In ND we recently had a blizzard. We have had about 20” of snow in the last week!!!!!!!!!!!! I am a little concerned about the pheasants. But we put out millet bails for them to eat. Has anyone else had alot of snow recently? Are you feeding the pheasants?

Tracking wildlife through the places they live is a great way to learn more about what types of food they like, what types of cover they use for shelter and how big of an area they live in.   Now that it’s winter, tracking becomes much easier in the fresh snow and is something you can do with your friends and family.  After a fresh snow get a group together and get outside and look for tracks.  Make a list of the types of animals each finds and see who can identify the highest number of different species; or have everyone follow the tracks of the same species and find out what they ate that day and where they went for shelter.  Remember it’s always a good idea to back track animals so you don’t disturb them during winter and cause more stress than mother nature is already putting on them.  What species of animal tracks can you identify?

What story does this photo tell? Can you identify the tracks in the snow?

by Dave Books

A friend and I were hunting pheasants along a marshy lakeshore when my black Lab, Jenny, perked up her ears. We got ready for a rooster to flush as she charged ahead into the mud and shallow water. Suddenly, a small brown bird with a long bill burst out of the reeds, flying low and making a noise like a rusty gate. We watched as the little bird flew rapidly across the marsh, twisting from side to side, uttering Scape! Scape!

The author with Mearns quail.

“Jacksnipe,” I said to my friend Joe. “Why didn’t you shoot? The season’s open.”

“Same reason you didn’t,” he laughed. “I was expecting a rooster pheasant, not a Wilson’s snipe.”

“Wilson’s snipe? I thought they were called jacksnipe,” I said.

Joe is a botanist and an avid bird-watcher. When it comes to plants and birds, he knows his stuff. “The snipe is named for Alexander Wilson,” he said. “Wilson was a naturalist and artist who came to America from Scotland in the late 1700s. He traveled around collecting and painting birds, and eventually wrote a book about them.”

At that point Jenny began to whine and give us her “What are we waiting for?” look.

“Okay, Jenny,” I said. “Find us another bird.”

“Where there’s one snipe, there should be more,” Joe said. “They’re migrating south this time of year.” more…

That a regular old house cat can frighten a Black Bear, so that the bear will climb up a tree!

That chicken’s can not swallow while they are hanging up side down!

That a goldfish has a memory span of about 3 seconds, this means you could feed it and in 3 seconds it would forget that there was food in the bowl!

That Montana Mountain Goats can but heads so hard that their hooves fall off!

That rabbits really like licorice, i tried it out they love it!

rich is a mushroom… you know cuz he’s a fun-gi!