Chicago outdoors: Ritualistic coons, near-record burbot and cemetery velvet bucks

Notes come from around Chicago outdoors and beyond.

FIELD NOTES

WILD OF THE WEEK

Among his many outdoors observations, Jeff Getz photographed this raccoon family in Park Ridge on their nightly visit. "Like clockwork, they come from across the street, up my driveway and head through my backyard," he emailed. "Don't know were they go, but I've caught them reversing their path just before sunup a couple times. Must be a good mother as she has managed to keep all four kits safe. . . . Based on the path they follow, I'm guessing this is the same mother I saw last summer with six [kits]. Quite prolific!"

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).

FISH OF THE WEEK

Jim Shell's experiment with chasing burbot in Illinois waters of Lake Michigan continues. In his seventh trip night jigging for burbot on the reefs out of Waukegan, he latched into one near the Illinois record. After first fishing Gumby Reef, he emailed, "Around 11:00 p.m. [last Saturday], I went to Julian's Reef, where I had a lot of success on burbot previously." He caught five lake trout, the surprise of a steelhead, and four burbot. "It was about 1:30 a.m. [last Sunday] when the rod bent over and it fought exactly like a lake trout," he emailed. "After fighting the fish for several minutes, it surfaced from the 90-foot depths and it was a big burbot!" It weighed exactly 11 pounds, close to the Illinois-record burbot (11 pounds, 12.5 ounces), caught by Saro Kevorkian on Dec. 7, 2020 at Diversey Harbor.

FOTW, the celebration of wild stories and photos around Chicago outdoors, now runs most weeks in the 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).

BUCK OF THE WEEK: UNPLUGGED

Bill Julga emailed a photo of multiple velvet bucks in a southwest side cemetery.

BOTW Unplugged, the celebration of live big bucks around Chicago outdoors, runs as apt 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).

WILD TIMES

HAPPY HOUR SPEAKER SERIES

Thursday, Aug. 7: Alliance for the Great Lakes' Andrea Densham and Loyola University's Dr. Tim Hoellein, "Water Quality and Plastic Pollution," McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum, free, 5:15-6:15 p.m., https://www.chicagoriver.org/events/bridgehouse-museum-happy-hour-speaker-series

TRAPSHOOTING

Saturday, Aug. 9: Final day, Grand American World Trapshooting Championships, World Shooting and Recreation Complex, Sparta, shootata.com/About-Us/Grand-American

WINGSHOOTING

Aug. 16 & 17 (three separate sessions): Waterman, email hunterwsclinic@gmail.com to register.

HUNTER SAFETY

Next weekend, Aug. 9-10: Morris, https://www.register-ed.com/events/view/230848

Aug 14 and 16: Bonfield, (847) 635-3198

Aug. 23-24: Wilmington, https://www.register-ed.com/events/view/230303

The full state listing is at dnr2.illinois.gov/SafetyEd/SafetyEdClassByCounty