Through this past weekend hunters were approaching 30,000 whitetails taken statewide through the first month of the fall seasons, including 382 deer (182 bucks) in Brown County.
The count is quite a bit higher in Marinette County’s central farmland zone (726, including 349 bucks) as well as in Oconto County’s farmland (699, including 336 bucks). Those numbers don’t include the northern forest zone portions of those counties, with large chunks of deer management units 125 and 126. More than 500 whitetails have been registered in those two units, including 291 bucks.
Other county totals reported the first four weeks of the hunt include 928 (460 bucks) in Shawano County; 408 (145 bucks) in Door County; 407 (191 bucks) in Outagamie County; 389 (169 bucks) in Manitowoc County; and 241 (133 bucks) in Kewaunee County.
As of early Tuesday, the statewide totals included 14,856 with crossbow, 9,580 with archery gear, and 5,430 in the youth gun hunt.
This Saturday, Oct. 17 brings another round of hunting season openers. Stocked and wild ring-necked pheasants is the big one, opening at 9 a.m. Others opening are southern zone cottontail rabbit, the open water duck zone, zone B ruffed grouse, Hungarian partridge, fox, raccoon (for residents), and bobcat (with permit). In addition, the southern zone duck season reopens after a five-day break.
Goose, wild turkey and bow and crossbow deer hunts are all ongoing, and many success stories were made during last weekend’s youth gun deer hunt.
If you took a first-time hunter out, how did it go? Are there things you wish you’d have done differently?
Mentoring new hunters is a great joy for many older, experienced hunters, and veterans of hundreds of camo and blaze orange outings know that teaching safety and hunter ethics are priorities before heading afield.
Success shouldn’t just be measured in filled tags. Not getting a quality shot — or even not seeing any of your target species — is part of the learning process.
Enjoying the time outdoors and teaching life lessons are crucial parts of the experience. The beauty of sunrises and sunsets afield, the anticipation as game steps or flies into view, and the patience it so often takes to have everything come together are all part of it.
Keep those outings fun and safe, and don’t pressure the young hunter into thinking he or she has to be perfect. It takes time to fully grasp the hunting experience. Enjoy the ride!
With more than 24,000 images entered into the competition, organizers of the Bird Photographer of the Year contest have announced the 2026 winners.
Celebrating bird life from around the world, these images comprise some incredible bird photos while also raising vital funds for a partner charity, Birds on the Brink. The annual contest emphasizes the beauty and diversity birds, with a tribute to the flexibility and quality of today’s modern digital camera and lens systems.
Contest organizers produced a “coffee table” book featuring hundreds of images from the competition. It’s a great source to draw inspiration from for your next photo session with birds. Check out some of the best entries at https://www.birdpoty.com/2026-winners.
Birders across the world set a number of records during October Big Day Oct. 10, including nearly 7,900 different bird species seen by more than 50,000 participants. Birders in Columbia, Peru, Brazil and Ecuador tallied the most species, ranging from 1,125 in Ecuador to 1,459 in Columbia. U.S. birders were 13th with 696. Learn more at https://ebird.org/octoberbigday.
As of Oct. 9, Lake Michigan and Green Bay water levels were seven inches higher than last October despite a four-inch drop in the past month. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimated levels were right at the 100-year average, 30 inches higher than the all-time monthly low (1964) but 41 inches below the all-time high (1986).
Project FeederWatch, a citizen-science project, runs Nov. 1-April 30. Your counts allow you to track what’s happening around your home while contributing to continent-wide data of bird distribution and abundance. Learn more at https://feederwatch.org/.
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