Category: KS
Quail, the most beleaguered of our beloved gamebirds, is getting a helping hand in Kansas. Or rather, a bigger helping hand. The state just announced that it’s “launching a new quail restoration initiative aimed at making a difference in declining bobwhite quail populations at a landscape level.” Here’s more: > Includes the designation of two […]
As the title says, here’s the second and final part of our Q&A with the guys who went on Pheasants Forever’s (PF) recent and 2nd annual Rooster Road Trip. Quick review: 5 states in 5 days, all public land, they find birds. Serious. Here we go, some good info. SBH: Which one place you hunted […]
Kansas has endured a Texas-like drought in some parts of the state this year, prompting it to go from being “the other South Dakota” to “where did all the birds go?” in just a year. But judging by early reports, seems like pheasants (and quail) are still there…as long as you can find some habitat. […]
Kansas has been suffering through a drought and record high temps this year, and even though the state was hoping that the effects on their darn good bird population wouldn’t too bad, appears that’s not the case…which shouldn’t be much of a surprise. Today Kansas issued its 2011-12 bird forecast, and the summary of the […]
Part 1 We get it. We get why everyone likes to read bird forecasts: We all want to know how good the hunting is going to be. Yep good, not bad. We want to be psyched. So there we are, stoked about the season, sitting in our rich Corinthian leather chairs (anyone remember that commercial?!), […]
The drought affecting several Midwest and Southeast states seems to be only bad news for an already hurting national quail population. We checked in with Dr. Tom Dailey, assistant director of the Northern Bobwhite Quail Initiative, to see how the quail are doing, and found out that it’s not all bad news. But first the […]
Those of us not experiencing the drought in the Midwest, Southwest and parts of the Southeast may not realize just how bad it is. Upland birds in affected regions have to be suffering to some extent. Just a quick update on Kansas, first with what we previously reported: > Western Kansas has one of the […]
If you’ve been reading here for a bit you know we don’t put a lot of faith in counts or forecasts, unless maybe they’re drastically low…but we still read every one! The latest comes from Kansas, aka “the other South Dakota,” some excerpts from a state press release about its pheasant pops looking good…or maybe […]
Even if you followed Pheasants Forever’s recent Rooster Road Trip – in which PF staffers hunted only public land – you may have missed this great follow-up video. In it, PF’s Andrew Vavra talks about the reference books/atlases he and his pheasant-busting compadres used for finding the spots they hunted, and where to obtain said […]
Here’s the final part of the interview with Pheasants Forever’s Bob St.Pierre, Anthony Hauck and Andrew Vavra re: their rooster odyssey: driving 2,200 to hunt five states in 6 days (that’s Serious!) – aka the 2010 Rooster Road Trip.
Part 1 Who says you can’t find pheasants on public land? After Pheasants Forever’s recent Rooster Road Trip (RRT), the answer should be “nobody.” In case you missed it, the RRT was PF staffers Bob St.Pierre, Anthony Hauck and Andrew Vavra driving 2,200 miles in 6 days to hunt five states: North and South Dakota, […]
Bobwhites Too Although precious few states do it, they have every incentive to pump us all up for bird season. South Dakota has the birds and the PR machine to do it, and they do. Colorado is trying this year. Oddly, few other states – Pennsylvania and Maine come to mind – do it. Add […]
Pheasants Forever’s state by state (not all states) Pheasant Forecast for 2010 is out. Some of the state info is helpful, some not. Would be great to have it in graph form to see trends. Anyhow, here’s the overview plus the links for each. “Pheasant numbers appear to be holding steady in the Dakotas, Kansas, […]
The following bird forecasts are from Paul Fuller’s Bird Dogs Afield periodic emails (sign up here). A bit of explanation from Paul, and then edited versions of the forecasts: > Our bird forecasts are fresh and typically obtained within the past week [from wildlife biologists and] several folks…that are not biologists but are in the […]
Just read this article on hunting ruffies in MN this year. So much of it, while well-intentioned, is wrong. Here goes: > The good news is, counts were up 34 percent this spring in parts of northern Minnesota. Counts remained stable in southern Minnesota. This COULD mean that there’s more easy birds (young ones) early […]
Lessons from 2012 Maine-NH Hunt
Don’t know if we’ve fully recovered yet from our not-quite-a-week of hunting Maine and New Hampshire for ruffies and woodies. We all actually bailed 2 days early, having put in 5 consecutive days instead of our usual 7. Felt like wimps about it, but hey, we were BEAT…from 5 days of the most brutal hunting […]
No Grouse Comeback in SW Penn?
Sounds like ruffed grouse will never be as much a part of the landscape of southern Pennsylvania as they once will. “Never” sounds ominous. Permanent. But that’s the conclusion of an article by Bob Frye in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Why should you care if you don’t live or hunt in PA? Reasons: > Pennsylvania is […]
Hey: All Ruffies Drum Differently!
Did you know that? Not until now…. This info won’t help us hunting, but it’s interesting – and makes sense. Here’s more, from newscientist.com: Male ruffed grouse are the first animals known to make unique non-vocal sounds. Humans and many other animals, particularly birds, can be identified by their voices. But no one had looked […]
Ran across this quote from an article about Iowa’s pheasant count: > “I haven’t even gone pheasant hunting the last couple of years because the birds just weren’t there,†said Tim Wolf, a 61-year-old bank president who lives in Waukee. YES THEY WERE! They most definitely were there. Maybe not like this… > “But I’ve […]
Top 10 Reasons To Go to Phez Fest
Pheasants/Quail Forever’s Pheasant Fest/Quail Classic is coming up soon at KC, MO (see info in right column), and just in case you’re thinking it’s too far or whatever, here are the Top 10 – really just 10 of many – reasons to go. We’re doing it Letterman-style, 10 to 1. 10. What else are you […]
Across the Pond Bird Follies, Vids
Ah the UK, the land that gave the world 17 pieces of silverware on the table, animal rights and other questionable stuff. Okay, it wasn’t all bad – that’s where our bird hunting came from too. But it’s different here…or there, depending on your perspective. Here’s some recent bird news plus some interesting vids. Katie […]
Do Congress, Tea Party Hate Pheasants?
We make it a point to try not to get suckered by political hoo-ha, so that’s not what this is about. We ran across a blog post on the Discovery-owned treehugger.com titled “Why Does Congress Hate Pheasants?” and a related one, “Do Tea Party, Heritage Foundation Oppose Hunting?” Interesting stuff, written by the same gent, […]
Quail, the most beleaguered of our beloved gamebirds, is getting a helping hand in Kansas. Or rather, a bigger helping hand. The state just announced that it’s “launching a new quail restoration initiative aimed at making a difference in declining bobwhite quail populations at a landscape level.” Here’s more: > Includes the designation of two […]
Worms and Birds: What Else Don’t We Know?
Believe we’ve talked about this at least once, but a recent Wall Street Journal article on the plight of Texas quail got us thinking about it again. Here’s the applicable stuff: …Rolling Hills Quail Research Ranch, a 4,700-acre spread an hour west of Abilene. Last month, researchers there found that the levels of parasitic worms […]
Top 10 Reasons To Go to Phez Fest
Pheasants/Quail Forever’s Pheasant Fest/Quail Classic is coming up soon at KC, MO (see info in right column), and just in case you’re thinking it’s too far or whatever, here are the Top 10 – really just 10 of many – reasons to go. We’re doing it Letterman-style, 10 to 1. 10. What else are you […]
Lone Star Outdoor news recently carried an article on a speech given by Dr. Dale Rollins of the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch near Rotan, Texas. Seems that a major threat to quail, at least in the Lone Star state, may be an eyeball worm. News to us! Highlights: > Especially mysterious were the continued […]
