Spent the day with The Duckman at the Bear River Bird Refuge Visiter Center, and the Venture Academy of Slaterville Utah, learning about wood ducks. During this two day program, 3rd, 4th & 5th graders were given the opportunities to work with the Wild Over Wood Ducks (WOW) nesting program in a hands on environment.

With October coming to an end, the unseasonably warm days have led to blue bird days here in the wetlands of the Great Salt Lake valley. With the severe storm pattern that brought cold winds and driving rain to the valley just in time for the Youth Hunt, local waterfowlers were given a sense of hope that this would lead to a perfect “Fowl Weather” season.

While early forecasts were boasting of Waterfowl Management Areas holding great numbers of ducks and geese, an early cold snap in September pushed many of the birds out, and given the storms approach and direction of the jet stream, there would be no dramatic temperature change to the north to drive new birds into the valley. The current effects of warm days will have birds loafing through the days, and feeding under clear sky nights. While there has been a few days that have had wind in the decoys, these conditions have no doubt taken it’s toll on the overall success here in the Great Salt Lake region.

Tips To Success
Hunting early morning on blue bird days will have the hunters catching a chance at these fare weathered fowl on their way back from feeding in the grain fields to their loafing areas. With the colder nights, the metabolism of ducks and geese will be on the rise, forcing them to seek out higher portions of carbs in their diets. Early mornings will have them feeding in the grain fields, and returning to the wetlands extremely thirsty and easily deceived. A quick check of the craw will help you to identify your trophies breakfast choice of champions. Once the temperatures begin to drop up north (Canada) fresh birds will begin to trickle down. Once the Great Falls area begins to freeze, the valley will then begin to see the real push of those old red legs of the north.

Mid-season mallards harvested in the company of good friends on a Blue Bird Day.

An early winter storm on Friday night brought a foot of snow to the high country in northern Utah. The effects from this storm made traveling the back roads to Willard peak impossible by 4wheel drive, allowing only a few ATV’s to make their way to the top, only to spend the day in a white out. While the fresh snow made for perfect conditions to find and locate the elk, the spotty cloud cover took it’s toll, forcing many hunters to return to camp for the day.

Full Story, CLICK HERE

Four years running, the Great Salt Lake Bird Festival has invited me to participate, introducing people to the Wild Over Wood Ducks (WOW) program, and working with the kids.

In this, there is a golden opportunity as I am given the opportunity to work with these young kids in a hands-on-environment, whereby these kids are introduced to building wood duck boxes that will serve as nesting cavities.

These activities provide a golden opportunity for the youth, introducing them to the outdoors in a conservation minded atmosphere.

I am always impressed whenever I see scouts and their leaders taking advantage of these types of events and their resources.

Retired UDWR Northern Regional Office leader, Jack Renzel extended an invite for me to be the keynote speaker at the quarterly meeting of the Wasatch Audubon Society, speaking on Utah’s wood duck population and the WOW program.

Prepared to give 30 minutes of informative discussion, the audience was extremely interactive and the time flew by, nearly an hours time pasted and the questions continues…
In the interest of time and not wanting to run to long, I gave in to the the clock, leaving opportunity for informal discussion afterward, which led to great company and and new acquaintances with truly great people.

Afterwards, I was pleasures to be presented with a signed addition from Keith Evans, of his book Utah’s Featured Birds And Viewing Sites. Keith and his book are a valuable resource to our feathered friends here in the state…the evening was truly an honor to be in such great company.

Having just wrapped up with the Western Hunting & Conservation Expo, I was pleased to see so many friends come out to enjoy this venue.  The event was well attended and generated a pile of money to be used for the resources.  While working with the good folks from the International Sportsmen’s Expositions (ISE) in their booth, I was excited to hear all the great reviews and excitement about the upcoming ISE show to be held Salt Lake City, March 17th- 20th.  Along with networking the people and handing out 500 discount coupons for the March event, I was also able to work with quite a bundle of youth through the use of a fishing pole, teaching them how to cast a lure.  It never ceases to amaze me at how easy it is to put a smile on the face of a child.

Another great aspect to these events is the opportunity to get to know such great people and their products.  These shows are loaded with so many cool things, but this one was a show stopper for me.  XXX of Skull taxidermy has created a one of a kind reproduction of an over-sized whitetail skull complete with detachable antlers.  To give you an idea of the size, this rack  sports an incredible 406 inches.  The mastery of detail gives this piece of art the look touch and feel of the real deal.

For More Info on Skull Taxidermy & Monster:

SKULL PHOTO LEFT>>>  CLICK HERE

SKULL PHOTO RIGHT>>>  CLICK HERE

SKULL TAXIDERMY WEBSITE>>> CLICK HERE

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How is it that a mannequin can make a piece of cheese look so good?

Will the GreenBay take the Pittsburg?  i think they will….either way it will be a good show.