The Three-Minute Outdoorsman: Wild Science from Magnetic Deer to Mumbling Carp

Contents

contents Preface ix All Things Deer 1. A Short History of Deer in North America 2 2. A Message from Our Native Birds: Deer Hunters Needed 8 3. The Science of Chronic Wasting Disease and Its Relevance for Management of White-Tailed Deer 11 4. Urban Deer: Hunting versus Birth Control 23 5. It’s Taken Centuries, but We Now Know Why Deer Don’t Ask to Use Your Compass 28 6. Why Are Medical Researchers Interested in Antlers? 31 7. Isn’t It Obvious Why Deer Have Antlers? 35 8. A New Kind of (Un)Natural Selection on Deer Antlers: Hunting 39 9. My Deer Doctor: Take Two Acorns and Call Me in the Morning 42 10. Trying to Outfox Deer Ticks and Lyme Disease 47 11. Deer and Their Subspecies: Fact or Fiction? 52 12. Can Game Managers Control the Number of Deer? 56 13. Mountain Lions, Prions, and Sick Deer 60 14. The Rut (Maybe More Than You Wanted to Know) 63 in The WooDs 15. Hunting Spots for Wild Turkeys at the Last Glacial Maximum 68 16. Wolves, Coyotes, and Deer 72 17. Lead, Lead, Everywhere? 75 t h e t h r e e - m i n u t e o u t d o o r s m a n vi 18. Politics and the Lead Ammo Debate 78 19. Getting the Lead Out (of Chukars) 82 20. Sounding the Alarm, Mourning Dove Style 86 21. Moaning Moose and Topi Lies 89 22. Turkeys and Love: What’s Actually Happening Out There in Spring? 92 23. Looking Back at Turkey Season: What You Might Not Have Seen 95 24. When Black Bears Attack! 97 25. I Wouldn’t Have Seen It If I Hadn’t Believed It: A Look at the Ivory-billed Woodpecker Controversy 101 26. Recent Developments in the Climate Change News 104 27. Night of the Dead Birds, or Too Much Hitchcock? 108 28. Eagle Attacks Toddler! Then Again, Maybe Not 111 in The WATer 29. Recreational Fishing Alters Fish Evolution 114 30. Duck Hunting in the Low Country; or, How’s Your Kooikerhondje? 117 31. Predators and Ducklings in the North Dakota Prairies 120 32. Long-Term Sexual Tensions between Male and Female Ducks 124 33. Vigilance in Ducks: More Than Meets the Eye(lid) 128 34. What Little We Knew about the Labrador Duck Just Got Littler 132 35. Mumbling Along: Lessons from the Past about Stopping the Spread of Exotic Species 134 36. What You Don’t See under Your Boat 139 37. Never Be a Baby Bird 141 38. Oh, No! Duck Hunting Videos Might Not Be Realistic! 145 39. Snow Geese and Polar Bears: Collision Course? 148 40. Species Conservation at the State Level: A Fish-Eye View 152 T H E T H R E E - M I NU T E O U T D O O R S M A N vii AnimAls AnD Us 41. Reconsider Your Walk with Fido? 158 42. Loon Hunting: A Bygone Tradition 161 43. Market Hunting and the Demise of the Eskimo Curlew 165 44. The Ethics of Baiting and High-Fence Ranch Hunting: A Perennial Debate 169 45. Hunters and Conservationists at Odds over Shooting Shorebirds 177 46. A Conversation about Hunting in the Netherlands 180 47. Back from the Dead: Mother Goose Goes to the Poor House, Cooked 183 48. Cats Outdoors and Native Birds: An Unnatural Mix 188 49. Five Million U.S. Residents Don’t See the Problem with Their Cat Killing Just One Bird a Day 191 50. Cats on Birds: A More Insidious Side 195 51. Some We Love, Others Not So Much 197 52. RICO, the Circus, and Conflicts between Hunters and Nonhunters 200 AnimAl inTelligence 53. A New Respect for Porcupine Quills 206 54. Outfoxed Again: Foxes Use Built-In Range Finders! 209 55. How Do Ground-Nesting Grouse Ever Breed Successfully? An Oily Subject 212 56. Our Chickadees Are Smarter Than Theirs 216 57. Neck-Deep in Guano: A Recent History of Chimney Swifts 218 58. Shake, Rattle, and Spray, Doggie Style 222 59. Drahthaar Follies 225 60. “Trash Birds,” the Law, and Amazing Biology 227 61. The Dating Game, Antelope Style 231 62. Camouflage: One of Life’s Universals 234 63. One More Cup of Coffee 237 Postscript: Confessions of a Three-Minute Outdoorsman 241 ...