A collaborative episode of the On The Wing Podcast EP. 278: Joining Forces with The Flush and Birdshot podcasts to talk Ruffed Grouse, is live. Listen now at the link in our story, bio, or wherever you get your On The Wing Podcast’s, The Flush Podcast’s, or Birdshot Podcast’s from.
We’ve assembled a special upland bird hunter’s super show episode with Travis Frank of The Flush and Nick Larson of Birdshot Podcast for a conversation focused on the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ new Bird Hunter Diary app and ruffed grouse drumming counts. Joining the conversation from the Minnesota DNR are Assistant Area Wildlife Manager for northeast Minnesota Bailey Petersen and Resident Game Bird Consultant Nathan Huck.
Episode Highlights:
On the Wing host Bob St.Pierre kicks off the show with a recap of his recent visit to Washington, D.C. to moderate a panel focused on the idea of a North American Grasslands Conservation Act and to talk with elected officials about a new federal farm bill.
The conversation then jumps into Minnesota’s eye-popping ruffed grouse drumming counts indicating the highest adult carryover of birds since 1972. Peterson, a wildlife biologist, explains what those counts do AND don’t indicate for the upcoming hunting season.
Huck provides an overview of Minnesota’s new Bird Hunter Diary, what the state is looking to measure through the app, and how all upland hunters can help provide better data through citizen science.