Evolx10
Jr. Member
June 14 2008.
I started the day at about 4 am, woke up got ready and out the door. Drove about an hour upstate, got there nice and early – plenty of deer running all over, strolling down the road paying no mind to passing cars. So after I park and get settled I head over to hunt an area that has produced mid 1700’s - mid 1800’s coppers and one nice Pistareen. 3 hours pass and nothing not even a musket ball or a interesting chunk of iron. Following some advice by a “local” I head off into some heavy un-cut meadows – (hard-hard swinging). About half way through the second meadow I get a surprise, 3-4 feet from me a turkey hen explodes from the tall grass straight into the air, I look to my left and there’s another hen but further and heading off into the woods. The other one however is not leaving and makes a mock charge; I immediately realize there must be a nest with eggs or chicks somewhere in the tall grass. I hear chirping and right at my feet is a chick that’s a little stuck in the grass pushed over by my foot , so I help it and the second it chirps I get another charge from the hen. I slowly make my way around the area avoiding the hen and keeping an eye out for more chicks, towards the end of this meadow I find a 7” “orange” Wood Turtle.
I move on through the next small meadow and find a nice sized male Eastern Box Turtle, the meadow ends and I push on into the woods. I get to an area that has small random rock walls and small rock piles. I hunt the area a bit and find two wheat’s 1920 & 194? Same hole, then a 1952 Jefferson 6” away, I continue to jump around the area for a bit and find nothing more. I head on out of the woods and back through all the small meadows. I get to the last one before the road and surprise surprise – 3 grouse sized birds fly up and over a rock wall - I hear them crash into the leaves, then the 2 Turkey hens pop up- again one just takes off into the woods and the other vocalizes and runs over to where the 3 fledglings went and scatters them a bit more, then back to near me and it seems as if she’s leading me away from the babies. I follow- not wanting to disturb them much more.
20 feet from the road I hear a few chirps from behind me, turn around and in a few paces I see a hatchling chick looking like it’s a little stuck in the rough grass, I kneel down to free it and before I even touch it I see that something’s wrong. I pick it up only to hear it chirp and see its intestines hanging out its back end. I feel horrible, at that age its only survival instinct “lay low be quiet” has kept it invisible to me and my foot, the mother hen charges when the chick chirps I ignore her and place the chick on the floor knowing I can only do one thing to help it. I outstretch its neck on the floor and raise my knee-high shovel like an axe and slam it down hard enough to make sure it happens right the first time. I pull the shovel from the ground and throw the chick’s body near a rock wall, look down and its head is bent into the crease in the soil, and its staring up at me.
Ugh tough day, but I hope the chicks corpse will at least feed the family of 10 Ermine weasels I saw in the morning playing on the wall.
I started the day at about 4 am, woke up got ready and out the door. Drove about an hour upstate, got there nice and early – plenty of deer running all over, strolling down the road paying no mind to passing cars. So after I park and get settled I head over to hunt an area that has produced mid 1700’s - mid 1800’s coppers and one nice Pistareen. 3 hours pass and nothing not even a musket ball or a interesting chunk of iron. Following some advice by a “local” I head off into some heavy un-cut meadows – (hard-hard swinging). About half way through the second meadow I get a surprise, 3-4 feet from me a turkey hen explodes from the tall grass straight into the air, I look to my left and there’s another hen but further and heading off into the woods. The other one however is not leaving and makes a mock charge; I immediately realize there must be a nest with eggs or chicks somewhere in the tall grass. I hear chirping and right at my feet is a chick that’s a little stuck in the grass pushed over by my foot , so I help it and the second it chirps I get another charge from the hen. I slowly make my way around the area avoiding the hen and keeping an eye out for more chicks, towards the end of this meadow I find a 7” “orange” Wood Turtle.
I move on through the next small meadow and find a nice sized male Eastern Box Turtle, the meadow ends and I push on into the woods. I get to an area that has small random rock walls and small rock piles. I hunt the area a bit and find two wheat’s 1920 & 194? Same hole, then a 1952 Jefferson 6” away, I continue to jump around the area for a bit and find nothing more. I head on out of the woods and back through all the small meadows. I get to the last one before the road and surprise surprise – 3 grouse sized birds fly up and over a rock wall - I hear them crash into the leaves, then the 2 Turkey hens pop up- again one just takes off into the woods and the other vocalizes and runs over to where the 3 fledglings went and scatters them a bit more, then back to near me and it seems as if she’s leading me away from the babies. I follow- not wanting to disturb them much more.
20 feet from the road I hear a few chirps from behind me, turn around and in a few paces I see a hatchling chick looking like it’s a little stuck in the rough grass, I kneel down to free it and before I even touch it I see that something’s wrong. I pick it up only to hear it chirp and see its intestines hanging out its back end. I feel horrible, at that age its only survival instinct “lay low be quiet” has kept it invisible to me and my foot, the mother hen charges when the chick chirps I ignore her and place the chick on the floor knowing I can only do one thing to help it. I outstretch its neck on the floor and raise my knee-high shovel like an axe and slam it down hard enough to make sure it happens right the first time. I pull the shovel from the ground and throw the chick’s body near a rock wall, look down and its head is bent into the crease in the soil, and its staring up at me.
Ugh tough day, but I hope the chicks corpse will at least feed the family of 10 Ermine weasels I saw in the morning playing on the wall.
