An outdoors grab-bag

A grab-bag of items from the outdoors world:

• Despite massive changes to this year’s duck season, the DNR
likely will sell fewer state duck stamps than ever before. Agency
officials hoped the changes, including an earlier opener and
earlier shooting hours, would prompt more people to pick up a
shotgun and head to the marsh. But, so far at least, that hasn’t
happened yet.

• Though spring grouse drumming counts seemed to indicate the
birds are at or near the peak of their 10-year cycle, reports from
the field have been decidedly mixed. In some spots, people are
shooting birds. In others, they’re flushing few. But it doesn’t
seem like anyone is super impressed by the number of young birds
they’re seeing, which may be indicative of poor reproduction this
year. But before we put a nail in the season’s coffin, let’s see
what happens after the leaves fall.

• It’s currently 82 degrees. Is someone kidding – 82
degrees!!!!

• Don’t expect much from the pheasant season. Certainly, there
are birds to be shot, but it’s not going to be anything like some
of the good hunting we’ve had in the recent past, at least if
driving on country roads and seeing nary a bird is any indication.
Luckily, shooting birds isn’t what it’s all about.

• As of earlier this week, the DNR had collected and tested
about 50 archery-killed deer in the CWD zone in the southeastern
part of the state. All have tested negative for the disease.