Extreme Drought Impacts on Hunting

The summer of 2012 is one for the record books! Our intense heat produced the 2nd hottest July on record for central Iowa and our dry summer pattern rivaled that of the drought of 1983.

As hot and dry seemed to breed hot and dry -Iowa even broke records set in the dust bowl years 1936 and 1934! After heavy spring rains, the faucet turned off launching the state into severe drought within weeks. And it still persists with 17 out of the last 19 weeks below normal for state-wide precipitation. Here is the current Iowa Drought Status. Our extreme summer and dry fall is taking it's toll on the ecosystem - effecting farmers, ranchers, Iowa's wildlife and now hunters.

One of the more obvious changes to the start of hunting season is the lack of water. River and stream-flow is at record low levels. Lakes are low, ponds are filthy mud pits and wetlands and marshes are dried up. From waterfowl to Whitetails, animals are redirecting from annual patterns in search of water. Any open water is good but spring-fed creeks are best - becoming magnets not only for livestock, but heavy-horned bucks. Concentrated water means concentrated wildlife and in many cases if you're not seeing the normal activity be ready to change your strategy.

Stressed & skinny. This doe disappeared from camera 4 days later.

Wandering far in the heat in search of better habitat has taken it's toll on deer and the herd is stressed and deer are skinny. The lack of regular quality rainfall has also deteriorated forage. Normal seasonal browse may be damaged or non-existent forcing deer to shift food sources. Antler quality and mass may even be lower as a buck's biology redirects resources and nutrients from procreation to simple survival. Fortunately, June weather wasn't terrible so these impacts should be minimal. It's important for hunters to focus on preferred browse, so get the boots on the ground and find food sources that are attracting wildlife.

Alfalfa has a durable root network and is drought resistant. It also has a high nutritional value, so these fields would be good food sources for Whitetail. Forbs and shrubs also become preferred browse during dry times because they are easier for animals to digest. Acorns are always a good bet, but even more so in a drought year. They have been falling since August and Oak trees that are producing good mast are deer magnets. Focus on any oak stands loaded with acorns, hunt them in the morning and you'll find deer.

Mid- September looked like early October. Fall's come early.

Fall has come early this year. Harvest is at record pace and most fields are on track to be harvested by mid-October. The leaves are already changing and record cold settled into the state on the Duck Season opening weekend. Peak fall colors will be 2-3 weeks ahead of schedule which means leaves will be knocked down by the wind much earlier than normal. The accelerated season may even bring about an earlier rut. Expect a future blog about that possibility.

Drought compounds disease and Iowa's Whitetail herd is under attack. Epizootic hemorrhagic disease or EHD is hitting the herd hard with the worst conditions in decades (News Story). I recently spoke with DNR conservation officers and the death toll to the herd will likely be well into the thousands. Madison and Warren Counties have been hit the hardest so far, but the count is still rising.

The exposed ribs tell her tale -possibly diseased and suffering.

This disease is transmitted by the female Biting Midge fly. This fly breeds near water and once it infects deer, the results are almost always fatal. Incubation for the disease is around one week and once symptoms show in deer, they have less than 36 hours to live. Deer run a fever, their lungs fill with blood and they suffocate often dying near water. It's a horrible death. It's happening at record levels. And once sportsmen hit the timber, more dead deer reports are likely.

Chronic Wasting Disease or CWD is also becoming a factor. It has already been confirmed in high-fence operations in the state but it is believed to be present in the wild herd too. Drought spreads disease faster as deer concentrate around scarce resources like water. Sportsmen are on the front-lines and we're all encouraged to call the local DNR officer in your area and report any sick or dead deer.This will help protect our resource with a more accurate wildlife management.

As an avid outdoorsman, it's hard to not be worried about the state of hunting and the drought. Despite all the hardship, drought is a natural cycle culling the sick, weak and over-populated wildlife. As sad as it is to see, it's part of nature. The herd will survive and the hunting will still be good this year. Hunters just need to adapt to the pattern changes and report any suspicious animal behaviors or death as we see it. We're less than a week away, and I wish all the Iowa bow-hunters the best of luck this season!!

-Chris

Hunt the Average Wind

Youth Deer Season has begun and we're moving at warp speed towards the Iowa archery season!

The winds of change are upon us and hunters know, using the wind to your advantage is critical to be successful. Planning your hunting spots to account for the average wind will keep you undetected in a good spot more of the time. I call it, hunting the average wind. It looks like this autumn will be a wild roller-coaster of temperature tumbles and strong daily and weekly shifts (see Long Range Forecast for more). To figure it all out and narrow down the average/prevailing winds lets look at a plot called a Wind Rose.

A wind rose shows direction, intensity and frequency of wind.
Here are the prevailing winds on an average August in
Des Moines, Iowa. Images courtesy IEM.

Let's use August as an example and then we'll focus on the upcoming hunting season. The typical prevailing wind in Des Moines, Iowa in August is from the south and southeast. In fact, using the plot you can see a straight south wind comes in 14.1% of the time and south to southeast winds comprise roughly 45% of the month's wind direction. This is one of the reasons August is usually so hot. If there were a deer season to hunt in August, I'd be hanging my stands to the north and west of where I expect deer to move, like a watering hole.

Strangely, this August featured a strong northerly

. 

In weather, the average results from blending all the extremes and this year is anything but average!  Just compare August 2012 to the typical August. The prevailing winds seem polarized with a northerly wind almost as often as the usual southerly wind. So hunters might have to adapt and hang stands a bit differently than normal years.

October's prevailing wind for Des Moines, Iowa.

 Looking at the typical October prevailing wind in central Iowa, south/southeast winds still dominate the landscape. Northwesterly winds become a factor as systems move in from the west and drag cooler air in behind them from the north. This year will likely be different though. I expect more of our storms to 'dive' in from the north. I also anticipate stronger high pressure systems to build into the Great Lakes region behind storm systems. Under this pattern, due northerly winds will be more of a factor this October. Westerly winds will be weaker and easterly winds more frequent.

November is peak time for Iowa bowhunters to intercept a rutting buck. The typical prevailing winds are almost perfectly split between southerly winds (11.7% of the month) and northwesterly winds (11% of the month). This year however, the weather pattern will be amplified. An overactive Arctic jetstream will whip up massive Canadian storms and send them down across the Midwest. Cold air  will surge down for a few days before milder/warmer winds move in less than a week later.


Hunting the wind can dramatically improve your season's stats. This bow season expect a northerly wind (NW, N, NE) almost 1/4 of the time. This wind will come during/after storm systems. I expect a more frequent easterly component to the wind perhaps 1/6 of the time. We'll get this wind with departing storms as high pressure builds in. Finally, I still expect a warm Fall, so south/southeasterly winds are going to be common as the barometer falls before a storm. This wind will likely occur around 1/4 of the time. All the other wind directions should split up the remaining 1/3 of the time. So if you like to put the odds in your favor, I'd set up for a south wind, a north wind, and if there's any stands left over, an east wind this year.

Hope this helps, and good luck to all the young hunters on their Youth Season!