Nov 28, 2008 - 07:30:38 CST
This past weekend I had the great opportunity to take part in another elk hunting adventure in the North Dakota Badlands. Once I found out I would be heading to the most beautiful part of our wonderful state, I was ecstatic ... another chance to terrace and trapeze the slippery slopes of the clay buttes.
The weekend began with the annoying scream of the alarm clock at 4:30 a.m., making me question my tired body why again am I getting up so early on the weekends.
OK, I guess I'll get up and get dressed and throw on the long johns, a couple layers of clothes, wool socks, boots and a jacket, and I'm off. Off to go chase some North Dakota elk.
A couple hours later and we arrive at the base of our destined butte to sit for the morning hunt.
While the sun began lighting the day, the birds were singing their joyful bliss notifying any passersby that they were there. American crows were cawing in the distance, cattle were bellowing over the next bluff and the black-billed magpies were querying a higher, longer, nasally "gway-gway."
The black-billed magpies are quite the interesting bird. They are found here in North Dakota year-round in open country with scattered trees. They have an extremely striking pied plumage and a long tail. As a matter of fact, a very long tail. No other North American land birds, except the scissor-tailed and fork-tailed flycatchers, have tails longer than their bodies.
Pica hudsonia, as the ornithologists have named them, are 19 inches in length, have a wing span of 25 inches, weigh about 6 ounces, with a fairly large body, with a stout bill and broad wings. The adults have flashing white wing patches and a white belly, with the rest of the body black. Magpies, as with other corvids, are omnivorous (eat meat and non-meat foods), but feed mainly on seeds and nuts.
Flights show a strong steady wingbeat. Their nests are bulky balls of sticks and are placed in trees. They are a very noisy and aggressive bird, yet are fairly inconspicuous when they are nesting. My hunting buddy and I noticed these incredible creatures almost in every location we were looking for elk.
As the "Golden Field Guide Birds of North America" has indicated, we found these birds wandering erratically during this early winter in the Badlands.
Many of you may be wondering -- we also were supposed to be looking for elk, right? Well, we did in fact see elk; however, it was in Teddy Roosevelt National Park. It was a decent bull that anyone would be greatly excited to see.
We did not get another chance to see any more elk; however, we saw numerous mule deer on top of the colorful buttes. I think we saw just as many mule deer hunters as deer. This was an extremely busy weekend in the Badlands, as it was the last weekend of deer season.
The people were friendly, the food was magnificent and the wildlife was abundant. What a great way to spend time in our great outdoors.
(Dan Ackerman is an environmental scientist with the North Dakota Department of Transportation.)
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