There is a mixed feeling, a sense of fleeting time along with great anticipation mingled with frustration. Fall fishing, bow hunting, bear hunt, moose hunt, upland birds, waterfowl, deer season — the list goes on. So much to do and so little time to do it!

A blissful hereafter for me would be an endless October with its rust-­colored foliage, crisp mornings and balmy, sun­-drenched afternoons. There would be outdoor companions, hunting dogs, good bird guns and alder runs.

The flaming sunsets would linger longer, and the rafting loons would not have to find refuge in coastal estuaries and points south.

But, alas, it isn’t so. October’s powerful splendor is short­-lived and outdoor folks must make plans and carry them out to the fullest ­ if full benefit is to be gained. Outdoorsmen sense a compression this time of year, not unlike the spring debut of Maine’s abbreviated trout season.

I’ll bet that last year October’s plans never fully materialized for you. I know that they didn’t for me. Maybe we need to pick and choose, as the saying goes, and plan realistically those outdoor activities than can be done within nature’s allotted timetable. Here, to assist you in sorting out the options and assembling your outdoor autumn dance card, is a calendar of important dates:

Bow Season

(1)Expanded Archery Season for deer: Sept. 6-Dec. 13 (In designated zones only, special license required).

(2)Regular archery season for deer: Oct. 2-­Oct. 31 (Bow license required).

Firearms for deer

(1) Nov. 3-­Nov. 29

(2) Maine residents only day: Nov. 1

(3) Statewide muzzleloader season: Dec.1­-Dec. 6

(4) Extended muzzleloader season: Dec. 8-Dec. 13 in WMDs 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29.

Moose Season

(1) WMDs (Wildlife Management Districts) 1­-6, 11, 19: Sept. 22-Sept. 27

(2) WMDs 1-14, 17, ­19, 27, 28, Oct. 13-­Oct. 18

(3) WMDs 1­-5, 7 , 8, 19: Nov. 3-Nov. 8

(4) WMDs 15, 16, 22, 23, 25, 26: Nov. 3­-Nov. 29

(5) Maine Residents Only Day WMDS 15, 16, 22, 23 ,25 ,26: Nov. 1

Bear

General Season: Aug. 26­-Nov. 30.

Grouse

Oct. 1­-Dec. 31.

Woodcock

Oct. 1­-Nov. 14 (Daily limit 3; possession limit 6).

Ducks

North: Sept. 29-Dec.6; South: Oct. 1-Oct. 18; Coastal Zone: Oct. 1-Oct. 18. (Complete breakdowns of the goose and sea duck seasons are available at www.mefishwildlife. com).

Sea Ducks

Oct. 1-Jan. 31.

Goose

North: Oct. 1-Dec. 9; South: Oct. 1-Oct. 18; Coastal: Oct. 1­ Oct. 18.

Early Goose

Sept. 1­-Sept. 25.

Fall Wild Turkey

Oct. 2-Oct. 31

The following Wildlife Management Districts are open during the fall wild turkey hunting season with a two (2) of either sex, wild turkey bag limit: WMD’s 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 28.

The following Wildlife Management Districts are open during the fall wild turkey hunting season with a one (1) of either sex, wild turkey bag limit: WMD’s 12, 13, 18, 26, and 29.

The following Wildlife Management Districts are closed during the fall wild turkey hunting season: WMD’s 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 19, and 27.

As October nears, upland bird hunters start asking each other, “How does it look for birds this fall?” I put the question to Maine’s upland bird biologist Brad Allen, himself an avid gun-dog man in his free time. Here’s how Brad sees the bird season shaping up, grousewise:

“Observations from IFW colleagues indicate that partridge wintered well, particularly in central and southern Maine but perhaps not so well north of Moosehead Lake,” he said. “Spring drumming surveys were initiated in central Maine this year and males were heard drumming along each route. Basically we haven’t been doing this long enough to know what average is. One bright spot was that grouse hatching and brood rearing conditions during the month of June were nearly ideal and production may be above average. Northern Maine grouse numbers have been rated ‘very good’ the last three years but now are likely in a natural decline. Biologists with boots on the ground have not reported an abundant number of grouse broods and chicks so far this year. 2013 Prediction: Good up north in the big woods but fair in the rest of the state. Result: As predicted. 2014 Prediction: Average statewide but improved in eastern Maine.”

The author is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. He is also a Maine Guide, co­host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News­Talk Network (WVOM­FM 103.9, WQVM­FM 101.3) and former information of icer for the Maine Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. His e­mail address is paul@sportingjournal.com and his new book is “A Maine Deer Hunter’s Logbook.”

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