A hungry black bear invites itself to dinner at a bird feeding station in Marquette County.
By Andy Henion
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
One early morning in May, as the residents of Carleton slept, a black bear wandered through their yards in the dark, its hulking image picked up by a trail camera.
Not a big deal for many Michigan communities, particularly in the northern part of the state, but this bear happened to be roaming around Monroe and Wayne counties.
And folks in metro Detroit just aren’t used to seeing bears.
Police urged caution.
News reporters flocked to the area.
Concerned residents lit up social media.
“This may be the farthest southeast a black bear sighting has been confirmed in Michigan,” said Michigan Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist Zach Cooley, who verified the bear’s May 10 visit from camera images. “At this point we are not certain how it made its way here. We assume it is probably a young male, wandering.”
The rare appearance of a black bear in heavily populated southeast Michigan reflects a new reality for a state attempting to live harmoniously with the iconic species.
While bears once occupied the entire state, unregulated killing of the species and development in the early 20th century cut their numbers dramatically, particularly in the Lower Peninsula.
Establishing hunting regulations helped the species recover in many places, and today Michigan has a vibrant black bear population of 12,862 animals, according to the DNR’s latest estimate. That’s one of the top 15 bear populations in the nation.
In the Upper Peninsula, bears are abundant, with an estimated density of one bear every 2 square miles. More than 85% of the state’s bear population lives in the U.P., and the peninsula’s state-managed harvest nets about 1,500 bears every year.
In the northern Lower Peninsula, where bear hunting is also legal, the bear population has increased in recent years as residents become more accustomed to the animal’s presence.
Still, in fast-growing and tourist-heavy areas like Grand Traverse County, bears can still cause quite a bit of excitement. In the past six years, the DNR has logged 178 bear complaint reports from Grand Traverse County, by far the most of any county in the northern Lower Peninsula.
And then there’s southern Michigan: home to the state’s largest cities, including Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Flint and Kalamazoo. Millions of people. Hundreds of miles of crisscrossing highways. Towering buildings. Manufacturing plants.
Bear hunting is not allowed in the bottom half of the Lower Peninsula, and bear complaints generally get rarer the farther south you go. In fact, some southern Michigan counties have never logged a bear complaint with the DNR, or at least since records have been kept starting in 2003.
So, it can be a surprise when a bear shows up.
Resident reaction can run the gamut, illustrated by these two social media responses to the Carleton bear:
“Why hasn’t the bear been caught yet?” said one user. “This is a public safety concern.”
“That bear is not going to approach anyone,” responded another. “Let it be. This is their land.”
The DNR’s Wildlife Division strives to strike a balance between these two disparate lines of thinking. In other words: Maintain a sustainable bear population throughout Michigan while minimizing bear-related conflicts.
Jared Duquette, the DNR’s human-wildlife interaction specialist, said bears typically have greater acceptance in communities with long-established bear populations, such as those in the U.P. and areas of the northern Lower Peninsula.
“Acceptance depends on several factors, though, such as familiarity with bear behavior, frequency of sightings and how much control people feel they have in interactions with bears,” Duquette said. “In areas where bears are rare, community culture and media coverage can often sway acceptance of bears by sensationalizing their presence and perceived danger.”
Duquette said managing social perceptions and the extent people and bears become habituated with each other are keys to enhancing human-bear coexistence, especially in areas where bears are expanding.
“Communities with increasing bear sightings should consider proactive communication and strategies to empower residents in safely coexisting with bears,” he said. “Visting the BearWise website is a great place to start.”
—————
Adaptable creatures
The DNR’s approach to bears is driven by the agency’s black bear management plan. The plan was developed in 2008 using the best available science and significant input from bear stakeholder groups and the public.
The plan references a survey showing that a majority of Lower Peninsula residents value the existence of black bears and their important role in nature.
As large omnivores, bears benefit the ecosystem by spreading plant and berry seeds in their droppings and being important predators of insects, deer fawns and other species.
When it comes to southern Michigan, the DNR’s strategy is to allow the bear population to expand naturally into the region to the extent social acceptance allows.
That last clause – “to the extent social acceptance allows” – is the tricky part.
What’s socially acceptable for one southern Michigan community may not be for another – at least in the early stages.
When the bear appeared in metro Detroit, many residents unaccustomed to seeing the animal expressed shock and fear. Compare that to areas like Grand Rapids and Lansing, where bear sightings are more common, and reactions generally have become more tempered.
“Bears are likely to become more socially acceptable as they expand south in Michigan,” Duquette said. “However, acceptability will take time and depend on communities building a local culture that understands basic bear behavior and is accepting of bears.
Community members should understand that bears are naturally afraid of us and pose little threat to people and pets.”
Black bears – Michigan’s only bear species – are solitary animals, and male bears roam vast areas, with young males dispersing up to 100 miles to find new, unoccupied territory.
While bears thrive in large hardwood and conifer forests with dense underbrush and wetlands, they also seem to be adapting to less woodsy settings around the state.
“We’ve been seeing over time that bears continue to survive and persist in habitats that we would not have thought were suitable previously,” said Cody Norton, DNR bear and furbearer specialist. “Bears are extremely adaptable creatures – they are generalists and can make use of a variety of food sources. We’ve been seeing them persist in areas that have very few trees – it may be a little woodlot next to cornfields, for example.”
Norton said it appears a few bears have denned over winter in the Grand Rapids and Lansing areas. Both areas have forested river corridors that bears like to travel along.
Bears have also showed up in the Flint area only to be hit and killed by vehicles.
“There can be extremely high mortality when bears show up in these older urban environments that are heavily developed with highways running through them,” Norton said.
As for the bear first spotted in Carleton on May 10, the animal was caught on a security camera in nearby Flat Rock the next night and again the following week in South Rockwood, where it raided a resident’s beehives at night.
After still another sighting near Carleton, Cooley said he has received no further reports of the animal’s whereabouts.
So, could a bear – or multiple bears – persist in Metro Detroit?
“Southeast Michigan contains some of the state’s least-suitable habitat for bears – much of the area is flat and lacks the woodlots and river corridors they favor,” Norton said. “Could there be pockets in southeast Michigan that if multiple bears made it to, they could persist? Yes, there might be, but I think until we see bears do that, it’s really hard for us to predict whether it’s truly suitable.”
—————
Coexisting with bears
From Marquette to Mio to Muskegon, coexisting with black bears in Michigan means accepting two fundamental facts:
1) Black bears are wild, powerful animals that should be appreciated from a distance. They may defend themselves when surprised, threatened or protecting their cubs.
2) Black bears are naturally timid, cautious animals. They view humans as a threat to avoid rather than as a food source.
Lynn Rogers, founder of the North American Bear Center, notes in his article “How Dangerous Are Black Bears?” that black bears are so timid partly because they evolved alongside such powerful predators as saber-toothed cats and dire wolves, both now extinct.
“Black bears were the only one of these animals that could climb trees, so they survived by staying near trees and developing the attitude: run first and ask questions later,” Rogers explains. “The timid ones passed on their genes to create the black bear of today.”
As many communities with established black bear populations have learned, living with bears takes a certain amount of sacrifice from just about everyone, including bird lovers and pet owners.
Here are some basics:
• Spotting a bear on your trail camera or wandering through your backyard is no reason to panic. You do not need to call local authorities or the DNR. This is natural bear behavior. You can scare the bear off by yelling, blowing an air horn or banging pots and pans.
• Bears are drawn to birdfeeders loaded with birdseed or suet, as well as grease-splattered grills and outdoor pet food. They can literally smell the stuff from a mile away. So, you’ll need to remove the temptation – and, once you do, give it a good two weeks for the bear to stop coming around.
• Use electric fencing around chicken coops and apiaries.
• Bears love garbage. Consider waiting to put your garbage cans out until the day of pickup. Folks in high-density bear areas should consider using bear-resistant trash bins or trash lid straps.
• You may need to educate your neighbors. If they have birdfeeders or other outdoor food sources, the bear will be traipsing through everyone else’s yard to get to them. The more available food sources in the neighborhood, the harder it will be to get rid of the bear.
Taking down birdfeeders can be particularly difficult for many residents. Of the 178 bear complaints from Grand Traverse County, roughly half of the reports list bird feeders as the attractants.
But as BearWise points out, you don’t have to choose between watching birds and deterring bears. Consider alternatives such as planting bird-friendly native flowers, trees and bushes; putting out nest boxes and bird baths; and providing simple bird shelters and perches.
The key is ensuring that black bears don’t become habituated with regular access to birdseed and other human-provided food sources.
Duquette said black bears can lose their natural fear of humans after routine close encounters do not scare them away and they are rewarded with food. And once a black bear becomes fully habituated and food-conditioned, it rarely returns to being truly wild.
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
One early morning in May, as the residents of Carleton slept, a black bear wandered through their yards in the dark, its hulking image picked up by a trail camera.
Not a big deal for many Michigan communities, particularly in the northern part of the state, but this bear happened to be roaming around Monroe and Wayne counties.
And folks in metro Detroit just aren’t used to seeing bears.
Police urged caution.
News reporters flocked to the area.
Concerned residents lit up social media.
“This may be the farthest southeast a black bear sighting has been confirmed in Michigan,” said Michigan Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist Zach Cooley, who verified the bear’s May 10 visit from camera images. “At this point we are not certain how it made its way here. We assume it is probably a young male, wandering.”
The rare appearance of a black bear in heavily populated southeast Michigan reflects a new reality for a state attempting to live harmoniously with the iconic species.
While bears once occupied the entire state, unregulated killing of the species and development in the early 20th century cut their numbers dramatically, particularly in the Lower Peninsula.
Establishing hunting regulations helped the species recover in many places, and today Michigan has a vibrant black bear population of 12,862 animals, according to the DNR’s latest estimate. That’s one of the top 15 bear populations in the nation.
In the Upper Peninsula, bears are abundant, with an estimated density of one bear every 2 square miles. More than 85% of the state’s bear population lives in the U.P., and the peninsula’s state-managed harvest nets about 1,500 bears every year.
In the northern Lower Peninsula, where bear hunting is also legal, the bear population has increased in recent years as residents become more accustomed to the animal’s presence.
Still, in fast-growing and tourist-heavy areas like Grand Traverse County, bears can still cause quite a bit of excitement. In the past six years, the DNR has logged 178 bear complaint reports from Grand Traverse County, by far the most of any county in the northern Lower Peninsula.
And then there’s southern Michigan: home to the state’s largest cities, including Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Flint and Kalamazoo. Millions of people. Hundreds of miles of crisscrossing highways. Towering buildings. Manufacturing plants.
Bear hunting is not allowed in the bottom half of the Lower Peninsula, and bear complaints generally get rarer the farther south you go. In fact, some southern Michigan counties have never logged a bear complaint with the DNR, or at least since records have been kept starting in 2003.
So, it can be a surprise when a bear shows up.
Resident reaction can run the gamut, illustrated by these two social media responses to the Carleton bear:
“Why hasn’t the bear been caught yet?” said one user. “This is a public safety concern.”
“That bear is not going to approach anyone,” responded another. “Let it be. This is their land.”
The DNR’s Wildlife Division strives to strike a balance between these two disparate lines of thinking. In other words: Maintain a sustainable bear population throughout Michigan while minimizing bear-related conflicts.
Jared Duquette, the DNR’s human-wildlife interaction specialist, said bears typically have greater acceptance in communities with long-established bear populations, such as those in the U.P. and areas of the northern Lower Peninsula.
“Acceptance depends on several factors, though, such as familiarity with bear behavior, frequency of sightings and how much control people feel they have in interactions with bears,” Duquette said. “In areas where bears are rare, community culture and media coverage can often sway acceptance of bears by sensationalizing their presence and perceived danger.”
Duquette said managing social perceptions and the extent people and bears become habituated with each other are keys to enhancing human-bear coexistence, especially in areas where bears are expanding.
“Communities with increasing bear sightings should consider proactive communication and strategies to empower residents in safely coexisting with bears,” he said. “Visting the BearWise website is a great place to start.”
—————
Adaptable creatures
The DNR’s approach to bears is driven by the agency’s black bear management plan. The plan was developed in 2008 using the best available science and significant input from bear stakeholder groups and the public.
The plan references a survey showing that a majority of Lower Peninsula residents value the existence of black bears and their important role in nature.
As large omnivores, bears benefit the ecosystem by spreading plant and berry seeds in their droppings and being important predators of insects, deer fawns and other species.
When it comes to southern Michigan, the DNR’s strategy is to allow the bear population to expand naturally into the region to the extent social acceptance allows.
That last clause – “to the extent social acceptance allows” – is the tricky part.
What’s socially acceptable for one southern Michigan community may not be for another – at least in the early stages.
When the bear appeared in metro Detroit, many residents unaccustomed to seeing the animal expressed shock and fear. Compare that to areas like Grand Rapids and Lansing, where bear sightings are more common, and reactions generally have become more tempered.
“Bears are likely to become more socially acceptable as they expand south in Michigan,” Duquette said. “However, acceptability will take time and depend on communities building a local culture that understands basic bear behavior and is accepting of bears.
Community members should understand that bears are naturally afraid of us and pose little threat to people and pets.”
Black bears – Michigan’s only bear species – are solitary animals, and male bears roam vast areas, with young males dispersing up to 100 miles to find new, unoccupied territory.
While bears thrive in large hardwood and conifer forests with dense underbrush and wetlands, they also seem to be adapting to less woodsy settings around the state.
“We’ve been seeing over time that bears continue to survive and persist in habitats that we would not have thought were suitable previously,” said Cody Norton, DNR bear and furbearer specialist. “Bears are extremely adaptable creatures – they are generalists and can make use of a variety of food sources. We’ve been seeing them persist in areas that have very few trees – it may be a little woodlot next to cornfields, for example.”
Norton said it appears a few bears have denned over winter in the Grand Rapids and Lansing areas. Both areas have forested river corridors that bears like to travel along.
Bears have also showed up in the Flint area only to be hit and killed by vehicles.
“There can be extremely high mortality when bears show up in these older urban environments that are heavily developed with highways running through them,” Norton said.
As for the bear first spotted in Carleton on May 10, the animal was caught on a security camera in nearby Flat Rock the next night and again the following week in South Rockwood, where it raided a resident’s beehives at night.
After still another sighting near Carleton, Cooley said he has received no further reports of the animal’s whereabouts.
So, could a bear – or multiple bears – persist in Metro Detroit?
“Southeast Michigan contains some of the state’s least-suitable habitat for bears – much of the area is flat and lacks the woodlots and river corridors they favor,” Norton said. “Could there be pockets in southeast Michigan that if multiple bears made it to, they could persist? Yes, there might be, but I think until we see bears do that, it’s really hard for us to predict whether it’s truly suitable.”
—————
Coexisting with bears
From Marquette to Mio to Muskegon, coexisting with black bears in Michigan means accepting two fundamental facts:
1) Black bears are wild, powerful animals that should be appreciated from a distance. They may defend themselves when surprised, threatened or protecting their cubs.
2) Black bears are naturally timid, cautious animals. They view humans as a threat to avoid rather than as a food source.
Lynn Rogers, founder of the North American Bear Center, notes in his article “How Dangerous Are Black Bears?” that black bears are so timid partly because they evolved alongside such powerful predators as saber-toothed cats and dire wolves, both now extinct.
“Black bears were the only one of these animals that could climb trees, so they survived by staying near trees and developing the attitude: run first and ask questions later,” Rogers explains. “The timid ones passed on their genes to create the black bear of today.”
As many communities with established black bear populations have learned, living with bears takes a certain amount of sacrifice from just about everyone, including bird lovers and pet owners.
Here are some basics:
• Spotting a bear on your trail camera or wandering through your backyard is no reason to panic. You do not need to call local authorities or the DNR. This is natural bear behavior. You can scare the bear off by yelling, blowing an air horn or banging pots and pans.
• Bears are drawn to birdfeeders loaded with birdseed or suet, as well as grease-splattered grills and outdoor pet food. They can literally smell the stuff from a mile away. So, you’ll need to remove the temptation – and, once you do, give it a good two weeks for the bear to stop coming around.
• Use electric fencing around chicken coops and apiaries.
• Bears love garbage. Consider waiting to put your garbage cans out until the day of pickup. Folks in high-density bear areas should consider using bear-resistant trash bins or trash lid straps.
• You may need to educate your neighbors. If they have birdfeeders or other outdoor food sources, the bear will be traipsing through everyone else’s yard to get to them. The more available food sources in the neighborhood, the harder it will be to get rid of the bear.
Taking down birdfeeders can be particularly difficult for many residents. Of the 178 bear complaints from Grand Traverse County, roughly half of the reports list bird feeders as the attractants.
But as BearWise points out, you don’t have to choose between watching birds and deterring bears. Consider alternatives such as planting bird-friendly native flowers, trees and bushes; putting out nest boxes and bird baths; and providing simple bird shelters and perches.
The key is ensuring that black bears don’t become habituated with regular access to birdseed and other human-provided food sources.
Duquette said black bears can lose their natural fear of humans after routine close encounters do not scare them away and they are rewarded with food. And once a black bear becomes fully habituated and food-conditioned, it rarely returns to being truly wild.
Grand Reopening, Ribbon Cutting for Musketawa Trail Friday
The Friends of the Musketawa Trail invite trail users, community members and outdoor enthusiasts to celebrate a fresh new chapter for the Musketawa Trail with a grand reopening celebration and ribbon cutting on Friday from 3 to 6 p.m.
The event marks the completion of Phase 1 of the Musketawa Trail rebuild, including the newly rebuilt Crockery Creek bridge and new pavement extending into Ottawa County.
The celebration will begin at 3:00 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the west end of the newly rebuilt Crockery Creek bridge in Ravenna, including remarks from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Parking will be available at the Ravenna Trailhead parking lot, with a short walk east to the bridge. Then, enjoy the trail!
Following the ribbon cutting, everyone is invited to experience the improvements firsthand during a free, informal “pop-up” ride and/or walk.
Participants can travel east across the new Crockery Creek bridge and continue onto the newly-paved section of trail beginning at Ellis Road in Ottawa County. Bring a bicycle or walking shoes and choose your own distance and pace. Helmets are encouraged for those participating on wheels.
Water will be available for participants at the Ravenna Depot, where the Friends of the Musketawa Trail will also have trail information and a limited number of Musketawa Trail t-shirts available for purchase. There is no charge to participate, and the celebration will take place rain or shine.
The Musketawa Trail has been connecting communities and providing opportunities for outdoor recreation for decades. This first phase of reconstruction gives trail users a smoother, refreshed experience while continuing the trail's long tradition of welcoming walkers, runners, cyclists, equestrians, snowmobilers and other outdoor enthusiasts throughout the seasons
The event marks the completion of Phase 1 of the Musketawa Trail rebuild, including the newly rebuilt Crockery Creek bridge and new pavement extending into Ottawa County.
The celebration will begin at 3:00 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the west end of the newly rebuilt Crockery Creek bridge in Ravenna, including remarks from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Parking will be available at the Ravenna Trailhead parking lot, with a short walk east to the bridge. Then, enjoy the trail!
Following the ribbon cutting, everyone is invited to experience the improvements firsthand during a free, informal “pop-up” ride and/or walk.
Participants can travel east across the new Crockery Creek bridge and continue onto the newly-paved section of trail beginning at Ellis Road in Ottawa County. Bring a bicycle or walking shoes and choose your own distance and pace. Helmets are encouraged for those participating on wheels.
Water will be available for participants at the Ravenna Depot, where the Friends of the Musketawa Trail will also have trail information and a limited number of Musketawa Trail t-shirts available for purchase. There is no charge to participate, and the celebration will take place rain or shine.
The Musketawa Trail has been connecting communities and providing opportunities for outdoor recreation for decades. This first phase of reconstruction gives trail users a smoother, refreshed experience while continuing the trail's long tradition of welcoming walkers, runners, cyclists, equestrians, snowmobilers and other outdoor enthusiasts throughout the seasons
Prepare the Landscape for the Change of Seasons
Beneficial shredded leaf mulch added to a fall perennial garden.
Photo courtesy MelindaMyers.com
Scouting Deer in Offseason Can Pay Off During Hunting Season
By Jack Payne
Leaves were being crunched as the sound came closer and closer. And then came the wheeze, the snort, and the stomping of a hoof.
A nice doe walked within five yards of me, snorting with each step she took. I was busted, and it would only be a few seconds before she blew out. This has happened to me countless times, more often when I hunted from the ground.
You will get busted; the deer do not always come from the direction that you plan, and the wind can switch on you.
This is one of the reasons why I continue to hunt. The challenge is getting a deer into range without being spotted or winded. The excitement each time a deer is in range fuels my desire to hunt.
I spend a good deal of time scouting. I enjoy scouting, and my serious scouting starts in January and runs through turkey season. Sometime in August, I kick it back in gear and start the process all over.
I have a 10-acre and a 40-acre parcel of private land to hunt along with the state land. The 10-acre parcel is located along a small river near town. Not loaded with deer, but they like the water as a travel corridor.
The 40-acre parcel is 39.5 acres of corn. Trees are scarce, and the property has three large ditches bordering the sides. Most of the deer I shoot on this property are from the ground.
My state land deer are hunted near swamps, creek bottoms, or river bottoms. One exception is a small piece of public land where I hunt less than 200 yards from my truck. Scouting has proven that this little piece is overlooked by most hunters.
My scouting is done with boots on the ground. I cover a lot of ground. I use string, not cameras, and I use my eyes the most. I use the string to mark runways or water crossings.
I will tie string across the areas where I find deer crossing the water or on small trails leading to us from a feeding area. The string is placed somewhere between knee- and thigh-high. When the string is broken, it often points in the direction that the deer are traveling. I never got into the camera thing, more into the walking and looking.
Bedding areas are left undisturbed. Most of the bedding areas are found in the winter or early spring. During the late summer leading up to the start of archery season, I try to avoid the bedding areas. Instead, I like to skirt the edges, being very quiet and looking for recent tracks or droppings.
Food sources change over the year, and acorns take over as a preferred food on the state land that I hunt. I look for isolated oak trees, oak trees near water, or near some type of thick cover.
Briars, prickers, bogs, water, and cattails scare off most hunters. I like to sit as close to this type of cover as possible; most often, I will hunt inside the tangled mess, out of sight of the other hunters.
Hunting a ditch line from the ground requires great hearing, especially during the early portion of the season. Not only will the corn or soybeans make distance viewing difficult, but the tall ferns and weeds will as well. The shot opportunity is a short window.
Often, I will see the deer take two steps and then be in the crops. Sit on the ground or use a turkey lounge chair and have the wind on the back of your neck.
Deadfalls and fallen trees are found along waterways, and they provide a great ambush spot for the grounded hunter. One of my state land spots has towering oaks along a ridge, and the acorns fall and roll down to the creek's edge. Sitting between the water and the oaks has proven productive for me.
My ground blinds are basically a few logs placed on a diagonal with me behind them. Always play the wind; don't fall in love with one stand, and scout each time you walk into the woods or as you leave. And remember, Bob's Gun and Tackle Shop is there, ready to serve.
Leaves were being crunched as the sound came closer and closer. And then came the wheeze, the snort, and the stomping of a hoof.
A nice doe walked within five yards of me, snorting with each step she took. I was busted, and it would only be a few seconds before she blew out. This has happened to me countless times, more often when I hunted from the ground.
You will get busted; the deer do not always come from the direction that you plan, and the wind can switch on you.
This is one of the reasons why I continue to hunt. The challenge is getting a deer into range without being spotted or winded. The excitement each time a deer is in range fuels my desire to hunt.
I spend a good deal of time scouting. I enjoy scouting, and my serious scouting starts in January and runs through turkey season. Sometime in August, I kick it back in gear and start the process all over.
I have a 10-acre and a 40-acre parcel of private land to hunt along with the state land. The 10-acre parcel is located along a small river near town. Not loaded with deer, but they like the water as a travel corridor.
The 40-acre parcel is 39.5 acres of corn. Trees are scarce, and the property has three large ditches bordering the sides. Most of the deer I shoot on this property are from the ground.
My state land deer are hunted near swamps, creek bottoms, or river bottoms. One exception is a small piece of public land where I hunt less than 200 yards from my truck. Scouting has proven that this little piece is overlooked by most hunters.
My scouting is done with boots on the ground. I cover a lot of ground. I use string, not cameras, and I use my eyes the most. I use the string to mark runways or water crossings.
I will tie string across the areas where I find deer crossing the water or on small trails leading to us from a feeding area. The string is placed somewhere between knee- and thigh-high. When the string is broken, it often points in the direction that the deer are traveling. I never got into the camera thing, more into the walking and looking.
Bedding areas are left undisturbed. Most of the bedding areas are found in the winter or early spring. During the late summer leading up to the start of archery season, I try to avoid the bedding areas. Instead, I like to skirt the edges, being very quiet and looking for recent tracks or droppings.
Food sources change over the year, and acorns take over as a preferred food on the state land that I hunt. I look for isolated oak trees, oak trees near water, or near some type of thick cover.
Briars, prickers, bogs, water, and cattails scare off most hunters. I like to sit as close to this type of cover as possible; most often, I will hunt inside the tangled mess, out of sight of the other hunters.
Hunting a ditch line from the ground requires great hearing, especially during the early portion of the season. Not only will the corn or soybeans make distance viewing difficult, but the tall ferns and weeds will as well. The shot opportunity is a short window.
Often, I will see the deer take two steps and then be in the crops. Sit on the ground or use a turkey lounge chair and have the wind on the back of your neck.
Deadfalls and fallen trees are found along waterways, and they provide a great ambush spot for the grounded hunter. One of my state land spots has towering oaks along a ridge, and the acorns fall and roll down to the creek's edge. Sitting between the water and the oaks has proven productive for me.
My ground blinds are basically a few logs placed on a diagonal with me behind them. Always play the wind; don't fall in love with one stand, and scout each time you walk into the woods or as you leave. And remember, Bob's Gun and Tackle Shop is there, ready to serve.
Learn About Snakes at Kellogg Sanctuary
Get up close with a live Michigan snake and discover how scientists study animals in the wild! Join graduate student Hannah Rothkopf at the W.K. Kellogg Bird Sanctuary for Exploring with Scientists, a fun, hands-on program designed especially for elementary-aged learners.
During the one-hour session, set for 2 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, participants will:
• Meet a live snake and observe its movements and features up close
• Learn where snakes live, what they eat, and why they are important to healthy ecosystems
• Bust common myths and build confidence around these often-misunderstood animals
• Join a hands-on activity to see how scientists study animals and how nature, animals, and people stay healthy together
After the program, families are invited to extend their experience with self-guided crafts, playtime in the Overlook Building, which is located along the accessible, 3/4-mile Paved Path, and a storybook walk featuring “I (Don’t) Like Snakes” by Nicola Davies.
Questions? Contact the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary at birdsanctuary@kbs.msu.edu or (269) 671-2510.
During the one-hour session, set for 2 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, participants will:
• Meet a live snake and observe its movements and features up close
• Learn where snakes live, what they eat, and why they are important to healthy ecosystems
• Bust common myths and build confidence around these often-misunderstood animals
• Join a hands-on activity to see how scientists study animals and how nature, animals, and people stay healthy together
After the program, families are invited to extend their experience with self-guided crafts, playtime in the Overlook Building, which is located along the accessible, 3/4-mile Paved Path, and a storybook walk featuring “I (Don’t) Like Snakes” by Nicola Davies.
Questions? Contact the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary at birdsanctuary@kbs.msu.edu or (269) 671-2510.
