Flora & Fauna

In my college days I tagged along with a couple of good friends, Scot & Deven, as they worked their trap lines and worked nuisance animal control jobs.  Not only was this a chance to be outdoors with my buddies, it gave me an appreciation for the time and effort they put into the process.  They truly loved the challenge of out-thinking the critters they were after.  It definitely was not the money that kept them interested.  At the time …

Don’t miss my weekly TV outdoor report this Thursday night when we cover bald eagle viewing in Nebraska and not far from the metro area! Who doesn’t enjoy seeing bald eagles in the wild at places like De Soto Refuge, huh? I certainly do! Learn more about winter bald eagle viewing by tuning in to my outdoor segment which airs on Omaha’s WOWT-TV/Channel 6 LIVE Thursday evening during the 6 p.m. CST sportscast with Ross Jernstrom. Unable to view the live broadcast of the report? Take note that video replays …

Don’t miss my Weekly Outdoor Report tonight on Omaha’s WOWT-TV/Channel 6 when we take you to a state recreation area near the Omaha-metro to show you where you can go to view and photograph wild Canada geese (and perhaps a few wild ducks). You’ll be able to view them up-close from sunrise to about 9:30 a.m. and then from just after 3 p.m. to sunset in the open water and on the ice at a couple of the sandpit lakes on …

Resolutions are popular this time of year, both in their making and breaking. I have a few annual resolutions myself: get organized and spend more time outdoors.  Ok…being as creative as I am about the placement and random storage of needed items, getting organized by the standard definition is a pipe dream.  But I do plan on increasing my time outside. And making it better, too, by measuring it differently this year.  I challenge you to do the same… How …

I swear that game birds and animals know when hunting seasons close. Sometimes I think they can actually read our Game and Parks hunting publications, don’t you? I’m kidding, just kidding. Such was the case though yesterday when a lone, wayward snow goose lit near our Canada goose hunting spread  in Dodge County, NE. The goose hung out with us all day, eventually ending up in our decoys. It was wildlife watching at its finest as the Nebraska light goose …

Nebraska Conservation Officer Rich Berggren of Waterloo takes your outdoor law and regulation questions on my Great Outdoor Radio Show this Saturday (tomorrow) morning, Jan. 3rd, from 9-10 a.m. CST on Omaha’s KOZN Radio/1620 AM “The Zone.” Rich and I will be covering the gamut of Nebraska’s outdoor scene offering pertinent information on hunting, fishing, state parks, wildlife and much, much more. We’ll also offer regulation reminders for 2015. Here are a couple photos of Rich in the field. You’ll find this program to be …

First, I wanted to take this time to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas! Second, like last year, I wanted to share photos of my brother-in-law Dean Dennhardt’s unique decorative, holiday wildlife tree. This year though he has outdone himself. He has added even more antlers, more feathers and more creatively done ornaments to it! Of course, all deer antlers, rooster pheasant and wild turkey feathers provided by yours truly here. I wish you the “Merriest of Christmases!”

It’s the holiday season and I’m thankful for the beauty of nature in Nebraska. I am thankful for the sky. I am thankful for the breathtaking views of the landscape. I am thankful for the diversity of habitat. Grasslands. Wetlands. Woodlands. Water. And, yes, even cropland. I am thankful for all free-ranging, living creatures. Large. Medium. And, small. I am thankful for being allowed to harvest nature’s bounty. I am thankful for being given the role to become an active participant in the cycle of nature, the …

With snow in the forecast last night, and looking to escape the indoor office thing, I snuck in a quick bird hunt this morning.  This was the first halfway decent snow in my hunting area since I was sidetracked by the November rifle deer season.  And as most bird hunters know a new snow on a landscape where there wasn’t any before is a wonderful thing (First Snow). With a chill in the air and snow underfoot, Carrot, my diminutive …

Ok…we have officially entered that final week of frenzied gift buying.  But fret not as we are prepared to help you out.  Last week on our radio show – Nebraska Outdoors – we talked good gifts for $50 or less that will help get the gift-getter outdoors. So here we go with a few of them… Nebraska Permits & NEland Subscription.  Just as caller Clyde from Lincoln mentioned on the show, these are no-brainers that keep giving for months.  You …