A little something I've noticed since moving to Evergreen Co 3 years ago. There seems to be a legitimate comparison between elk/mulies and whitetails when it comes to the availability of food. Back east when there was a bumper crop of acorns, deer movement would be very hard to detect. They were able to feed at night and the availability of food severely limited movement in general. They simply didn't have search for food.
This year the moisture in Colorado has been excellent, there has been green grass available up until right now. I've noticed a big difference in my local herds for both elk and deer. Elk rutting has been primarily at night this year with almost no daytime activity that I have seen. These herds live in my area and I'm able to see them pretty regularly.
Mulies in the previous years were eating forbes and shrubs in September, whereas this year they are sticking to valley bottoms eating grass. This has severely limited their movement as well.
Food for thought when deciding to burn preference points during a high precipitation year.
This year the moisture in Colorado has been excellent, there has been green grass available up until right now. I've noticed a big difference in my local herds for both elk and deer. Elk rutting has been primarily at night this year with almost no daytime activity that I have seen. These herds live in my area and I'm able to see them pretty regularly.
Mulies in the previous years were eating forbes and shrubs in September, whereas this year they are sticking to valley bottoms eating grass. This has severely limited their movement as well.
Food for thought when deciding to burn preference points during a high precipitation year.
