Everyone knows quail populations are falling across the U.S.
Texas is trying to reverse this trend. In this video you can learn a bit about what they’re doing to help these little gamebirds.
Check it out. There’s lot of great footage of all types of quail plus prairie chickens and other game.
If we want upland hunting to survive, we need to bring more people into the sport. Without them, our numbers will dwindle, along with the public support and political clout it takes to encourage hunting and the proper habitat management it requires.
So if you know anyone who would like to get out in the field this fall, this free workshop on Sat, August, 17th, sounds like a great introduction to our sport. I’m going to try and be there. I encourage you to join me.
Free Workshop on Woodcock and Ruffed Grouse Hunting…
HOLDERNESS, N.H. — Get set for the fall grouse and woodcock season at a free workshop on Ruffed Grouse and Woodcock Hunting on Saturday, August 17, 2013, from 9 a.m. to noon at the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s Owl Brook Hunter Education Center in Holderness. Pre-registration is required. To sign up, call 603-536-3954.
The workshop covers the basic skills needed for the pursuit of these challenging birds. Participants also will learn about grouse behavior, hunting safety issues, hunting with or without dogs, gaining permission to hunt/landowner relations, clothing choices, shotgun and ammunition options, creature comforts for an enjoyable hunt and recipes for grouse.
The session will be led by grouse hunting enthusiasts/Hunter Education instructors Sean Williamson and Dan Keleher. In addition, Andrew Weik, the Northeast biologist for the Ruffed Grouse Society, will give a presentation on ruffed grouse and woodcock and their habitat needs.
If you love pheasant hunting, please watch this video. Upland game habitat is being destroyed at accelerating rate across the midwest. Since 2006, 1.3 million+ acres of once conserved land have gone under the plow. The result is far fewer bird. Pheasant numbers in states like Iowa are already collapsing. If the trend continues, the Dakotas will be next. But you don’t have to sit by and let this happen. Watch this video to learn more.
If you’ve spent any time checking out this blog, you know how much I love woodcock. Fortunately, a lot of folks feel this way about these little birds. Some of those folks have come together to reform Woodcock Limited, an organization of “Hunters and other conservationists dedicated to the welfare of the American woodcock.” I encourage you to find out more about Woodcock Limited. From their website: “We work with local, state and national organizations and agencies to promote woodcock habitat creation, restoration and maintenance; woodcock and habitat research; and woodcock harvest management across the range of the American woodcock.”
If you can, please donate your time and money to their efforts. The future of our sport depends on conservation. Woodcock numbers are falling throughout North America. I want to make sure that I do all I can to make sure that trend swings in the other direction.
Here’s a quick little video that shows Ann Jandernoa of Northwind Enterprises explaining some things to look for when you’re trying to find grouse.
Ann is a grouse wizard. Puck and I hunted with her in the fall of ’04 and she really knows her stuff. If you want to learn more about grouse, grouse hunting, a great dogs, I suggest getting touch with her.
