Wisconsin has been experiencing some erratic and changing weather patterns in the past week, with many areas reporting a drop in the high temperature of more than 20 degrees from one day to the next.

The state received some rainfall in the last week, with up to an inch reported in the south, and lesser amounts to the north. Wildfire conditions have lessened and were at low in most locations and moderate in a few.

With the arrival of spring, deer fawns are starting to be sighted along with many other young animals. Deer and other animals will leave their young for long periods of time. These babies are not abandoned …leave them where they are so their parents can find them later. No one takes care of them better than their parents.

Early nesters attending young include sandhill cranes, mallards and Canada geese.

Also at this time of year, drivers need to be on the lookout when coming up on wetlands and rivers as turtles are crossing roads to find a suitable place to lay eggs. Some turtles such as the wood and Blanding's turtles take 15 years to reach maturity. If seen crossing the road, motorists are encouraged to move the turtle across the road in the direction that they were traveling as long traffic conditions are safe.

The erratic weather made for some rather tough fishing conditions across the North Woods. The cold front that moved through really disrupted fish activity. Walleye success has been mediocre, with no real consistent pattern to the early season bite. Northern pike action has been fair. Panfish action has also been only fair as the colder water temperatures have kept most fish in deeper water. Both crappie and bluegill have been creeping back up into shallows on warmer days. Bass activity is just starting to pick up and there have been the first few observations of largemouth being fanning out their spawning beds.

In the south, bluegills and crappies are in the midst of spawning and largemouth bass will be finishing up spawning soon. A few walleyes were being caught, but bass and northern pike have been more active. Carp spawning activity should be peaking over the next week.

Muskies were still being found in the Fox River at Green Bay and walleye were still being caught in lower Green Bay. The yellow perch bite has been slow but should get better as water temperature increases. Lake Michigan trollers had some good and some bad days because of weather conditions, but still managed to land mixed catches of salmon and trout.

Shore and pier fishing at more northern harbors has generally been slow except for occasional brown and rainbow trout. A few coho were being caught at the piers in Racine and Kenosha.

The Mississippi River has been on a steady decline and was down to 10 feet at Prairie du Chien this week. Bluegill, perch, and crappie action picked up as the water receded. Fishing for sauger and walleye also picked up, and large numbers of white bass are being caught below the dams. Northern pike action has also really been picking up.

The sixth and final spring turkey hunting season ended Sunday. Hunters were met with pretty good weather. Most hunters report good gobbling action with a decent number of sightings.

* Bird migrations are entering their later stages. Most warbler species are now in the state along with many other Neotropical migrants like vireos, tanagers, and orioles. Flycatchers have been quite late this year but things are starting to speed up as southern Wisconsin received a recent influx of pewees, yellow-bellied, alder, willow and olive-sided flycatchers. Bobwhite quail are whistling their characteristic "bob-white" call. Usually it is unpaired males that call, hoping to attract an unmated female.

* The warm weather also brought on the first mosquito swarms, and the wet spring has created conditions for tremendous mosquito populations. Good numbers of black flies are also out in some areas, including southern Wisconsin where they are not normally abundant. Black flies only live for about two weeks and, unlike mosquitoes, only have one hatch, so they should not be around much longer.

* Spring wild flowers blooming include shooting star, bellwort, bloodroot, anemones, hepatica, columbine, showy orchids, and woodland phlox.