The PA Game Commission biologists are conducting their annual turkey survey until Aug. 31st.

The survey asks for the cooperation of all local wildlife enthusiasts and hunters to assist in the annual wild turkey survey count. All turkeys that are observed by participants are logged into the PGC count using gps coordinates and WMU’s.

An overlay map can be zoomed into the sites where turkeys have been observed. Adult males, hens and poults are counted and the totals become part of the PGC’s stats on the annual brood count and overall population of wild turkeys.

2019-2020 saw a reduction in hunting days and removal of rifles in hunting turkeys due to the low count. All interested people can see the results of the survey on the PGC website as it occurs.

Deer are tricky to say the least, we have been watching a doe and her twin fawns for the past month and were quite impressed by how they got around the neighborhood so quickly. I was watching them at the feed bin of my neighbor Kevin’s raised beds, snacking on tomatoes one day and then my wife’s flower beds later in the afternoon.

Little did I know that we had two sets of twins running around the neighborhood until my college girl neighbor Amber reported that she had both sets of twins in her yard last night! Mystery solved and one more fawn and doe added as well. Five new fawns in a small area might mean a large influx of deer for this year or maybe we are just extra lucky!?

The third round of deer licenses started this week and the remaining antlerless licenses are at 4,171 for WMU 1A and 9,414 for WMU 2D in our area and 42,937 in WMU 2B which is in southern Butler County and Allegheny County.

WMU 2B has really limited public land and limited access to private lands. It really becomes a game of who do you know. Anyone who wanted to hunt deer should have had plenty of opportunity to obtain an antlerless license.

This week found me talking rifle performances and range charts with my buddy Beaver Boy. He’s a technical type of guy who likes a tight ship and a well chrono graphed range chart. He is all over terms like velocity (fps), energy (ft lb.), and zero @ yards with corresponding bullet drop.

We are working on a load for a zero at 200 yards that can easily be on target at 400 yards with a little adjustment of the scope. A Leupold scope that I have purchased has a bullet drop compensator that will be factory set for specific bullet loads for longer distances.

Maybe this year the big one won’t get away if it’s a little longer than my comfort zone. However, it goes without saying that I won’t take a long shot that is beyond mine nor the rifles capabilities.

It’s good to see that the Audubon Society and the PGC have okayed the continuing feeding of song birds in our region. There was an issue with various areas reporting that song birds were suffering from conjunctivitis and neurological issues when observed at feeders.

In an act of caution, all bird feeding activity was shut down to study the illness and stop any potential spread of the illness passed on at feeders. After weeks of study there has been no culprit identified and no further reports of illness.

The feeder stations can go back up for now with some caution. Keep them cleaned regularly with soapy water and a 10% mixture of bleach weekly and report any sick birds that you might observe to the PGC. We took our feeders down quickly after hearing the issue and they did get scrubbed as well as the bird baths with a bleach solution. The birds appreciate the effort and remind us every morning as they visit.

The fishing reports out of Lake Erie continue to report astounding catches of walleye as the schools of fish stretch across Ohio into Pennsylvania. The bad news is that the walleye are playing havoc on the yellow perch populations and the anglers are having trouble with finding the perch in their hot spots.

I guess that there is always a drawback when you have good luck with certain things; it takes away from the bounty in others.

Until we meet again may you have bounty in all that you seek and remember to share that abundance with others!

Jay Hewitt is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle