Dragonfly, pumpkinseed, woolly bear, zooplankton: Notes, Chicago outdoors

Notes from around Chicago outdoors.

FIELD NOTES

WILD OF THE WEEK

Bruce Drevets photographed this dragonfly in “late July hanging out in the garden in Olympia Fields, 5:30 in the morning!’’ Jim Phillips, Forest Preserves of Cook County fisheries biologist and a dragonfly/damselfly expert, emailed, “It is a black saddlebags. Either a young male that hasn’t completely darkened yet or a female.’’

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

DALE’S MAILBAG

“Why did the woolly bear caterpillar cross the Major Taylor Trail?” Bill Savage tweet

A: I don’t know, but I know early reports of woolly bears arrive. And the Major Taylor is on my to-do list, hiking it not biking it.

BIG NUMBER

10: Inches of a pumpkinseed sunfish caught this summer at Hennepin-Hopper lakes at Dixon Waterfowl Refuge. It would have easily beaten the Illinois record (11.2 ounces), caught Jan. 15, 2010 by Jeff Parsons from the Mississippi River. Photo is of a pumpkinseed, which would probably be near the record, too, from the Dixon Waterfowl Refuge BioBlitz.

LAST WORD

“The discovery of two new non-native zooplankton in the Great Lakes is concerning news. The fact that these are the third and fourth non-native zooplankton found in Lake Erie in the past three years is an alarming trend.’’

Alliance for the Great Lakes statement on WednesdayWILD TIMES

NATIONAL WILD TURKEY FEDERATION

(Click here for general list of banquets and events)

Wednesday: Fox Valley Flydowns banquet, Parkway by the Lake, Ingleside. Contact Jeff Vanderlip at (815) 713-0197 or vandy1966@icloud.com.

FISH GATHERINGS

Tuesday: Frank Loye on Chippewa Flowage, Chicagoland Muskie Hunters chapter of Muskies Inc., North Branch Pizza & Burger Co., Glenview, 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday: Dale Bowman, “Changing Lake Michigan: Fish and People,’’ Salmon Unlimited, Elk Grove Village VFW,, 7 p.m.

CONSERVATION WORLD

Through Sunday: Conservation World, Illinois State Fair, Springfield, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

ILLINOIS PERMITS

Now: Resident combination and antlerless-only archery deer permits available over-the-counter

Through Friday: Applications accepted, third lottery, firearm and muzzleloader deer permits. Click here for information.

Through Aug. 20: Application accepted, second lottery, fall turkey shotgun. Click here for information.

Through Aug. 31: Applications for free upland game permits open. Click here for information.

HUNTER SAFETY

(Click here for full package of northeast Illinois hunter safety classes)

Tuesday-Wednesday: Chicago, carryinillinois.com/hunter-safety-course.html

Friday-Saturday: Morris, philliparnold3@gmail.com

Sept. 1-2: Morris, rainbowcouncil.org

Sept. 6 and 8: Newark, (815) 210-4995

Sept. 8-9: Kankakee, (815) 935-2700

WINGSHOOTING CLINIC

(Click here for the statewide list)

Saturday-next Sunday: Youth/Women’s clinics, Shabbona Lake State Park, (217) 524-5466

Aug. 25-26: Aurora Sportsmen’s Club, Waterman, hunterwsclinic@gmail.com

U.S. COAST GUARD AUXILIARY

(Click here for full listings of classes in the area)

Saturday: About Boating Safely, Fox Lake, winstoncgaux@gmail.com

DUCKS UNLIMITED

(Click here for the general list of Illinois DU events)

PHEASANTS FOREVER

(Click here for general list of Illinois PF events)