“Z’s” meatball, Bears, fox, Sox, snow, global warming: Notes, Chicago outdoors

Notes from around Chicago outdoors.

FIELD NOTES

WILD OF THE WEEK

Eddie Pasiewicz photographed the fox below at the north section of Illinois Beach State Park. WOTW, the celebration of wild scenes 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

“We’ve been doing a lot of bird watching lately, but the yard art bird is struggling to peek over the snow piling up here in Neponset.” Ed Safiran

A: Even birds notice the dramatic change in conditions the last two weeks.

BIG NUMBER

73: Percent of Americans think global warming is happening, an increase of 10 percentage points since March, 2015, according to“Climate Change in the American Mind,” a collaboration between Yale and George Mason Universities. Click here for a fuller breakdown of the findings.

LAST WORD

“I can’t focus on the Sox because I can’t forget the damm football hitting the upright two weeks ago. Part of me wanted to see Khalil Mack come out and hammer him. But we got a lot of hope the next few years.”

Mark “Z” Zona, showing his inner meatball during an interview before his seminar at 1:30 p.m. today (Saturday, Jan. 26) at “The Schaumburg Show,” when asked if the Sox might sign a big name.

WILD TIMES

ILLINOIS SEASONS

Thursday, Jan. 31: Final day, Canada goose season in central, south-central and south zone.

HUNTER SAFETY

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

Feb. 5, 7, 12, 14: Downers Grove, (930) 963-1300

Feb. 23-24: Essex, (815) 458-3568

SHOWTIME

(Click here for the list of shows, classes and seminars)

Sunday, Jan. 27:Final day, Chicagoland Fishing, Travel & Outdoor Expo, Schaumburg Convention Center . . . The Pantagraph’s Fish & Feather Expo, Interstate Center, Bloomington . . Great Lakes Angler Super Salmon Schools with Capt. Dan Keating, Lake Michigan Angler, Winthrop Harbor

Saturday, Feb. 2: Capt. Ralph Steiger’s “Learn Lake Michigan Seminar,” Lake Michigan Angler, Winthrop Harbor

PHEASANTS FOREVER

(Click here for general list of Illinois PF events)

Feb. 9: Lake County banquet, Antioch, VFW. Contact Doug Magno, (847) 401-2678

DUCKS UNLIMITED

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

Feb. 7: McHenry Fox Flyway dinner, D’Andrea Banquets, Crystal Lake. Contact Brian Diedrich, (815) 355-0803

NATIONAL WILD TURKEY FEDERATION

(Click here for general list of banquets and events)

U.S. COAST GUARD AUXILIARY

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