The Eggs, Passing Them Marine Cousin, the Lobster
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
MAY/JUNE 2003 $2.75 by Mike Hayden Wildscape At Work or more than a decade, the Kansas Wildscape state. Held in conjunction with Free State Park Foundation has provided outdoor recreation Entrance Days (May 3-4), our department is proud to Fand education opportunities to the people of play a role in this successful program. Kansas, emphasizing youth activities. In fact, The Annual Governor’s Fishing Classic invites Wildscape, a private non-profit foundation, has com- local, state, and national anglers and celebrities to pleted more than 30 projects and raised more than $5 participate in an annual fishing event for both enjoy- million for outdoor programs. In recognition, ment and competition. Each year, approximately 175 Wildscape was recently presented the William Penn youth from across Kansas receive fishing instruction, Mott, Jr., Award for Excellence by the National meet and talk with professional fishermen and other Society for Park Resources. celebrities, and, most importantly, have an opportu- With only three full-time employees, the relatively nity to catch fish. All money raised by the event is small Wildscape staff not only ensures that contribu- used to benefit Wildscape programs. Entries are still tions are put into actual programs, instead of sub- available for this year’s event (June 5 and 6). If you’re stantial administrative costs, it also allows this group not a fisherman (who doesn’t like to fish?), you can of dedicated individuals to remain focused on their still participate in the golf tournament. Please contact mission: “To conserve and perpetuate the land, the Wildscape at the number below for more informa- wild species and the rich beauty of Kansas for the tion. use and enjoyment of all.” Rather than resting on their success, Wildscape Hank Booth, a well-known radio broadcaster from has already begun private fund-raising efforts on Lawrence, became the new Wildscape executive behalf of the Cheyenne Bottoms Visitor Center pro- director last December and has hit the ground run- ject near Great Bend. The visitor center will include ning. Booth helped complete the fund raising and interpretive displays and an observation tower and coordination of the Milford Wetlands Project, which will truly showcase this Wetland of International will stand as the largest wetland in the northern-half Importance. With a nearly $2 million federal grant of the state. “Kathy George has played a major role awarded by the Kansas Department of as part of the Wildscape team in making this project Transportation, this project is off to a great start. happen,” says Booth. “The Milford Wetlands is a true Wildscape’s future success will continue to be federal, state, and private enterprise partnership. The dependent upon the number of contributing mem- results have been fantastic.” bers they are able to attract (all contributions are tax- Booth and the Wildscape staff are also providing deductible to the extent allowed by law). If the tenets opportunities for the youth of Kansas with two spe- of Wildscape appeal to you, I encourage you to join cial weekends: Outdoor Kansas for Kids Day (OK this Kansas conservation organization. Your gen- Kids) and the 7th Annual Governor’s Fishing Classic. erous contributions will provide more wild places for Simply put, OK Kids is about getting kids out- all of the people of Kansas to enjoy. doors. Held May 3, 2003, Wildscape and its program partners planned to teach thousands of Kansas kids For more information on Kansas Wildscape, call (785) about hiking, canoeing, fishing, biking, hunting and 843-9453, or visit their website at: birdwatching at Kansas State Parks, city and county www.kansaswildscape.com parks, and numerous private sites throughout the May/June 2003 Vol. 60, No. 3 1 On Point Wildscape At Work by Mike Hayden 2 Bird Underground The burrowing owl is a unique resident of the Kansas prairie. by Kevin Becker 8 Ghost Camp 2 Step back in time with tipi camping. by Mike Blair GOVERNOR 14 Gettin’ Chummy With It Kathleen Sebelius Smelly chum and smelly bait bring hungry channel catfish to COMMISSIONERS the boat. by Marc Murrell John Dykes, Chairman, Shawnee Mission Will Carpenter, Towanda 18 Small But Mighty John Mickey, Atwood Small, temporary wetlands provide big benefits to a variety of Tom Warner, Manhattan wildlife. by Jim Minnerath John Fields, Pittsburg Lori Hall, Salina 23 City Geese Dr. James Harrington, Liberal Canada geese have adapted so well to urban life that many ADMINISTRATION don’t bother to migrate. by James Lee Secretary Mike Hayden Ass't. Secretary/Admin. Richard Koerth Feeding The Fish 28 Ass't. Secretary/Operations Keith Sexson Fish feeders can increase the number and size of fish caught by Director of Administrative Svcs. Cindy Livingston anglers. by Leonard Jirak Director of Fisheries & Wildlife Joe Kramer Director of Parks Jerold (Jerry) Hover Wild Currents 33 Director of Law Enforcement Kevin Jones edited by J. Mark Shoup MAGAZINE STAFF 45 Backlash Chief of Information and Education Educating Ole Worthless by Mike Miller Bob Mathews Editor Mike Miller Associate Editor J. Mark Shoup Photographer/Associate Editor Mike Blair Illustrator Dustin Teasley Staff Writer Marc Murrell Editorial Assistant Bev Aldrich Circulation Barbara Theurer KANSAS WILDLIFE & PARKS (ISSN 0898-6975) is pub- lished by the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, 1020 S Kansas Ave., Topeka, KS 66612. Address editorial correspondence to Kansas Wildlife & Parks Magazine, 512 SE 25th Ave., Pratt, KS 67124 (620) 672-5911. Send sub- scription requests to Kansas Wildlife & Parks Magazine, P.O. Box 8059, Red Oak, IA 51591. Subscription rate: one year $10; two years $18; and three years $27. Articles in the magazine may be reprinted with permission. Periodical postage paid at 15 Pratt, KS and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Kansas Wildlife & Parks Magazine, P.O. Box 8059, Red Oak, IA 51591. Front Cover: A male bur- rowing owl brings a camel Editorial Creed: To promote the conservation and wise use of our natural resources, cricket to its nesting mate. to instill an understanding of our responsibilities to the land. Mike Blair filmed the Equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from programs described herein is avail- moment with a 600mm able to all individuals without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age or lens, set at f/8, 1/500th handicap. Complaints of discrimination should be sent to Office of the Secretary, Kansas sec. Back Cover: A father Department of Wildlife and Parks, 1020 S Kansas Ave., Topeka, KS 66612. and daughter share a moment’s delight after Kansas Department of Wildlife Parks Website catching a big channel cat- www.kdwp.state.ks.us fish. Photo by Marc Murrell, magazine e-mail — [email protected] 28mm lens, f/11 @ 1/250th sec. BirdBird UndergroundUnderground by Kevin Becker fish hatchery assistant, Pratt Hatchery photos by Mike Blair 2 Cowboys called them howdy birds for their habit of bobbing their heads as if to say “howdy.” Burrowing owls still live on the western Kansas prairie but are nearly as rare as the cowboys they once entertained. 3 wls, with their large for- ward-facing eyes, intense Ostares and nocturnal habits, have always been shrouded in mystery and misin- formation. In Greek Mythology, the owl was sacred to Athena, the goddess of wisdom, so owls have been called wise. Because of their secretive nighttime activ- ities, owls have been considered a symbol of death. However, the truth is that owls are exceptional nocturnal predators ideally equipped for preying on small rodents. Remarkably adapted for hunting at night, owls have broad, soft-feathered wings allowing silent flight. An acute sense of hearing with a flat face that functions like a radar dish Burrowing owls are most common in western Kansas where they often live in prairie enables them to pinpoint the dog towns, utilizing abandoned prairie dog burrows as their own. 4 Only 9 inches from head to tail, burrowing owls are small birds. Their diet consists of insects, lizards, scor- pions, small mammals, spiders and small birds. Below, a male delivers food to its mate at the burrow entrance. Young owls appear outside the burrow when they are three to four weeks old. They fledge a week later but require parental care for a while longer. exact location of a mouse daylight. doned prairie dog burrow. moving through the dead leaves But if you really want to talk Imagine what legends surround on the forest floor. And of about lore, look at a unique little this little bird. The Hopi Indians course, owls have large, hyper- owl common on the Great consider the burrowing owl to sensitive eyes with extraordinary Plains. True to its name, the bur- be the god of the dead and light-gathering ability. And rowing owl lives underground. guardian of fire and all under- although they are colorblind, Although it can excavate its own ground things. The Dakota owls can see quite well in the burrow, it usually uses an aban- Hidatsa Indians saw the bur- 5 This owl clutches a sphinx moth in its talons. Burrowing owls hunt both day and night with dawn and dusk being prime times. Prey may be chased down on foot or caught in flight. The call is a rapid quick-quick-quick cackle and a two-noted, soft, coo-coo. rowing owl as a protective spirit catch insects. They might also Burrowing owls inhabit flat, for brave warriors. catch insects in flight, swooping open terrains associated with The burrowing owl differs from a perch or hovering above. shortgrass prairies, farmland, from other owls because it hunts The burrowing owl is small deserts, and even airfields. They both day and night.