Saturday, February 8, 2025
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Northwoods wildlife fills conversations and feeders

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By Roger Sabota

Special to the Star Journal

The Super Bowl sure did not have that special flare this year that it has had when our Packers were in the game. The networks did their best to build the game as a special event however when our Packers are not in the game, in my opinion, it is just another football game.

This year those anglers who waited so long for safe ice have been able to venture out for several weeks. The mild temperatures held many anglers at bay until after New Years. I will not tell you in this space that the ice is safe on all lakes. We have been checking area lakes to see if anglers are driving on the ice. Each of the lakes in the area that we have checked is supporting vehicles without problems. However if you are fishing on one of the flowages in the area use extra caution.

On the evening of Feb. 2 the Hodag Sports Club held their annual Awards Club Banquet. As usual the banquet rooms at the Quality Inn were filled to capacity. This event is a lot of fun and those who went home with guns had big smiles on their faces.

Perhaps the reason I enjoy the evening so much is that we have a chance to talk with some outdoors people who I only get to see a few times a year.

Our table was in the area of the room where those heading to the hors d’oeuvres table had to pass by. With that arrangement we had the opportunity to talk with many in attendance. The topic on the mind of many of those I talked with was deer hunting. Several hunters posed a question that raised the concern level of many who were there that evening. The concern as suggested was, “If restricting deer hunting in northern Wisconsin by limiting the number of antlerless deer that can be killed does not increase the deer herd, what do we do to increase the herd size”? That thought is a major concern for many of us.

As we talked about deer and deer numbers the topic of predators constantly crept into the discussion. Many of those who we talked with are of the belief that it is not possible to build the herd with the high number of predators that are in the Northwoods.

If you are interested in the regulations for Wisconsin deer hunting please participate in the meetings on that topic that will be held this spring.

In addition to all the discussions that go on at our home concerning deer, bear, turkeys, partridge, and fish, my wife, Judy, enjoys feeding the birds and squirrels. Our large feeder that is attached to the railing on the deck is capable of holding almost twenty pounds of sunflower seeds. Our original intention was that it would be a bird feeder but the birds soon had to share with the squirrels. We don’t mind because the squirrels can be very entertaining as they vie for a spot on the feeder but the squirrels “Do Not Share Well with Others!”

We also have several finch feeders with numerous perches for the birds to sit on. On days when stormy weather is threatening, the bird population in our yard increases dramatically with all of them attempting to be on the feeders at the same time. Glancing out toward the lake on those days the trees are full of birds that are in constant motion attempting to find a spot on the feeders, the deck, the railing or below. Of course the squirrels are there also. They have paths worn in the snow from the base of the trees to our deck.

Living in the Northwoods is great!

Longtime outdoors enthusiast, Roger Sabota, writes a bi-monthly column for the Star Journal.

Featured, Outdoor Notebook

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