Hunting

It is time for my annual distraction from fishing.  That will be reflected here in my blog.  I pretty much am all fish and fishing, all the time, except when the turkeys are gobbling.  In just this past week, it has seemed to me that all of a sudden there are big, strutting, gobbling turkeys in many of the places where I expect them to be.  Even in the middle of the sandhills! I love spring turkey season for the …

By Cassidy Wessel, Wildlife Biologist I can remember the first rooster pheasant I ever held as a kid, standing over the trash can in our garage helping my dad clean birds and thinking that this brown, purple, blue, red and green iridescent thing might just be too pretty to pluck. And I’m sure I did think “pluck” — skinning a bird at that time would have been completely foreign to me. Pheasants were rare table fare. Being the fifth generation …

Due to drought conditions and extreme fire danger, many Nebraska state recreation areas and some wildlife management areas are temporarily banning campfires until further notice. Although everyone should be cautious when using fire throughout Nebraska, the list of areas with temporary closures includes: Southwest Region: Medicine Creek, Red Willow, Swanson, Enders, Sutherland and Buffalo Bill SRAs Southern Panhandle Region: Lake McConaughy, Lake Ogallala, Lake Minatare and Wildcat Hills State SRAs, and Ash Hollow State Historical Park Central Region: Sherman and Victoria …

Spring turkey hunters are eager to get back in the woods again this year, but they should not be so eager they overlook safety. The archery season opened March 25. On April 9, youth under age 16 may begin hunting turkeys with shotguns. Adults get the chance to hunt with shotguns starting April 16. The spring turkey season closes May 31. “Hunting continues to be one of the safest recreational activities there is, but there are a few things to …

Spring wild turkey hunting all about the “talk.” Really, it is about communication. You, the turkey hunter, make the sounds of a sexually appealing hen and the interested, aroused toms gobble back. Very simply, you are talking to that bird.  Now, what you are saying, how you are saying it and when you are saying it is the source of much discussion in turkey hunting circles. So, that being stated, I reached out to Douglas Herman of Wahoo, NE, a renown, …

Learn the art of turkey calling during a workshop April 5 at the Nebraska Outdoor Education Center in Lincoln. Novice to advanced turkey hunters both will benefit from the experience learning the many calls and calling techniques of wild turkey — while increasing their chances of success in the field. The workshop, hosted by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the National Wild Turkey Federation, is from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the center located at 4703 N. 44th …

Xa’nel Cribbs of Omaha went from learning how to shoot archery to harvesting her first deer in eight months. Not everyone has a family member or friend who can teach them about the outdoors. Even when there’s a strong interest, many struggle to find ways to gain the knowledge and skills to be successful. Xa’nel Cribbs of Omaha was one of those people. When she moved to Nebraska with her husband, Xa’nel began turning to the outdoors as a way …

Heavily marred with dirt, dings, scratches and rust, it did not look like much. Despite its condition, I knew the item handed to me — a Stevens Springfield 87A .22 semi-automatic rifle — was a special gift. I best remember the gun from my childhood in southwestern Nebraska in the 1980s; it hung on the rack in Grandpa Alfred’s beat-up green Ford as it was parked at his and Grandma’s service station on Danbury’s main street. Resting in the rear …

 A bull elk tag will be auctioned off by the Nebraska Big Game Society on April 14 in Lincoln. The 11th annual meeting and auction will be at Hillcrest Country Club, 9401 O St. Residents and nonresidents are eligible for the bull elk tag. The high bidder will receive a bull elk tag valid in any elk management unit during a 2022 open bull elk season; legal weapons for that season must be used. Additional items and outdoor experiences will …

Estimating Migration Chronology of Ducks in Nebraska By Cynthia Anchor, waterfowl biologist The Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York, developed the eBird platform to offer birders a way to store and organize birding media, species lists, counts for single birding events, and “life lists”— complete lists of every bird species seen by an individual — at county, state, national and global scales. Since the release of eBird in 2002, birders have contributed more than 60 million checklists containing …