Mother Nature springs to life; hunters, anglers love this season
Friday, April 25, 2008
http://www.chathamdailynews.ca
As Mother Nature emerges from a long winter's rest, life explodes with her awakening. The waters warm and teem with spawning fish and the grasses begin to grow feeding birds and wildlife.
In this time of plenty, it's also time for the young of the year to be born in the fish and animal world.
It's springtime, and a breeding time that heralds the cry of wild turkey hunting season across Ontario.
Why hunt in the spring? Male turkeys, or toms, actively court the hens. This makes toms susceptible to calling and decoy attraction. And, in Ontario, the hunting season only allows for the killing of toms or bearded turkeys.
All adult male turkeys have this prominent beard of thick, wiry hair that dangles from their chest. It's a trophy to hunters and many competitions are waged with who gets the longest beard of the season.