Bluebirds to late deer hunting: Notes around Chicago outdoors

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Notes from around Chicago outdoors.

FIELD NOTES

WILD OF THE WEEK

Once again, Emil Baumbach comes through with both an outstanding photo (above) and some useful comments, emailing this:

Hi Dale, Some birds just brighten up a day and the Eastern Bluebird does it for me. Colored in distinguished brilliant royal blue with rufous and white accents this bird will get your attention. It’s? fun to watch them feed their young because of the variety of insects they capture. This one appears to have a giant Daddy Longlegs in his mouth. Photographed in Lake Forest, Illinois. Thanks, Emil

Bluebirds do it for me, too. And I believe that might be the first mention of Daddy Longlegs in 20 years of doing the outdoors for the Sun-Times.

Wild of the Week, the celebration of wild scenes around Chicago outdoors, runs Sundays on the outdoors page as warranted. Send nominations by Facebook (Dale Bowman), Twitter (@BowmanOutside) or email (straycasts@sbcglobal.net).

WILD TIMES

HUNTER SAFETY

Oct. 1-2: Elburn, phil-joanne@juno.com

Sept. 10-11: Momence, (815) 388-3853 . . . Kankakee, (815) 935-2700

Sept. 17-18: Peotone, (708) 258-3343 . . . Joliet (815) 727-4811

FISH GATHERINGS

Monday: Danny Cossich, Oswegoland Fishin’ Fools, Allied First Bank, Oswego, 7 p.m. fishinfools.org

Wednesday: Eric Haataja on the Menominee River, Walleyes Unlimited, Gurnee American Legion, 7 p.m., walleyesunlimitedusa.org

ILLINOIS PERMITS/SEASONS

Tuesday: Deadline, archery deer sites for IRAP, click here

Wednesday, Aug. 31: Final day, application may be made online for the free upland Gram permit program, click here

Thursday: Dove/early Canada goose seasons open

DALE’S MAILBAG

Q: “Don’t you find it disgusting that grown men send their dogs, I assume they’re pets, to their deaths like some Roman battle. . . . You could call it for what it is, but you chose to treat this barbaric practice as sport. Far from it, I say. It is as inhumane as any practice could be.’’ Cindy Watts (edited for space)

A: I was with three generations, including a mother and daughter. It is not just for men. It is a blood sport, I will grant, but I did not find it barbaric, rather very much a primordial challenge.

BIG NUMBER

24: Counties open for Illinois’ late-winter antlerless-only deer season: Brown, Carroll, Clark, Clay, Crawford, Edgar, Fulton, Hamilton, Henderson, Knox, Lee, Madison, Marion, McDonough, McLean, Mercer, Monroe, Perry, Putnam, Rock Island, Schuyler, Shelby, Vermilion, White. Click here for details.

LAST WORD

“We had several cases of doe fawns (born in 2015) carrying fawns. Although this is more common in southern Wisconsin, it is more significant for northern Wisconsin.’’

2016 Wisconsin Hunting & Trapping Forecast, for the northern division, making note of the impact of the mild winter

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