Number of outdoor activities get under way in September

September is the month that kicks off the hunting season and the fishing picks up.

Outdoorsmen and women look forward to this month for many reasons.

Dove hunters started the month off, along with the small number of rail and snipe hunters.

Anglers know that as the water in the lakes starts to cool the fish will get more active. It's also a great time for football fans. September is also the month the sky can get filled with monarch butterflies.

Terry Hopkins, Springfield, was dove-hunting near the Schell-Osage Wildlife Area.

"I had butterflies all around me," he said, "and sometimes I would almost shoot thinking a dove was going by, the air was thick with the migrating monarchs. I counted 37 before I lost count."

The monarch is found worldwide, but mainly in North, Central and South America. The adult wings are reddish brown, with black veins and black borders with two rows of white dots. Each fall these monarchs migrate south to Florida and Mexico. The longest flight known for a tagged adult is more than 1,800 miles from Canada to Mexico.

The migatory groups congregate to the same places each winter, especially in the mountains in central Mexico where the trees may be completely covered with monarchs.

In the two-year lifetime of most butterflies, they make two trips across the country. The females lay their eggs on the underside of milkweed leaves. The larvae feed on the milkweed plants where they accumulate a poisonous subatance that makes them distaseful to birds and other preditors. Birds tend to recognize their bright pattern and avoid them.

Hopkins said, " For years I have been fasinated with the monarchs and look forward to seeing them this month. On the way to Schell, I knew the flight was on because they were so thick I had to clean off my windshield several times."

Bob Walker, Marshall, saw more deer last week while scouting a spot to hunt teal. " I had a doe and two fawns come within several yards of me. There seems to be more deer this year than last fall and I thought that was more than I had ever seen in the country," he said.

You don't have to be a psychic to predict nature's seasonal changes among deer and their offspring. This time of year fawns, typically three to four months old, begin to lose their spots and aquire unifom coloration. Beginning in late August, deer begin to shed their summer coat. Both sexes are reddish brown to tan. The winter coat is a grayish to grayish brown, often called the "blue coat."

There seems to be a correlation between when deer shed their coat and the number of hours of daylight.

Increasing day length, in the spring and decrasing in late summer, stimlates the shedding and regrowth of summer and winter coats.

Growth of antlers and reproductive behavior also change with the shift in daylight.

Beginning in April or May, bucks form antlers. During the growth period, the soft skin and short hair that cover each antler have a plush-like quality giving this stage the name velvet. Full antler size is reached in September before the breeding or rutting season.

Its almost too late for archers to do their scouting and practice for the upcoming archers deer season that opens on Sept. 15.

Bowhunting is one of the fastest growing sports in the state. New clubs are springing up as more archers are joining in the sport.

Not only hunters are taking up archers, but a growing number of non-hunters are hitting targets.

Jimmy Jones of Blue Springs will celebrate his 64th birthday this month.

"At 64, I never thought I would take up archery, but after my grandson took me to a shooting range, I picked up a bow and really liked it. I wish I had started much earlier."

Jim Dawson, a camper from Independence, had another take.

"Starting after Labor Day, we get into camping in a big way.

"On any weekend from now to December, you can find us in a campground somewhere in the state. We have found the weather is good, the fishing better and usually we aren't bothered by other campers or bugs."

Anglers also like the cooler days of September when white bass are hitting the surface, crappie aren't as deep and fishing for most species improves as the month moves along.

It's no wonder that outdoorsmen and women look forward to September.