Don’t know why the Associated Press is covering ruffed grouse, but a few news outlets picked up an AP article about North Dakota ruffed grouse populations looking good. But there are a few buts: > This is based on drumming counts, which don’t exactly correlate to fall hunting. > The increase isn’t that stellar, and… […]
Grilling pheasant legs? Hmm. We suppose it can be done, but honestly have not attempted it. Yet here’s a way that supposedly can be great.
The spring 2010 issue of The Upland Almanac magazine had a short piece about a Japanese gamebird called the yamadori. The writer described it this way: “If you can imagine a bird with the spooky habits of a ruffed grouse and the ground speed of a ringnecked pheasant, combined with the chukar-like habit of running […]
This fact recently in: “Quaking aspen is the most widely distributed tree species in North America, ranging throughout Canada and most of the United States (including Alaska), and extending into Mexico. However, since the late 19th to early 20th centuries, it is estimated that the aspen component of the landscape in eastern Idaho has declined […]
‘Ere’s a quick look at the gamebird industry across the pond, from an article in England’s Independent newspaper. Btw, the article is about the “gun lobby” influencing the government to kill a gamebird welfare law – that’s “welfare” as in animal rights. Remember that Britain is the birthplace of animal rights.
Since you’re Serious, even if you don’t hunt for ruffed grouse you no doubt know that these birds have a roughly 10-year population cycle (insight about that is in our book!).
In response to declining numbers of wild pheasants, Iowa has a new rule that allows some folks to to release on their own land pheasants from hatcheries approved by the Iowa DNR.
Could the sage grouse really become extinct? In certain areas, yes, according to three environmental groups who filed suit against the feds last week. Background: Back in March, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – which handles endangered species stuff in this country – said that the sage grouse did merit addition to the Endangered […]
Hey, amicos – make up your minds! We saw this sweet Luciano Bosis gun in the above ad in the June 2010 issue of Sporting Classics magazines. The inlays are drool-worthy, but…wait a minute…are those tweeties? Anyone wish they had tweety birds inlaid on their gun?
And Why Wasn’t the SCOTUS Decision 9-0? We’re not sure if anyone cases their guns between hunting spots (we don’t!), but in one county in Wisconsin, you can now do that legally – and even go to the skeet or clays course with your gun that way. After the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision re: […]
Mark Banker, senior biologist for the Ruffed Grouse Society, has sent out a couple emails now about this. His latest is:
Last of it – get it while you can! Online outdoor discount retailer Sierra Trading Post has all the remaining Mother Tech products, and is blowing them out at great prices. We aren’t getting paid for saying this – just a fact! Mother Tech was started in the 2000s by Marty Grabijas, who now is […]
Bob St. Pierre is an entertaining writer. We’re enjoying his stuff in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Here are a couple excerpts from his latest bird-related post, which is definitely worth a full read: > I encounter a “Rooster” every year. The problem with the name surfaces any time you hunt pheasants in a group. The dog’s owner shouts […]
In case you haven’t heard about it, in June Weatherby announced an online sweepstakes which “offers the chance to win an African safari and three other hunts, home defense training at the world-renowned Gunsite Academy, and an assortment of rifles and shotguns.” Cool! Launched June 1, the sweepstakes promotes “as low as†prices on Weatherby […]
Last year Iowa hunters were estimated to have shot 271,126 pheasants – which sounds like a big number until you realize that it’s the lowest annual harvest number on record, and is 100,000 fewer than were shot in 2008. And this season isn’t expected to be much better (which, if you’re Serious, is no reason […]
First of all, ask any 10 gals and 9 of them will say Brad Pitt is ugly. Okay, maybe not, but we still don’t need the guy. What are we talking about? Bob St. Pierre’s column in the Minneapolis Star Tribune in which he wonders whether bird hunting would benefit from a movie, along the […]
We were two of lots of people who were emailed a link to an article about Quail Unlimited that was on the Covey Rise website (apparently the article is no longer there). The piece had some fairly shocking allegations of corruption at Quail Unlimited. But it seems that none of it was true. QU founder […]
We came across this final paragraph in a short missive from Sam Cook of the Duluth News Tribune: “I think [ruffed grouse hunting will] be similar to last year. There were plenty of birds out there, but the leaves held on for a long time, and when leaves left the trees and the weather turned […]
A June 8 report in the Lewiston Tribune says that “recent rainy weather has likely been deadly for baby pheasants, gray and chukar partridge and quail. The young birds are susceptible to hypothermia when rains combined with cool temperatures occur at the same time or soon after the hatch. “‘It’s not looking good right now,’ […]
There’s an old saying that whatever happens in California is coming to the rest of the country next. It should probably be more like “Whatever [insert favorite belittling adjective here] stuff happens in CA will leak into the rest of the country eventually.” Anyhow, the CA legislature is looking at banning lead shot in upland […]
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 […]
