STOP AND SEE US AT THE BIG SHOW

If you’re heading to the big Omaha Boat, Sports and Travel Show (www.omahaboatsportsandtravelshow.com), be sure to stop and see us at the Game and Parks booth. Let us help you plan your 2012 Nebraska outdoor vacation or assist you in purchasing your new 2012 permits and stamps for outdoor activities as well as making state park lodging and camping reservations. Also, you can enter the young folks in your family who are 15 or under and are Nebraska residents in a drawing to try to win a half-price lifetime hunting or fishing permits. See you at the show!

OMAHA SPORTS SHOW FEATURED ON BROADCASTS

I’m in sports show mode with my outdoors-related broadcasts this week. First, I will preview what’s available at Nebraska’s largest sports show – the Omaha Boat, Sports and Travel Show – for you on my Weekly Outdoor Report airing live on Omaha’s WOWT-TV/Channel 6, Thursday night at 6 p.m. during sports. (Catch replays of my report at www.wowt.com/sports)

Then, on Saturday morning I will broadcast live for three solid hours from 9 to Noon at the show and visit with many exhibitors on my Great Outdoor Radio program which airs on Omaha station KOZN/1620 AM (www.1620thezone.com)

Tune in to either broadcast and find out more about this year’s show! Oh, and I will be toting some of my crazy hats to wear at the event, HA! 

SEE EAGLES AT DESOTO

DATE: February 16, 2012
Contact: Kenneth Block or Cindy Meyer
Phone: 712/388-4800 

Where Eagles Soar! Excellent Eagle Viewing at DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge

MISSOURI VALLEY, IA/BLAIR, NE – At last count more than fifty bald eagles were spotted at DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge. Eagles are most easily spotted along the tour road near the Missouri River. Look for them perched and searching the water below for food. For more information on where to spot the eagles or to get a refuge map, please stop at the visitor center. Be reminded that there are entrance requirements for DeSoto. A daily refuge vehicle pass can be used and is available for $3.00 via drop boxes or at the refuge’s visitor center. The refuge is open during daylight hours. Here’s DeSoto’s website for further details: www.fws.gov/midwest/desoto/  Enjoy your eagle viewing!

THIS RED-TAILED HAWK GETS SOME FACE TIME

An alert viewer of WOWT-TV/Channel 6 in Omaha, NE shared this pic of a Red-tailed Hawk caught looking into a Nebraska Department of Roads camera at Interstate 80 and Giles Road in Sarpy County just yesterday. Joel Jorgensen, our Nongame Bird Program Manager at Game and Parks, confirmed the hawk’s identity.

Some interesting tidbits of information about the Red-tailed Hawk. It is one of the more widespread hawks in Nebraska and North America. This hawk has become more and more common in urban areas. It normally eats small rodents and mammals. The construction of highways and interstate systems with utility poles and signposts alongside treeless medians provides perfect habitat for the Red-tailed Hawk to perch-hunt. You’ll most likely see this hawk soaring in wide circles high over open fields and grassy areas. In high winds, the hawk may face into the wind and hover without flapping its wings with eyes fixed on the ground. The Red-tailed Hawk attacks its prey with a slow, controlled dive with legs outstretched - much different from a falcon’s stoop.  Red-tailed Hawks here in the Cornhusker State are at the cusp of nesting and the females will soon be laying eggs. 

Get more information about the Red-tailed Hawk in Nebraska by clicking this link: http://nebraskabirdlibrary.org/index.php/falconiformes/accipitridae/red-tailed-hawk.html

Keep an eye out for this beautiful hawk and many other ‘cool’ raptors that live in the Nebraska landscape!

WORKING ON THE SHEDS

As we approach President’s Day and the snow cover melts more here in southeastern part of Nebraska, thoughts of mine have drifted toward getting some fresh air, a little exercise and working on the sheds – hunting for shed deer antlers in our whitetail woods that is!

There are a bunch of reasons to hunt for shed deer antlers. Among them, the sheds offer a snap shot of the bucks that have more than likely survived the hunting seasons in that area.

Some of the best places to where I like to look for shed antlers:

*Main deer trails in woods leading from feeding to bedding areas, especially where there are lower-hanging branches.

*Deer bedding areas. They should not be overlooked. I prefer deer bedding areas along south-facing slopes with conifer trees.

*Fence crossings for deer are also great spots to look for antlers as are creek crossings.

Remember to firm up permission with your landowner friends before hunting sheds, go with a partner, walk slowly so as not to miss them and take a plastic bucket along to carry the antlers (for safety in case you fall to prevent being impaled).

Happy hunting and be sure to take the kids you know, too! The great news for my 14-year old son Noah (a deer hunter) is that he can sleep late because this is a daytime activity in the woods. He’ll be thrilled, when he gets up, until he sees this photo, HA!