Traveling rural roadways has its good points and also a few bad ones.

Generally, they are less active and likely not maintained as often as a busy route. One of the advantages of missing potholes and poor berms is that you should drive slower, which can be a problem if you want to get anywhere on time.

However, you also can have the opportunity to see plenty of wildlife that seem to like roadside venues for their foraging. One theory a friend expressed to me is that there were less predators near roadways, but I have to disagree because I have observed many predators that have fallen to auto travel.

It’s more likely because of its edge-like habitat and mowed areas that attract wildlife.

The month of June is a time when the wildlife young are really being introduced to the world. One of the first youngsters that are out in force are the Canada Goose nestlings. They really get a jump on other wildlife youngsters as they hatch early in April and have themselves pretty established by June.

Other things are going on as well, but we don’t see them as early. Young squirrels start making appearances as well as chipmunks and cottontails. The young gray squirrels are very adventurous and they appear to be quite reckless and fearless of the dangers in the world.

Tree tops are no problem, what’s a predator they may think? But after a few close calls, the squirrel family starts to get the message: Be curious, but watch from afar!

White clover has really been blooming in the past few weeks and with it comes the groundhogs and their babies. Baby groundhogs are called pups or cubs and are pretty helpless for a long period until they are introduced to the world by their mother.

Being mammals, they depend on mother’s milk until they leave their burrow. Even though they are rodents and part of the squirrel family, they can get quite hefty and eventually weigh in at over 12-13 pounds. Unfortunately, even though they are cute as a baby animal, many predators find them important parts of the food chain. Raptors, foxes and coyotes relish a baby woodchuck and humans hunt them as a favor to farmers who really dislike the holes and burrows they dig in farm fields.

About this time, the fawns of whitetail deer are really showing up in good numbers. Even though deer start dropping their fawns as early as April and May they are definitely making appearances in June.

Fawns are hidden from predators in their first weeks of life in tall grasses and green edge cover. Many fawns will appear in suburbs and rural areas near homes. They are not abandoned, but deer seem to have adapted to being close to humans as a food and safety source.

Humans will tolerate a fawn deer and doe much better than a bear or coyote family. The biggest problem facing fawns is the risk of a highway collision as they start to follow mom around the woodlands. If you see a doe crossing the road in front of you, it would be wise to slow down and watch for the fawns.

Kittens, anyone? My neighbor’s cat has three kittens and we were put on kitten patrol when they went on vacation. The only problem is that a raccoon mother also showed up with her three kits about the same time.

Those kittens liked the wooded area next to our house and it was also an area that the raccoon and her kits frequented. When I was kitten wrangling, I wasn’t always sure of which critter was under the bushes. You don’t want to mess with a mama coon and her kits!

The coolest wildlife we have been observing is the successful hatches of songbirds coming to our feeders. Purple Finches, Woodpeckers, Mourning Doves, Chickadees and Bluebirds have been showing off their young with increased frequency as they line up to be fed at the feeders.

Unfortunately, we have adult turkey hens coming by as well and we have yet to see a poult with any of the hen turkeys. The heavy rains of the month could have caused issues with the nests or predators or disease.

Remember our youngsters … Butler County Youth Field Days is on!

Registrations are currently open with still a few openings. Go online with the PGC and register for the event, which will be held in August. It’s a great educational experience for kids and their adult chaperones who must accompany them.

Until we meet again, get outdoors, but leave the baby animals alone!

Jay Hewitt is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle