Aldo Leopold, Gaylord Nelson and…George Meyer

 

Can't say enough about George Meyer. He's up there with the best. 
Read the story

Dogs know how to live!

 Suki running after a Spring rain. Click here for her webpage.

Bald Eagles are back

Bald Eagles migrate south from here, to open water during Winter. Maybe only as far as the Wisconsin or Mississippi Rivers. This one and it's mate were cleaning up a raccoon car kill. Wonder how many turkeys they kill? Turkeys run, dogs bark, birds fly, hunters call.

Sandhill Cranes are back

 

They were flying high a week ago, probably headed to Michigan or Canada. They'll be here soon, than it's time for the Nonlethal Bird Repellant - special dogs deter Cranes - a Farmers best alternative.

Turkeys in the trees

 

Flushed turkeys usually fly to the tallest trees in the woods. Suki told me where this one was. It was so busy watching Suki running around the tree and barking, I was able to get close enough for a picture. More about Suki at Lucky - Suki - Red

Screech Owls love Wood Duck boxes.

About 1/3 of our Wood Duck boxes have Screech Owls in them. I stick a little camera in the hole and take a picture, before I open the door. If there's an Owl in there, I leave it for the Owl. Scat on the outside indicated a Screech Owl was using it. Couldn't see in the dark box, so opened up the side, the Screech Owl was sitting there. Quickly shut the door and left it alone. Will check again in a few weeks. If it's not  in there, will clean it out and put fresh cedar chips in, for cleanliness, to prevent mites, for mating Owls, or Ducks.

 

Ready for the Wood Ducks

 

Time to clean out the Wood Duck boxes. This one had a successful hatch, the flattened egg shells indicate. Then another duck laid more eggs later, but they didn't hatch. Then a Screech Owl occupied it. Cleaned out, with new Cedar chips, ready for a new breeding pair..

Happy President's Day

 

While George Washington was an avid turkey hunter, Abraham Lincoln shot a turkey a few days before his 8th birthday February 12, 1809, in Hodgenville, Kentucky and never hunted again. turkeydog.org

William Frank Hanenkrat, on turkey hunting in 1921, Appomattox County, VA

"Most game thinks that every man is a tall stump, but turkeys think that every tall stump is a man." History of Turkey Dogs

Fall and Winter Turkey Hunting in Wisconsin, September 13, 2025 to January 4, 2026

 

Best pictures of the year, at the bottom: 
https://www.turkeydog.org/lucky.html

Red compliments Black

 

Black compliments Red
Some quail dogs the English brought to Virginia became turkey dogs

New Puppies Coming Soon

 

Planning to breed the two best Turkey Dogs we know.
If you'd like to get on the list, call or write soon. 
Hunting Wild Turkey with a Dog

Google Search

 

What bird?

 

What bird interests a dog the most? Tip - they're found in 49 states, but usually flush out of range. If they land, it's often at the top of the tallest trees.

And what dog will teach itself, if the owner gets them out enough, so they learn? And what upland bird hunting has the most growth potential? 

For the First Time in Decades, Hikers Can Walk in Forests of Mature, Wild American Chestnuts

“We don’t go out of our way to advertise this fact,” says Scrivani, “but the public can now hike in and walk through natural groves of healthy [American chestnut trees] and forage for nuts for the first time in nearly a century.” Garden & Gun

Turkey Dog Poult Preserve

Turkey Dog.Org

Is hunting success making turkeys harder to hunt?

https://wildlife.org/is-hunting-success-making-turkeys-harder-to-hunt/

Hunting pressure drives female turkeys to produce more daughters

https://phys.org/news/2025-12-pressure-female-turkeys-daughters.html

We got Lucky

 

The turkey dog in Wisconsin that got to chase more turkeys than any other dog ever has died. The Virginia Turkey Dog

Rest in peace, George Meyer

 

Hunting turkeys with dogs in Wisconsin owes everything to George Meyer, for shepherding it thought the maze of rules and regulations. And navigating through State politics (like hundreds of others he did). 

On 8/31/09 George called to say thanks for this wingbone call, and tell me about the near catastrophe on the Turkey Dog rule. After 5 years of working on it, when it got to the Assembly Legislation committee, there was some controversy on the new bobcat rule and the open water hunting definition that nearly put Turkey Dogs back to Square One. George diplomatically avoided the Chairman's spat with the head committee woman (it was nothing but total politics).

Now all that has to be done is for the DNR to publish it. Because they're rules, the governor doesn't have to sign it. I said you know I never made a donation like I said I would, for the letters he sent on our behalf and was thinking I should buy him some gun raffle tickets? He said buy the WWF calendars, that’s even better, give them for presents. Typical George, always thinking of others. Wisconsin Loses Conservation Legend George E. Meyer

Cats vs Dogs

 Bobcat misses out on turkey dinner

This was probably a young, inexperienced Bobcat.

Wild Turkey Feathers

 

Taxidermists tell me they can't replicate the curved wing and tail feathers to look like a bird in flight, without breaking the feathers. I know a woodcarver who can do it. You wouldn't know if it was taxidermied or not. Matter of fact, a WI-DNR Warden came to his house one time, asking why he taxidermied a hawk, a protected species? So real, it fooled everybody. He had carved it.

Wild turkey in flight

 

Takes a good dog to make them fly.

Wing feathers

 

Wild turkeys have eight to 10 primaries on each wing (I count 8) and 18 to 19 secondary feathers per wing (count 18).