By Mike Roche

Tuesday morning dawned beautifully. For a change, this writer had not hopped out of bed at 4 a.m. to match wits with a gobbler but instead had slept in until 7. Since turkey season in Kansas in early April, most days have begun early. Not all have resulted in following through with a hunt, but many did become adventures. But more on that later.

As I let the dogs out for their morning constitutional, my keen eyes and razor-sharp mind (OK, the eyes are quite good for my age and the mind is still functioning) immediately realized something was amiss. Directly in my line of sight was a shepherd’s hook feeder hanger and it was bent down severely. The bird feeders have all been taken in since before Easter and the dogs had treed a sow black bear and at least two cubs after that. The only thing up in the yard was a hummingbird feeder and it was hung three days ago. The feeder, an older Perky Pet red glass feeder that holds about two cups of sugar water, was on the lawn about 20 feet away.

This was unexpected. In my experience, hummingbird feeders were not something bears usually bothered with and could be put out in May without concern. We recently installed a Ring floodlight with a motion sensor, and it is equipped with a camera. We have had a Ring doorbell with a sensor and camera for a couple years and it rings our phones when someone comes to the door, or the dogs want to be let back in. The floodlight is aimed at the driveway and needed to be adjusted so that it did not react to every vehicle driving up or down Mechanic Street. That adjustment was relatively easy, even for a tech-challenged novice like me, by delineating a zone where the sensor would be aimed. The light is great as it turns on when you drive into the driveway after dark or go to the car in the darkness.

Going to the Ring app on my iPhone, it was easy to scroll through the “events” and find one that took place at 11 p.m. It showed a small bear prowling around by my truck and going to the trash barrels. Fortunately, the barrels are Ace Hardware commercial grade. When the bear tipped one over, it made a noise, the bear bolted away a short distance and the lid stayed on. A quick sniff and the bruin sauntered away and there was no strewn rubbish to deal with—this time.

This visit creates an issue as the plan this week was to put up the oriole feeder. That feeder has a tray for grape jelly and spikes for orange halves. Those had not attracted bears in the past either. The fact that black bears are focusing on human residences as primary food sources is becoming problematic. Hunters killing 200 or so bears from a population estimate of 4,500 is not working, particularly when so many people leave feeders and food sources out because “they like seeing the bears.”

As for turkeys, it has been a frustrating season for this turkey hunter. First of all, it is my choice not to turkey hunt in the rain. My “go to” calls are friction calls that do not work when wet. Slate calls, box calls, “push/pull” calls and glass calls all are not made for rainy weather. “Back in the day,” this writer carried a Wonder Bread bag with me and would operate those calls inside the bag and they sounded fine. As previously noted, it is a matter of personal preference.

In truth, getting soaked, or even a little wet at this point of my life does not really turn me on at all. My ideal setting is a sunny hardwood opening, a little green vegetation poking up through the forest floor, and the sunlight bringing out the iridescent colors of the gobbler’s feathers as his head turns color from white to bright red as he gets fired up and gobbles with a sound that fills the woods. Hear rain on the roof, you roll over and go back to sleep. Three times this season, rain started falling around dawn and the decoy was picked up and we left the woods; once with a tom gobbling at every sound, including passing vehicles.

Since my start chasing spring gobblers in the mid-1980s, my luck has been good. Today, hearing a bird gobbling, getting a response gobble from the silent woods and the thrill of the wait is still what gets me out. But not in the rain.

One memorable moment occurred just before dawn Monday. Two hens pitched right in front of me before my body was set up in my “Turkey Lounger” portable seat. The tom was right behind them, and he strutted and gobbled, with me unable to move. Maybe a shot could have resulted, but he walked away unscathed and silently followed the girls off across the field and eventually off the property. That, however, was not the high point of that morning. Later, a bobcat came slinking in and watching it glide through the woods was a great experience, one which will get me out of bed again in the wee hours a few more times.

Mike Roche is a retired teacher who has been involved in conservation and wildlife issues his entire life. He has written the Sportsman’s Corner since 1984 and has served as advisor to the MaharFish’N Game Club, Counselor and Director of the Massachusetts Conservation Camp, former Connecticut Valley District representative on the Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife Board, has been a Massachusetts Hunter Education Instructor and is a licensed New York hunting guide. He can be reached at mikeroche3@msn.com.

]]>