Notes come from all around Chicago outdoors and beyond.
WILD OF THE WEEK
Dr. Elizabeth Pector photographed this “yellow-crowned night heron hanging out with a large nesting colony of black-crowned night herons at Lincoln Park Zoo.”
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).
WILD TIMES
SHOWTIME
Next Saturday, May 8: Fish & Hook Sports Show, VFW Post 5788, Lockport, fishandhook.net/
ILLINOIS PERMITS/SEASONS
Turkey hunting: Through Wednesday, fourth season, north zone; Thursday to May 13, fifth (final) season, north; through Thursday, fifth season, south.
Tuesday, May 4: Applications begin for fall shotgun turkey permit lottery
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DALE’S MAILBAG
“I had quite a morning—saw five bald eagles! I was then driving back home on I-88 and one flew over my car (possibly could’ve been the mate of the one at the nest). Driving further east on I-88, I looked to my right and one was sitting in a tree not far from the highway. I exited . . . and saw another one flying above the tree before it landed. Then, I was near Bolingbrook and looked to my left and one was in a tree just off the road along a bike/walking path. So, I parked and started walking toward it. . . . A guy was riding his bike past me and asked if that was an eagle. I said it was and he kept riding. As I was walking back to my car, the same biker was coming towards me and said he had to get a picture too. Funny how if you don’t look up or around, how much you can miss.” Sondra Katzen
A: That’s a Sunday morning.
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BIG NUMBER
More than 30: Average number of immediate-release fishing tournaments in Wisconsin from 2015-20; up from an average of six per year between 2010-15.
LAST WORD
“It’s like Christmas for most outdoor enthusiasts, the opening day of inland fishing season.”
Guide Dave Duwe, on Wisconsin’s opener the first Saturday in May
