Education

Listen up, men. As you read this there are three days until Valentine’s Day. That means you have just a few more days left to figure out how to make your special someone feel – well, special.  Fear not, as the birds of this great state have many ideas you can capitalize on to make the holiday one that your significant other will not soon forget – even if they wanted to. The first bit of birdly advice is you …

Not sure when it started.  Perhaps when I was 16 and could drive myself.  Maybe I was younger and the day just happened to fall on a weekend.  Regardless, I have tried my best to hunt the final day of the bird season each year, and I have succeeded for a bit over 2 decades. I do my best to spend the full day in the field, but sometimes things get shortened by the weather or by an abundance of …

I could not resist.  It was cold, bitter cold, but I had to get out just one more day to enjoy one of my favorite hunts…squirrel with a handgun.   Usually it is a single action pistol but this time it had to be the racier semi-auto.  Good thing…I needed it! I sat for over an hour knowing full well that the squirrels would be holed up in a tree den, defying the arctic cold temps and wind.  I tried calling …

A note from our good friend Pete Berthelsen, Senior Field Coordinator for Pheasants Forever in Nebraska: “Attached is an updated flyer highlighting the location of Landowner Habitat Tours for 2013.  This year, there will be a total of 15 tours conducted across the state  These tours are open to anyone interested in attending and are available at no charge.”

It arrived yesterday in the mail.  My 2013 spring turkey hunting catalog.  Just last week my hunting buddy from Iowa called to schedule our annual spring hunt.  Then this morning we received a picture of my father in-law’s front yard.  So it’s not entirely my fault that my thoughts are currently turkey-centered.  With several more weeks until we can chase these big birds many of us find ourselves buying turkey gear.  All you springtime tom-chasers reading this can relate.  So, …

Who Can Save the Plains…in Three Minutes? Come to the Conservation Jam on Friday, February 1st at 5:30 p.m. What if you had only three minutes to save the Great Plains? The Center for Great Plains Studies and The Nature Conservancy put this challenge to some of Nebraska’s leading conservationists. Come and hear their answers. They will offer lessons, arguments, and calls to action on topics like grassland health, ground water protection, and what citizens can do to save what …

Too many waterfowl hunters end their season once thick ice forms on the ponds.  Unfortunately this can happen way too early  in the season resulting in thousands of birds leaving the great state of  Nebraska without ever meeting a hunter.  Outrage!  Hunting birds over the ice is not impossible  and by utilizing a few well placed tricks, you can extend your waterfowl season, often by several months.  Generally in late December and January we see a late push of geese through …

Snuck in another quick morning bird hunt today prior to heading to the office.  Again I picked a public hunting area based more on its location to work than because I know it to hold lots of birds.  Today’s hunt was with my young Springer, Pip, and we chose a random starting spot that we were hoping would allow us to hunt this piece of ground differently than those that have come before us. The small area we hit had …

I can think of no better way to spend a cold January weekend than at deer camp.  This past weekend I did just that thanks to the good folks at the Crane Trust, a non-profit conservation group in central NE, and Mark Jensen, Hunter Education Instructor in Grand Island.  Being the final weekend of the 2012/13 deer season we nicknamed the camp the Last Chance Deer Camp.  However, with two young hunters attaining several “firsts” during the weekend and realizing …

I needed to hunt birds.  It’s one of those urges that you cannot explain and best not to ignore.  Not hearing any protests from the spaniels we loaded up and headed out.  We didn’t really have a plan and were even less sure of what to expect.  However, our goal was to hunt ahead of the rain Thursday morning prior to hitting the office.  I will admit to hitting the snooze button a time or two which meant it was …