Saturday April 24th 2010 ...

Got some cool pic's a few days before the Monday opener ...





Monday April 26th 2010 ...

Some guys stayed home because the forecast originally called for rain , but Randy S. , Rob H. , and myself made the treck North this morning ... we ended up with a great weather day ! ...

Sunrise .... the sky looked awsome !



I was lucky this morning and made a long shot on a mature tom , out of a new ground blind we call " the Bird Nest " ( Randy S. and I put it together a few weeks ago , basically pulled all the misc tree trimmings left over from the farmers wood cutting , and arranged them around a tree in a travel corridoor near the middle of the woodlot )





A tight swarm of # 4 shot out of my Hatsun Escort , caught up to this beauty gobbler !

9 inch beard , left spur 1 inch , right spur 1 1/8 inch , weight 23lbs









Our time in the field ended at 7:00pm today , ( as per the Ontario regulations )



And I took a quick sunset shot on the way home ...



Picked up another licence and will start chasing bird # 2 tomorrow ! .... Good Luck to all that are chasing turkeys this week !

Tuesday April 27th 2010 ....

Didn't get a lot of pictures today , as my morning was very slow ..

Randy's morning was anything but slow ! , he hiked into the " Birds Nest " blind ... in the dark , he was bending over to set his chair , when his turkey call squeaked in his pocket ... Immediate gobble explosion ... birds were roosted close , and for the 1st hour after sunrise Randy watched in awe as a string of birds ( 2 mature Toms , 3 Jakes , and a dozen hens ) performed around him !

He got to see the fly down ... strutting ... two Toms locked in wicked combat ( jumping , spurring , wing beating each other . ) ... after that , Jakes being chased everywhere . The woods were alive with scurrying hens ... He nearly got a shot off but the Toms were either in too much cover , too close together or in close proximity of other birds ... then to top it off , the last Jake he saw came within 10 feet , but didn't have a visable beard 

When he came out for morning break he was shaking with excitment and said " If I never take a shot this season , that morning display was worth the days off and time out " !  

My morning set up , was in a new spot at a fenceline where we saw birds heading to roost near last night , and only saw a single Jake from across the field ...

Before morning break , I snapped a couple quick pictures of the blind location and field view ..







A ground hog paid a visit when the sun was high ...



We moved around to a few other farms , saw birds , but no shot opportunities ..
Randy stayed North and I came home for an afternoon hunt that paid off , when I tagged out on a special " two bearded " jake ...

4 inch beard , 4 1/2 inch beard , 5/8 inch spurs , weight 18lbs

It was definately a fast paced afternoon hunt ! .... I hit the box call for a locate ... got an immediate response ... set up quickly and next thing I know I see a blue head bobbing my way ...

Another tight group of 12 gauge lead out of my Hatsun Escort .



Stoned this beauty Jake @ 30 yards ...





Overall a very exciting two days ... Now , on to some guiding for friends and catching up chores !

Again ... Best of luck to all of you chasing Jelly Heads into May , hunt safe , have fun and take lots of pictures , so those of us that are challenged when it comes to reading text can enjoy the hunt with you !  

Page break ... some additional pic's I took during the week ( things that caught my eye )

Everywhere you look ... geese and new arrivals .





5 frames of a ground hog running down the farm lane ...











5 frames of a farmers pet swan ...











Another shed ...



Farmers everywhere are busy working up the fields .... some do it the asy way , and some the hard way . 





A hen that hangs out at the back for my property ... I think she is searching for a nest sight ?









Hunting from a blind one morning ... got pictures of a roosted hen , and later in the morning after the fly down ... she paid me a visit ... she has a small beard starting ?











Will spend the rest of the season now , pictures / scouting / guiding for friends ... so far the weather has been awsome , although the farmers want more rain .