A seared white shed antler stood out sharply against a charred landscape as I walked days after a prescribed burn last March.
It was at that time I first received the sage advice on sheds after a burn from a wild-area property owner.
‘‘In my experience, the very best time to find sheds is within a day or two after a prescribed burn,’’ she said in an email in which she told me of a property about to be burned. ‘‘[Sheds] don’t burn, of course, and the whitish shed against a black background makes them super-easy to spot. I used binoculars to scan a large area, then checked out whatever looked possible.’’
She was absolutely right. Between walking likely spots and using binoculars, I found two sets of sheds in less than an hour a couple of days after the burn.
White-tailed deer (generally only bucks are antlered) shed their antlers annually. Shed hunting is looking for the dropped antlers. Shed hunting peaks in mid-February in Illinois, but sheds can be found months on either side of that. Shed of the Week this winter had its earliest start with a find Dec. 27.
I don’t know what it was about Jan. 28 this year, but I had double SOTW submissions last week.
The first came from Cook County. Ian Anderson emailed, ‘‘I’ve found a shed to start out the new year!’’
That’s worth an exclamation point.
A couple of hours later, Dan Davies emailed from Griffith, Indiana: ‘‘Today was a great day for a walk in the woods. As a bonus, [I] found this shed set. I spotted one, and as I got closer [I] saw the second one. A big thank-you to mister buck for laying them together for me.’’
Finding a pair close together is rare.
The area around a burn is also a good place for morel mushrooms later in the spring. But back to my hunting after a prescribed burn.
The property owner warned me, ‘‘The vegetation comes back very quickly.’’ It really does. Even a couple of days after the burn, green was returning last March.
I am paying close attention to nearby burns this year. I need all the help I can get.
In Illinois, sheds may be collected on private land with permission. Collecting is prohibited at all forest preserves and park districts I know. Also in Illinois, shed hunting is prohibited at state parks and nature preserves but is allowed on fish and wildlife areas, conservation areas and boat-access areas, if open to the public.
SOTW runs when apt. Make submissions by email (BowmanOutside@gmail.com) or contact me on Facebook (Dale Bowman), X (@BowmanOutside), Instagram (@BowmanOutside) or Bluesky (@BowmanOutside.bsky.social).
Illinois Conservation Foundation
Tickets ($125) for the 2025 Illinois Outdoor Hall of Fame gala March 13 at Abbington Banquets in Glen Ellyn may be purchased at app.galabid.com/icfgala2025/event-tickets.
Stray cast
The Bulls trade feels like strapping your chest waders on, then discovering a tiny pebble under your forefoot.
