For both the deer and the deer manager, March is a time when things are in transition. Winter is giving way to spring, and the deer are loosing weight because many of the food sources are depleted. The deer may begin moving from their winter range to their summer range during late March. To abate their hunger the deer begin looking for new green growth. For the deer manager, now is the time to prepare for spring planting; get planting equipment ready, order seed and mineral. Scout for turkey hunting.

Minerals
With the coming of spring, minerals are needed by both the bucks and does, as the bucks develop new racks and the does continue fetus growth. To adequately provide mineral for all the deer you should have one mineral lick for each forty acres of land. The licks should be placed in high use areas with adequate cover so that the animals readily find and use them. Minerals are most easily utilized by deer in granular form; they should be supplied on the ground in a sheltered area where they won't be washed away, or in a covered bin. You can still scout and look for shed antlers.

Home Range
Before we can discuss feeding programs it's necessary to understand how deer use the habitat and how their use of the habitat changes throughout the year. There has been a lot written and said about whitetail home ranges; most of it based on the knowledge of deer in particular areas, or in particular types of habitat. However, whitetails inhabit many different types of habitats: dense hardwood forests, mixed woodland and agricultural, prairie, southern swamp, northern tamarack bogs, open or dense coniferous forests, open agricultural, semi-open river bottoms, and various mountain types. Because of this wide range of habitats the daily habits of whitetails, their home ranges, core areas, and the use of bedding sites varies.
The deer herds in each area are usually made up of a doe and her female offspring, and their female offspring, etc. As long as there is available habitat, and there is not a lot of competition for home ranges, the young females usually remain in the area where they were born. With death from natural causes and hunting there are often available home ranges for the young deer to occupy. Both bucks and does may make excursions outside their home ranges, but they usually do so only to find a new home range, or during the rut. Young bucks are generally driven off the home range by their mothers when they are a year and a half old, usually before the rut. However, some young bucks may stay on their mothers home range until their second year, when they leave to find their own home range. These one and a half and two and a half year old bucks often end up on home ranges in less preferred habitat.
The geography of the area and the type of habitat often restrict the size of the home range; mountains, ridges, bluffs, rivers, ravines, wooded areas and open areas limit deer movement. The lack of cover in open prairies or agricultural areas restricts deer movement, particularly during the day. Because of this, deer home ranges are often confined to preferred habitat in valleys or river drainage's and the surrounding hills and woods. Because of the limited size of the habitat, the home ranges of several deer often overlap.
The type and amount of food and cover determine how many deer the habitat can hold; and the number of deer in the habitat affects the size of the home range of the deer. Deer in prime mixed habitats, with abundant food sources, generally have smaller home ranges (from 60-1000+ acres) than deer in open coniferous forests, where food sources are low and widely scattered (up to 20+ square miles).
Climate directly affects the time of year, the length of the home range, and the use of the home range by the deer. In mild mid-west or southern climates whitetails may have home ranges no longer than two miles, and they often have traditional core areas. Deer in colder northern open prairie or foothill habitat may have larger home ranges (up to 120+ miles in South Dakota), and are less likely to have traditional core areas.
The climate and the number of bucks and does in the area affect the size of the home ranges of the buck, especially during the rut. Buck home ranges are generally larger than doe home ranges; often two or more times the size of local doe ranges; and the bucks use of their home ranges varies by the season. Bucks in mixed woodland/agricultural habitat in the mid-west may have home ranges of less than a thousand acres, to five or more square miles in size. During the summer adult bucks may use only a small portion of their home range. But, during the rut, adult buck home ranges often expand to include portions of several nearby doe and other buck home ranges.

Annual Home Range
The annual home range of each deer consists of the area used by the individual throughout the year. Non-migratory deer may spend both the summer and winter on the same home range. However, migratory deer in the northern states or mountainous regions may have two or more widely separated home ranges used during different times of the year. Dr.'s Larry Marchinton, Karl Miller and other researchers have found that the home ranges of whitetails are generally elongated, from two to four times longer than they are wide. However, deer in open coniferous or agricultural habitat may have irregular or circular home ranges.

If you are interested in more whitetail management tips, or more biology and behavior, click on Trinity Mountain Outdoor News and T.R.'s Hunting Tips at www.TRMichels.com. If you have questions about whitetails log on to the T.R.'s Tips message board. To find out when the rut begins, peaks and ends in your area click on Whitetail Rut Dates Chart.

This article is adapted from T.R. Michels' Deer Managers Manual ($9.95), and from the Deer Addict's Manual, Volume 1 ($9.95).

If you are interested in more whitetail hunting tips, or more whitetail biology and behavior, click on Trinity Mountain Outdoor News and T.R.'s Hunting Tips at www.TRMichels.com. If you have questions about whitetails log on to the T.R.'s Tips message board. To find out when the rut starts, peaks and ends in your area click on Whitetail Rut Dates Chart.

T.R. Michels is a nationally recognized game researcher/wildlife behaviorist, outdoor writer and speaker. He is the author of the Whitetail, Elk, Duck & Goose, and Turkey Addict's Manuals. His latest products are Hunting the Whitetail Rut Phases, the Complete Whitetail Addict's Manual, the 2005 Revised Edition of the Elk Addict's Manual; and the 2005 Revised Edition of the Duck & Goose Addict's Manual. For a catalog of books and other hunting products contact: T.R. Michels, Trinity Mountain Outdoors, E-mail: TRMichels@yahoo.com, Web Site: www.TRMichels.com

Posted by T.R. Michels at 06:00 PM | Permalink

I can hardly believe the season is over in less than a week. It seems like just yesterday I was preparing to hunt in my favorite early season spots and complaining about hunting in 60 degree weather. Well the season has certainly flown by, but not after being very eventful. Spending countless hours in the woods has taught me some valuable lessons this season that will stay with me for years to come. As gun season came and went, I was feeling discouraged about not taking a deer, and after Christmas I decided it was time to get even more intense.

There was a special spot I had been scouting for years, and had numerous trail cam pictures of nice bucks moving around. I’d hunted it only a handful of times in the early season as a strategic move. Most of the areas I hunt get so much pressure during gun season that the deer become completely nocturnal, the ones that survive that is. This area is such a large amount of forest that it cannot be over hunted. Add in that you can only access it by foot, that you have to carry your stand, and you have a perfect sanctuary for deer. Over the last 5 years I have been slowly clearing and expanding a small food plot on the north end of this area. This year I went so far as to haul water back to it a few times in the summer and it was a lush little clover plot. Starting in October I kept a feeder in the area to hold the deer there and give them a good food source to make it through the summer. My trail camera was consistently getting pictures of nice bucks coming in to the plot immediately after dark. From extensive scouting last February I had located the bedding areas and most common travel routes. I had a good tree picked out to set my ambush; I just needed a little cooperation from nature. After a week or two of waiting for cold weather and the right winds I finally got in my tree, conveniently the moon was on my side by being directly overhead about an hour before dark. The day was perfect, I knew all my planning and work was going to reward me this night.
Even though the deer were not moving until right before dark I was settled in the tree by 1 o’clock to make sure there was no chance of disturbing the deer. I sat back and enjoyed the sounds and sights of the woods and waited for the deer to start moving. Like clockwork the does arrived about a half hour before sunset. This would be the test time for my set up, having 6 pair of eyes and 6 noses moving past me would be my first challenge. I became very worried that I placed myself to close to the trail as they came all around me. A few tested the wind and started to get nervous, but they moved past without detecting me. I was greatly relieved. About twenty minuets later two younger bucks came by and were searching for left-over acorns around my tree. As daylight was leaving me, I became worried that the big one wouldn’t show up until after dark. After milling around for awhile the younger bucks started to move up to the food plot. They suddenly stopped and starred intently into the woods. I knew this was the moment I’d been waiting for all season, so I slowly eased to my feet before I even saw what was coming. Within seconds the nice eight I had been seeing was steadily approaching. At first my nerves and the cold got the best of me, but thankfully he too looked for acorns, obviously waiting for dark to move to the food plot. He stood behind a tree for a few minuets and that was all I needed to calm my nerves, I was ready to draw as soon as the shot presented itself. Since I was hunting in thick woods I only had a few limited shooting lanes and knew I had to be decisive. One of the little bucks decided he would try his luck against the big eight and came in to pick a fight. This pulled the eight right into one of my shooting lanes and the little deer had his attention. When they squared off I eased back my bow. Right as I hit the wall on my bow the slight movement caught the attention of the deer. There I was staring eye to eye with what could be my new best bow buck and my mind was racing. I didn’t want to shoot while he was watching me, but if he took a step in either direction I couldn’t get a shot. It was about a twenty yard shot, so I settled my pin right on his lungs and eased the trigger. At the same moment the buck decided it was time to get out of there and he ducked to run. I watched as my arrow narrowly flew over his back and he trotted off into the ticket. Disappointment was an understatement. All that planning, work, practice, culminated in a miss. I sat down in my stand and waited till dark, thinking that I had blown my opportunity.
Well after a day or two of mental recovering I actually have come to the conclusion that it was a good thing I missed the deer. He is a really nice eight this year, but only a 3 ½ year old buck. Next year he will be a super buck. All rationale aside, bow hunting is hunting with a bow, and only one little thing needs to go wrong and you won’t get a deer. I have taken this experience as a learning tool to plan for next season. Knowing he has survived gun season and now late season will give me the confidence that he will survive and be a monster buck next year.

Posted by E. Jones at 01:00 PM | Permalink

By early April the deer should be on their spring home ranges, looking for new green growth to gain back the fat they lost during the winter. This is when bucks begin growing their antlers, so if there is not enough forage for the deer to eat, you may want to provide supplemental feed and minerals to help the bucks grow larger racks. If you can, now is a good time to do a soil test and enrich and fertilize the soil. It's a good thing there is not too much for the deer manager to do this month, because it's time to scout and hunt turkeys. You can do some spring deer scouting while your are at it; whitetail trails, tracks rubs, scrapes and shed antlers are very evident in early spring. The information you gain now may tell you where to find the deer this fall and winter.

Seasonal Home Ranges
In many areas even non-migratory whitetails use four different home ranges; one each for winter, spring, summer and fall. In general, one end of the seasonal home range consists of the "core area" and daytime bedding sites, often in a wooded area, where the deer spend most of the day. Again, in general, the other end of the seasonal home range consists of an open feeding area, where the deer spend most of the night, and where they have night bedding sites. Buck home ranges may be from two to five times the size of doe ranges during the rut, but they often restrict their movements to a small core area during the winter, spring and summer.
These seasonal home ranges may be several miles apart, or they may overlap each other. In some cases the core area of the individual deer may be the same, but the area and size of the habitat may vary. The deer may use the northern area of its habitat in the summer and the southern area in the winter. It may use wooded areas in the winter to stay warm and open areas in the summer to stay cool.
In some areas whitetails may move several miles in the spring and fall as a result of snow depths, flooding or lack of food. The availability of food and the type of cover needed by the deer during each season determine which part of the annual home range the deer will use. Deer using a soybean field in August may move several miles away during the rut or the hunting season. What this means is that the deer you see and hunt in the fall may not be there for you to feed in the winter, they may be miles away. If they aren't, and there are no other deer in the area, there is no reason to feed in that area. Before you begin a feeding program, determine how many deer there are in the area; and when and where the deer use the area during the year.

How Nutrition and Health Affect Breeding Activity and Fawning Rates It's not often talked about, but researchers have discovered that poor nutrition may affect not only the timing of the rut, but also the activities of the rut. During a study by Dr. Karl Miller and Dr. Larry Marchinton in Georgia it was found that the number of rubs in an area were related to the mast (acorn) abundance, and that during years of little mast production, rub densities were reduced by thirty to sixty percent. It was also found that rubs were less common in pine and mixed pine-oak stands than in oak or primarily oak and pine stands. The researchers thought that the presence of rubs in mast producing areas was because of the type of food in the area, not necessarily because of the type of trees in the area. Regeneration areas and thick hardwood types were avoided as rub sites on all the Georgia study areas; and old fields were highly favored as rub sites.
I find this to be true in the upper Midwest too; bucks rub more near oaks when they are dropping acorns, and near agricultural and old field edges, than they do in dense hardwood forests. But, I have seen numerous rubs near old clear cuts and old fields that have begun to regenerate with saplings. I suspect that rubbing in agricultural areas may be dependent not only on the amount of acorns available, but also on the type and amount of other preferred food sources in the fall, such as alfalfa, soybeans and corn. Because the condition of the deer in the Georgia study was highly dependent on acorns, and their physical condition was poor because of low acorn production, it resulted in a less intense rut. The deer were simply not healthy enough to be as active as they would normally be. If the deer in your area suffer from poor nutrition, because acorn or other mast production is down, or because agricultural crop production is low, you may see less rubbing (and possibly scraping) than normal. Poor nutrition may also result in less daytime trolling, chasing and breeding activity, resulting in a longer than normal breeding phase.
There is also evidence that poor nutrition and health may cause does to come into a later than normal first estrus, or not come into estrous at all. Poor nutrition can affect late born doe fawns (which might breed during their first year if they are healthy), older does, and does that bred late the year before. Does that were switched from low to high nutrition in autumn almost tripled their fawning rates. Does that breed late, give birth late and wean their fawns late, are often nutritionally stressed during the fall. Any doe that nurses is stressed, and the more fawns the doe has the more stressed it is. Poor nutrition may also affect male/female fawning rations. Does on poor nutrition often produce more males, while does on goof nutrition often produce more females. This may explain why does in over populated areas often produce more buck fawns. Studies of over 1,600 does in Minnesota show that 15-20 percent of the adult and yearling does may be bred after the third week of November, and that up to 50 percent of the yearling does may breed after December first.
Poor doe nutrition can also result in later development of the does fawns, and of her fawn's eventual offspring. What this means is that the timing of the rut, the health of the deer in the winter, the reproduction rates of the does, and fawn survival are dependent on good herd nutrition and health. If the deer are nutritionally stressed during any one year, it may affect breeding activity and survival rates for the next few years, and for the next few generations of deer.

This article is adapted from T.R. Michels' Deer Managers Manual ($9.95), and from the Deer Addict's Manual, Volume 1 ($9.95).

If you are interested in more whitetail hunting tips, or more whitetail biology and behavior, click on Trinity Mountain Outdoor News and T.R.'s Hunting Tips at www.TRMichels.com. If you have questions about whitetails log on to the T.R.'s Tips message board. To find out when the rut starts, peaks and ends in your area click on Whitetail Rut Dates Chart.

T.R. Michels is a nationally recognized game researcher/wildlife behaviorist, outdoor writer and speaker. He is the author of the Whitetail, Elk, Duck & Goose, and Turkey Addict's Manuals. His latest products are Hunting the Whitetail Rut Phases, the Complete Whitetail Addict's Manual, the 2006 Revised Edition of the Elk Addict's Manual; and the 2006 Revised Edition of the Duck & Goose Addict's Manual. For a catalog of books and other hunting products contact: T.R. Michels, Trinity Mountain Outdoors, E-mail: TRMichels@yahoo.com , Web Site: www.TRMichels.com

Posted by T.R. Michels at 11:00 AM | Permalink

I've always felt that the more you know about the biology of the animal you are hunting, the better you will be at understanding when and where to find it, and that will make you a better hunter. So let's talk turkey. Sight is a main means of defense against predators for turkeys, so they often use open fields and meadows as feeding and strutting sites; and wooded areas as mid-day loafing and roosting sites.

I've always felt that the more you know about the biology of the animal you are hunting, the better you will be at understanding when and where to find it, and that will make you a better hunter. So let's talk turkey. Sight is a main means of defense against predators for turkeys, so they often use open fields and meadows as feeding and strutting sites; and wooded areas as mid-day loafing and roosting sites.

Forage
Turkeys eat a wide range of foods including succulent grasses and forbes (wild flowers), insects, leftover grains, fruits of the grape, cherry and black gum, and seeds including mast crops of acorns, pine nuts, juniper (cedar) berries, and new growth agricultural crops. In the winter turkeys rely heavily on acorns and seeds, branch tips of brush and trees, leftover grain crops; and they feed heavily in fields where manure has been spread, at corn cribs and feedlots, and at silage piles. In early spring turkeys often rely heavily on leftover grain in agricultural fields. Once the weather warms and new green growth appears they will begin feeding in pastures, river and creek bottoms, and hayfields and pastures, where they eat green forage and search for insects. Hens often seek out sources of calcium (such as land snails) for egg production in the spring.

Roosts
The availability and location of roosting sites is a determining factor in turkey use of the habitat. If there are few or no roosting sites available, turkeys may leave the area or not use it. Turkeys prefer to roost in trees larger than the surrounding vegetation and will often choose roost sites on east facing slopes out of the prevailing winds. They also prefer to roost in heavy timber in ravines if possible: where they can be out of strong prevailing winds in winter, but they will roost in trees open to the wind.
In the southern states turkey roosting sites are often located over or near water. In western areas turkeys use fir, pine, spruce, cottonwood and large aspen trees as roosts. Eastern birds often roost in pines, elm, maple, box elder, large oak, and cottonwood. Mature toms often choose pines because the pines can reduce wind speeds by 50-70 percent. Eastern turkeys generally have several roost sites in their home range, and they may use different sites on successive nights. In limited and poor habitat, Merriam's turkeys often roost in the same trees on a regular basis.
Scientific studies have shown that turkeys often roost on an east or south-facing slope, about a third of the way down the slope where the winds are calm. East and south facing slopes also receive the earliest sunlight, allowing the birds to warm-up and be able to see early in the morning. In one study roost sites were often within one half mile of water, and five hundred yards of a meadow. This could be attributed to the fact that turkeys often feed before going to roost in the evening, and they don't travel far at dusk. The preferred roosts in the study were mature trees with open crowns giving the turkeys room to fly into the trees and move around. They also preferred trees with large horizontal limbs to roost on.

Vision
Vision scientist, Dr. Jay Neitz believes that birds see in trichromatic color like humans, and that many birds actually see four colors, because they see ultraviolet light as a different color than the three primary colors of red, yellow and blue seen by humans. This helps birds because they can detect ultraviolet light in low light conditions when humans can't.
Because turkey are a prey species their eyes are located on the sides of their heads, giving them a wide field of vision. But, because of their wide spaced eyes, turkeys sacrifice depth perception; they see very little in front of them with both eyes at the same time. As turkeys walk, their heads move back and forth, giving them two different angles of an object, which helps them determine the distance of the object. Because of their poor depth perception, turkeys have difficulty determining the relative size of objects.

Hearing
Bird's ears are also located on the sides of their heads, and because they have no outer ear with a cup to enhance the sound in one direction, they hear sounds all the way around them. Sound received by one ear but not by the other ear helps the birds determine the direction of sounds, but not the distance of the sounds. Loud sounds are generally produced at closer ranges than quieter sounds, and cause turkeys to become alert.
This makes it clear why prey species (like turkeys) with widely spaced eyes and ears give an alarm signal first, often try to verify the danger with both their eyes and ears, and then flee. If they don't know which direction the danger came from they need to verify the danger, and the direction, before trying to avoid danger; or they may actually flee into, rather than away from it.

Daily Activity
Turkeys normally roost in trees at night, wake up about an hour before daylight, begin calling about a half-hour before daylight, and fly down from their roost from a half-hour to ten minutes before daylight. Once they are on the ground they usually look for food. If they land in wooded areas they may look for nearby food, but they generally move to an open feeding area within a half-hour. Whether they are in wooded, brushy or open areas, turkeys search for seeds, nuts, grasses, forbes and small insects on the ground.
I've seen a wintering flock of turkeys spend four hours in a cornfield in early spring, prior to the breeding season. However, the normal amount of time spent by large flocks or groups feeding in open areas is about an hour to an hour and a half. Then they move to a new opening, or into the woods. During mid-day the turkeys may loaf in wooded areas and fly up to roost. They generally begin to feed again in the late afternoon, and fly back up to roost about ahalf hour before dusk.

Reaction to Environmental Conditions
Cold, snow, rain and high winds may restrict turkey activity, in particular breeding. During extreme wet and cold or wet and windy conditions turkeys may not leave the roost, if they do they often leave later than normal. When snow depths inhibit walking and feeding turkeys may stay on the roost for several days. During my research I found that when wind-chill factors dropped below 34 degrees gobbling was reduced, and the turkeys often stayed in protected areas, on the downwind side of hills and woods, out of the wind and cold. They also sought protection in low-lying areas, and spent more time in the woods. If the weather warmed after a cold spell or storm, the birds often began to gobble later than normal.
According to noted waterfowl biologist, Dr. Jim Cooper, birds have numerous air sacs in their bodies and are able to detect slight changes in barometric pressure, which may allow them to feel approaching storms. Many hunters believe birds, including turkeys, feed heavily up to two days before a storm because they feel it is coming. This would allow the birds to wait out a storm and begin feeding after it passes.
During my studies I found that the normal pattern of the turkeys was disrupted the day after a storm, particularly if the storm began in the late afternoon, before the birds went up to roost. If the storm caused the birds to roost earlier than normal, they often did not make it to the trees they would usually roost in when they were in that particular area. Instead, they often roosted early and choose the first suitable trees they came to. They were often late getting to the nearest feeding/strutting area the morning after a storm.

Wind and Rain
Strong winds and rain can disable the turkeys ability to hear, which makes them reluctant to move. Strong winds also make it difficult for turkeys to move effectively. Rain is probably uncomfortable for turkeys, which causes them to seek shelter and restrict their movements.
Prevailing wind patterns may affect where turkeys roost. They often choose roost sites in ravines and on downwind sides of hills and wooded areas out of the wind. This may also affect their daily movement. Because turkeys prefer to take off and land into the wind they should leave the roost into prevailing winds, and land in suitable landing sites: open meadows or fields. Once they are on the ground they may continue moving in the same direction, until they reach protected areas. While prevailing wind patterns may influence traditional daily movement patterns, current conditions do prevail and determine to some extent the direction and location of turkey movement. The availability of suitable food sources at the time of the year greatly influences the direction of movement.
When strong winds or rain make it difficult for toms to hear other toms gobbling, they don't gobble in response as often as they normally do, consequently gobbling may be reduced on windy or rainy days. During my research I found that toms gobbled less than normal in the morning if it had rained within the last 12 hours.

Light
Because turkeys rely on their sight for protection, any condition that reduces visibility makes the birds cautious. If the amount of light is reduced by clouds, fog, rain or snow, turkeys move later than normal in the morning, waiting until they can see effectively before they fly down from the roost. My studies show that turkeys fly down from ten to twenty minutes later than normal on cloudy or hazy days.

Sign
Turkeys leave a variety of signs wherever they go: tracks, droppings, wing drag marks, and scratches and dusting bowls in the dirt. Adult turkey tracks range from 2 to 3 inches in length: hen tracks are up to 2 1/8 inches long, toms tracks may be up 2 1/4 inches and larger. Mature toms leave a wider, deeper middle toe imprint, with the scales of their feet imprinted on the ground. Turkey droppings can be found under roosts, in feeding areas and along travel routes. Piles of droppings under large trees indicate roost sites. Hen droppings are pencil size or larger and bulbous or spiral in shape; tom droppings are straight or "J" shaped. Dropped feathers, wing scrapes in strutting areas and the shallow depressions of dusting bowls are all evidence of turkeys use. V-shaped scratches in dirt or leaf litter are evidence of feeding turkeys; the point of the V shows you which way the turkeys were facing when they scratched. the When you find sign, mark it on a map to use when you are hunting.

This article is an excerpt from the Turkey Addict's Manual ($14.95 + $5.00 S&H), by T.R. Michels, available in the Trinity Mountain Outdoor Products catalog.

If you are interested in more turkey hunting tips, or more turkey biology and behavior, click on Trinity Mountain Outdoor News and T.R.'s Hunting Tips at www.TRMichels.com. If you have questions about turkeys or turkey hunting log on to the T.R.'s Tips message board. To find out when peak gobbling occurs in your area click on Peak Turkey Gobbling Dates.

T.R. Michels is a nationally recognized game researcher/wildlife behaviorist, outdoor writer and speaker. He is the author of the Whitetail, Elk, Duck & Goose, and Turkey Addict's Manuals. His latest products are Hunting the Whitetail Rut Phases, the Complete Whitetail Addict's Manual, the 2006 Revised Edition of the Elk Addict's Manual; and the 2006 Revised Edition of the Duck & Goose Addict's Manual. For a catalog of books and other hunting products contact: T.R. Michels, Trinity Mountain Outdoors, E-mail: TRMichels@yahoo.com , Web Site: www.TRMichels.com

Posted by T.R. Michels at 10:00 AM | Permalink