It has been a late start to fall so far with the lack of rain in September and up until this past week, color to the landscape. In normal years the leaves always peak in central West Virginia around October 14-18. They are at least a week late this year and not near as vibrant.
There’s plenty of brown in the landscape as well with wilted leaves on the trees and dying grass in the fields due to the lack of rain. It appears to me that all of the early trees to change; maples, poplars, etc. have wilted up and already dropped their leaves. The oak leaves are still green and hopefully will provide some color to the mountains as they’re the last trees to change and drop their leaves.
And speaking about the oak trees the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) have released the 2016 mast survey and hunting outlook. Black, red and scarlet oaks were the big producers this year with all of them seeing a substantial increase from last year. White oak production was up as well from last year but slightly under the 45 year average mast index. Keep in mind that 2015 was a poor year for oak production and it’s no surprise that the oak species saw an increase this year.
Other hard mast producing trees like hickory and beech are considerably lower than last year and well under the 45 year average. Walnut saw a significant decrease as well. All of the soft mast producing trees were much lower than 2015 with the exception of black cherry.
Overall the mast is considered spotty this year. It will be important for hunters to scout this hunting season to determine where the mast trees produced and where they didn’t. According to the survey “white oak may be very abundant in one location but scarce across the ridge” which is exactly what I’m seeing.
Where the white oak hit, the deer and other wildlife can be found as they love white oak acorns the best. My buddy has been finding the black bears in the white oaks that produced and has had a couple of close encounters but the bears weren’t quite big enough for what he’s looking for.
The deer have been engorging themselves on the plentiful white oak acorns in a patch of woods across from my house but my neighbor said there were hardly any out his way. If the white oaks didn’t hit in your hunting area check the red, black, and scarlet oaks next.
One thing is for sure this season is that the deer are going to be less visible than last year since there are a few acorns in the woods. Last year there weren’t any acorns at all and the deer were camping out in the fields. I plan on concentrating on the transitional or in between areas this year a few hundred yards back in the woods from the fields where the acorns are but not too far from the lush clover.
Once all the acorns are consumed the deer will be back in the fields munching on the clover and other grasses. The WVDNR is predicting the same thing for the whitetail deer harvest. “Antlerless harvests should be higher in 2016. Antlerless hunting opportunities have increased substantially in 2016, therefore antlerless harvest should increase. Deer (especially later in the season) will be more visible in fields as available mast is consumed. Deer that are more visible are usually more vulnerable to harvest.”
They’re predicting a similar to slightly lower harvest than 2015 for the overall combined deer seasons. “The buck harvest should be lower in 2016 than in 2015. There should be a strong yearling age class born in spring 2015 following the bumper oak crop of 2014. However, the percentage of yearlings in the harvest has remained low due to selectivity of hunters” according to the outlook.
I’m glad to hear that deer hunters are being more selective on the bucks they shoot and hope that’s the case because it creates better and more exciting hunting for everyone. There are plenty of antlerless deer in the population to fill the freezer with if a big mature buck doesn’t come by. It’s what’s best for the overall deer herd as well.
Be sure to make some time to look around in the woods and find the acorns. The pre rut will be starting in the weeks to come and the bucks will be on the prowl. The 2016 mast survey and hunting outlook can be found on the WVDNR website at www.wvdnr.gov
