This spring’s white-tailed fawns are a May highlight because, even though wild, they often are found in unsuspecting locations.

Dan Storm, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources wildlife researchers, believes wildlife babies of all sorts are attractive because they are usually so dang cute.

“Deer are high on Wisconsin residents’ list of attractions, anyway,” he said, “and we’re seeing them in their cutest stage.”

Day-old fawns often appear in yards, gardens, along hiking trails, on the backside of a log when we’re expecting to see morels or lady-slipper orchids and in pastures and hay fields, along trout streams or even along a roadside right-of-way.

Storm’s research crews working in Dane, Grant and Iowa counties have one more fawn capture season to complete in the five-year deer predator study, but this one may be curtailed due to COVID-19. Storm had hoped to again capture and collar 100 fawns, as was done during each of the first four study years.

Most fawns in Wisconsin are born about five days either side of Memorial Day, but some have already been reported. If the doe deer is two years old, chances are significant she will have twins, but they may not be hiding together between nursings.

Once born, a fawn is put into hiding and the doe comes to the hiding place to nurse several times daily, and then leaves the fawn to hide. Observers should not conclude the fawn has been abandoned.

Coyotes, the No. 1 predator of fawns, could come within a couple yards of a hiding fawn and not see it in grassy areas among vertical blades.

 “If someone finds a hiding fawn, take a quick look, maybe take a fast photo, and walk away. It’s not a death sentence to touch it, but there is no reason to, either,” Storm said.

In general, morel searching has been a disappointment for many hoping to cover a steak, cook up an asparagus, morel, and shrimp risotto, or sell a few pounds for ready cash.

With warmer weather, spring rains, and continued seek-and-find persistence, more picking could persist until Memorial Day, or longer.

Some small, grayish fruiting bodies continue to be located in old orchards, lowland or otherwise moist forest habitat near dead white elms.

Last autumn’s bumper leaf fall has been a hindrance, too.

Don Martin, at Martin’s Sporting Goods in Monroe, said it’s been a mixed bag this year. “Some are still searching for their first one, others have found a few, and one guy found 16 pounds and was looking for a buyer,” Martin said.

Buyers might be willing to pay up to $30 a pound, but their buyers may not have a market with restaurants closed. The scarcity could up the offers, however.

The 2020 Muscoda Morel Fest has been canceled due to COVID-19.

Remember, too, some folks are allergic to morels and become ill when eating even a few spring mushrooms. The illness is not from consuming false morels, though.

Nut trees; walnuts, hickories and oaks, are flowering with pollen flowers mostly in bunched catkins. Most were not far enough along to be damaged by the recent freeze.

Bird feeding stations and prime habitats hold colorful crowds of birds including orange orioles, blue jays, crimson cardinals, indigo buntings and fiery red-throated male hummingbirds. Yes, some hummingbirds have returned and are visiting feeders or sapsucker drillings on white birch trunks.

Going cheap to save is possible by filling excavated orange halves with inexpensive grape jelly. Orioles eat it as though it was an orange’s flesh.

Garden greens, including asparagus, lettuce and spinach, is ready.

Others rely on roadside asparagus, which tastes the same, if not better because it was acquired by gathering wilds.

Turkey season continues with the fifth (E) period running Wednesday through Tuesday. The sixth period is the last. Counter authorizations are still available.

More outdoors cancelations include the ruffed grouse spring drumming surveys.

Instead of worrying, working, and wondering about possible changes to the gun deer season, those in charge should be looking at how to pull off the 2020 season, beginning Nov. 21, and then moving on to the future. COVID-19 could have some impact on hunters and how we hunt, which should be folded into and new season structure.

When the turkey season closes, don’t stash that mask. Keep it handy.

— 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.