Autumn is known for harvesting, picking, garnering, and amassing in consumptive and quieter ways, too.

Fall forecasts, autumn outlooks, and seasonal estimates are useful whether photographing, viewing, expanding life lists, hunting, and planning for mental and physical stowage.

Regardless if we use a notebook, freezer, flashcard, or fruit jar some idea of what’s out there can hone our expectation and planning.

“August is the start of summer counts for deer and game bird broods and we encourage citizen input on how many twin fawns and singles are seen with does and how many broods of turkey poults are encountered,” said Travis Anderson, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist for Iowa and Lafayette counties.

Go to the WDNR web site and learn more about downloading a phone app to record observations, or take notes or photographs for personal use and scouting.

“The ratio of twin fawns to singles and no fawns at all are of great interest to us,” Travis says. “At the same time, notice the changes occurring in individual deer.”

It’s a bit early, but a few of the does are already changing coat hair from summer red to a grayer, and eventually warmer, winter coat.

Fawns are becoming less spotted, as the white hair tips disappear and eventually are replaced. Antler growth is slowing and velvet will be shed prior to the Sept. 16, 2023 archery and crossbow seasons opener. Fawns’ spots will be gone by to then, too.

Last year was a banner year in our area for turkey recruitment and this year is good, too, which gives us two good years in a row, Anderson said.

The WDNR Wisconsin Hunting Regulations pamphlet is now available on line and will be available in paper in a few weeks at license sales locations.

Fruit crops continue to be favorable, while others are flops, with blackberries being fantastic in a few locations and fried and fizzled in many locations. Some years this berry is still being picked in September, so don’t give up just yet.

It could be a tough year for nut pickers, according the Hank Judd, in the Sauk City area. “Most shagbark hickory nuts don’t look good at all; same with black walnuts.”

Anderson said some of 2022 acorns on black oaks have been dropped already, likely aborted. These oaks in this group have a two-year life cycle, while white oaks are on a one-year cycle.

Anderson remarks that even with the dry summer, some of the native prairie vegetation has struggled with little bluestem having a better year than big bluestem prairie grass.

This may make hunting, and shooting, pheasants in prairie grass a bit easier for dogs and hunters.

“We’re still on schedule to release 75,000 pheasants,” Kelly Maguire, at the Poynette Game Farm, said. “Another 2,000 birds from the day-old chick program will be released on public land, too.”

The rest of the chicks conservation clubs raised will be released in areas closer to the club pens.

“The drought made cover growth within the pens more difficult and we had to replant some pens and used watering to keep others going. Cover is useful in getting birds into autumn plumage with the feather picking by aggressive birds, but shading structures helped out some,” Kelly said.

Kelly and crew take pride in providing good looking birds with nice tail feathers and stated that the body feathers on the roosters is already beautiful and attractive as rooster pheasants should be at this time.

In spite of high water temperatures, Kate Mosley, at Kate’s Bait along U.S. 23 by Gov. Dodge State Park, said bluegills and bass are being taken from park lakes. “Catfish are being caught, almost effortlessly in the Wisconsin River, from shore and by boat,” Kate said. “Dip baits are working and a few flathead “cats” are being caught on cut bait.”

The blackberries are about half ripe, Kate mentioned.

Don Martin, at Martin’s in Monroe, is hoping the new license issuing machines arrive soon and make the process of purchasing and printing a license easier and dependable. “I expect to have the regulation pamphlets soon, too.”

Bonus antlerless authorizations will begin being sold August 14 for the forest zones, with the Central Farmland Zone on sale Aug. 15 and the Southern Farmland Zone August 16. All zones will be available starting August 17.

— Jerry Davis is an Argyle native and a freelance writer who lives in Barneveld. He can be reached at sivadjam@mhtc.net or at 608-924-1112.