I made the first call as they hit the ground, and only one responded. I shut up for a while, and then heard the bird gobble again across the field. HE WAS WALKING STRAIGHT AWAY FROM US! The other bird never answered, but I figured I better stay with the one I can see. We stayed long enough to give him an opportunity to turn around, or for the other bird to show up. Then I spotted 4 hens pecking in the manure up behind the farmhouse, which was just above where that bird was strutting. "He couldn't be? No way is that the poop eater bird", I thought. Well, I got into a better position to glass and when he strutted, I noticed the characteristic two missing tail feathers of the poop eater. I knew we were in for some exercise, so we immediately tried to sneak around on him. I headed for the woodlot that we originally were in, and headed towards the bottom of the hill where he was. We were in postition with that bird about 150yds from us, finally strutting with those four hens. I noticed one hen leave the manure and head for the patch of manure where we have been seeing them the past couple days. I was setup within 50yds of that spot yesterday, so I knew where to go. I backed out and used the topography of the open field to my advantage. As we slid into position at our respective trees, I saw all four hens leading the tom directly towards us. This couldn't be any better. There was a ditch in the field that would allow me to keep my gun on my lap until they were almost to me, then have time to get it up and still be comfortable when the shot came. Well, they were half way to us, just getting ready to go into the ditch and they all got real tall. I didn't hear any cars on the road, and I didn't see anything else to spook them, so I kept an eye on the whole situation. All of a sudden they picked up and flew into the woods....right where we were just setup. I quickly stood, alerted Aaron, and headed to the top of that woodlot. They were up there yesterday at 10:30 when we were heading out, so I again assumed they would travel in that direction. As I started walking I noticed a big, shiny, "HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY" balloon floating over the manure spots in the field. I know what it said because I made a point of driving by where it landed on the side of the road and stomping the crap out of it. Anyway, we quickly were setup in the top of that woodlot, and my first call was answered from a long way off. I could't believe that they were heading in the opposite direction. I snuck up to the edge of the woods and glassed again, and of course, the tom was strutting about 100yds from the tree he roosted in. I made another call and he perked up, ran down the hedgerow away from me, then came down through it. I thought he was excited and looking for a good place to cross a stream which was below the hedgerow, but that wasn't the case. He literally walked directly under his roost. The hens were heading towards me, in fact they had all disappeared from sight into the woods below me. I knew he was over there alone and I couldn't get across the field again in the daylight. My only option was to go all the way up to the truck, and then drive around and park at the farm and drop over the edge into the woods. We beat feet and got back to the truck pretty quick. As we walked carefully down to the edge of the woods, I heard a gobble. Sure enough, it was right back where we just were. How do they do that? I got back in the truck and drove around the road again, trying to spot the birds so I could figure out just what the heck they were doing. I spotted a hen, and while glassing, I heard the bird gobble. He was pretty much right where he ran to when the balloon spooked them. That's right, so now we are on setup 5 and back to the same place as number 2. I figured the only way we could get on that bird was to go in by his roost and sneak up the woodline behind him. I spotted him pecking around a manure pile all alone on the far side of the woods as we got closer to the woodlot. I decided that it was best to go straight at him and get as close as possible. To finish off this painful story, it was ten when we setup, and at 10:30 with no sign of birds we left. The best chance to get on a bird at this point in the game, basically the final hour of the season, was sausage hill. It was minutes away, and always proved good in the late morning during late season. Long story short, we hunted up behind the sheep farm and didn't hear a thing. With a half hour left, we ran up to the top of the hill. With fifteen minutes left, I got an answer from a hen that was probably nesting in the aspens, just like always. She never came in and at 11:57, we unloaded and walked back through the millions of tent caterpillars that have infested the woods. Today was the worst tent caterpillar day yet, and to make the last few minutes of the last day of the season even worse, we had to put up with all the tiny strands of webbing that they decend on, being wrapped around every part of our bodies. When I got back to the truck I picked 67 tent caterpillars off my vest alone. I'm pretty bummed right now, and I will make a few more posts, so don't give up on this yet. I have some pretty good fishing pictures from when I took Aaron's son Collin fishing. The only other words I have to say are probably better left unwritten.........................................