MANKATO — It’s about this time of the year when Minnesota hunters begin to anticipate crisp mornings in the deer stand and decoys silhouetted against the glow of an impending sunrise.

Just a few weeks ago, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conducted its annual wildlife roadside surveys to assess the state of many wildlife populations.

So we now await the official report that traditionally is released in early September.

In the meantime, after many miles of wandering the backroads of south-central Minnesota in the course of covering the news of the day, this hunter offers a few purely anecdotal observations about things furred and feathered.

Wherever you stand on the dove hunting season which opens Sept. 1, the birds are prolific and, judging by the number that can be seen perched on wires staging for their migration, the population is doing just fine.

 So barring an early, hard frost to prematurely drive them out, state hunters should enjoy some good hunting for them.

Canada geese? Judging by the complaints from a farmer friend who watched flightless family flocks graze through his beanfields this past summer, there’s a bumper crop of local honkers out there, as well.

Of course, we try to keep the population in check with special hunting seasons and increasingly liberal bag limits.

But in spite of these measures, is there anyone out there who has attempted to hunt the sage birds who isn’t convinced that eventually, Canada geese will rule the world?

It may have been a tough winter but at least in our urban setting, the bunny population that chewed its way through my wife’s and neighbor’s garden is as high as ever.

Northern Minnesota’s deer herd skated through an exceptionally mild winter in most areas. By contrast, deer in our neck of the woods along with points south and west endured a snowy, cold winter.

But judging by the numbers of road-killed deer along Highway 169 that have flashed by my window this past summer and spring, losses were hardly catastrophic.

In Pope County where I traditionally hunt and in other areas of southern and western Minnesota, standing corn created large blocks of cover that hampered hunter success during much of the deer season. We hardly put a dent in the local population.

What’s more, most of the farm we hunted served as a giant food plot of unpicked corn until March when our farmer/host finally was able bring his crop in. So maybe the good news is that all of the deer we couldn’t find last year will be a year older this fall.

As for pheasants, perhaps the best thing to do this fall is expect the worst and hope for the best.

The same unharvested crops that hampered deer hunters hampered bird hunters, too, and surviving birds in many areas also enjoyed a  steady winter food source.

Nevertheless, January and February were tough and some birds undoubtedly perished from exposure, predators and traffic.

And it’s been a wet summer, something that typically doesn’t bode well for pheasant reproduction. Nor does the amount of CRP acres that continue to vanish.

At the very least, the few broods I’ve seen in my rural wanderings seemed to be smaller than usual.

But up or down, it’s always a pleasant surprise when the first rooster of the season erupts from the grass.

Finally, there are the ducks.

Or in the case of south-central Minnesota, no ducks.

Remember the good old days when you could drive by any little pothole or slough and see a brood or two of blue-winged teal, some mallards or wood ducks?

After a wet summer, every little depression is brimming with water but conspicuously absent have remained the ducks.

Beer talk among frustrated duck hunters in recent years holds that the traditional flyway has shifted westward where for the last several years, better water conditions have existed.

Whatever the reason, ducks seem so scarce around here that some would argue that it’s hardly worth buying a duck stamp anymore.

Then again, maybe its a good reason why they should.



John Cross is a Free Press staff writer. Contact him at 344-6376 or by email at jcross@mankatofreepress.com.