Trouble for Turkeys?

This is the season for snapping photos of fall colors.  Sorry.  My view of the fall foliage has often been as seen below:  peering through the woods out of a ground blind.  Not the best vantage for good shots of the fall colors. 

The Missouri fall turkey season extends for the whole month of October.  I got a gobbler in the 2018 spring season, but nothing this fall.  Sure.  I enjoyed some beautiful afternoons scouting for turkeys and sitting and watching for turkeys.  I saw lots of other birds and many deer.  But not one turkey.

I'm not alone.  Hunter interest in fall turkey hunting and hunting success is always low.  But it is still a pleasant fall activity. 

I expected it to be a challenge.  Before the season the Missouri Department of Conservation reported that wild turkey production had been low for three years.  I didn't think much about that.  All wildlife populations fluctuate.  That is especially true for ground nesters.  It can be too wet, too dry, too cold, or too hot for good hatching. 

Then... I read an article in the Wildlife Professional entitled "Are Turkeys in Trouble?"   That got my attention.  Dana Kobilinsky, staff writer with The Wildlife Society, interviewed wild turkey biologist all across the Midwest and eastern U. S. Biologists in New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin, Missouri and others reported declining harvest correlated with declining population indices. 

Oh no!!  Don't tell me we are going to lose our good turkey numbers like we did our quail populations back in the 1980's! 

Why?  Reproduction is dwindling. Why?  Good question.  Spring nest season weather has probably been a factor.  After our April 29, 2017 flooding rains in the Ozarks, that is what one would expect.  Hopefully, weather will cooperate to permit good nest success in the coming years.

But there could be other factors.  High predation by raccoons on turkey nests has been observed in some areas.  No doubt, harvest pressure on raccoons is low and raccoon numbers are high. 

Habitat is almost always the bottom line answer to this kind of question.  Better cover would protect nests, and broods, etc.  Better habitat interspersion and conjunction reduces risky animal movements. 

So, what is happening on the landscape in My Corner of the Ozarks?  According to Kobilinsky, Missouri turkey biologist, Jason Isabelle reported encroachment of shade tolerant woody species into our oak-hickory forests.  This change can impact oaks and acorn production, an important food for turkeys.  Woodlands are also being invaded by honeysuckle and Callery (Bradford) pear. 

In some areas of the eastern wild turkey range, grassland habitat is being lost.  That is probably not true in the Ozarks.  However, our Ozark hay and pasture lands are very heavily used and frequently disturbed, making rather poor nesting and brooding cover for turkeys. 

What does the future hold?  I hope better nesting season weather.  And better luck for this hunter.

LOVE AT CAMP DAVID

At the 2018 Camp David at Bunker Hill, we, Larry and Linda, celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary.  We were blessed to have all our family with us to celebrate in My Corner of the Ozarks. 

The Bunker Hill Chapel is a beautiful setting.  

We renewed our vows with the whole family as witnesses.  

Music was provided by Lance, Brad, and Matt.

Our three sons have been a blessing, a pleasure, and an inspiration.  

The flower girls scattered petals for the "bride".  

But...someone had to pick up those "littered" flower petals.  

We were blessed to be supported by beautiful bridesmaids.  

Many, many sent greetings, memories, and congratulations.  

Thank you for your kind words.  

God has blessed us beyond measure.  

I STILL LOVE CAMP DAVID

Last year I posted some photos from our annual Camp David week with the grandchildren at Bunker Hill on the Jack's Fork in My Corner the Ozarks.  This summer all the grands were back including the two-year old rookie AND all the parents were invited.  It was a great week of fun. PLUS, we celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary at Bunker Hill with our family.  What a week!

Matt, Jackson, and Cami came from Illinois.  Lance, Grace, Karis, Olivia, and Emily came from Maryland.  Brad, Fatymah, and Mariam came from Kosovo.




August 2018 marked the 8th Camp David.  In 2011 when we started this tradition, only Karis and Olivia came.  Karis was 8 and Olivia 5.  Camp David has been held in My Corner of the Ozarks every summer except 2016 when we convened in Maryland to accommodate Karis' busy schedule.  2018 was the third time we had gathered at Bunker Hill for Camp David.

The water was very popular.  August heat made the cool Jack's Fork feel very good. 

These kids don't need many toys to be busy and have fun.  

The younger Davids at Camp David having fun.










When the river water feels cold, Mimi can always offer snuggles.

Thumb sucking is optional.

Karis and Olivia were our first "campers" eight years ago.  They have sure grown up.  They are pictured here with our oldest son, Lance, their dad.

Several evenings we gathered on the river bank for singing, stories, and laughter.

Brad, our middle son, furnished the musical accompaniment.

Seated next is our youngest son, our baby, with his baby.

Next is Lance followed by Mrs. Lance (Grace).





The older Davids at Camp David also had to join in the silliness.  As we watched from the bank, this canoe approached us.  Out of nowhere appeared a canoe full of giant chickens, clucking and shooting water guns.

Gene David and Corliss Depee would have been so proud!!

More about our 50th ceremony at "Love at Camp David".

Too Much Water

Although it did not impact my corner of the Ozarks, I want to mention the Great Mississippi River Flood of 1993.  This summer is the 25th anniversary of the most devastating flood in modern U. S. history according to the U. S. Geological Survey. 

In April 2017 we had flash flooding in the southern Ozarks, and it was devastating.  But when the Mississippi, Illinois, Missouri, Des Moines, and other rivers spread out over 400,000 acres in nine state in 1993, 47 people lost their lives. 

This image is from the Quad City Times:


It was a terrible summer all along the major Midwestern rivers.  Over 1,000 levees broke.  The flooding lasted 200 days in some places.  The damages cost $25 billion. 

Emergency volunteers were put to work all along the rivers filling sandbags to try to save the levees.  Illinois Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologists took their boats to the Illinois and Mississippi rivers to transport sandbags.  Actually the DNR lost some boats and motors in that effort.

In far southern Illinois a levee break allowed the Mississippi River waters to flow across farms and homes to dump into the Ohio River creating a new temporary channel.  I witnessed the scars and deposits of gravel in the middle of productive crop land.  For months farmers and levee districts removed gravel deposits and rebuilt levees. 

The historic city of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, was saved.  If the flood had crossed into that area, it would have been in the Ozarks, although not "my corner". 

In July 1993 I stood on the steps leading down to the Mississippi River at the Gateway Arch grounds in St. Louis. The river was lapping at the upper steps at that time.  It was a scary scene. 

An article, "Where Dark Waters Raged", in the August Missouri Conservationist describes the flood of 1993 and tells of subsequent restoration, including development of fish and wildlife habitat out of disaster.  That's what we do.  We rise from the mud and gravel and build something new. 

Another Corner of the Ozarks

Last week a group of Illinois friends helped me to explore "another" corner of the Ozarks.  I have floated, paddled, capsized, swam, fished and had fun on the Jack's Fork and Current Rivers since I was 12 years old.  I had been to Greer Spring a couple of times, but I had never before floated the Eleven Point River. 

They invited me to join them on this adventure.  So I loaded my canoe and met them at Alton. 

Tom, the expert, brought five kayaks and camping gear.  He was well-equipped for two nights on the river. 

My friend Jerry, who is even older than I am, agreed with me that we did not want to camp on the river bank.  And we decided on a much shorter float than the experts and adventurers wanted to take. 

This is their camp site the first night at the campground at Greer Crossing. 

The second night they camped down stream (somewhere), while Jerry and I slept on comfy beds in air conditioning. 

This is Bob, the adventurer.  He is always up for anything.  This was not his first time on the Eleven Point.  And actually, he is one who at one time survived floating the upper St. Francis; albeit, in an unprepared state. 

My paddling buddy, Jerry, likes to fish much more than I do.  He worked hard at it.  I think he wore out some of his lures, but not much luck. 

We floated 7 miles from Whitten Access to Riverton.  The five Illinois kayakers floated 19 miles from Greer Crossing to Riverton in two days.   

We enjoyed the Eleven Point River, which is a National Wild and Scenic River. 

The gradient is 5.6 feet per mile.  That's a little slower than the upper Jack's Fork (8.6 ft./mi.) or the upper Current (8.7 ft./mi.). 

The water was beautiful and the scenery amazing.  We saw a bald eagle, blue-winged teal, great blue heron, green heron, belted kingfisher, and many other birds. 

This is our camp site, a cabin at Riverton.  We were hosted by Hufstedler's, owned by Mike and Wendy Jones. 

It was very comfortable and well-equipped.  Jerry and I were well-rested and ready to paddle.

The weather was great.  The water was wonderful.  It was a good time.

I can't believe it is summer.

Time certainly flies by.  That may be a condition of age or just being busy.  It seems like only a few weeks ago I was looking forward to spring.  Now we are in the heat of mid-summer.

Spring for me yielded Turkey Number 21.

I still enjoy being in the woods in April and early May.  But I miss my hunting buddy.  Dad shot 68 turkeys in his hunting days.  He's the guy who taught me to shoot, to hunt rabbits and quail, to train a pointing dog, and to call turkeys.

The hot weather has drawn us to the river.  We have had two kayak/canoe trips on the Jack's Fork and Linda went on a "ladies-only" kayak trip on the Current river.

In June we hosted long-time Hall of Famers, Dean and Julie, which included a float trip.

We enjoyed hosting the Cobb family at the river and watching the children master the kayak.  We "invested" in two small kayaks this year.  Linda loves paddling the kayak.  I still prefer the canoe.



Now we are entering the "dog days" of summer.  The upper Jack's Fork is too low to float.  The sun scorches exposed skin.  The Ozark humidity saps your strength.

So we sit on the deck and watch our butterfly garden hoping to see some Monarchs.

Happy summer to you.