My 2009 bird trip.... long and no ducks... Part 1.
- Thread starter tod osier
- Start date
Greg P
Active member
Looks like a great trip. You definately put some miles on your truck.
The word I heard recently from a state and a NPO biologist is they expect a listing sometime this summer. Looks like I waited too late to add one to my list. A fews years back I was trying to get a LPC from Texas. Our state started issuing land owner tags for them in the mid 2000's. Couldn't find one to save my life. There have been no tags issued for the last 2 or 3 years. With all the fracturing of the habitat in our panhandle along with the oil/gas production, they probably will never be back in huntable numbers. Really bites for those birds.
The word I heard recently from a state and a NPO biologist is they expect a listing sometime this summer. Looks like I waited too late to add one to my list. A fews years back I was trying to get a LPC from Texas. Our state started issuing land owner tags for them in the mid 2000's. Couldn't find one to save my life. There have been no tags issued for the last 2 or 3 years. With all the fracturing of the habitat in our panhandle along with the oil/gas production, they probably will never be back in huntable numbers. Really bites for those birds.
Dave Church
Well-known member
Great thread Tod. Sounds like one heck of a road trip. I loved the photos and realized how many neat things I have seen as I have traveled this country, but failed to take photos. The simple, silly photos of the 18mph sign and the Inedible Fat truck are priceless. Thanks for the photos and the "play by play" explaining everything. That's wonderful that the family enjoys the outdoors. Camping to my wife is a Holiday Inn. I took her duck hunting one time and gave her the nickname "hunting time Barbie" because of how long it took her to do her hair, makeup and get ready. That was also the LAST time I took her. lol dc
Jay Anglin
Well-known member
Tod, I can relate a bit to your frustration with the chickens. I spent a couple weeks in Kansas grinding back in '96 with a college buddy who I think registered here but never comes back. He was a game bird biologist in Missouri for a while but he manages a hunt club now. Anyway, we were after chickens for a couple of days in the Northwest and this one flock would flush and land a mile away on hilltop and we'd crawl through coulies and hide behind tumble weeks and use the sun to our advantage and those SOB's would flush wild at a quarter mile...same drill over and over all day. I saw a few fly over when we were pheasant hunting but never had a shot and plus I didn't want to pass shoot anyway. The following week we were in the North Central up by the Nebraska border and a local farmer that was in the 24th Mech with Scot had 10K acres in the family...which was n-i-c-e. Lots of pheasant and quail and we had a grand old time but I couldn't help regretting not having a good crack at a chicken. As we headed east for St Louis on a windy day, our adventure coming to an end, just outside town a flock of 10 Prairie Chicken swooped across the bumper of the Toyota and we damn nears took out about half of them. I'll always remember that...the ultimate middle finger adios.
Dave, you are right....I think about that all the time. I just with I'd have taken the time to stop and enjoy those things more.
Dave, you are right....I think about that all the time. I just with I'd have taken the time to stop and enjoy those things more.
Jeff Frechette
Active member
That has to be one of the best postings I have ever read, thanks for spending the time to share your trip with us.
Bob B
Well-known member
Todd,
awesome pictures and trip. Pete sure is one heck of a dog. He looks like he could use a corona on that beach after all that work.
You have one heck of a navigator too.
Thanks for taking the time to put up all the photos. That part of the country is overlooked for its amazing beauty.
awesome pictures and trip. Pete sure is one heck of a dog. He looks like he could use a corona on that beach after all that work.
You have one heck of a navigator too.
Thanks for taking the time to put up all the photos. That part of the country is overlooked for its amazing beauty.
I always come back to, that you have to live your life and not let it live you. There is so much good stuff out there and this world is so big and life is so short.
On the Sage Grouse, I haven't seen them display on the lek, I really need to do that one day. Good luck on the turkies, post up some pics of your success! I do love the turkies.
T
Matt, the cactus helps you remember doesn't it? We had one last year when Gus was 18 months - horrible day, we were WAY off the hard road and the conditions were horrible, we couldn't find a place to get camped, everyone was stressed and we were trying to jam the camper into a little notch in a hillside when Gus melted down and we got out of the truck. First thing he did was fall onto a big patch of prickly pear. He doesn't remember it, but I sure do. Ahhhh, the good stuff.
Thanks Bill, for your help in trip planning.
I still need to get my Scalies and Mearn's, so I expect I'll be back. I REALLY want to go Bobwhites-Scalies-Gambel's-Mearn's-Valley-Mountain in one trip - that would be sweet. You could start in OK or TX through NM and AZ and end up in CA - I will do that in my lifetime. In the end have a dinner with one breast from each.
T
Didja catch the ladder stand on the windmill in that last sunset shot? I thought for sure you, if anyone, would pick that out. I don't know how common that is in your parts, but it cracked me up. I saw a slob of a whitetail a mile from there one evening. Huge rack, wide tall, lots of sticky funny things. Made me wonder why I was after a silly little bird.
I have a clam trip planned in a couple weeks, so I'll get a package out to ya in a bit.
T
Mark,
I drove through MO on 70 on the heels of that big storm and super cold snap, date was Dec 11 or so. It was locked up hard other than the rivers, I was thinking that anyone that had open water was killing ducks. I almost called to stop by and say hi, but I was afraid you would say that you had open water and birds.
T
Jay,
I figgured this was the last one of these we can do, I need to figgure out how to transport Gus now - as you can see he is getting some size on him it is hard to backpack him (especially since carrying him hurts my back and Jen has to do all the carrying
. The quail worked out well since Jen could walk up the washes - which were easy walking and I could swing wide coming back to walk with them from time to time. Gus could play in the dirt or poke stuff, have a snack, etc... Jen is just happy to get out there and soak it up, which I'm glad for. I find that she is worth all the high maintainance. T
Greg,
If you look at google earth image of the traditional range of the LPC, it is a no duh moment why they are in deep doo doo. The entire area is intensive argiculture. For anyone who doesn't know, these birds need native grass in blocks of a couple thousand acres at least. They will feed in crops, but they need grass for loafing cover. On top of that they don't tolerate things like wind farms or oil/gas extraction sites well. They are a bird of undisturbed mid- to short-grass prairie and that doesn't exist anymore.
To have hunted them is enough for me if they are closed, but I sure would have liked to bag one. I'm not sure, I would run right back out to try again anytime soon if they don't close.
T
After going something like 13 for 10 species last year and Pete doing so well on Sage Grouse, Sharp-tails, and Greater Prairie-Chickens. I had high hopes, but that is how it goes. I have no doubt that were we there earlier in the season and put in half the effort we could have gotten one. This year "everyone" was out to try to get a little chicken for the wall before they closed for good. I may have to go back to SD next to put a hurting on their bigger cousins just out of spite.
Anything that gets you out to walk on the prairie is a good thing in my book though.
T
John L
Well-known member
Great thread Tod
I could not agree with you more about taking advantage of all that is out there.
We have a saying in our house "You only get 1 ticket for this ride, make it a good one"
Since my kids were very young I have instilled in them not to pass up a chance to do anything in life. Telling them, you don't want to be sitting back one day saying "I wish I had tried that"
My kids are now teenagers and I hear them telling their friends about only getting one ticket, lets make it a good ride. It make me feel good that they are pressing there friends to give it their all.
They have a love for life and are not afraid to do or try anything. Just like the traditions past down from hunters of yesterday to hunter of today, our kids are our future and have to learn that there is a whole world out there for them to explore. Just get out there and do it.
I could not agree with you more about taking advantage of all that is out there.
We have a saying in our house "You only get 1 ticket for this ride, make it a good one"
Since my kids were very young I have instilled in them not to pass up a chance to do anything in life. Telling them, you don't want to be sitting back one day saying "I wish I had tried that"
My kids are now teenagers and I hear them telling their friends about only getting one ticket, lets make it a good ride. It make me feel good that they are pressing there friends to give it their all.
They have a love for life and are not afraid to do or try anything. Just like the traditions past down from hunters of yesterday to hunter of today, our kids are our future and have to learn that there is a whole world out there for them to explore. Just get out there and do it.
Matt_n_Barb
Well-known member
Tod,
Yes it helps the old mans memory cells...HAHA!!
As far as taking Gus along as he gets bigger, and you not being able to carry him and all the logistics.......I just kept taking my kids along...Sure them might not be able to walk as far as you and are a bit of a trouble or high maintenance, I wouldn't have it any other way... The kids remember some wild place and good times...In the 80'90's I outfitted deer and elk hunts in southern and central Utah and the oldest used to come along and do camp chores during the August archery hunt...she was 8-15 at the time...
You talking about Gus sitting on a prickly pear after a hard afternoon......reminds me of a trip we took in about 1992 to the west desert country, on the Nevada border. We were scouting antelope for my oldest daughter (she had drawn a tag on the first try at 14) in some remote country. Not many bladed roads in the area just old two tracks that were not maintained. Most of the two trackers were shown on the 1/24000 quads so it was easy to figure out where you were. The problems started when were went through a narrow canyon and started down the other side and the road basically turned into a wash with no place to back out of it or turn around. It was as if we had entered another world and stepped back in time as we found s few old discarded items such as a wash basin, and old harness sticking out of the sides of the wash as we crept along. The items were left overs from the 1880-1990 time period. It took about 2 hours to finally get out of the wash creeping along in 4 low. The kids thought we were completely lost and never going to get back to the "real world"... We found a place to camp just before dark. The stars twinkled into view and the cool night pushed the heat of the day away as we made camp. The talk around the camp fire that night was about "if" we were going to get out of the "wilderness" the next day. It took about 12 more hours of creeping along to get out of that country the next day and back to a bladed road.. The kids still talk about that trip 20 years later...
Yes it helps the old mans memory cells...HAHA!!
As far as taking Gus along as he gets bigger, and you not being able to carry him and all the logistics.......I just kept taking my kids along...Sure them might not be able to walk as far as you and are a bit of a trouble or high maintenance, I wouldn't have it any other way... The kids remember some wild place and good times...In the 80'90's I outfitted deer and elk hunts in southern and central Utah and the oldest used to come along and do camp chores during the August archery hunt...she was 8-15 at the time...
You talking about Gus sitting on a prickly pear after a hard afternoon......reminds me of a trip we took in about 1992 to the west desert country, on the Nevada border. We were scouting antelope for my oldest daughter (she had drawn a tag on the first try at 14) in some remote country. Not many bladed roads in the area just old two tracks that were not maintained. Most of the two trackers were shown on the 1/24000 quads so it was easy to figure out where you were. The problems started when were went through a narrow canyon and started down the other side and the road basically turned into a wash with no place to back out of it or turn around. It was as if we had entered another world and stepped back in time as we found s few old discarded items such as a wash basin, and old harness sticking out of the sides of the wash as we crept along. The items were left overs from the 1880-1990 time period. It took about 2 hours to finally get out of the wash creeping along in 4 low. The kids thought we were completely lost and never going to get back to the "real world"... We found a place to camp just before dark. The stars twinkled into view and the cool night pushed the heat of the day away as we made camp. The talk around the camp fire that night was about "if" we were going to get out of the "wilderness" the next day. It took about 12 more hours of creeping along to get out of that country the next day and back to a bladed road.. The kids still talk about that trip 20 years later...
John, thanks. I've always tried to live my life, but we had a little bump in the road a couple years back that really taught/reminded me that you have to live and live it NOW!
I didn't live much of my last day of Goose Season yesterday though. I sat home and dicked around on the internet, posting this story and afraid of the storm that never really showed. It was Jen's birthday though and work was closed so we had a slow day around the house and I made a nice dinner for her.
T