Nebraskaland

NEBRASKAland October 2018

NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.

Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/1028906

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14 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018 By Julie Geiser Knowing where to find prairie grouse takes experience, keen observation skills and learning what the birds need during the early and late hunting seasons. Much of the prairie chicken and sharp-tailed grouse range lies in the Sandhills, which can mean walking up and down hills hoping to find birds. To avoid hours of walking, look for shin- to knee-high grasses and forbs (broad-leaved weeds) that birds use for cover from predators and weather and for food. Birds feed early in the morning and mid-to-late afternoon; doing some preseason scouting to locate food sources will acclimate hunters to an area and get them into shape. Early in the season, birds will feed on insects such as grasshoppers and crickets along with wild plums, chokecher- ries and grain crops. Later in the season, look for rose hips, poison ivy fruit, grain crops and dried seed forbs. On colder days, birds will warm themselves on southern-facing hill- sides, and early in the hunting season, so will insects. Mid-day, grouse can be found loafing along the higher hill ridges. On warm days, birds will loaf under wild plum, chokecherry and poison ivy shrubs to keep cool or they'll sit where there is a breeze out of the sun. On cold winter days, birds will warm in the sun and out of heavy winds, many times just below a hilltop or pockets where there is sunlight and little wind. Wind can be useful; walk directly into the wind to approach birds, especially when using a dog so it can pick up the bird's scent. On very windy days, birds will sit tighter and will fly into the wind, giving shooters a brief shot. Also, record your hunting conditions on each trip. Mark good habitat locations with GPS so you can find them again. Study where you down a bird, look at the food and cover sources, and make note the time of day and year, weather conditions and contents of the bird's crop. Putting all this together will help a hunter beat the odds and bag more birds. ■ PHOTO BY JULIE GEISER Hunting Prairie Grouse

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