The Outdoor Scene

If you ever took a moment to watch the reality show drivel known as “Denise Richards: It’s Complicated,” you immediately understood it was anything but that.

What is does suggest, though, are the lengths some Americans will go to avoid topics with any complexity. Thank goodness there are people willing to do the deep thinking for those trapped in a haze of crappertainment.

There does seem to be an uptick in the willingness to tease through the tricky details whether it is understanding the ramifications of the health care bills or how McDonald v. City of Chicago will decide whether or not the 50 states are required to obey the Second Amendment, by testing the 14th amendment.

Hunting is not without its share of difficult issues as well.  What constitutes fair chase and the legal intricacies associated with access are just a couple of the matters we have to grapple with. In many ways the privileges we enjoy as hunters depend on our ability to tune in, understand and take a stand.

Being someone who helps shape the future means you should have some understanding of the past. Our wildlife history is a riches to rags to riches story that includes a group of conservation forefathers who pioneered a blueprint known as North American Wildlife Conservation Model.

Elk have benefited from the principles outlined in the North American Model.

While the North American Model and the Seven Sisters of Conservation may sound like a wild theme party at the Playboy mansion, actually, it’s the philosophical framework used to restore wildlife populations from the brink of extinction to the abundant levels we know today.

The model’s two basic principles—that fish and wildlife belong to everyone and are to be managed so their populations will be sustained forever—are explained through a set of guidelines known as the “Seven Sisters for Conservation.”

I visited Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s Web site to obtain a list of the “Seven Sisters” and below, I’ve provided a synopsis. You can see the full explanation at: http://www.rmef.org/Hunting/HuntersConservation/

Sister #1: The Public Trust
In the United States and Canada, wildlife is not owned by individuals. Instead, federal, state and provincial governments are responsible for managing wildlife and their habitat on public lands. This public trust gives all citizens the opportunity to view, hunt, fish and enjoy these natural resources.

Two hundred years ago, American colonists appreciated this unfettered access to the continent’s abundant wildlife. Back in Europe, in many cases only nobility and the very wealthy were allowed to hunt. In 1842, the U.S. Supreme Court set a legal precedent by supporting the American ideal that wildlife belongs to everyone.

Sister #2: Prohibition on Commerce of Dead Wildlife
Because we all own wildlife, it is illegal in North America to sell the meat of any wild animal. In some cases the hides, teeth, antlers and horns of game animals and the hides of a select few furbearers may be sold.

In the latter half of the 1800s, buying and selling meat, hides, feathers and other wild animal parts was big business. Excessive hunting nearly wiped out bison, egrets and elk, and drove other species, such as the passenger pigeon, to extinction. Strong laws written at the turn of the 20th century restricted market hunting and the buying and selling of some wild animals, which allowed many threatened wildlife species to rebound and thrive.

Sister #3: Democratic Rule of Law
Every citizen of the United States and Canada has the right to help create laws to conserve and manage wildlife. You can share your ideas and opinions about wildlife management at government hosted public forums or by voting for or against ballot measures.

Early 20th-century conservationists wanted to protect wildlife populations, yet many still wanted to hunt and fish. So they established laws and set limits to enjoy the bounty without depleting the population.

Sister #4: Hunting Opportunity for All
Everyone is allowed by law to hunt and fish in the United States and Canada regardless of social status, race, creed, religion or gender.

Hunters and anglers led the crusade for wildlife conservation a century ago. For instance, before Theodore Roosevelt became president, he helped found the Boone and Crockett Club. The club’s Fair Chase Statement was the first document outlining a code of conduct and ethics for hunters and anglers. It became a cornerstone of our game laws.

Sister #5: Non-frivolous Use
In North America, we can legally kill certain wild animals under strict guidelines for food and fur, self-defense and property protection.

Laws restrict us from casually killing wildlife. We can’t kill wildlife merely for antlers, horns or feathers or to use only a small portion of the meat. Laws also help ensure we show respect for and avoid mistreating wildlife and the land, and that we make maximum use of every animal hunted for food and other purposes.

Sister #6: International Resources
Because fish and wildlife migrate freely across boundaries between states, provinces and countries, the United States and Canada jointly manage land and wildlife to ensure wildlife can safely cross borders and that no country, state or province will take more than its share of a common resource.

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 demonstrates this cooperation between countries. The Act made it illegal to capture or kill migratory birds, except as allowed by specific hunting regulations. Treaties now exist between the United States, Canada, Mexico and Russia, which has helped restore ducks, geese and cranes that cross several countries between their wintering and nesting areas.

Sister #7: Scientific Management
Scientific research—and applying that research–is essential to managing and sustaining North America’s wildlife and habitats.

If you’re still reading this, your understanding of wildlife conservation likely ranks in the top percentile. You probably could run an entire Jeopardy category titled “Measures That Saved Wildlife.”

Besides the obvious game show advantages, understanding the basic principles of wildlife conservation can help you become an informed decision-maker and a better spokesman or woman for hunting and fishing. Many Americans don’t even know hunters and anglers led the way in rescuing our wildlife populations let alone that we continue to be the biggest supporters of conservation today.

This community’s willingness to give back helps drive the model’s success. And a great place to start is by being in the know.

Bluebirds: Harbingers of Happiness or Avian Wackos?

There was a time when I believed that having bluebirds raise their young in the nest boxes we put up would be the pinnacle of backyard birding. Who wouldn’t yearn for a daily glimpse of these feathered jewels? I wasn’t just seduced by their dazzling blue color, though; I also loved their rags to riches story. Bluebird populations declined in the 1960s and ‘70s due in part to bad-guy birds, namely house sparrows and European starlings, outcompeting them for nesting cavities. However, coordinated efforts to provide nest boxes have these beauties on the increase in North America. Conservationist that I am, I wanted to do my part, too. So, my husband, Wes, found bluebird nest box plans online and made several houses, which he put up in our backyard and the land we hunt in Georgia.

I can’t tell you how thrilled I was when we saw a courting pair during a weekend turkey hunt at our Peach State hang out. It was a textbook sighting, too.  The male performed the “nest demonstration display” that I had read about. He made a big show of bringing nest material to the hole, going in and out of the box and fluttering his wings while perched above. It worked, too, because we saw a female shortly thereafter, who apparently didn’t know that was pretty much going to be his only contribution to nest building. She set about with the heavy lifting associated with avian housekeeping, and he kept her company with his melodious warbling. The best part, I was witnessing this bluebird miracle about 20 yards from our camper.

After a morning turkey hunt, I sat outside the camper and watched the bluebirds. A day or two after I first saw them, I noticed the male bluebird acting weird. He was perched on the bumper of Wes’s truck and pecking furiously at it. At first, I figured he was issuing last rights to some unlucky grasshopper he was preparing to eat. But then, I saw him attack the truck’s windows and mirrors. When he had a tiny “accident” that showed up as a splatter on the window, I admit to snickering a little, imagining Wes’s reaction to this bird fouling his pride and joy.

As I was fixing a snack in the camper that afternoon, I heard a tapping on the window and turned around to see the male bluebird clinging to the window’s edge. “Well, that’s neat, I thought. Now I can get an up close and personal look at him.” And I did just that, drinking in every moment of watching this nut alternate between catching insects and thumping the windows with his beak and wings. When I woke up to this racket the next morning, though, I had to admit the novelty was starting to wear off. By the following weekend, the incessant drumming was like woodpeckers gone wild, and Wes and I were both getting tired of it.

So I consulted the all knowing “Google” for answers and found this question posted on a birding forum:

Q:  “I have a bluebird that has been relentlessly pecking at our windows for days! We can’t get it to stop. Please help!”

I was relieved at the prospect of finding a solution. However, like most wildlife issues, this one wasn’t easily solved. The expert explained that bluebirds are very territorial and the male aggressively defends his territory while the female tends to the nest. When bluebirds beat on the windows, they are reacting to what they perceive to be a rival bird. The only way to deal with this problem is eliminate the reflection. I can tell you right now, forget about closing the blinds. Doesn’t work. What we ended up doing was covering the outside of the windows with tarps, which ruined our view of the pond. The good news, according to the experts, was the behavior usually ceases once the female stops laying eggs. Still, I was hoping the bluebird boxes in our yard wouldn’t pass muster because I couldn’t imagine living in cave-like conditions while a nesting pair raised two or three broods throughout the summer. Luckily, my wishes were answered, and the only backyard residents were titmice, chickadees and a peace loving flying squirrel.

Once fall arrived, Wes and I trekked back down to our hunt camp in Georgia for deer season. We were immediately greeted by the charming mumbling song of the male bluebird and I was actually happy to hear it, now that nesting season was long past. However, by the next day, the male bluebird was back at it, banging on the windows like a madman.  

Back home, bluebirds started showing up in our backyard as well, not to nest, but to drive the other birds stark raving bonkers. We have an owl box that is occupied several months out of the year by the cutest of all owls, the screech owl. And for whatever reason, two or three pairs of bluebirds will fly all around its nest box and rudely poke their heads into the entrance. I am astonished they have the guts to do this, because I have seen the screech owl, in a madcap swoop, snatch a cardinal for his/her evening meal. Frankly, I don’t think this owl cares if dinner comes packaged in red or blue.

Like Hollywood’s handsome bad boy movie stars, male bluebirds just cannot behave themselves. And like paparazzi, I can’t help stalking them to admire their beauty and be shocked by their behavior.  So the answer to my original question is “yes.”  Bluebirds are harbingers of happiness and most assuredly, avian wackos.