Horned lark, urban deer, world-record Illinois buck and changing lakes come around Chicago outdoors.

Horned lark on an icy road west of Chicago. | Provided by Dr. Elizabeth Pector

Notes come from all around Chicago outdoors.

WILD OF THE WEEK

Dr. Elizabeth Pector photographed this horned lark ``striding determinedly across an icy rural road west of Chicago.’’ Good photos of horned larks in winter are rare.

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. Send nominations to @BowmanOutside on Twitter or Instagram, to Dale Bowman on Facebook or email BowmanOutside@gmail.com.

WILD TIMES

NATIONAL WILD TURKEY FEDERATION

Saturday, Jan. 11: Illinois Rendezvous banquet, Springfield. Contact Mike Lowden, MTlowder@msn.com.

SHOWTIME

Master list is at chicago.suntimes.com/2019/12/18/20964816/chicago-outdoors-2020-show-season.

Wednesday, Jan. 8 to Jan. 12: Chicago Boat, RV and Sail Show, McCormick Place South, ChicagoBoatShow.com

Thursday, Jan. 9 to Jan. 12: All-Canada Show, Pheasant Run, St. Charles, allcanada.com

Friday , Jan. 10 to Jan.12: Lake Home & Cabin Show, Schaumburg Convention Center, lakehomeandcabinshow.com

EAGLE VIEWING

Saturday, Jan. 11: “In Search of Eagles,” in coordination with the McHenry County Conservation District, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Friends of Hackmatack Wildlife Refuge, Illinois Department of Natural Resources and McHenry County Audubon, 8-10 a.m. on Fox River at McHenry Dam, Algonquin Dam, and Carpentersville Dam and Fontana Beach on Geneva Lake (Wisconsin): facebook.com/events/1245690232305324/

FISH GATHERINGS

Wednesday, Jan. 8: Guide Pete Rich (Hayward, Wis. and Minnesota), Fox River Valley chapter of Muskies Inc., Schaumburg Golf Club, 7 p.m., click here for details

Thursday, Jan. 9: Capt. Doug Kloet on Geneva Lake and Lake Michigan Harbors, Riverside Fishing Club, LaGrange American Legion, 6:30 p.m., click here for details

ILLINOIS PERMITS/SEASONS

Tuesday, Jan. 7: South-Central zone duck season ends

Wednesday, Jan. 8: Pheasant, quail and partridge, north zone end

Thursday, Jan. 9: Final day, second dove season

DALE’S MAILBAG

A deer unafraid of humans in a suburban forest preserve.

“With the unusually warm post-Christmas weather, I decided to take an early morning birding hike in Fullersburg Woods in Oak Brook. This deer was only about 10 feet away from me when I took the photo. It didn’t seem threatened by close human presence and that’s a problem. Suburban wildlife is getting too tame for their own good.’’ Jim Hantak, Hillside

A: Truth.

BIG NUMBER

183 1/8: World-record nine-point buck, taken by Jason Sanders in 2011 on his Illinois farm; one of Field & streams ``The 20 Best Bucks of the Decade.’’

LAST WORD

“Our lakes are changing all over the country due to the infusion of alewives, blueback herring, gobies and many other factors. You have to keep an open mind and not get caught up in fishing history.’’

Brandon Card, with an astute conclusion to ”Winter smallmouth transformation” on bassmaster.com