Things look different around here

[zelmo1]

I have noticed that I have seen a few more poults around the last week. Most of the fields around here have had their second cut of hay and I have been seeing a few more poults around. It still isnt the numbers I am used to, but it is better than I saw early in the year. A local farmer thinks the birds of prey keep the numbers down and the bobcat population is really taking off around here. I think the bigger poults are better equipped to stay away from danger as well. Scouting deer/bear/duck spots is tedious and actually not looking good this year. I hope this isnt an overall trend. Good luck to Y'all this fall and be safe. Z

[Tom007]

Amen Z. Good luck with your duck ventures!

[JeffC]

Glad you're seeing some improvement in local population. 1st year in a long time I have not come across any local poults. Also saw where 1 of your Lynx showed up in VT where I hunted this year. Saw a lot of coyote and bear tracks while up there, your turkeys face a lot of predators.   

[Tail Feathers]

Bobcats are top level predators.  They are far more efficient hunters of turkeys than coyotes.  Birds of prey can sure impact poult survival too.  Can't do much about the birds, but this winter would be a good time for some predator/bobcat hunting.

[zelmo1]

No season on bobcats here. They closed hunting and trapping of bobcats years ago. They were ghosts back then. Now they are seen regularly and are showing less fear of man, this is a bad place to be with a larger predator. Z   

[Paulmyr]

We got em all in northern MN. Skunks, coons, fishers, bobcats,Fox,coyotes, wolves, bears, all different kinds of avian predators, even a mountain lion gets spotted every so often.

[KYTurkey07]

A friend here in KY has a nice flock of turkeys on the land he deer hunts. Wouldn't you know, the other day his trail cam picked up three bobcats.

[zelmo1]

Got a trapper friend that does varmint trapping for farmers that allow hunting on their property. He told me that the skunk population has boomed over the last few years and he has caught hundreds over the last 2.5 years. Racoons have been up a bit as are possums. bobcats arent legal to hunt or trap here, but if you get permission from fish and game, you can trap them if they are causing your livestock/ food animals. He is very concerned with their numbers now. Z

[greentrout]

Here in West Tn bobcat sightings are becoming more common, but the population of raccoons and possums have seem to have exploded. And there is still a healthy number of raccoon hunters here in this area.