Well, you know what they say, “Spring Waits for No Man;” wait, maybe it’s just me that says that. Anyway, it’s true, and while we certainly have some winter left, I think we can figure there’s more of winter now in our rearview mirror than there is in front of us. So, as we wait to see if she comes in like a lion or a lamb, spring will continue to claw its way across the calendar and arrive at just the right time that God has planned. In the meantime, here are a few things in the Kansas outdoors still going on, or on the horizon.
Light geese, more commonly known as snow geese, can still be hunted under a special “conservation order” until April 30. In order to thin down the enormous population of these birds, besides allowing for a lengthy season, the special conservation order removes all harvest limits and allows for unplugged shotguns to be used. That lets hunters use the complete shell capacity of their shotgun, rather than only 3 shells in the gun at a time that is legal for normal waterfowl hunting. Permission to hunt these guys is usually easy to get too, as most farmers want them gone.
Both beavers and otters can be trapped in KS until March 31. I have never trapped otters, but I know that spring beaver trapping can be really productive as the males become very active in spring. They can be enticed to check out man-made castor mound sets that they make naturally in the wild to attract females. A pile of mud and leaves pulled up onto the edge of the bank and sweetened with a dab of beaver castor-based lure will usually do the job.
Wild turkeys will soon be leaving the large flocks where they accumulate, sometimes by the hundreds, for safety and security during the winter. The toms will start putting together their smaller harems of hens, and heading to where they will breed, nest and raise their broods. The 2025 spring turkey season for youth and disabled hunters starts April 1, archery season begins April 7 and regular firearms season starts April 16.
We all watch to see the first robins, wrens and other songbirds arrive back in KS each spring, but another less popular and often maligned, or at least ignored species will begin arriving back in our state in the month of March. Turkey Vultures that have wintered in South America will begin gracing our skies again in mid to late March. Vultures are God’s clean-up crew and have a face only a
mother could love, but watching them soar effortlessly on huge outstretched wings for hours at a time is mesmerizing to me. One spring years ago, Joyce and I were told of an old tumbled-down building not far away that had been a vulture nesting site for years, and that year we were privileged to watch a pair of Turkey Vulture chicks grow-up and fledge from that nest. Talk about humble beginnings; that so called “nest” was nothing more than a flat spot on the floor, amidst filth and excrement, in a concealed corner of that old ramshackle building. But from there grew two more amazing birds to float on the Kansas winds and to help clean-up dead critters from along out highways. Yet another example of how God can use the meekest among us for His service…Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors.
Steve can be contacted by email at [email protected].
