Moose Droppings

Photo courtesy of From the Stand

Don’t know who has been following Chesson’s trip to Africa over on his blog but he has some great stories and photos posted. As an outdoor cameraman for a number of the hunting shows we love to watch, he certainly gets to go some great places. Many dream of having a job like his but not me. There is no way I want to go all these places and never get a chance to shoot some myself.

Well I heard from Chesson and they have completed filming and the hunters are flying back home today. Chesson doesn’t have a flight out till Friday so he is going to get a crack at getting behind the gun and get a trophy. Congratulations buddy I look forward to the story of your hunt. Good Luck I hope you get something good if it was me I’d go after the Sable.

Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

One of the most scenic rides in the country is the Blue Ridge Parkway through the mountains of North Carolina from Georgia to Virginia. No matter what the season the views are breathtaking all along the Parkway.
A new center has opened in the Asheville area of the Parkway called the Destination Center. One of the purposes of the new center is to link travelers with additional activities in the area so they increase the time they spend in the area.

The center is beautiful and environmentally friendly with many green features. This past weekend when I was visiting they had a Scottish Dance group performing in the auditorium.

There is some wonderful informative displays about the nature in the area A very good display that explains the Chestnut Blight and the devastation of that disease on a very important mast crop for much of the Appalachian Mountain Range. There have been some blight resistant chestnut trees discovered across the range including the Blue Ridge Parkway that are currently being studied with the hope to one day restore this important tree.

Over the past few years like many of the National Park managed properties the Blue Ridge is in need of much of funding for upkeep and maintenance. Groups like the “Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway” are working to preserve the park through volunteer projects and fund raising.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is one of my favorite places to visit and I’m sure the winding mountain road with the beautiful vistas it can be one of yours as well.

Story & Photos by Dan McLaughlin (AKA Moose)

This time of year the tundra swan returns to the wintering grounds here in North Carolina along the coast and it is a sight to behold. The whole concept of how a creature can fly from Canada and Alaska every year and back is a pretty amazing feat when you think about it. I had heard from some folks in that part of the state that the swans were beginning to return with some numbers this past week and so I felt an urge this past Sunday to take a ride that direction to have a look. I think part of my fascination with the swan is the haunting call it makes and the similarities of the call with that of the loon we listened to often on summer nights in New England.

We rode down to Lake Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge on Sunday and I got some great photographs and took in the sights and sounds of the birds returning to their wintering grounds. I’m running a lot of the photos I took on Mooses Wild America this week so be sure to check them out as well.

There is an opportunity for schools in the area of the wintering grounds to get involved in research on the Tundra Swan that is being conducted by Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park. They are looking for assistance with banding and tracking tundra swan along their migration route.

Sylvan Heights Director of Education Dan Louk is excited about the opportunity the project presents to Valley youngsters. “This is a real-world research project they can not only observe, but also become involved in,” said Louk. He added there is still time and room for more schools to participate, but the window of opportunity is closing fast.

In addition to participating as a group at Sylvan Heights, Louk said the students will also keep in touch with other groups of students all along the migratory track from North Carolina to Alaska. “The students will actually exchange data that all can benefit and learn from. Since the birds winter almost exclusively in North Carolina, the students here will study the wintering behavior patterns which are very different from the behavior in the breeding grounds in Alaska, which will be studied and reported on by students there,” said Louk.

Roanoke Daily Herald

This sounds like a great opportunity for people interested in helping with research to get involved. The North Carolina Wildlife Commission has been participating in researching the tundra swan for some time and has a fascinating website where you can learn about some of the research they have conducted. They have some migration studies they did back a few years ago and although it is no longer being up dated you can see the travel routes of many of the swans they banded and attached tracking devices to during that time. It’s certainly a site worth checking out if your like me and just a little bit fascinated by the distances these creatures fly each year.

I’ll be doing my part to help with the research on these birds when I participate in the hunting aspect. As one of the limited 5,000 permits drawn this year I’ll complete a survey after my hunt reporting what type of bird I took and answer a few other questions. In addition to that should I or any other hunter take a banded bird there is a reporting mechanism for that to help get the information to researchers so they are aware that a banded bird has been taken.

Within the waterfowl hunting community there is an honor in taking a banded bird and often you’ll see hunters with bands attached to their duck calls. As hunters we realize the important role we play in the conservation of the specie as well as the protection of the habitat that allows these birds to flourish.

The tundra swan is a magnificent creature and if you get the chance you should make a point of visiting Mattamuskeet Wildlife Refuge this winter and see them.

The opportunity came up for me to travel up to New England for this past week so I’ve been on the road. I got to visit with some family and old friends as well as make some new ones along the way. As I often do I let a sample of some of my photos tell you about my trip.

Humpback Whale

Nuble Light Maine

Moonlight

Black Bear White Mountains National Forest

Cow Moose feeding in pond

Hope you enjoy them.

I posted up some photos earlier about our most recent trip to Gatlinburg Tennessee. A Day In GSMNP , The Fight , More of a Great Day
I was working on organizing them tonight when I came across a few that I had forgotten about that I took on our last evening in Gatlinburg.
Staying right in Gatlinburg we decided that we would leave the jeep behind and take in some of the lights and sights of a town all decked out for the Christmas Season.

The Park Grill had caught our eye earlier in the day as we drove by especially their sign about call a head seating.
As soon as we walked through the door and saw the impressive display on top of the salad bar I knew we were in for an experience. By calling ahead our wait was not long and to be honest I was so interested in the various animal mounts spread throughout the restaurant I didn’t notice the wait.

A really great idea that I wish more places would do was our waiter sent us up to the salad bar to get our salads prior to ordering. This way we had ample time to enjoy our salads and conversation before our main courses arrived.

I guess seeing all those fly fisherman in the streams all day programmed our minds to both order the grilled rainbow trout. The food was wonderful, the service was top notch and the atmosphere was spectacular.
The Park Grill would be a great place for a group of friends to gather after exploring the Great Smokey National Park or for a romantic dinner to end a perfect day. You find yourself traveling to Gatlinburg you should check out The Park Grill.

Yesterday I brought you the story about how a passport may be needed for your next off shore fishing trip but now it seems that’s not the case.

Offshore anglers need not worry, as such is not the case. The story apparently was misreported by the Associated Press and is no longer being circulated on the wire.

The ESPN Outdoors News Hound has gotten to the bottom of this issue.

Aigen stressed that as the Act relates to offshore travel by anglers and boaters, passports will be required — beginning in January 2008 — by U.S. citizens only when their craft has docked at a foreign port after departing from domestic waters.
The department spokesman also said the Associated Press was notified of its reporting error and was asked to print a correction.

Starting in January anytime you go 60 or more miles out into the ocean fishing you’ll need a passport to reenter the United States. Of course swimming the Rio Grand will still not require any documentation. I’m all for tightening up the borders but this rule seems to be a bit ridiculous when I bet I drive by more illegals’ in a morning on my way to work that crossed a river then all of those who snuck in on a local fishing boat.

Passport to be required for offshore fishing

LAKE CHARLES, La. — Air and water travelers from abroad aren’t the only people who will need passports next year _ deep-sea anglers who go more than 60 miles from shore will, too.
That’s increased business significantly at the Moss Street post office in Lake Charles.
Postal Service employee James Coleman said he issued about 40 passports a day last month, compared to a total of 40 in September. Nationally, more than 1.4 million passports were issued in October.

KATC TV 3

It will be interesting to see how this is enforced and I bet it will catch a lot of folks off guard.

Photo courtesy of NC Wildlife

From the days of market hunting this Punt Flintlock is on display at the Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education.