Odd things experienced while hunting / fishing

[fly]

Over the years I've seen some pretty cool/odd things including an areal combat fight between a hawk and eagle over a trout the hawk had swooped down to catch from a lake. This year had some surprises as well.

1. While archery hunting on public ground I saw some smoke on the adjacent hill I had my stand in. Then I saw the fire and guys in yellow coats burning the forest floor. So much for that hunt.

2. Owls are very quiet and good hunters. However, this one kept trying to swoop down on a squirrel but was not successful. Is it a BARN OWL?

3. Yesterday AM while in the deer stand I saw a bobcat sneaking out of the brush into the cattle pasture. Seemed odd until the rabbit I never saw took off running. The bobcat was fast and took it out with one bite. Within seconds the bobcat walked back to the brush with the rabbit in his mouth. Pretty amazing how fast the bobcat killed the rabbit. The entire hunt (from the time I saw the cat took about 20 seconds). Unfortunately I didn't have time to get my camera - but this was where it happened.

[wtnhunt]

Nothing really all that odd here, nothing you wouldn't expect to see in nature, but some cool ones that stick out:

Oldest daughter and I watched a couple owls fight in mid air one morning and both fell to the ground.

Shot video of a bobcat with a rabbit in its mouth cutting across my field one afternoon. Not finding the video on my photobucket but here is a pic

Carolina wren landed on my knee a few days ago.

Watched a doe that I assume was trying to lead a yote away from her fawn one morning several years ago. Yote was very close to the doe.

Heard lots of odd things.

[Ravin R10 man]

I've seen a buck breed a doe a couple of different times.(nothing like Hoosier saw)..lol Not everybody gets to see that

Bald Eagle taking a goose in mid flight, saw it happen twice, almost a third time before they flew out of sight behind trees.

Hawk chasing a squirrel up and down a balsam, at ten feet in front of me.

Owl landing in tree next to me, staring at my finger tips I apparently was twitching.

A Blue jay landed on my bow hanger this year, two feet away screaching at me.

A sow Blackbear bluff charged to within 3 feet of me twice, I stood my ground yelled and waved my arms, until I spotted the cubs above me, I backed away slowly, she popped her teeth and woofed.

Edited January 13, 2016 by Mathews XT Man

[Dawg]

Can't think of anything odd that I've seen. Found some lost items before.....duck call and a wrist compass. Both laying ~15 yards from a pile of toilet paper. I didn't check under the toilet paper. Ha! Found an aluminum arrow propped up on a tree with fixed blade broadhead attached. These were all out in the woods off the Neches River, several hundred yards from the river.

[fly]

Great pic William. Bobcats are not common in my area - this is only the 3rd one I have ever seen. 2016 will be the first year IL will have a bobcat season. Hunters can take 1 in a year - I'd love to get one to mount next to my coyote.

Eagles are so cool to watch. I saw one feeding on a small deer a couple years ago. The dead deer was in a cut corn field about 100 yards from a road. I assume it was hit by a car but then again I imagine an eagle could kill a small deer.

I've never found much in the woods - I sure have lost a lot of stuff though.

[wtnhunt]

Lots of issues with the ad free version of photobucket, but found the clip.

Cat season here opens with the rifle season and ends in February. I have not gotten but a few pics of cats this year and not seen a one. Usually see a few in the early seasons before the season for them opens in November. Figure the uptick in the yote numbers has maybe gotten all the other predators knocked back a bit. Have one cat mount here, taxidermist did not mount it the way we wanted.

Funny timing of this post, watched three longbeards chase a couple very small does out of the woods this morning. Had three more does come out and the longbeards eventually went their own way. Watched the does for probably 25 minutes in the hard frosted field, just before the last two went back towards the woods they came out of a couple coyotes started up, that was about 8:30 am and the deer actually headed in the direction of the yotes.

Guess maybe the deer and yotes were looking out for each other with knowing there were predators in the woods?

[RangerClay]

I've seen some very cool and some very strange things in the woods over the years. Thought I would share two from this past gun season. Picture one is from the very first day of season and picture two is from the last day.

So I was putting on a drive through some very thick brush. Suddenly I hear this God awful loud noise. I froze because I've heard wounded deer make some strange sounds. I start creeping. Suddenly I see a patch of white and I start thinking it's a deer's hind end. Slowly creeping I now see red with the white and I'm really thinking wounded deer. A couple more steps and guess what's looking at me? A chicken! Yes one grade A poultry wandering around in the middle of the woods.

Again on the last day I was putting on a drive. Suddenly this sapling catches my attention. There is a circle in the center of the tree. I walk over and I was astonished to see this stuck to a tree. I didn't have time to take a picture in the woods but I brought it home before some deer licked it and got sick.

The 2015 season was one of the toughest ever for us NYS hunters but sure did provide some great comic relief.

[stevebeilgard]

i've had a bunch of weird experiences over the years. in the late '70's, rilda and i stopped along the highway as 2 eagles were attacking a fully mature 14" antelope buck. after about 1/2 hour of bombing him, he was on his belly and they both landed for the kill, and started eating him.

another time a hunter's son, about 14, shot a doe antelope from about 200 years. immediately, a young buck ran over, got on his knees and started breeding the dead doe. we literally walked right up on the small buck and he still would not leave. i kicked him hard in the butt, and he finally ran off.

3 years ago you may remember a post where connie and i were out fishing, and about 200 years was was a bald eagle swimming. we thought it was drowning. as we watched, he swam about 10 minutes to shore, then dragged a 8 lb. salmon ashore to eat. seems eagles will all the time get something too big to carry, and do this. i'm told they often drown as they refuse to let go of whatever it is they have, and will die rather than let go of dinner.

[Adjam5]

While in West Texas a few years ago. I had a Pilated Woodpecker play rat tat tat ALL day on the feeder full of corn. Sounded like a machine gun. Needless to say we saw nothing while on stand.

Watched a Goshawk swoop down and kill a mourning dove and sit there and eat it.

I shot a groundhog and left it out for predator bait with other deer scraps. While watching the pile from the house. A turkey vulture flew down for a meal and was chowing down when a hen turkey came trotting up to it looking for interaction...The vulture wanted no part of it. It took 20 mins for the Vulture to finish the groundhog.

Got a few mins of it on video

[Rhino]

A long time ago in Louisiana I was out one night frog catching. At the time it was illegal to use a gig. As I was about to grab one, a gator's head surfaced right on the other side of the frog. That experience put an end to my frogging days.

Another startling odd thing was a squirrel running across me while bowhunting. Not sure who was spooked more, him or me.

I've had 3 instances now when a hawk dive bombed me turning away at the last moment. 1st time it happened I threw up my forearm at the last instant.

The latest odd thing was Thursday morning. It was real foggy and I had a gobbler roosted close to me. I was in a hang-on stand & I didn't want to move & bust him off the roost. I wanted to learn where he'd fly down. I could hear other gobblers close by but couldn't see them. Out of the fog appears a gobbler sailing in right at me. At about 10 yards above me & to my right it turned hard to my right flapping to hit the ridge right behind me.

I've had several instances turkey hunting of birds coming off the roost and landing real close. The closest was a hen hitting the ground a few feet from my boots.

OK...last is this one...bare with me. Back in the mid 90's I was hunting in Texas with a friend on a guided hunt. At the time we joked around about going emu hunting after killing our buck. Well this particular day I get a call on the radio from my buddy. He asked can I kill this emu in front of me. After some conversing back & forth I realize he's not kidding me. I radio the guide he says yea, go ahead. I relay the answer to my buddy...he shoots. Guide comes back on the radio asking...you were kidding right? Nope! Can't be...the closest emu farm is over 25 miles away. Well he's got one! The guide had a game carrier in front of his jeep...the emu goes in head first with those big feet sticking up in the air. The guide says...I'll never hear the end of this! Wish I still had the trophy pic of my buddy standing next to his emu prize hanging up...sorry that computer crashed.

[redkneck]

Nothing much too odd with me. Scratched my chest one evening about to get down and had a barred owl pick up motion and hit me in the chest full on, was scary, but lucky it was cold and enough layers I didn't get scarred. Like Al, frog grabbing and realizing you just beat a cotton mouth that's trying to strike as you grab. Almost getting hit by buckshot on a drive as a kid. Crazy seeing the pine straw rustle at your feet a second before the sound makes it to you, twice. Still waiting on a good old squatch sighting.

[elkoholic]

Way too many odd/unusual occurrences over the past 50+ years. My wife thinks I should write a book. One of the more interesting was while on an elk archery hunt while on my way back to my truck on a rainy afternoon. Something large bounced of my right shoulder and landed on the ground behind me. Turning around, I found an immature bald eagle lying on the ground that had apparently jumped off the ledge above me. As I approached it, it would lay on it's back with wings outstretched and claws facing up. With a 7 foot wing span it was very impressive. When I backed away it stood up and limped away apparently unable to fly. It appeared to be soaked to the skin. If I approached too close it would lay on it's back, claws ready to fend off any threat. I retreated to my truck and grabbed a heavy coat from behind the seat and went back to see if the eagle was still there. Sure enough it had not gone very far and when it lay on it's back to defend itself I threw my coat over it, wrapped it up in the coat and carried it back to my truck. There was one exciting moment on the ride home when it managed to almost free itself from my coat. I was lucky it never got it's claws into me. Upon arrival at home I called Fish, Wildlife and Parks who put me in contact with a wildlife rehab person. The rehab person told me that the eagle would probably have died of exposure or been killed by another predator had I not captured it. It probably left the nest too early according to the rehab person. When it was ready, it was released back along the ridge where I found it, or it found me. An interesting aside, shortly after my call to FWP I received a call from the US Fish and Wildlife Service and I almost got arrested for capturing an eagle, a federal crime. The rehab person convinced the feds that the eagle would have died if I had not brought it to her to be rehabilitated. I guess I should have let nature take it's course.

A lot more stories, but then again the wife says I should write a book.

[im your huckleberry]

A few years ago at my favorite lake fishing for jumbo perch 15 inchers,and walleye caught this little pike (hammerhandle under1.5lbs)realing it in really fast and be darned if a 38" pike swallowed this little guy, i got the big one to the side of the boat motioning down to do the scoop and flip into the boat with my hands and the big bugger flipped his tail and he was gone, but what a mess of that 1 lbs pike could'nt salvage nothing tore that little one up real good. did catch a few perch and 2 walleye that day.

[OutdoorLife1965x]

A few years ago at my favorite lake fishing for jumbo perch 15 inchers' date='and walleye caught this little pike (hammerhandle under1.5lbs)realing it in really fast and be darned if a 38" pike swallowed this little guy, i got the big one to the side of the boat motioning down to do the scoop and flip into the boat with my hands and the big bugger flipped his tail and he was gone, but what a mess of that 1 lbs pike could'nt salvage nothing tore that little one up real good. did catch a few perch and 2 walleye that day.[/quote']

I've had quite a few similar experiences. One time I caught a nice 7-8lbs bass, it was huge! I chained it up to the dock and went up to the house to get my grandkids, by the time we got back all that was left was the head!!