2-6-15 Observation

     Tonight I decided to try something new in the field. I was going to sit on the top of a hill in a field and glass my surroundings. There were three main reasons why today was a perfect day for this situation. First, I had just received a great pair of binoculars that allow me to see a mile away. Secondly, the snow cover that fell over the last few weeks allows the darker bodies of animals like deer and turkey to stand out against the solid white background. Finally, the weather was beautiful, no clouds, no fog, nothing that would limit how far I could see. As I was heading out to the farm at 3:00 I noticed a couple deer out in the field and I knew it was going to be a good day to see wildlife. As soon as I reached the hilltop and set down my stool I noticed a few black figures on hillside hundreds of yards away. I pulled out the binoculars and quickly counted eight turkeys eating as they walked through a harvested corn field. At this point I knew I would be able to view anything that came within a mile of my location.
     The first turkeys that I saw were at 4:10. The temperature was 37 degrees and the wind was nine mph out of the SSW. At 4:30 I saw four deer come out of the timber to feed. This is as early as I have seen deer come out to feed all year long. Within ten minutes of seeing the four deer that were a mile to my south across the Raccoon River, I saw two more deer feeding in the field where I had seen the turkeys 20 minutes before. Right before seeing those two deer I saw one feeding in a field to my Southwest. At 4:48 I looked back at where I saw those original four deer and I could not believe my eyes. 10 deer were standing there feeding and six more came running into the field. This was just the beginning of evidence that I found that supported my research that said in the winter months deer like to stick together. At 5:08 I noticed the last of the turkeys fly into the timber to roost for the evening. Moments later I heard turkeys clucking behind me. I took a walk back and saw a dozen or so turkeys fly into the woods from where I did my 1-15-15 research. It was good to see the turkeys I have been looking for in the neighborhood. By the end of the evening I watched 12 deer come from the timber where I had seen the turkeys from across the road fly into the roost. I also noticed the one deer I had seen to the Southwest turn into 13. I could not believe how the deer were flying out of the woodwork. Besides the deer I saw while sitting on the hilltop and the deer off the interstate I saw about 20 more on my way home. In total I saw somewhere around 70 deer most in groups of 10-20. Along with the 70 deer I saw about 25 turkeys when I include some I saw on my way to the farm along with four Bald Eagles. I also could not help but notice how the snow made it so much more difficult to walk even short distances. I can only imagine the impact it would have on the wildlife that walks through the snow constantly. Although I saw more wildlife than I have so far this year, I was not able to photograph these animals due to the great distance at which I saw them. I wanted to be able to have a much wider sample size for at least one night. I believe observing a mixture of different scenarios over the next few months will allow me to visualize the overall picture of the ecosystem.

                                         Deer tracks litter the side of a hill below a farm pond.

                                         Snow drifts along a fence line.

                                         Pictures of a beautiful sunset.