On The Wing Podcast

Host Bob St.Pierre’s two-year-old German shorthaired pointer, Gitche, needs a little finishing work this off-season. Consequently, Bob is dropping her off at Dokken’s Oak Ridge Kennels for “summer camp” with professional dog trainer Mike Wieben. The guys take Gitche out for a couple of runs on birds, then talk through Gitche’s performance and the training plan ahead.

Episode Highlights:

• Bob talks about his feelings of trepidation and intimidation that come naturally with dropping a beloved pup off with a professional trainer.

• Bob details three specific areas he’d like help improving Gitche’s performance; 1) strengthening her retrieve, 2) steadying her point, and 3) teaching her “place,” so she can go for a cast & blast canoe trip into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness this September.

Special thanks to SportDOG® Brand for sponsoring this episode of On the Wing podcast and for being a partner in PF & QF’s annual Bird Dogs for Habitat campaign. This campaign is a friendly competition that challenges you to cast a vote and donate or become a member on behalf of your favorite bird dog breed.

Every dollar donated equals a vote, and every week during the month of May our generous sponsors will be giving away fantastic prizes to those who participate. Vote today at www.BirdDogsforHabitat.org – THANKS!

Host Bob St.Pierre chats bird dogs with Kali Parmley, the editor of Gun Dog Magazine and owner of both a Labrador retriever and an English setter. Kali talks about the decision to start with a Lab, then her move to a pointing breed for her second bird dog.

Episode Highlights:

• Kali and Bob stumble upon the fact they both used llamas last season to get deeper into the backcountry to hunt birds.

• Kali also shares a terrific story of her young setter’s unexpectedly magnificent chukar retrieve down the side of a mountain last season.

This bird dog-oriented episode helps us kick off PF & QF’s annual Bird Dogs for Habitat campaign. Do you have a favorite breed of bird dog and love high quality habitat? Join us by becoming a member or making a donation at www.BirdDogsforHabitat.org – THANKS!

Host Bob St.Pierre talks with Dr. Susan Felege, an associate professor at the University of North Dakota, the newest member of PF & QF’s National Board of Directors, and a hardcore waterfowl & upland bird hunter. Dr. Felege shares her story growing up as an avid bird hunter in Pennsylvania and knowing at an early age that she was going to grow up to be a wildlife biologist.

Episode Highlights:

• Dr. Felege also talks about her PhD research while at the University of Georgia in which she spent five years studying bobwhite quail, predator, and habitat relationships at Tall Timbers Research Station.

• The conversation then moves to North Dakota where Dr. Felege and her students are working in partnership with North Dakota Game and Fish Department to study the state’s greater prairie chickens and sharp-tailed grouse. It seems each prairie grouse species is responding differently to changing grassland habitat in the eastern portion of the state and the two species are even crossbreeding to create odd sharpie/chicken hybrids.

• Bob also asks Dr. Felege for insight into the emerging concerns around avian influenza.

• The conversation wraps with Dr. Felege’s perspective of her new role on PF & QF’s National Board and the unique talents she brings to the group.

Last summer, Pheasants Forever Precision Ag & Conservation Specialist Emily Spolyar joined Host Bob St.Pierre for a terrific On the Wing podcast conversation with Jennifer Riley about being a new bird hunter in Alaska. That episode served as the catalyst for Emily’s own bird hunting trip to Alaska this past March. In this episode, Emily recaps her experience that included Anchorage couple Jessie Janowski and Peter Wadsworth. Throughout the conversation, Jessie and Peter offer tips to the traveling bird hunter looking to create their own Alaskan adventure during a bird hunting season that starts in August and doesn’t end until March.

Episode Highlights:

• The conversation begins with Emily’s impressions of hunting for ptarmigan and grouse off skis and snowshoes for the first time.

• Natives of Vermont and New York, Jessie and Peter talk about their decision to move to Alaska and how they became adult on-set hunters to procure their own meat rather than buying chickens shipped 2,000 miles to The Last Frontier.

• Peter explains the couple’s backcountry skiing gear and how they prepare for bird hunts in rugged and dangerous terrain that includes avalanches, wolves, and grizzly bears.

• The couple also extoll the virtues of being involved with the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association and how NAVHDA has helped accelerate their dog training and bird hunting learning curve.

Photo by Peter Wadsworth on Instagram @phwadsworth

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Dr. Adam Janke, an assistant professor and extension wildlife specialist at Iowa State University, to talk about pheasant and quail research helping determine “where birds live on farms.” PF & QF’s Director of Government Affairs Jim Inglis is also part of the conversation to explain how he uses Adam’s scientific research in Washington, D.C. to create and improve agricultural policy for wildlife and natural resources.

Episode Highlights:

• The guys start the conversation with Dr. Janke drawing an analogy from the “Moneyball” concept used in baseball to habitat quality and wildlife population health evaluation.

• Dr. Janke recounts his undergraduate project while studying at Ohio State University in which he lived with bobwhite quail over the course of two winters to learn about the bird’s response to winter weather and habitat.

• The group also talk about cover crops, using drones to capture & radio collar birds, and roadside surveying upland birds.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by MeatEater’s Ryan “Cal” Callaghan for an entertaining conversation that took place during National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic 2022 in Omaha. Known for his big game adventures on MeatEater, the host of Cal’s Week in Review dives deep into his love for Labrador retrievers, bird hunting, and wild upland places.

Episode Highlights:

• Throughout the episode, Cal marks his journey in the outdoors through the lives of four female yellow Labrador retrievers.

• Cal also talks about the harrowing experience to save his new pup, Snort’s, life after a rattlesnake bite in the deep Idaho wilderness last September. Every bird dog owner who hunts “Snake Country” should listen and learn from this one.

• The guys close the episode with thoughts on the Grasslands Act and the panel Cal moderated during Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic devoted to the legislative #ActForGrasslands concept.

This is the final installment of three episodes recorded live from the show floor at National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic in Omaha. Be sure to check out our previous two episodes with Doug Duren and Christine Peterson.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Christine Peterson, president & board chair for the Outdoor Writer’s Association of America. A professional journalist, Peterson has written and reported for Outdoor Life, National Geographic and Outside magazines. She also served as a speaker on the Public Lands Stage at National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic 2022 in Omaha.

Episode Highlights:

• Peterson shares her journey of becoming a hunter as an adult and the funny story of bagging her first rooster pheasant.

• St.Pierre talks about his appreciation for Peterson’s Instagram account @she.will.roam, and Peterson explains her goal of portraying an outdoor lifestyle as the parent of a young child through the social media channel. Peterson also talks about her family’s excitement around the arrival of a new puppy to follow immediately after returning from Omaha.

• Peterson was born and raised in Wyoming and talks about the state’s under-rated stature as a bird hunting destination along with the state’s controversial “Corner Crossing” public lands court case.

This is the second installment of three episodes recorded live from the show floor at National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic in Omaha. Look for next week’s episode with MeatEater’s Ryan “Cal” Callaghan.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by MeatEater’s Doug Duren and PF biologist Matt Morlock for a conversation recorded at Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic in Omaha. Duren talks about his personal conservation ethic, “It’s not ours, it’s just our turn,” as well as his new endeavor linking private landowners with people willing to work on habitat improvements to gain public access known as “Sharing the Land.”

Episode Highlights:

• Known for hosting whitetail, turkey, and rabbit hunts on Meateater episodes, Duren explains his passion for “The Habitat Organization” and why he’s been a speaker on the Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic’s Habitat Stage the last five consecutive events.

• Having appeared on plenty of podcasts with Steven Rinella and Joe Rogan, St.Pierre asks Duren what question those famous interviewers should have ask but didn’t. That leads to a conversation ranging from the Grateful Dead to Duren’s family connection to the character Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn from the famous baseball movie, Major League.

• Morlock, PF’s state coordinator for both North Dakota and South Dakota, provides a late winter review of how each state’s pheasant populations are surviving dramatically different winter weather conditions.

This is the first installment of three episodes recorded live from the show floor at National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic in Omaha. Look for episodes with public lands advocate and journalist Christine Peterson and Meateater’s Ryan “Cal” Callaghan in the coming weeks.

Host Bob St.Pierre and PF & QF’s Hunting Heritage Program Manager Colby Kerber are joined by Dennis and Adam Brune, family members and owners of ALPS OutdoorZ, for a conversation about the organization’s Path to the Uplands stage at National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic. The group also talks about ALPS OutdoorZ evolution as an outdoors retailer, conservation supporter, and PF & QF national partner.

Episode Highlights:

• The father & son duo of Dennis and Adam Brune discuss ALPS OutdoorZ’s philanthropic commitment to wildlife habitat conservation, as well as their passion for sharing the hunting lifestyle through their corporate philosophies.

• Kerber previews the lineup of speakers on the Path to the Uplands stage covering the topics of hunting heritage, shooting sports, R3, and the organization’s Women on the Wing initiative.

See the full Path to the Uplands stage lineup at https://bit.ly/35dauYG. National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic will take place in Omaha, Nebraska on March 11-13. Tickets are on sale at www.PheasantFest.org.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Hank Shaw, a chef, food writer, and outdoorsman who runs the wild foods website “Hunter Angler Gardener Cook.” Shaw is also the author of the cookbook, Pheasant, Quail, Cottontail and will be the keynote speaker at the Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic National Banquet on Saturday, March 12th in Omaha, Nebraska.

Episode Highlights:

• Shaw talks about becoming an adult-onset hunter and how his views on hunting, habitat, and wild foods have changed over time. It’s this journey through the stages of being a hunter that will serve as the foundation for his keynote address, which he has titled “Drumstick Diplomacy.”

• Shaw also discloses work on his next book focused on the cuisine of Northern Mexico, which will include some quail hunting, fishing, and foraging.

National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic tickets are on sale at www.PheasantFest.org