On The Wing Podcast

On January 20th, we posted a blog titled, “Like Pheasants? Thank a Coyote,” on the Pheasants Forever Facebook page. That article generated a whopping 430 shares and 369 comments ranging from unhinged vitriol to unapologetic praise. The response on Instagram was similarly passionate. In this episode, host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Dr. Tim Lyons and Dr. Nicole Davros, both biologists with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and Aaron Kuehl, PF & QF’s habitat programs national director who also received his master’s degree in animal ecology from Iowa State University where he studied predator movement and activity. The group discuss the science behind the blog’s premise and answer the more popular questions on the social feeds generated by the post.

Episode Highlights:

• In what may be a surprising reaction, Kuehl thanks the social media commentors for their passion about pheasants and for their pushback on the science.

• The biologists discuss the role coyotes play as predators of adult pheasants and pheasant nests. They also explain the complex relationship between coyotes, fox, and pheasants.

• Lyons explains “compensatory reproduction,” and how coyotes will actually produce more litters when their populations are suppressed.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by MeatEater’s Ryan “Cal” Callaghan, Sharing the Land’s Doug Duren, and PF & QF biologist Matt Morlock on the final day at National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic. The group recaps their upland bird hunting seasons, recent wildlife habitat trends, and takeaways from this year’s record-breaking event.

Episode Highlights:

• Callaghan relives a serendipitous pronghorn and pheasant hunt in Montana last season.

• Duren talks about his excitement around a new project on his forested property to improve the land as ruffed grouse habitat.

• Callaghan explains his affinity for the young PF & QF biologist team working with landowners to improve the landscape for wildlife.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by European bird hunter Miguel Canaverde and Project Upland filmmaker Kevin Erdvig for a conversation about the new film “Lapland Grouse” debuting at Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s Film Fest later this week in Minneapolis. The new film is about Portuguese native Canaverde’s relocation to Sweden where he’s fallen in love with the country’s upland bird hunting opportunities, especially for capercaillies, a Eurasian forest grouse species.

Episode Highlights:

• The film “Lapland Grouse” will be a part of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s second-ever Film Fest kicking off National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic 2023 in Minneapolis on Thursday, February 16th.

• Canaverde and his Bracco Italiano bird dog will be featured in the upcoming spring issue of Project Upland’s magazine.

• And, special thanks to the musical group Trampled by Turtles for allowing Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever to use their song “On the Highway” as our new podcast intro music.

Learn more about National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic at www.PheasantFest.org

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by representatives from Ruffed Grouse & American Woodcock Society, North American Grouse Partnership, Minnesota Sharp-tailed Grouse Society, Minnesota Prairie Chicken Society, and Wisconsin Sharp-tailed Grouse Society to preview the brand new GROUSE TRAIL addition to National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic taking place in Minneapolis on February 17-19, 2023.

Episode Highlights:

• Sam Tillman of the Ruffed Grouse & American Woodcock Society and Jodie Provost of the North American Grouse Partnership both preview their respective talks on the Public Lands Stage. Provost also describes the new show floor attraction of a grouse viewing blind with video of each grouse’s spring dancing ritual.

• All five grouse groups provide overviews of their organization’s conservation efforts and talk about the special membership offers and incentives they’ll be rolling out at the event.

• Provost announces a Grouse Trail Happy Hour occurring at 4pm on Saturday, February 18th that’s being sponsored thanks to onX and will also generate donations for PF & QF’s Build a Wildlife Area program for public land creation.

Learn more about National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic at www.PheasantFest.org

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by PF & QF’s Habitat Education Program Manager Anna Swerczek and The Flush TV’s Travis Frank for a conversation previewing the family-friendly attractions at this year’s National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic coming up in Minneapolis on February 17-19th.

Episode Highlights:

• With winter tightening its grip across much of the country, St.Pierre starts the conversation with a recap of his recent trip to sun-splashed Arizona where he was hunting scaled, Gambel’s, and Mearns’ quail.

• Swerczek provides an overview of the Youth Village and Pollinator Pathway sections of the event, while Travis Frank previews his talk on the Path to the Uplands Stage.

• St.Pierre also leaves an Easter egg in the conversation about retiring President & CEO Howard’s Vincent’s plan to unveil a pheasant and quail tattoo during this year’s event after losing a wager with the PF & QF employee team.

Learn more about National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic at www.PheasantFest.org

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by PF & QF’s Public Relations Manager Jared Wiklund for a fun and wide-ranging conversation with Keng Yang. The guys start by recapping the trio’s snowy pheasant hunt to close out the Minnesota season, then talk about Yang’s journey from anti-hunter to hardcore, every-single-free-day pheasant hunter.

Episode Highlights:

• St.Pierre explains how the group navigated snow drifts up to their nipples to find pheasant hunting success in the Minnesota cattails on the closing days of the state’s pheasant hunting season.

• Yang talks about how the addition of a German wirehaired pointer changed his perspective from anti-hunter to a person who loves hunting, and is adamant about giving back to wildlife habitat conservation as a volunteer for Pheasants Forever and a variety of other conservation groups.

Keng Yang will be speaking on the Public Lands Stage at National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic 2023 in Minneapolis on February 17-19.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by three Pheasants Forever biologists to discuss the impact this year’s severe winter weather has been having on pheasant populations across the country’s northern tier of states. Those three biologists include Private Lands Conservation Program Manager Rachel Bush from Bismarck, North Dakota; Minnesota State Coordinator Tanner Bruse from Marshall, Minnesota, and South Dakota and North Dakota State Coordinator Matt Morlock from Huron, South Dakota.

Episode Highlights:

• Bush explains the philosophy of “putting the kitchen next to the bedroom” when designing quality pheasant habitat to best survive severe winters.

• Bruse breaks down the good and bad of seeing pheasants in open agricultural fields during the winter. Are they stressed and vulnerable or taking advantage of accessible food? Or both?

• Morlock delivers a few zingers as he talks about cattails (nature’s hot dogs), hot lunch (corn kernels in steaming cow pies), and the OG’s of surviving winter (sharp-tail grouse).

As we near National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic and the celebration of our 40th anniversary, we’re turning the spotlight on Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever chapter volunteers, the true lifeblood of our organization’s habitat mission. In this episode, host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Will Clayton, the organization’s senior regional representative to introduce “The Year of the Volunteer” concept. To bring life to the celebration of volunteers, we’ve got four dynamic chapter officers lined up to talk about their motivations for volunteering. Those chapter volunteers include Austin Roby in Ohio, Cayla Bendel from North Dakota, Clay Denny out of Missouri, and Mike Coyle of Kentucky.

Episode Highlights:

• Each individual volunteer talks about their motivations for getting involved with a local Pheasants Forever or Quail Forever chapter and how those expectations resulted in friendships, on-the-ground habitat results, fun times, and cherished memories.

• Coyle highlights the importance of the organization’s unique, locally empowering model in which chapters retain 100% local control of the funds they generate through their efforts.

• St.Pierre closes it out with an interesting anecdote about being contacted for use of the PF or QF logos in tattoos and casket engravings as evidence of how important the organization becomes to people’s identities.

Check out more Year of the Volunteer Content

- https://pheasantsforever.org/forever-one

- https://pheasantsforever.org/forever-two

At this year’s National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic coming up in Minneapolis this February, we’re presenting a special hands-on course called BIRD DOG TRAUMA TRAINING. It’s the brainchild of our very own David Gutierrez, PF & QF’s senior regional representative for the southwestern U.S. and a former Green Beret turned habitat conservation warrior. Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Gutierrez for this episode, along with one of the Bird Dog Trauma Training session’s experts, Tom Sager, who is also a fellow serviceman with the unique role of training U.S. military special operations teams to take care of their canine partners.

Bird Dog Trauma Training Seminar

Where: At National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic 2023

inside the Minneapolis Convention Center

When: Thursday, February 16th, Friday, February 17th, and Saturday, February 18th

8am to 3pm daily

Who: Sessions are limited to 20 participants each day

What: Each session includes training with Tom Sager, Dr. Seth Bynum,

and Jerry Snetsinger, aka “The Trap Doctor.”

Registration is $500 per participant and includes a PF or QF Dog Life Membership and a custom field trauma kit

Learn more at www.PheasantsForever.org/K9Trauma or contact David Gutierrez for more details at [email protected]

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Gun Dog Supply’s Steve Snell to talk bird hunting, dogs, and bird dog gear. Steve is a passionate bird dog man and likely among the country’s top traveling wingshooters racking up truck miles in search of covey flushes from his home in Mississippi to his quail hunting properties in Texas to public lands destinations in Montana and beyond.

Episode Highlights:

• The guys reminisce about a quail hunting trip together on which Bob bagged his first-ever blue quail after making the 17-hour drive from Minnesota to West Texas to hunt over his own bird dogs. Snell also explains his love for hunting “cheating” blue quail (also known as scaled quail and cottontops) over big running English pointers.

• Snell explains the Gun Dog Supply origin story and shares the business’ top-selling bird dog gear items, while also offering some sage advice for what to list on a bird dog’s ID collar.

• Just back from a quail hunting trip to Texas, Snell provides a recap of his hunt and an overview for the rest of the Texas quail season.