Hunting birds near a recent brush/grass fire

[Powerstroke]

I went to evening scout one of my hunting spots (my prime spot)last night and I found nothing but hens (although I found some 4" tracks in the mud). I know there is toms there but an approaching t-storm created no gobbling and nor could I with my locator calls.

My main concern is that piece of public land appears to be ready to be burned off. There is a black line around the edges and the 120 acres of grass and foodplots is sectioned off in 40's and burned partially.

Anybody hunted in these conditions. A lot of the strutting and feeding activity happens in this field but it is adjacent to steep bluffs, woods and a creek.

[Hotspotter]

If it's partially burned, there's a chance that either you'll get to hunt it before they finish, or that the burn is complete for that year. For habitat restoration, sometimes resource management agencies will burn in patchwork plots or uneven patterns only a few acres in size. There's a chance that the burn is finished, and the gridding you see is just to establish a fuel line around the property.

The neighbor just burned his woodland prairie last weekend, and already has new greens coming up. Many of the species he has planted rely on fire to seed. Perhaps a fire will help you out!

I have had my beautiful strut zone of a hayfield plowed up into chunks of clay the size of footballs. The birds avoided the field then, but hung in the woods to do most of their strutting. After I'd lost all hope, I called a gobbler 300 yards across it into a nearby pasture and got him.

So the birds will adjust.....and though you might have to secure permission to some adjacent property, the bluffs, woods, and creek all sound like great habitat that will still hold the birds. Especially this time of the year, I don't see them picking up and moving to the next county. Let us know what happens!

Joel