Notes come from around Chicago outdoors and beyond.
WILD OF THE WEEK
We’re doubling up this week. . . . Earlier this month, Robert Schumann photographed this turkey vulture by his house in Homewood. It feels like a classic pre-Halloween scene. . . . Saturday morning, a long-time lakefront angler who prefers his Edweirdo name on X, photographed a rare lakefront sighting of a bald eagle. He was salmon fishing near the rowing club at the Lincoln Park Lagoon.
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 Sunday. To make submissions, email BowmanOutside@gmail.com or contact me on Facebook (Dale Bowman), Twitter (@BowmanOutside), Instagram (@BowmanOutside). or Bluesky (@Bowmanoutside).
DALE’S MAILBAG
“I saw these birds on my property in Frankfort for the first time the past week or so. Wasn’t sure what they were or where they came from so I thought I’d reach out to you.” Mike Kasper
A: They’re wild turkeys. By the looks of another photo showing long beards, they’re likely older toms.
Follow-up question: “Is it odd that they showed up here? I’ve been here 11 yrs and never seen them before? This is a retirement complex where people come and walk the back trails and such. Are they aggressive?” Kasper
A: Generally, wild turkeys are not aggressive in the way swans sometimes are in biting the arses of kids or grandkids. Since being reintroduced in Illinois, wild turkeys are in all 102 counties in Illinois and have even established in Chicago.
STRAY CAST
Living in the United States in 2025 feels like walking a walnut grove in October.
WILD TIMES
FISH GATHERINGS
Tuesday, Oct. 21: IDNR fisheries biologist Seth Love, “Sportfish on Heidecke and Braidwood Lakes,” Arlington Anglers, Poplar Creek Banquets, Hoffman Estates, 6:30 p.m.,
ILLINOIS PERMITS/SEASONS
Sunday, Oct. 19: Youth waterfowl hunt, central zone, ends
Tuesday, Oct. 21: Over-the-counter sales of remaining firearm and muzzleloader deer permits begin
Saturday, Oct. 25: Central zone duck season, opens
Saturday, Oct. 25: Central zone, first Canada geese season, opens
Next Sunday, Oct. 26: Fall turkey, shotgun season, ends
YOUTH HUNTING
Nov. 8: Youth clinic and pheasant hunt, Iroquois County State Wildlife Area, Beaverville, https://dnr2.illinois.gov/WingshootingClinics/