On The Wing Podcast Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Quail Forever’s Dr. Jess McGuire and Andy Edwards for a discussion with Dr. James Martin, a hardcore quail hunter, bird dog owner, and associate professor at University of Georgia. During the conversation, Dr. Martin breaks down four bobwhite quail research projects he’s currently working on, while dropping a few quail hunting gems he’s learned from his studies over the years.

Episode Highlights:
• Dr. Martin and his students are studying how many bobwhites can be shot in one area and still maintain a sustainable wild population. The group also chat about whether or not season length and bag limits influence the long-term health of a wild population.

• The group takes on the ultimate quail “moneyball” question: Is there a magic acre number or a key percentage of habitat for a wild, sustainable population of bobwhite quail?

• Dr. Martin also talks about studying the behavior of bobwhites in response to hunting. As part of this project, researchers are investigating what non-productive points mean relative to a bird’s location. Some fun bird dog breed jabs ensue among the crew.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Tom “Carp” Carpenter, Pheasants Forever Journal editor, and Marissa Jensen, our organization’s Women on the Wing and Path to the Uplands leader, to offer tips for FINDING and HUNTING late season roosters.

Episode Highlights:
• The crew’s conversation riffs off Carp’s recent blog, “The Path to Late Season Pheasant Hunting Success” starting with tips first focused on where to FIND late season birds that have survived the hunting pressure over the last few months.
• The discussion then transitions to both the mindset and mechanics for HUNTING late season roosters, including Carp and Marissa sharing stories about working cover and finding tight-holding birds on the second pass.
Thanks to our Path to the Uplands sponsors SoundGear, Federal Ammunition, SportDOG BRAND, and ALPS OutdoorZ.

While gamebird research isn’t a part of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s mission statement, the organization often collaborates with research scientists from the most acclaimed universities in the country to inform the organization’s habitat creation and restoration efforts. In this episode, Bob St.Pierre is joined by Mississippi State University’s Dr. Mark McConnell as well as Quail Forever’s Dr. Jess McGuire and Andy Edwards, for a discussion focused on five different research projects Dr. McConnell and his students are currently working on related to bobwhite quail, habitat management, and precision agriculture.
Episode Highlights:
• Dr. McConnell talks about his love of quail hunting and how that passion for hunting influences his research science. He also talks about hunting with his standard poodle and coins the phrase “it’s cool to like quail again.”

• Through Dr. McConnell’s “Scale of Effect” project, he explains that the research is attempting to understand how habitat management on public WMAs in Mississippi influences bobwhite populations on those public lands. As importantly, he’s also trying to gauge how that management influences bobwhite populations beyond the boundaries into the surrounding private property.

• Singing from the same scripture as every other quail biologist we’ve ever had on our podcast, Dr. McConnell speaks passionately about the critical importance of prescribed fire to bobwhite quail habitat management for population health and growth.

• The crew also talk about the theory that vocal bobwhites are the ones that get eaten by predators first in a population. Do silent bobwhites live longer or is that mythology?

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever’s Michigan State Coordinator Ben Beaman for a conversation about hunting pheasants, ruffed grouse, and woodcock in the duo’s home state. The guys also discuss Michigan’s Adopt-a-Game-Area Program and the importance of intensive habitat management in preventing grasslands from becoming woodlands void of pheasants, especially in states east of the Mississippi River.

Episode Highlights:
• Beaman starts the conversation talking about his college years in Wyoming which leads to an interesting tangential discussion asserting that Wyoming may be one of the most underappreciated destinations for upland and waterfowl hunters.

• St.Pierre also explains why he is a “Yooper” and Beaman is a “troll” in Michigan parlance.

• The discussion also covers the “Michigan Pheasant Restoration Initiative” and how it produced the Adopt-a-Game-Area program. Likewise, Beaman explains the different types of habitat work occurring on these public areas, their importance for the state’s wild pheasant populations, and how people can help.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Jonathon Tremblay from Walton’s Inc. to talk about caring for game bird meat from the moment it leaves your bird dog’s mouth to the time it hits your plate as a delicious meal. Tremblay also discusses Walton’s deep connections to hunting and conservation as a company, and how the pandemic changed the way Americans approach meat.
Episode Highlights:
• Jonathon talks about the two seasonings Walton’s developed specifically for Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever: Roasted Ringneck Rub and Bold Barbecue Quail.

• Bob reminisces about the comical old days of freezing birds in a block of ice, which resulted in a full freezer early into the hunting season.
Check out Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s “A Bird in the Bag” video series with Walton’s Inc.
• Crispy Half-Roasted Pheasant
• Quail Meatballs

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by PF’s Andrew Vavra, Logan Hinners, and Aaron Black-Schmidt for a lively discussion answering questions submitted by the organization’s social media followers about this year’s Rooster Road Trip. And for the first time in our podcast’s history, watch the conversation on our YouTube channel. (LINK)
Episode Highlights:
• The crew tackle questions about bird dogs, public lands etiquette, hunting forecasts, upland gear, and road tripping soundtracks.

• Watch, listen, and read all about this year’s Rooster Road Trip through North Dakota and South Dakota at www.RoosterRoadTrip.org. While there, enter to win a Browning Maxus II shotgun and join/renew your Pheasants Forever membership featuring an attractive new field knife made by Browning.
Thanks to our Rooster Road Trip 2021 sponsors:
• Browning
• Thorogood
• SoundGear
• Ruff Land Kennels
• Federal Ammunition
• Garmin
• South Dakota Tourism
• Apple Auto