REGION – Vermont Fish & Wildlife is reporting that several important fall foods for wildlife are less abundant this year. “Fish & Wildlife staff routinely survey mast stands around the state in late September and early October, and this year they are finding that beechnut counts are very low, following 2019 when the numbers were some of the highest recorded since 1998,” said state wildlife biologist Forrest Hammond. “They also found little sign of deer, turkey, and bear feeding in the beech stands.”
Hammond said that wild apples and berries are also less abundant than last year, but that in most areas of the state biologists report that acorns are more abundant than most other fall wildlife foods. He noted that wild turkeys, deer, bear, and grouse are concentrating their feeding more in oak stands this year.