I saw my first soybean field harvested last week in northeast Illinois, and cornfields will see serious effort this week across the state; but the main harvest I mean for the Illinois Hunting Report is an outstanding opening weekend for deer by bowhunters.

As of Sunday, according to the Illinois Crop Progress and Condition Report, corn harvest was at 32 percent statewide, up from 22 percent a week ago. Even the northeast was at 10 percent and the northwest at 11. Soybeans were 12 percent harvested.

During the hunting seasons, the extended online version of the IHR, which appears most weeks during the hunting season in the outdoors page of the Sun-Times on Wednesdays, is usually posted here on Tuesdays.

If you have suggestions, e-mail me at straycasts@sbcglobal.net or post in the comments.

DEER

A tremendous weather weekend for hunting, cold snappy mornings warming gently toward afternoon brought one of the greatest opening weekends ever for Illinois bowhunters, who reported a harvest for the two days of 5,345 deer.

Wow. Click here for more of a breakdown.

And I have received some good first-hand reports, too.

Which makes me glad that I started running Buck of the Week early this year, as of last week. So far, so good. I usually don't run BOTW, the celebration of big bucks bagged by hunters, until about the time of the rut, but I am trying it from the opening of bow season this year.

BOTW runs Wednesdays around the hunting seasons and BOTW: Unplugged, the weekly celebration of live big bucks around Chicago outdoors, on Sundays much of the year on the outdoors page in the Sun-Times. E-mail nominations for either one to straycasts@sbcglobal.net

. . . Youth firearm season is Saturday and Sunday. Resident and non-resident youth permits are available over-the-counter only from DNR Direct license and permit vendors.

YOUTH WATERFOWL

North zone season is Saturday and Sunday. Open public sites in the north zone are Chain O'Lakes State Park, Des Plaines State Fish and Wildlife Area (SFWA), Lake DePue SFWA (Due to low water levels, the blinds on DePue might not be accessible), Sinnissippi Lake Wildlife Area, Mississippi River Pools (All located in North Zone), William W. Powers State Recreation Area SRA and Donnelley.

WATERFOWL

Phone-in period for duck and goose sites opened today and runs through Jan. 27, 2012.

TURKEY

Archery season opened Saturday. . . . Firearm season is Oct. 22-30.

DOVE SEASON

I've seen many more doves again. Not sure if it is related to the fields starting to be harvested or the weekend cold snap pushing fresh birds around in northern Illinois. First season runs through Oct. 31. . . . Second season is Nov. 5-13.

SQUIRRELS

Most public sites are closed due to bowhunting. Public lands remain open through Feb. 15.

RAIL

Virginia and Sora only. Season runs through Nov. 11.

COMMON SNIPE

Season runs through Dec. 18.

WOODCOCK

Season is Oct. 15-Nov. 28.

CROW

Season is Oct. 28-Feb. 28, 2012.

ILLINOIS HUNTING ONLINE

For IDNR hunting info, click here.

For the Illinois 2011-12 Digest of Hunting & Trapping Regulations, click here.

For the 2010-11 Illinois Public Hunting Areas Report, click here.

The 2011-12 edition of the Digest of Waterfowl Hunting Regulation is now online, click here.

For Illinois crop reports (generally posted Monday afternoons, holiday weekends are the exceptions), click here. After holidays, such as Labor Day, it comes out on Tuesday.