An armadillo under a deer stand in southern Illinois.
Jim Dooley
Notes come from around Chicago outdoors and beyond.
WILD OF THE WEEK
Jim Dooley was “entertained” for an hour watching an armadillo under his deer stand, just south of Carbondale.
That’s a first for me from a hunter. I’ve had increasing reports of bobcat sightings as close as Will County in recent years, but never an armadillo sighting before. In recent decades, armadillos have inched into, then farther north, in Illinois.
“It foraged around several oak trees for an hour and a half,” Dooley emailed. “Made a mess of the ground.”
WOTW, the celebration of wild stories and photos around Chicago outdoors, runs most weeks in the special two-page outdoors section in the Sun-Times Sports Saturday. To make submissions, email BowmanOutside@gmail.com or contact me on Facebook (Dale Bowman), Twitter (@BowmanOutside) or Instagram (@BowmanOutside).
LAST WORD
“Still watching loons trying to take flight. It seems the parents have mostly gone south and the young are left to learn how to fly on the their own. It’s actually a little stressful listening to them calling and trying to take flight. Unfortunately not all of them will survive.”
Howard Bass, in an expansive emailed report from the Northwoods Tuesday
WILD TIMES
HUNTER SAFETY
Nov. 16-17: Chicago, carryinillinois.com/hunter-safety.html
LAKE MICHIGAN FISHERIES WORKSHOP
Nov. 16: Whiting Library, 6-8:30 p.m., free, (in-person or Zoom) but register at bit.ly/fisheries-workshop-2022
U.S. COAST GUARD AUXILIARY
Wednesday, Nov. 9: Boat America, Des Plaines, Virginia Haase, vandmhaase@gmail.com
Next Saturday, Nov. 12: Boat America, Bolingbrook, Darryl Haefner, jlyrrad@comcast.net
FISH GATHERINGS
Tuesday, Nov. 8: Southeast Wisconsin guide Joel Michel, Chicagoland Muskie Hunters chapter of Muskies Inc., North Branch Pizza & Burger Co., Glenview, 7:30 p.m., chicagolandmuskiehunters.org/meetingschedule.asp
Tuesday, Nov. 8: Scott DeCore, captain of TEAM HAWG GONE (top tournament boat in 2022), Salmon Unlimited, Thornwood Restaurant & Lounge, Wood Dale, 7 p.m., salmonunlimitedinc.com
Wednesday, Nov. 9: Bob Nordmeyer, “Preparing Your Boat & Trailer for Winter Storage,” Lake Geneva Fishing Club, Poplar Creek Bowl, Hoffman Estates, 6 p.m., lakegenevafishingclub.com
Wednesday, Nov. 9: Sean Bermingham, Fox River Valley chapter of Muskies Inc., Schaumburg Golf Club, 7 p.m., go to Facebook
Thursday, Nov. 10: Harry Vopicka of All Seasons Marine on boat and motor maintenance, repairs, and other ways to keep a fishing boat in the top performance, Riverside Fishing Club, LaGrange American Legion, 6:30 p.m., RiversideFishingClub.com
ILLINOIS PERMITS/SEASONS
Today, Nov. 5: Pheasant, quail, partridge and rabbit seasons open
This weekend, Nov. 5-6: Youth waterfowl hunt, south-central zone
Sunday, Nov. 6: First Canada goose season, central zone, ends
