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Identify and educate please

Jason79 said:
So this is northern Maryland, and I know the one is a acorn lol but I’ve been seeing a good bit of both of these and didn’t think acorns fell this early and I’m trying to learn more so please help me guys thank you
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Oak species are pretty easy to identify IF you have a picture of: 1)acorn 2)leaf 3)trunk/bark


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Weldabeast the deer will get on those quickly when they start to drop Soft mast doesn't last long and they know it Persimmon and muscadine are real good food sources to shoot deer over if you catch em falling
 
Jason79 said:
So this is northern Maryland, and I know the one is a acorn lol but I’ve been seeing a good bit of both of these and didn’t think acorns fell this early and I’m trying to learn more so please help me guys thank you
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Looks like an immature red oak acorn to me and a hickory nut Also it looks like some acorn cuttings on the ground where the squirrels have been eating and knocking em down Sometimes deer will take advantage of that and wind blown acorns Or they will in my part of the world anyways Aint never hunted in Maryland But they are still deer with a diet consisting of 90% browse they will too i am sure
 
A lot of oaks around here are aborting their acorns right now because it's too dry. Which for hunting can be a good thing, if you find the trees in areas that have more groundwater they will ripen and it makes it easier to pin deer down when there are less trees to choose from.
 
@elk yinzer did you have a nice white acorn crop last year? I live in SE PA and we had a good one. This year I would expect to find more deer around the Reds since the whites around here seem to go every other year. Also, where I hunt the oak population is so strong deer do not have to travel far to find them. My focus in my September scouting will be under the huge red oaks first then go from there. But if I had to guess I will be happy with what sign I see under these reds when I eventually start scouting. But like what you said about finding some where they might had more water to be happy. Its been VERY DRY this year
 
Hall17 said:
@elk yinzer did you have a nice white acorn crop last year? I live in SE PA and we had a good one. This year I would expect to find more deer around the Reds since the whites around here seem to go every other year. Also, where I hunt the oak population is so strong deer do not have to travel far to find them. My focus in my September scouting will be under the huge red oaks first then go from there. But if I had to guess I will be happy with what sign I see under these reds when I eventually start scouting. But like what you said about finding some where they might had more water to be happy. Its been VERY DRY this year
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Whites were very spotty last year, chestnut oaks patchy but some trees were loaded, and there were no reds to speak of. Whites usually start falling mid Sept and are either eaten or rotten by mid October. Chestnut oaks are my primary focus throughout bow season. Red oaks, the deer prefer to let them leach tannins for a few weeks, usually start eating them mid-November or December and eat them through winter. But if they're the only acorn game in town they'll eat them when they fall.

Here in town I'm seeing both reds and whites this year, but I haven't spent much time up in the mountains yet. I'll start scouting when it cools off.
 
gcr0003 said:
Both of those pictures were of live oaks, part of the red oak family. He probably was just mentioning the white oaks looked good. Live oaks limbs often hang close to the grown so that’s probably how he was able to get such a good up close picture if I had to guess.
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gcr0003 said:
Both of those pictures were of live oaks, part of the red oak family. He probably was just mentioning the white oaks looked good. Live oaks limbs often hang close to the grown so that’s probably how he was able to get such a good up close picture if I had to guess.
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Always have trouble with live willow
And water oaks but ya rounded lobes vs pointed lobes. Is this accurate



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gcr0003 said:
Both of those pictures were of live oaks, part of the red oak family. He probably was just mentioning the white oaks looked good. Live oaks limbs often hang close to the grown so that’s probably how he was able to get such a good up close picture if I had to guess.
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the southern live oak is part of the white oak family.
 
elk yinzer said:
Whites were very spotty last year, chestnut oaks patchy but some trees were loaded, and there were no reds to speak of. Whites usually start falling mid Sept and are either eaten or rotten by mid October. Chestnut oaks are my primary focus throughout bow season. Red oaks, the deer prefer to let them leach tannins for a few weeks, usually start eating them mid-November or December and eat them through winter. But if they're the only acorn game in town they'll eat them when they fall.

Here in town I'm seeing both reds and whites this year, but I haven't spent much time up in the mountains yet. I'll start scouting when it cools off.
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I'm not too far from you if I remember correctly. Last year we had ZERO (wild) acorns within ~20 miles of my place. I guess we must have had a frost at the exact wrong time. My dwarf Chinquapin oaks that I planted did produce. BTW, DCO are a very dependable variety of white and they produce yearly and at a very young age.

The occurrence of frosts effecting mast crops can be very localized. All it takes is patchy cloud cover to produce (or prevent) a frost in localized areas. You could have a frost on one farm or valley and not have one just a few hundred yards away and it's often caused by cloud cover at night. Cloudy days and clear nights in the spring can be a disaster for mast crops.

One of the easiest ways to monitor acorn crops is to just drive down some roads that are lined with oak trees. If there are acorns, they will be laying on the roads. It's an easy peezy way to scout for the general level of acorns in the area. No disturbance, not jungle beating, or ticks.
I didn't find even a dozen acorns last year, either along the roads or in the woods. They simply did not exist around here. And it wasn't from drought. We had plenty of rain last summer. This year is dry as a bone.
 
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