RE: scouting?
Do you know the lay of the land like the back of your hand if not scout now. If you do scout now. Always monitor where the favorite food sources are for the time of year. it will save you time later when the birds have moved you will have been right there with them. You don't have to tromp all over your woods to do the most effective scouting. Most of the times the best scouting is observation from afar.