Upstate Obsession

[Buckly]

At least the bear seem to be leaving your cameras alone

 

[Elkaddict]

They’ve mouthed a half dozen or so, but none destroyed this year.....yet.

 

[Bowhunter]

I feel your pain with the bears. We have the same issues with them here at my place. I’ve been seeing three or four different bears on camera that I hope to be letting the air out of starting Tuesday.

Good luck to you on Tuesday.

 

[Elkaddict]

It’s been some time since an update. The wife and I are at our place upstate trying to avoid getting sick. I’ve gone from living in a county with 5000+ cases to one with 2. I’m working remotely and have very busy. It’s been nice to feed the wood stove and enjoy my little piece of paradise. It’s been a delightfully mild winter, but as usual, the coyotes have been hard on the deer (I’ve found deer parts all over). Fortunately, the weather is finally turning....with temps in the 40s. Although the snow has only been gone a few days, the turkeys are already feeling the spring thing.

 

[Mennoniteman]

It’s been some time since an update. The wife and I are at our place upstate trying to avoid getting sick. I’ve gone from living in a county with 5000+ cases to one with 2. View attachment 18439 View attachment 18440 View attachment 18443 I’m working remotely and have very busy. It’s been nice to feed the wood stove and enjoy my little piece of paradise. It’s been a delightfully mild winter, but as usual, the coyotes have been hard on the deer (I’ve found deer parts all over). Fortunately, the weather is finally turning....with temps in the 40s. Although the snow has only been gone a few days, the turkeys are already feeling the spring thing.

Time to get serious with those coyotes. A rifle with a thermal scope is deadly on them.

 

[Elkaddict]

The last 5 years, the bears on our place have shown up between the 26th and 29th of March. This year, they’ve made their appearance on 3/25. I get to watch them morning and evening from the front porch as the work the remaining corn in a plot a couple hundred yards from the house. You can see the deer are leery of the bears. Interestingly, in years past I’ve seen them share a plot with deer regularly.

 

[deer patch]

I’m surprised your turkeys survive with the harsh winters you have. I know you have plenty of food on your place but what type of cover do they roost in?

 

[Elkaddict]

This year, I observed for the second time the deer leaving the property and leaving significant food in the plots. This last year, we had 41/2 acres of corn and 5 plus acres of brassicas. While the the brassicas have been eaten to the stem, only 20% of the rutabagas and turnip bulbs have been eaten. Similarly, I’d guess we have a 1000+ cobs still standing. Clearly, the deer were not pressed for food. As I’m contemplating this year’s planting, I’m inclined to increase the brassicas and reduce the corn. Part of the motivation is to reduce the turkeys wintering on me (I counted 67 in one flock in December), and to give one of my less fertile plots a rest. I’m frankly surprised at the amount of corn that is remaining. Not only were the turkeys brutal, the beavers also found it (I watched one beaver retrieve 4 stalks in one evening, and the trails to the pond made it clear they’d been doing it for some time). I remain surprised the deer moved off the property. They did it at time the snow was only 15-20” deep. I’m not sure what motivated the move. Here is a pic of one of a half dozen beaver trails.

 

[Elkaddict]

I’m surprised your turkeys survive with the harsh winters you have. I know you have plenty of food on your place but what type of cover do they roost in?

They roost in big hemlocks, oaks and maples. With the corn, they are more predictably around than the deer, even in the dead of winter.

 

[Chainsaw]

Happy to hear that you and your wife are safely away from the hotspot. Your pictures as always are awesome. It is perplexing that the deer left during the winter. Could it be an area property had just finished or was in the process of a large logging operation? I’m with you on those turkeys, the corn and the beans when planted here draw them for miles and they eat practically nonstop, definitely they not a favored creature here.

This winter, there was enough food here also; the deer that would normally tolerate our fairly close presence in March were usually quick to run off when they winded us.

 

[Mennoniteman]

Well, if your deer didn't want the corn your turkeys sure kept it from going to waste. There's not too many people who have high turkey numbers for long, turkey populations usually fluctuate like the stock market. When our turkey numbers are high I sit back and enjoy them while it lasts, because when the numbers are low I'm busy wracking my brain for ideas to try to get the numbers back up. When it comes to game species turkeys have the same value as deer for us.

 

[farmhunter]

good luck waiting out covid at camp for a while. Nice pictures - saw the turkeys doing the same at my camp last weekend

I had a few turnips left but no corn or beans - they were all gone in January.

One year we had a lot of corn left - and a lot of it was moldy - the animals seemed to know to stay away from it. We did have a mild winter some time ago when I had lots of everything left - but I haven't seen that in a while.

 

[Elkaddict]

Between the deer, bear and turkeys, they’ll polish it off before mid May.

 

[Matt Galati]

Elk, in my experience where we are all the food in the world will not stop them from bedding in deep thermal cover / south facing slopes. My corn and brassica is the only standing ag in the entire town and i cannot stop the deer from moving across the street to bed on the south facing slope. Our deer are just not trained by their parents to live off foodplots. They will head to the best thermal cover and either travel to the food or eat whatever woody browse they can find. Usually i find the deer in thick cedar thickets on south facing slopes.

 

[farmhunter]

How are you holding up Tom? Are you still at camp - curious how your spring has been in the Catskills?
Hope you are doing well.

 

[Elkaddict]

Farmhunter, I’m still in the Catskills and may be here through the summer depending on when Gotham businesses open up. I’m working remotely and can do so indefinitely. It has snowed every week since we got here in early March....and is forecast to dump a couple inches tonight. Turkeys have been cooperative. I’ve got one down and was close to another yesterday (had 2 long beards at 50yds). The clover and grains are greening up and some trees are starting to bud. I’m very much looking forward to warmer weather....I’m behind on my exercise. As wet/cold as thing have been, I doubt corn planting will get done until last week of May/early June. I do have my corn and fertilizer being delivered today. Planning on 41/2 acres of corn and 6 acres of Winfred Brassicas/Rutabagas. I hope to have the brassicas in 3rd week of June.

 

[farmhunter]

congratulations on the Tom! So glad you have the Catskills retreat -it must mean even more to you than before - I know mine does, I've been at mu camp 6 weeks now - and YES more snow today - crazy.

 

[Elkaddict]

Been chasing the turkeys but haven’t pulled them into bow range. I’ve called these two Toms in twice. I’d like to know how the one on the left lost the feathers on his fan.

 

[Elkaddict]

Wind storms have been brutal. I’ve got more than a dozen across my trails. I cleaned this maple up yesterday. The root grapple is really going to get used the next few weeks. I. Took 4 large oak trees out that were shading my plots. I’ve got lots of work to do.

 

[farmhunter]

fallen trees are lots of unplanned work for me - I hate it when they fall across roads. Nice to see the Toms!