Iowa DNR Reminds Deer Hunters of 2004 License Requirement

MAQUOKETA - Hunters planning to participate in the special late January deer season will need to purchase a 2004 general hunting license in addition to their deer permit. The special season is Jan. 11 to 19. 2003 hunting and fishing licenses expire on Jan. 10.

"The close timing on this requirement could catch a lot of hunters off guard," said Bob Sheets, wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

The bonus season is being offered for the first time to further control deer numbers throughout the state.

Late Season Bird Hunting
by Joe Wilkinson

From a twist of branches and a few dead stems, the telltale 'whirr' of quail flushing told me that I was in the right spot...but the wrong side of a clump of scrubby trees. One after another, the bobwhites burst out, flying eight or nine low, straight lines away from me.

Jane, my four-legged partner, was downwind, but a little too far back to have picked up their scent. In this tangled creek bed, surrounded by corn stubble, we were both playing dog; poking into the brush and tall grasses surrounding the ash and elm trees. No shots, but we could get to work, now.

An hour into the hunt, a single hen pheasant flushing from a roadside cedar tree was all the excitement we had mustered. Now, though, we could try to track down a single or two from the covey. Like last year, unfortunately, this late December hunt was our season's first outing. I've spent way too much time perched with my bow the last couple years and as much as she enjoys the woods, there's still no room in a tree stand for a German shorthair.

But that was past tense. Jane was in 'bird mode'. Though reminding myself that she is nearly 14 years old, I still get frustrated when Jane won't dive blindly into a bird-friendly patch of blackberry canes and brush, just because I point to it. She prefers working back and forth, just downwind of the inviting tangle. But her nose knows. With the red-hot scent of just departed quail in her nose, she had dialed up the intensity to 'red alert'. Which means, of course, I was wrong and she was right. Again.

We come across quail about once a year through this stretch of Cedar County. It's kind of rare, since quail are rarely found outside southern Iowa. On one property, the landowner has deemed them off-limits. On this farm, I try to take one or two a season...and with my lack of practice, that second one is usually safe.

Jane locked on point four more times. A quail flew. The shot was high. Another time, one had just vacated the spot, as I hopped the creek, ahead of her. The last time, the point was rock solid. Jane held as I circled a deadfall and stepped forward to flush--a cottontail. Right color. No feathers. Oh well, she's not perfect.

A few minutes later, I proved that I wasn't either. In the last 100 yards before the truck, a rustling underfoot looked like another rabbit. Until it hit the treetops, cackling. So did the rooster next to it. One more shot. One more miss. I had stepped ahead of Jane again.

Each time we hunt late in the season, I ask myself why it took so long to get out there. Now, that she has me re-educated about staying closer to her, we will return. At least one more time.

Late Season Hunters Watch for Snow, Cold

Late season hunting. You either love it or ignore it. Most hunters have packed away their shotguns well before the January 10 close of Iowa's pheasant season. Cold weather, as well as holiday distractions, are often the culprits. But that winter cold and nearly empty fields work in your favor, too.

Prime ground, tied up with waiting lists of early season hunters, is often available for the asking. Isolated patches of heavy cover are focal points now. "The birds were sitting in the heavier cover," observed Tim Thompson, wildlife biologist for the five-county Coralville unit of the Department of Natural Resources. Thompson was hunting with a friend and their two teenage sons a couple days ago, west of Iowa City. "We weren't finding them in the (knee high) brome grass. A lot of that had been knocked down earlier with wet, heavy snow. In the heavier weedy areas, they had more running room. We'd see them going out ahead of us, 100 yards away."

A few splotches of snow still dotted the hillside then: like other hunters, they will be watching the forecast over the next week, rooting for more. "(With mild conditions), the birds are wild. They've been chased all season long. It is tougher to move in close on them," Thompson laments. "If we get another fresh snow, though, it will make it interesting to go at it again."

And for those pockets of quail (basically southern Iowa) and partridge (mostly central through north and northwest Iowa), shooting doesn't end until January 31. Diehard fans of squirrel hunting have until then, too. Late season rabbit hunters have an extra day this year, until Leap Day, February 29. "For quail, you especially want to hunt close to their food sources," suggests Thompson. "Standing sorghum or open fields with some waste grain are excellent for finding quail in cold weather and snow. They feed more heavily, to maintain body heat if it turns cold."

If it ever turns cold.