On The Wing Podcast

In March of 1982, Dennis Anderson, then the outdoors editor for the Saint Paul Pioneer Press & Dispatch, wrote an article that served as the catalyst launching Pheasants Forever. On April 15, 1983, the very first banquet in Pheasants Forever’s history took place in Saint Paul, Minnesota. To celebrate that anniversary, Dennis was joined by Bob St. Pierre and Pheasants Forever’s PR Manager, Jared Wiklund, and Director of PR, Anthony Hauck as he reminisces about the circumstances leading to the creation of Pheasants Forever from the perspective of someone who served as the organization’s first chairman of the board, president and first publication editor. Dennis also tells the story of how the organization’s unique locally-empowering model came to him as an idea in the shower and offers a few thoughts about the future of the organization.

Just in time for your spring habitat planning, Bob is joined by Jared Wiklund and Matt O’Connor, a long-time PF biologist, to talk about the importance of pollinator habitat for pheasants and quail. O’Connor also provides step-by-step guidance for preparing, planting, and maintaining your own pollinator habitat project with the payoff coming in the form of lots more birds . . . and a beautiful place for wedding and homecoming photos. Jared even makes a play to invite himself to your pollinator project for a hunt to celebrate his 10th wedding anniversary this October.

In this episode, Bob visits with Keith Crowley, author of the new book Pheasant Dogs. The duo is joined by Pheasants Forever’s Rachel Hoveland and Jared Wiklund, whose dogs are both featured in the book, for a conversation that covers the laughter and tears of loving a bird dog. There is also a fun conversation about owners looking like their bird dogs, improving your own bird dog photography skills, and finally the organization’s 2019 Bird Dogs for Habitat campaign is unveiled.

Bob is joined by Logan Hinners, Pheasants Forever’s Graphic Design Manager and resident shed hunting fanatic, for a fun conversation with Tom Dokken, expert dog trainer and President of the North American Shed Hunting Dog Association. During this episode, Dokken breaks down the steps for training your bird dog pup to find antler sheds with both their nose and their eyes. He also tackles common concerns about training a bird dog to hunt sheds, like inadvertently teaching your pup to chase deer. There’s even a story about the friendship between “The Crush’s” Lee & Tiffany Lakosky and Tom & Tina Dokken around a bird dog.

While attending the Southeastern Wildlife Expo in Charleston, South Carolina, Bob chats with Tim Caughran, Quail Forever’s Director of Field Operations, and Kenny Barker, QF’s Southeastern Regional Rep, about the organization’s rapid growth across the quail range. The trio also discuss bobwhite quail as the indicator species of healthy ecosystems, DIY public lands quail hunting, and Charleston’s incredible food scene; including an oyster eating throw-down at a Ducks Unlimited banquet.

Bob talks with Browning’s Brian Hobert and Russ Jones to unveil the new line of upland bird hunting clothing for men AND women. The trio breaks down the three-year journey gathering input from members and crafting the new innovative and more technical clothing items for the hardcore upland bird hunter. There’s also a fun story comparing Brian’s first bobwhite quail with the U.S. Olympic Hockey Team’s “Miracle on Ice” victory over the Russians in 1980. You’ll have to listen to laugh.

From pheasants and quail to pollinators and Pudelpointers, our signature national event has a wide array of attractions to encourage everyone to take a trip to Schaumburg this February 22nd through 24th. During this episode, Bob is joined by the PR duo of Anthony Hauck and Jared Wiklund for a preview of the organization’s signature event with Chris Kalis, the man behind the event’s curtain. We also hear from Anna Van Nostrand, the keynote speaker of our first-ever Women on the Wing Luncheon. Where’s Schaumburg? We’ll answer that question too!

In this episode Bob St. Pierre and Jared Wiklund talk with biologist Matt O’Connor about how to design food plots for bringing birds through a tough winter. O’Connor, who has been a biologist with Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever for almost 30 years, explains how to pick the best location for a food plot on your property, how to prepare your site, what equipment to use, and what to plant in your food plot.

Have you ever dreamed of taking a spring break hunting trip to quail country? Dr. Bill Palmer of Tall Timbers Research Station gives a few pointers on DIY public land quail hunts and describes the magic of a covey rise. The guys also discuss the creation of Quail Forever, the Mr. Mom bobwhite quail advantage, and the critical importance of prescribed fire to bobwhite quail habitat management.

If the Labrador retriever is the quintessential duck dog and the English setter is the ideal grouse dog, then what’s America’s pheasant dog? Recorded in August, Bob St. Pierre and Anthony Hauck talked with Karl Gunzer, Purina’s Sporting Dog Group Director, to answer this bird dog riddle. The trio also chats about Karl’s conservation career working with most of the conservation groups, his dog training acumen and some important nutrition guidance for the bird dog owner and traveling wingshooter.

Bob St. Pierre and PF/QF’s public relations manager, Jared Wiklund, catch up with Johnathan O’Dell, gamebird biologist for the Arizona Game & Fish Department, to talk about Arizona’s three species of quail (Gambel’s, scaled, and Mearns’). The trio discuss the habitat needs and optimum weather conditions for each species, along with tips for targeting them for the first-time desert quail hunter. The discussion even includes O’Dell’s journey to accomplish “The Tree Squirrel Slam” . . . and yes, that’s a real thing.

After a successful morning pheasant hunt on lands enrolled in Iowa’s Habitat & Access Program (IHAP), Bob and Jared talk with Terry Haindfield and Tom Fuller about Iowa’s habitat conditions, bird populations, and hunting prospects. Haindfield provides a unique perspective as a biologist with the Iowa DNR as well as a longtime Pheasants Forever chapter volunteer. Fuller adds additional perspective as a lifelong Iowa resident and as Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever’s Field Services Director leading the organization’s field team who services the 750 chapters across the country.

This week’s episode of On The Wing features Bob St. Pierre and Pheasants Forever’s Editor, Tom “Carp” Carpenter catching up with the host of The Flush, Travis Frank. Presented by Pheasants Forever and Federal Ammunition, The Flush seeks out North America's top upland bird hunting destinations and brings the wild action to viewers across the country. Topics include musky fishing vs. pheasant hunting, the reason Travis doesn’t own a dog, the stress and struggles of filming while hunting wild birds, favorite memories from the field, and more.

On this episode of On the Wing, Bob catches up with Patrick Flanagan of Border to Border Outfitters during Flanagan’s last few days guiding ruffed grouse hunters in northern Minnesota. From Minnesota, Flanagan moves to Kansas to chase roosters before heading to Arizona in December for quail. The guys chat about the differences in hunting ruffed grouse versus pheasants versus quail. Also, if you’re a current member of Quail Forever, you’ll soon see Patrick on the cover of the Quail Forever Journal’s winter edition as our “Man in the Moon” hunter.

Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever government affairs duo Jim Inglis and Bethany Erb join us and recap our journey to create upland habitat in the 2018 Farm Bill. The group also debates the prevalence of acronyms in the conservation world, the symptoms of Potomac Fever, and how our policy work in D.C. is also creating public access for bird hunters.

North Dakota has experienced massive habitat loss in the last decade largely due to CRP loss. In this episode, we catch up with the Pheasants Forever employee team in North Dakota to learn about the innovative ways their working to return some of those acres back to habitat for the birds. We also take advantage of the opportunity to talk with five avid female bird hunters about how they are helping introduce more women to the joys of following a bird dog into a pheasant field.

Hank Shaw, author of the new Pheasant, Quail, Cottontail cookbook (and Quail Forever Life Member), joins Bob St.Pierre at a ruffed grouse hunting camp in northern Wisconsin. The duo discuss the amazing diversity of upland game across the country’s different regions, while also chatting bird hunting, foraging and cooking quail, grouse, pheasants and woodcock during this episode.

Pheasants Forever editor Tom Carpenter talks about the six tricks roosters use, and how pheasant hunters can combat them. And can the discussion group come up with a better term than "hardcore"?

With the pheasant hunting on publicly-accessible habitat and land finishing on a strong note, the Rooster Road Trip crew looks back on a week in pheasant country’s epicenter. We also take listener questions on bird dog feeding and care, storing birds on the road and dealing with hunting buddies who burn the midnight oil.

Aberdeen area walk-in hunting areas that are part of the James River Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program produce the type of South Dakota pheasant hunt you dream about. The corn just came out, there's a triple rooster flush and we close with advice for novice upland hunters to keep developing their upland skills.

It's a tale of two days as a tough day of hunting is followed by a bountiful day in the field. Pheasants Forever's Rooster Road Trip public habitat and public access ambassadors are dealing with a plethora of bird dog injuries. Despite the challenges, the trip's new addition, Emy Marier, and her bird dog combine for their first South Dakota rooster during a magical Golden Hour hunt.

When Plan A fails, Plan B turns into an upland dreamscape walk-in area in West River South Dakota. And the "Golden Hour" hunt on a Pierre Game Production Area turns into a track meet with racing roosters. Speaking of rooster, why aren't we yelling "Rooster!"?

Pheasants Forever's Rooster Road Trip, South Dakota's gigantic pheasant hunting season opener, 100 years of South Dakota pheasant hunting, how to plan a South Dakota bucket list bird hunt and unraveling the mystery meat that is chislic. Featuring South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks wildlife biologists Tom Kirschenmann and Mark Norton, and the department's communications specialist, Chris Hull.

We preview Pheasants Forever’s Rooster Road Trip and talk about the origins of “The Habitat Organization’s” signature digital event. The 2018 Rooster Road Trip is an all-South Dakota affair, as the undisputed Pheasant Capital celebrates a Pheasantennial, its 100th pheasant hunting season. And like all Rooster Road Trips prior, this year’s will highlight publicly-accessible lands and habitat projects which Pheasants Forever has played a significant role in creating through land purchases, local habitat projects or legislative action.

Opening with an impromptu visit to the Terry Redlin Art Center in Watertown, we dive into a “State-of-the-State” discussion about pheasants in South Dakota with Pheasants Forever biologists Matt Morlock and Erica Yost. The wide-ranging conversation covers the current habitat conditions in the state and this year’s 47 percent jump in SoDak bird numbers. We also chat about some innovative new PF initiatives to add habitat to the South Dakota landscape before we close the show with a few insider tips for nonresident pheasant hunters to put more birds in their vest this season.

It’s opening weekend for sharp-tailed grouse and Hungarian partridge in Montana and we’re chasing these prairie birds from horseback behind big-running pointing dogs. This episode comes at you from a public hunting parcel in Montana at the back of a horse trailer. During the episode, we chat with John Zeman and Dan Voss, Pheasants Forever members, dog trainers and horseback hunters. During the conversation we talk about the process for bird hunting from horses and how horses present a different perspective to a bird hunt. Along for the hunt are a trio of veteran bird dogs closing in on their final hunts and we chat about our hopes for those final trips afield with these beloved bird dog. Episode Host: Bob St.Pierre

On this episode of On The Wing Podcast we breakdown the highly anticipated Pheasant Hunting Forecast state-by-state. Editor; Tom Carpenter, and Public Relations Manager; Jared Wiklund, dive into detail on locations and states that you should plan your next upland hunt!

The “Dokken” name has become synonymous with dog training. In this episode, we learn about Tom’s evolution as one of the most recognized dog trainers in the country. We also chat with Tina Dokken about the role bird dogs played while dating Tom. Tina also tells us about the challenges to becoming a female bird hunter as an adult and the clothing, gear and shotgun advances being made for women. We finish the conversation with a discussion about the use of drones in dog training and finally get to the bottom of whether or not your bird dog can tell the difference between a rooster and a hen by scent. Episode Host: Bob St.Pierre & Co-Host: Anthony Hauck

During our inaugural podcast, we chat with Eran Sandquist, Pheasants Forever’s Minnesota state coordinator and a wildlife biologist, about the organization’s efforts to create public hunting access through land acquisitions. We also discuss Minnesota’s ground-breaking Legacy Amendment passed by voters in 2008 and is now creating permanently protected habitat and public hunting access across the state. In fact, the Legacy Amendment has accelerated Pheasants Forever’s land acquisition efforts and helped the organization acquire 55,000 acres in the last ten years; all of those acres are open to public hunting. We close the show with Eran’s pheasant hunting forecast for Minnesota. Episode Host: Bob St.Pierre & Co-Host: Anthony Hauck