by Merle Ann Loman | Jun 21, 2009 | Bitterroot, ii Summer
Wapiti Waters has been following Nate Schweber for a while now on his New Heathens’ Blog and finally, Jack got to meet him.
Nate and Kristen fished with Jack on the Bitterroot on June 14. Nate is from Missoula but he and Kristen now live and work in New York City.
Kristen had never been to Montana until this trip with Nate! They had so much fun, I am surprised they survived all the activity.
See some of their photos here, the rest of the photos with all the stories are posted by Nate on his New Heathens’ Blog.
by Merle Ann Loman | Jan 16, 2009 | hunting/fauna/flora, iiii Winter/Snow, Other
UPDATE January 26: I found that the Billings Gazette published this story January 8. It is much more complete. See it here: Buck floatsdown Yellowstone River on ice chunks By BRETT FRENCH of The Gazette Staff.
Original Wapiti Post text:
A friend sent us these photos today. Brrrr….
An unidentified photographer took these pictures in Miles City Montana where the Tongue River flows into the Yellowstone River. The buck made it to shore. The photographer saw him jump to safety when the ice jammed close to shore.
http://www.outdoordir.com/
by Merle Ann Loman | Dec 7, 2008 | iiii Winter/Snow
To see all my “Elk Blogs” click on the “elk” hotlink in the “Labels” area at the footer of this blog entry or on the Label section on the right sidebar.
It is December in Montana. Deer and elk hunting season is closed except for a few districts that have been extended, the closest for us being south near Dillon, MT. Click here for a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks link.
The strange thing is how warm it has been. We have had moisture, but in the form of rain except for some snow at high elevations.
Instead of cross country skiing, Jack and I are still hiking for fitness and recreation. I am uploading a few photos/slideshows of game we are seeing on our hikes.
We see elk mostly on the way to our hike. They have lost security in the mountains (new roads, new construction, much hunting pressure) and oddly seek security in the open, private pastures and ranches. Good for viewing, not so good for hunting. I imagine they eat a lot of grass and hay the ranchers probably need… There are about 9 spike bulls in this group. This means they have no brow tines and are young, not mature bulls.
Mature bulls stay away from cows and calves most of the year. During calving season, the cows are scattered widely in small groups. I see them on my hikes in the mountain drainages above these ranches. That is when thermal cover and security from the forest (not the open fields) is important to these elk. Once the spotted calves are able to walk, the females will then assemble into larger groups. It is common to see 30, even close to 100 elk in herds near here from July until calving season. Elk are shy and very suspicious of human beings unless accustomed to them since birth as in the case of this herd. They are still suspicous and wiley, but know they are relatively safe near ranches.
Click here for a great Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation article.
For larger views, click on “View Album.”
Click here for information about Downey Woodpeckers.
by Merle Ann Loman | Nov 24, 2008 | hunting/fauna/flora, iii Fall
Above is a photo of an elk herd (actually only part of the herd) that hangs on private land during hunting season. They are so much fun to watch as they move from field to field just on the edge of timber and Forest Service land.
We are still hunting for my whitetail doe and/or buck and of course for the elusive elk. It is fun, but we would love for it snow so their behavior was a bit more predictable and we could see tracks. It is our privilege to hunt in these beautiful mountains and be able to experience the wonderful sights and sounds as the sun rises and the day begins.
Here is a slide show of a few of our hunting photos. We did an eastern Montana antelope hunt in October. Jack went back in November and bagged a 4×4 whitetail buck. He didn’t get any photos on that trip. It was rainy and mucky.
If you click “View Album”, then “View Slide Show” and slow the photos down to 5 or 6 seconds – it should show in full screen mode.
