An Old Farts Outdoor Thread

[Mark1T]

MT, awesome stories. Brook Trout and any trout for that matter are incredibly beautiful fish. I want to fish for them so bad. I am glad you are steering clear of the ice and slush. Too dangerous for me.

Did you know people down here and elsewhere hunt Sandhill Cranes and they call it Prime Rib of the Skies. I have never had it and really don't want to. There is a season for them. Red meat. I would rather just watch them. Incredible birds.

MT and steffiolio, that bird is a Crested Caracara. They are scavengers and about the size of a vulture, but slightly smaller wing-span. They also use their beaks to hunt for, kill and eat turtles. Crazy. The slang term for them is a Mexican Eagle, but they are not eagles.

To me, they remind me more of a massive weird chicken

Diet includes rabbits, ground squirrels, skunks, various birds (plus their eggs and young), frogs, snakes, lizards, turtles, young alligators, fish, large insects.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Crested_Caracara/id

[steffo99]

Aye Mark, thats the result I got from google. Got 2 new bird books now, but managed to get id's on what I caught so far through google. Still fun to look through as a complete beginner.

[Mark1T]

steff, pretty cool you found that bird from a search and from my photo. Nice seal shot.

[paulinkansas]

Did you know people down here and elsewhere hunt Sandhill Cranes and they call it Prime Rib of the Skies.

In this part of the country they are called "Rib Eye of the Sky". You have to take a test to differentiate sandhill cranes from whooping cranes before you can hunt them.

https://programs.ksoutdoors.com/Prog...121.1700322307

[Mark1T]

In this part of the country they are called "Rib Eye of the Sky". You have to take a test to differentiate sandhill cranes from whooping cranes before you can hunt them.

https://programs.ksoutdoors.com/Prog...121.1700322307

Very interesting.

[paulinkansas]

Very interesting.

The biggest waterfowl refuge in the country is called Cheyenne Bottoms and about 4 hours from where I live. It's probably 64 square miles or more. All waterfowl hunting is shut down if there are whooping cranes spotted in the area.

The Wal Mart there has 2 entire aisles just for steel shot for waterfowl hunting.

The motels have stations where you can clean ducks and let your waterfowl dog take a poop. I've been there several times with my dog. Every room smelled like a wet dawg.

[paulinkansas]

Very interesting.

Bumping you up to a black Labrador retriever. For some reason the letters start to go missing in the names of my sig.

[Mark1T]

The biggest waterfowl refuge in the country is called Cheyenne Bottoms and about 4 hours from where I live. It's probably 64 square miles or more. All waterfowl hunting is shut down if there are whooping cranes spotted in the area.

The Wal Mart there has 2 entire aisles just for steel shot for waterfowl hunting.

The motels have stations where you can clean ducks and let your waterfowl dog take a poop. I've been there several times with my dog. Every room smelled like a wet dawg.

I would bet that Whooping Cranes frequent there and disrupt hunting a lot. We have steel shot, but also lead. Ammo is getting harder to find. Not impossible, just more inconvenience of having to go back to the store and grab them while you can.

Bumping you up to a black Labrador retriever. For some reason the letters start to go missing in the names of my sig.

I will take that. There are National Security conspiracy reasons why those letters disappear.

[steffo99]

[Mark1T]

Good morning and evening everybody. steff, are those some type of Turns? Extreme detail.

I had some tree cutters here and they had to take out two of my prized Oaks that were about 100 years old. The drought and freeze of the last 2 years got them. Very sad because they grew up with my Grandparents here. Anyway, they had to come down.

After $3000, their truck left some deep divots and I had to get some dirt and fill them in and that is what I have been doing for 2 weeks. Finished yesterday.

I found out that in the middle of my Dogwood tree, there is a Hackberry tree growing right in the middle of it. The leaves are very similar and it took my brother to point it out. Anyway, Hackberry trees grow relatively fast and I decided to keep it since it could be a shade tree. I just hope it doesn't choke out my Dogwood.

[steffo99]

steff, are those some type of Turns? Extreme detail.

Had to look up Terns (haven't heard term before), ...seems like it could fit the bill, but newb here so no idea. They're called "Laughing Gull" over here.

[Mark1T]

Had to look up Terns (haven't heard term before), ...seems like it could fit the bill, but newb here so no idea. They're called "Laughing Gull" over here.

Yes, Terns. I believe Terns describe a Gulls. There are many types of Gulls.

The Mountain Man taught me about Terns. My above post was a typo (Turns). Terns is correct.

[mtpockets]

[paulinkansas]

One of my ponds had dried up during this last 3 year drought. It's filled back up again, but there are no fish anymore. So I set these 2 buckets up with the bottoms cut out and replaced with window screen. This creek originates from a lake at a golf course that has fish.

[Mark1T]

MT living the dream

PauloAlto, need more information on the purpose of the bottomless buckets. Are they corridors for fish to go through for your pond? Or, to catch fish so you can move them to your pond?

[paulinkansas]

PauloAlto, need more information on the purpose of the bottomless buckets. Are they corridors for fish to go through for your pond? Or, to catch fish so you can move them to your pond?

The water flows through the buckets but the screen keeps the fish. I put the fish in another bucket and transport them to the pond to restock it.

[paulinkansas]

An owl tried to catch one of the baby rabbits but it ran under the deck. So we set out these plaster rabbits with a camera in front of them. The next morning the plaster rabbits were knocked over but the camera did not capture that moment.

[Mark1T]

The water flows through the buckets but the screen keeps the fish. I put the fish in another bucket and transport them to the pond to restock it.

Excellent. Let us know of your progress.

An owl tried to catch one of the baby rabbits but it ran under the deck. So we set out these plaster rabbits with a camera in front of them. The next morning the plaster rabbits were knocked over but the camera did not capture that moment.

These things take more than one attempts. You will get the owl shot. I am interested in knowing what type of owl. Barrs or maybe even a Great Horned Owl.

[paulinkansas]

Excellent. Let us know of your progress.
I am interested in knowing what type of owl.

The creek flow just pushed in a bunch of gravel into the buckets. There were fish in a pool 10 yards away. No fish in the buckets.

The owl was a barred owl, aka 8 hooter. In the evening you can hear "who cooks for you, who cooks for whooo" in owl speak.

[Mark1T]

The creek flow just pushed in a bunch of gravel into the buckets. There were fish in a pool 10 yards away. No fish in the buckets.

The owl was a barred owl, aka 8 hooter. In the evening you can hear "who cooks for you, who cooks for whooo" in owl speak.

Learning process on the fish. Adjust the buckets. Put some kind of bait in them.

Barred owls are cool. They also have this screech like no other. When they do that they are very active at night and flying to different trees very frequently, looking for a mouse or rabbit or bird. There was at least one in my area last year and I heard him every night and I could tell about every 10 seconds he was in another tree. I have found large bird wings, surgically removed in the early mornings. Last one was a Wood Duck wing. Pretty sure it was a Barred Owl that did the surgery.

[paulinkansas]

I have found large bird wings, surgically removed in the early mornings.

A few of us were pass shooting mallards in a standing soybean field covered in snow. We'd move around in the field to where ever the birds were working. When the hunt was done we'd go back to where we dropped the birds and pick them up. It's hard to shoot a gun when you've got 4 ducks in your hands.

Hawks had eaten the first few mallards we dropped.

[Mark1T]

Hawks had eaten the first few mallards we dropped.

Hawks definitely eat ducks. Owls are the only bird that hunt at night. I only rarely see these severed wings and Red-Tailed Hawks are common here. I cannot count out a Hawk, but I find these fresh wings before day-break. No feathers and no other bodyparts.

I have seen Hawks and Eagles go after birds in flight and it is an amazing sight.

[paulinkansas]

I have seen Hawks and Eagles go after birds in flight and it is an amazing sight.

I may have told this story before.

There was a falconer doing pigeon control at a refinery renting a place from me. He had 14 raptors and would feed them every evening in the back yard. A few weeks after he left there were TWO game wardens that showed up at my house asking questions. My wife said the falconers wife was an attorney (she was). They looked at each other and left.

[steffo99]

For all the flower homies out there.

[Mark1T]

I may have told this story before.

There was a falconer doing pigeon control at a refinery renting a place from me. He had 14 raptors and would feed them every evening in the back yard. A few weeks after he left there were TWO game wardens that showed up at my house asking questions. My wife said the falconers wife was an attorney (she was). They looked at each other and left.

Very cool. I have seen a few Falcons here, but they are so fast, it is only a glimpse. I cannot rule out a Falcon. They are flying missiles.

steffonoli, great shots. You do great work, no matter the subject.

Bonus for the Mountain Man: Just killed the first Cottonmouth of the year. It was in my yard. I surgically removed its head with my 12 gauge buck shot.

[paulinkansas]

Very cool. I have seen a few Falcons here, but they are so fast.

The falconer had a full body stuffed coyote bearing its teeth he would put at islands at cooling water retention ponds to keep geese away. Some people at the refinery went out there in a boat and took his coyote. They put it around corners at the administration building, and when some woman going down the hallway with paperwork and took a turn they would almost have a heart attack. It took him a year to get the coyote back.

[Mark1T]

The falconer had a full body stuffed coyote bearing its teeth he would put at islands at cooling water retention ponds to keep geese away. Some people at the refinery went out there in a boat and took his coyote. They put it around corners at the administration building, and when some woman going down the hallway with paperwork and took a turn they would almost have a heart attack. It took him a year to get the coyote back.

Hilarious

[OldFartTom]

The falconer had a full body stuffed coyote bearing its teeth... ....

I remember this from before, so it's given me a me chuckle twice now