November 26, 2025 • 37 mins
Gift ideas for those into birding as well as holiday things to do at our Indiana state parks.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Well, happy Thanksgiving.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
I just like saying that it's never too late to
offer thanks, and we give thanks each and every week
here in the Indiana Outdoor Studio for all the stations,
Acarrus and all the listeners, we do wish you the
best this holiday season. Of course, I your host, Brian Pointer,
so excited each and every week, even at this time
of the year, an opportunity to kick off this post
(00:54):
Thanksgiving weekend with some great outdoor chatter. And we're gonna
set this up for you because we have a lot
of opportunity in Indiana this time of the year. Of course,
it's fun a weekend of deer season, firearms and then
a lot of folks taken the field and forest. We're
going to kick things off. I've had so many people
(01:16):
ask me birding questions, meaning where to go, what to do.
I always send him to my friend Ken Keffer, who
is one of Indiana's experts. He owns the Wild Bird's
Unlimited franchise down in Bloomington, but award winning outdoor writer
and contributor and just truly an expert. So we're going
to have him on. I'm looking at some gifts. I
have a couple of people that like to bird and
(01:38):
I've seen these cameras, so I want to talk to
him about these cameras on bird feeders. So many things
to talk about. Plus we're going to talk to our
friends at the Indiana Wildlife Federation. We're going to find
out about the holiday opportunities to gift packs and some
other things. There's first day hikes. I don't want to
steal all of Amanda Anya's updates from state parks, but
(02:01):
there's gonna be Christmas lights at a few state parks.
It's all coming up. I just get so excited.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Here we are.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
I'm in the Indiana Outdoor Studio after Thanksgiving. That means
we're in the final run. We all made it through
Black Friday. Let's all take a breath and enjoy this season.
And we're gonna kick things off with Ken Kaffer from
Bloomington Wildbird's Unlimited. What should we put on our Christmas list?
It's the Indiana Outdoor Show.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
And well, happy post Thanksgiving.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
It is the Indiana Outdoor Show, and I am your host,
Brian Pointer. Always great to visit with you each and
every day, but especially at this time of the year.
Hopefully you still have family around, or maybe you don't
and maybe that's a good thing, or maybe it's a
bad thing.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
So many holiday pitfalls out there. You're having a little
fun here with the Indiana Outdoor Show, and we have
so many things going on, a lot of folks taking
the field and forest as this is the last weekend
of the firearm season for deer. We have a lot
of folks getting ready to do some great stuff, maybe
going to the toboggan up at Pokkagan, another great tradition.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
So many things.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
However, it is interesting to me and every time that
I invite our guest Ken Keffer, who is the proprietor
of the wild Birds Unlimited franchise Dan and Bloomington, good
friend of Indiana Outdoors, Award winning outdoor writer and just
all around great guy to the show. Ken, I'm always
interested because people have this real thing. It's a lot
(03:42):
bigger than perhaps anybody realizes. Bird watching and Karen feeding
of the birds and critters this time of the year
is so important. What are people coming in and buying
it this time of the year, And how you've been
and all that good stuff. Ken Keffer with wild Birds Unlimited.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Hey, Hey, thanks for having me, buddy. Yeah, it's an
exciting time of year. You know, for me wintertime, I
can't get the seasonal depression like anybody else, and so
the birds really bring me such joy all winter long
that it is kind of my favorite time of year
to be watching the birds.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
There are so many people this is a huge thing.
And I know that i'd I sound like my jaws drop,
but I get this. It's like dogs and cats, man,
people have their passions about their birds, and I love it.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
Yeah, yeah, certainly.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
You know, I think one of the cool things about
birds is just that you can become familiar with them
and it become a part of your daily life. And
like you said, it's cats and dogs is a great
example too. It just you know, they've just become so ingrained.
It's not like you have to go out in the
you know, remote stretches of anywhere. They're right there all
around anywhere in the state.
Speaker 4 (04:46):
And so yeah, it.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Kind of bring brings nature to us in the easiest way.
And so yeah, winter's a great time of year to
be feeding the birds. The little the food helps kind
of get through the long winter nights.
Speaker 4 (04:59):
It's not so much the hold.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
That bothers the birds this time of year, but it's
the long nights where they can't be actively beating, you know,
And so that's kind of a stock up on a
high fat treat in the afternoon evening time, and then
they use those calories to stay warm all night long.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
All right, So I know there's gonna be This is
a long answer, but try to try to use your
expertise here because you know, you can go to any
place and buy bird food bird seed, but may may
may or may not be helping the birds in your
local area. How do you advise people on what to buy?
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Yeah, certainly it's a great question, and yeah it's an
important topic. So I think keeping your seed fresh, you know,
in your own yard, you gotta swap it out pretty frequently.
They're gonna eat it down a bunch. But you know,
high quality foods. Black oil sunflower seed is like the
cheese pizza of the bird world. Right, birds like to
eat seed. They're gonna like black oil sunflower It's a
(05:53):
good high oil content speed.
Speaker 4 (05:55):
It's got a nice thin.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Shell, so the birds are able to crack that open
if you don't mind having that shell scatter a lot
of people don't want that shell accumulation in the yard,
so that we also have just black whale out of
the shell kind of sunflower chips or sunflower hearts.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
So if you got that as your key's pizza.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Layer this time of year especially, you want some high
fats in there as well, So a peanut or a
tree nut, kind of a seed blend that's got those
in it can help boost those kind of calories that
the birds are needing this time of year. The other
options then it can like sue it's big this time
of year, right, the old rendered fat and so you
got high fat sue At cakes with some good quality
(06:30):
seed in them, the bird's going to scarp those up
and help them survive. You as long.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
Winters, Ken Keffer, as our guest and truly a gem
to be a part of Indiana Outdoors, we appreciate all
the time that you can give to us because you
are not only birding is one of your passions, but
you have been past president of the Outdoor Writers' Association
of America. You're pretty well versed in a lot of
this stuff. And as I've gotten to know you over
(06:55):
the year since you've been here on Indiana Outdoors, in
your regular country. There's some interesting things that happen to
some of even our smallest birds this time of the
year that I had no idea, and I think it's
important for people to understand. But I also think it's
Mother Nature at her best. And I'm talking about the
little chickadees.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
Yeah, I love the chickenees, you know, the kind of great, great,
just the curious, happy call. I love them because, hey,
they say their name right, chicken eded, so they help
identify themselves. In the north, you've got the black cap
chickadee in our state. Down south here we've got more
Carolina chickenees, So the black capital thing, it's like cheeseburger whistle,
and then down here it's more of a drink. You're
a root beer kind of a four part call. But
(07:35):
chickenees are super busy, active body birds anyway, right They
kind of the classic behavior is they'll fly in, they'll
grab one seed, they'll fly out, and then they'll like
peck it open and eat it, or they might cash it,
they might store it somewhere and they can of the neighborhood.
And so if you think of this little tiny chickenee's
like a ping pong ball, right, And this time of year,
their brain actually grows to help them remember where they're storing.
Speaker 4 (08:00):
All of these seeds for the winter.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
And so they catch these seeds, their brains get a
little bigger to help remember where they can find them
all winter long.
Speaker 4 (08:08):
And it's just a mind blowing.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Fact to me, that is, And that's why I say
Mother Nature is perfect in every way, good, better and different.
She's in control. But I wish they would do this
for humans because I'll get up out of my chair
and go to the kitchen. You can't remember so whatever
that If there was anything that could make my brain grow,
not just in the winter, just so I could remember
daily functions, I'd be happy, right.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
So yeah, certainly. The other thing ticketys do overnight is
they'll actually go into like a slight torp or so
they kind of slow their metabolism down to help them
get through those long nights and then hit the ground
running in the morning.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
So I love me some hummingbirds. Are they do they
stick around or are they gone? Because they can't do.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
It pretty much gone?
Speaker 3 (08:47):
Yeah, yep, So they'll head out, you know, kind of
october ish occasionally. And I'm talking like once a year
in the state, a western species, usually like a rufous
humming bird might show up. And so if you see
hummingbird this time of year, called you know, called audubon,
call wildberd limited, let the boath know and and people
(09:11):
literally will drive all over the state to find one
of these, you know, to see some of these species
because they're so rare in our state.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
But yeah, occasionally they will.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Show up, but yeah, it's it'd be something real special
this time of year to have that humming bird they've
mostly they've mostly headed out for the year.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Well, I know with the foliage off the trees. The
leaves came off in one weekend at my house, so uh,
it's a lot easier to spot and see. But I
know there's activities in different places around the state for
like bird counts and bird watching and the eagle watches
that take place down in your neck of the woods
after the first of the year, I think are fascinating.
But are there things that people can get involved in
(09:45):
if they come into the store and say, hey, what
can I do to get involved? Maybe I want to
learn a little bit more, what do you where do
you direct them this time of the year.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
Yeah, yeah, it's a great question. So folks that you
know are wanting to be more involved, like citizens science,
community science. Birding a great way to do that, and
you can help contribute your reports and the things you're
seeing to larger databases. And so the Cornell Lab with
when Mythology kind of administers a lot of these types
of programs all winter. There's one that's called the Project
(10:14):
Feeder Watch, and so that's one that you just in
the same location throughout the months of winter and you
kind of counting the birds that you're seeing and documenting
that as the season goes. And so that's kind of
a good good winter one. A lot of folks do
it all year round and contribute to the Eberd database.
But this is kind of a specific protocols in the
winter times for Project feater Watch. Christmas bird counts are
(10:37):
going to be picking up soon, kind of mid December
through early January. And I looked on the map the
other day, Indiana is just covered with Christmas bird count circles.
And so this is a great community involvement project. You know,
if you're maybe not as comfortable as birds, they'll team
you up with some experts and so get you out
in the field, and extra sets of eyes always helped
spotting the birds. Even if you're not able to identify,
(10:59):
then you can still produce. So those Christmas bird counts,
you know, that's a one day count and you go out,
it's you know, a circle kind of designed territory you
need to cover and just counting every individual you can
possibly find in that little circle. And then those long
term trends go into that data set and help contribute
to some real science.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
Ken Keffer as our guest wild Birds Unlimited Den and Bloomington.
All right, so it's that time of the year, we're
past Thanksgiving and Black Friday, and you're thinking about gifts.
Here's what's on my radar screen. I want to know
if these are worth it. So I've seen a lot
of these bird feeders that have the the cameras associated
and they run off a little solar battery and you
(11:39):
can get it up close and personal. Are those are
those good? Do you have recommendations? Do you have other
gift ideas for people? Because I know some people that
would really like it, but I don't want to invest
the money and find out it's going to not even
want to make it to the spring. What are your thoughts.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
Yeah, Yeah, there's some great ones out there, for sure,
and it's a fun way to watch the birds. And
I find myself, you know, I'll be here at the
store and I'll pull up my camera in my yard
and I'll look at something and I'll even like text
my wife, I was like, hey, like, look look at
the window, Heather, there's a bird right now, Like how
are you watching the birds?
Speaker 4 (12:09):
And I'm not.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
And the other thing is like, I also even when
I'm when I'm home watching, it gives you kind of
an unique perspective where the bird's usually looking pretty straight
on into the camera, and so you can really get
those up close views that you just don't get really
any other way except for maybe on a window feed
or where they're also pretty close in. But I'm distracted
right now. I got to flock a robin's flying through,
you know, that bird moment.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
So we've got I'm sure a lot of great things
in the store, and as a retail establishment, wild Birds
Unlimited certainly one of the leaders out there. And if
somebody comes in and says, listen, I don't know anything
about birds, but I really want to kind of get involved.
Are there groups that people can get involved in. I've
heard you talk about the birding counts and other things,
(12:54):
but sometimes that can be a little intimidating, especially a
newbie wanting to get involved. Are there play is that
people in kind of a user friendly way can can
get up to speed.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Yeah, well certainly, there's you know a lot of in
person groups, you know, whether they're audible societies or you know,
local land trust, a lot of groups leading field trips
out and you know, experience.
Speaker 4 (13:16):
The wilds of birding that way.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
There's a ton of online resources too, in online communities,
and so there's a couple in the States on like
the social media, there's you know, groups that you can
join and some of them are very specific about like
bird photography, or some of.
Speaker 4 (13:30):
Them very specific about kind of the.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
Rare birds, and so you find one that matches you, you know,
if you're just getting started. There's a lot of really
welcoming communities that will help identify anything and kind of
get build that in excite and enthusiasm. I mentioned Cornell
They've got a great just online presence with just species
accounts and all the you know kind of identification guides
and things.
Speaker 4 (13:50):
To help.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
There's some apps out there that help identify the birds
by sight or by sound, and so that's kind of
a great way to build a little confidence. And the
thing about birds is a lot of it's just repeated.
You know, it's the same sets of birds coming over
the course of the winter, and so you might see
one initially and like, oh, like red breasted nuttatches one
that this is a great year for them. It's kind
(14:12):
of been a eruptive species and so they're not always
here in good numbers. But when there's not a good
cone crop in Canada, you might see a big push.
And so you might have known the white breasted nuttatch
and you've seen that one before. You see this burd
like that looks kind of like that other species, you know,
like there's a familiarity to it. So it's always a
great way to learn and kind of expand your own
own knowledge base about birds.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
Maybe I'm just in my birding season that this is
of interest to me, but I know several that really
are into this, and I'm trying to focus on some
things to get them. You've given some good ideas already.
Just I imagine just coming into the store is a
big step for a lot of folks. And you've got,
I'm sure a lot of great things that you're going
to be pitching this this winter. What are some of
(14:54):
the high Christmas items that you are seeing people and
maybe you're hoping that people come in and buy what's
the trend?
Speaker 3 (15:02):
Yeah, you know, I mean gift items especially people love
like to really splurge on, like a nice set of binoculars.
Speaker 4 (15:10):
We saw a lot of.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
Binoculars this time of year to folks to be like,
you know what, I really wasn't sure I was going
to get into the hobby, so I got a little
cheap hair and now that I'm really excited and invested,
you know, that's that's something that's definitely, you know, going
to be paying off in the long run to just
help your enjoyment of any of the outdoor hobbies, right
and so yeah, yeah, and.
Speaker 4 (15:28):
Glass has come a long ways.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
You know, you don't have to spend thousands of dollars
to get high quality glass in the hands of people,
and so yeah, it's a great great.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
One field guys.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
We saw a lot of books this time of year
where people want to identify birds.
Speaker 4 (15:40):
There's so many resources on helping identify.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
But there's also a lot of types of you know,
kind of fact books and like essays like Simpley's got
a great one that talks about kind of how to
be a bird and like all the parts of the birds,
and like just it's a way, it's a unique way
to look at a bird, you know, can to help
you understand how the feathers work, or how the feet
and the beak adaptations, and so just kind of some
great books out there, a lot of resources, and yeah,
(16:03):
a lot of people just you know, they'll come in
and be like, hey, I want to buy one hundred
pounds of bird feeds from my spouse.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
It's done.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
Is that like buying a washering and dryer or a
new microwave or a pot. I'm not sure how that
would go over, but I know there are a lot
of people, and that means a lot. What about the
raptors real quick, the falcons, the ospreys, the eagles, I mean,
do they change a lot the owls all those things
in Indiana that are so great. Do we get a
(16:32):
lot of those in the.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
Winter, Yeah, yeah, we sure do, you know, and that's
a great time. You're like, the eagles are definitely kind
of numbers are going to peak in the wintertime. One
that's here and this is just just fascinated me. You
don't always see it, but the northern sawt owl Indiana.
Audubond's doing a lot of research with this species. It's
like the size of like a pint glass, you know,
with a tiny little owl that hangs out in some
(16:55):
just usually some real thick conifer trees and things, and
tons of people have no idea that they're actually here
in the winter time, and so this research has helped
showing that even though scientists didn't know quite the extent
that they were traveling here. So winter's a great time
here for something like that. And so you see see
be the big old eyes there and back catch it
(17:17):
from a little theater tree might be a little solid.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
Well, we're going to have some opportunities. I know we'll
be talking about this since we get to the end
of the year with the eagle Watches, et cetera. Stop
in and say hi to Ken Keffer, our regular contributor
here wild Birds Unlimited, Den and Bloomington. Best to you
and your wife, Happy post Thanksgiving and always appreciate your insight,
my friend, and May be calling on you for some
gift ideas. So thanks for everything that you do.
Speaker 4 (17:40):
Here's buddy, Happy holidays you too.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
All right, So fun Ken Keffer wild Birds Unlimited. It
is the Indiana Outdoor Show. We have so many other things.
We're going to give you some other gift ideas here
a little later tis the season. We're going to be
back right after this, and so great to have you
(18:13):
be a part of this post Thanksgiving. Hopefully you come
out of your comas and you made it through the
frenzy of Black Friday. Oh we are in the season
right now. But nonetheless we're going to keep you happy
and we're going to give you some great ideas, including
our friend Ken Keffer from wild Birds Unlimited down in Bloomington,
(18:34):
great friend of Indiana Outdoors and mine, award winning writer
and a great knowledge on the birding. A lot of
cool things to give as gifts. But we also have
to remember those that are doing great work in conservation.
Another opportunity at the end of the year is forgiving
and great organizations and sustaining and all that good stuff.
Our friends at the Indiana Wildlife Federation, the executive director
(18:56):
Dan Borrett, joins me. Dan it's great to visit with you.
I know you're visiting family this weekend after post Thanksgiving
out east and enjoying some R and R. But how
are things at the Indiana Wildlife Federation.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
Yeah, thanks, Brian.
Speaker 5 (19:10):
I hope if you had a great Thanksgiving and all
your listeners things are good. It's a busy time as always.
We're starting to gear up for the legislative session. I
will be a short session this year in the State
House and then track in, track in everything else that
is going on in are rapidly changing the world.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
I know it's hard to believe you're enjoying family and
then we're going to be back in the circus of
the legislature. But the folks at Indiana Wildlife Federation, you
and I have talked about this and I share it
almost every week in some fashion. I encourage people to
become members of something, whether it's your local birden club
and Ken making Ken Keffer happy, or it's if you're
(19:54):
a deer hunter. The deer hunters of the turkey, the quail,
the elk, the pheasants, they all have their organizations and
they do such great work right here in Indiana. The
Indiana Wildlife Federation. What do you guys do, What do
you focus on so that people can understand how important
your mission is.
Speaker 5 (20:08):
Yeah, so we are a statewide organization. We are the
state affiliate of something called the National Wildlife Federation. For
your listeners who are familiar with Ranger Rick, that is
the symbol of National Wildlife Federation. And we are the
state affiliates, So we work in tandem with fifty two
other affiliates throughout the country. But we ourselves focus on
(20:30):
conservation issues in the state of Indiana, and we approach
that from the Big ten perspective. We advocate for hunters
and anglers and access so that people can enjoy the
great outdoor spaces the public lands that we have to
offer in Indiana. And we also promote policies and provide
(20:52):
workshops and educational meetings to teach people how they can
do things to better improve conservation outcomes in the state.
Be it be it using native plants and eradicated invasives
in your landscape to make wildlife habitat, or work in
with agricultural producers to to try and improve their their
(21:13):
their tillage practices and other production techniques that better serve
both the producers by giving them higher yields and less inputs,
but also to keep keep all the all the sediment
and fertilizers out of our our streams which impact our
rivers and so on.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Well, as you do such great work throughout the year,
and you've already mentioned that the legislative session, we've received
some we've the legislature has been in the news unnecessarily
out of session here lately. But as you look forward
to the active session coming in, what are some of
the things that are going to be on the IWF's
priority list.
Speaker 4 (21:50):
That's a great question. We'll see.
Speaker 5 (21:52):
As you said, a lot of the oxygen has been
soaked up in the current conversations leading up to the session,
so really not sure what is going to come out.
It is a short session, so traditionally that means that
things that require budget considerations will not be taken under
consideration this session. There are some bills that we think
(22:15):
may be introduced, some that are good, some that we
would prefer to see either change or not even brought forward.
But we'll really have to and see, because I think
the five hundred pounds elephant is certainly the conversation about
redistricting and depending on how that plays out, I think
it will greatly inform what.
Speaker 4 (22:36):
Happens in the session.
Speaker 5 (22:38):
So at this point, we are tracking several bills, We
are working with legislators and other groups to see what
we can get done this session. But really everything is
in a holding pattern until we have a bit more clarity.
So hopefully, hopefully we can get back to business and
(22:59):
doing things that help promote conservation in the state, help
provide Hoosiers with more opportunities to get outdoors and use
public lands and enjoy what our state has to offer.
We do have some really exciting news on the federal
advocacy front, and that is that a bill, the Ohio
(23:20):
River Restoration Program Act Hr five nine sixty six, has
been introduced with eight co authors, four of which come
from our state. And it's really just incredibly gratifying to
us to see our legislative support for this piece of legislation.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
I love. What does that do?
Speaker 4 (23:39):
Yeah, so it is? It is.
Speaker 5 (23:41):
It is an authorizing bill to provide federally dedicated funds
to clean up water in the Ohio River basin, of
which eighty percent of Indiana falls into.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
I I don't think people realize that Indiana is about
eighty percent of it is in the Ohio River watershed.
And if you're up north, you wait, that doesn't affect me.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
But it does.
Speaker 5 (24:00):
Yeah, it does. No, I mean it really does. So
every again, roughly eighty one percent of the state is
in the Ohio River basin and the other nineteen percent
is in the Great Lakes Basin. We already have legislation
called the Great Lakes Frustration Initiative that benefits the Great
Lakes and it's been transformative for that twenty percent of
our state which falls into that watershed. We're hoping that
(24:23):
this legislation will do the same for the rest of
our state. And again with this incredible leadership by by
Congresswoman Houton, who has really been championed this for years now,
as long as well as Congressman Mesmer, Shreeve and Marvan,
we have this really strong Indiana contingent that is speaking
(24:44):
out federally and saying, hey, we want to provide good,
clean water, good fishing opportunities in our state and this
is a pass forward to that.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
Well, that's going to give us something to get back
on after the first of the year and keep trying
that for sure, anytime you need anything. There's an open
phone here to get messages out. And I do encourage
people to join our friends at the Indiana Wildlife Federation.
It's a member based group and the voice of many
that you carry with you to the legislatures, to the Congress,
(25:16):
wherever you might be advocating is very important and no
better gift than you could give this time of the
year anything for the good of the cause. Dan Bor
it with the Indiana Wildlife Federation for people to know.
Speaker 5 (25:28):
No, but as you said, Brian, we'd love you guys
to go to Indiana Wildlife dot org. If you're not
a member, become a member, tell your friends about us,
and look out in the near future for our annual meeting,
which will be happening March seventh and focusing on how
how everyone in our state can help create wildlife habitat
in their own spaces.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
Well you travel safe post holiday back here, enjoy the
East and your family and some outdoors. We'll look forward
to talking to you maybe before the end of the year,
sure for sure afterward. Thanks for being a part of
Indiana Outdoors.
Speaker 5 (26:02):
Thanks for all you do, Brian, and hope everyone had
a great Thanksgiving.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
Amen and Alulujah talk to you soon, my friend. It
is the Indiana Outdoor Show. I am your host. What
a great guy, what a great organization doing such valuable work.
When we come back, I told you we're going to
find out what's going on in state parks. A lot
of lights, a lot of activities. We're going to get
to it all. It's Indiana Outdoor Show and well happy
(26:40):
post Thanksgiving. It is truly a special time and hopefully
lots of memories made, lots of food eating, and traditions started,
and Indiana Outdoors is glad to be a part of this.
Each and every Saturday, we're brought to you by Indiana
Donor Network Driven to Save Lives dot org. Sign up
to be the organ in tissue donor and you buy
(27:00):
your hunting and fishing license so you go to the BMV.
It couldn't be any easier. Give the gift of life,
save hundreds or save many lives, heal dozens with those gifts,
and we have had a great show. Many thanks to
Ken Keffer wild Birds Unlimited down in Bloomington, regular contributor.
Here this time of the year, a lot of fun
things happen and if you're A. Birder and Dan Borrick
(27:22):
with the Indiana Wildlife Federation. Great organization getting ready for
the session. But Amanya Amanda Anya's joins us today. She's
the outreach coordinator for our Department of Natural Resources. Amanda,
It's always great to visit with you and our friends
at DNR. And this is a very special time of
the year because here we are right after Thanksgiving. But
a lot of your state parks, several of them are
(27:43):
going to be having drive through light displays and other
activities and gift packs. Take it away. What do people want?
If you got lingering company, what's a good thing to
do with them?
Speaker 6 (27:54):
Absolutely take them out in the parks. You know it's
winter time, but hey, our parks aren't closed and sometimes
it's the most beautiful time of the year getting out
in nature. So if you want to stay warm and
stay cozy in your car, you can come out to
five of our state park properties. They are having light
(28:14):
shows Holiday light shows at their campgrounds and that you
can drive through. So those are Abatchie State Park, Mound
State Park, liber State Recreation Area, spring Mill State Park,
and Versailles State Park. Again, great opportunities, and I believe
that several of them. Santa maybe visiting. Yeah, so bring
(28:37):
the kids.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
Have what you smell like beef and cheese. Olks, Sorry,
I'm digressing with my twelve year old humor. Back to
the subject.
Speaker 6 (28:50):
Yes, but it's it's going to be a great time
at the park, so definitely get out there for the
holiday lights. And if you're looking for a gift to
give ball during this holiday season, we have a really
special deal going on with our holiday gift packs. So
this bundles some of our most popular items into one pack.
(29:13):
So we have combined a twenty twenty six entrance pass,
a gift card to either inns or camping, and a
one year subscription to Outdoor Indiana magazine. So they're all
bundled together to save you some money. And you can
give that to someone else or you can get it
for yourself.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
Why not, you know I love you mentioned something. I
just want to hover for a minute, because for all
the great reasons to go to a state park, you
can go in the spring, you can go in the summer,
you can go in the fall, and you can go
in the winter and have a unique experience each of
those seasons in the same state park. Some are especially
(29:53):
conducive to winter time activities like our friends up at
pokeg And it's my understanding that the toboga is up
and running as of yesterday, which is a great thing,
great traditions. But is that true? Are we are we live?
Are we going? Are we going live?
Speaker 5 (30:09):
Yes?
Speaker 6 (30:10):
Yes, So Pokagen is the winter playground up there in
northern Indiana. And yes, the toboggan run is up and running.
So if you want to go on a thirty second
thrill ride dropping nearly I think it's ninety feet over
a quarter mile, that's the place for you to go.
(30:31):
This toboggan run is really fun. It's a tradition for
a lot of hoosiers out there, and if you haven't
tried it, you got to try it, all right.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
What's the current speed record?
Speaker 6 (30:41):
I think it's a forty two miles per hour?
Speaker 4 (30:45):
All right.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
I have threatened with previous director Dan Borton, our great
friend of mine, our good friend Terry Coleman in State Parks,
we are up more of the husky nature, and I
have been told that you get enough weight on that thing.
We were going to try to push this. We never
got it done, but I'm still pushing that we're going
to break that speed record, and I think we got
enough enough oomphs behind us to make it happen. The
(31:07):
other thing that's popular this time of the year, in
addition to pokagan, I just love the atmosphere up there,
But you also have first hikes and those have become
wildly popular after the first of the year, on the
first day January first. Where can people get more information
on that?
Speaker 6 (31:25):
Absolutely, go to the DNR calendar. We'll have information about
all the different first day hikes. You already have the
date marked on your calendar it's going to be January one,
but you can have more of the details about where
they're going to go and what types of hikes are
going to be offered. I know at Obannon Woods down
(31:46):
in southern Indiana they're going to have a walk with
an oxen hike as their first day hikes. So a
real fun opportunity for the whole family to get outdoors.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Walking with an oxen. What could possibly go wrong? That
could possibly go wrong? No, I think that is fantastic.
And you know what's beautiful is it you answer your
phones there making memories naturally, and I think that's wonderful.
There's great opportunities, So seriously, no better value. Load people up.
Find a state park within an hour drive of every citizen,
get in in Indiana and get out and do something
(32:19):
fun in our state parks. And I also promote a
huge fan of the state park inns. Any specials going
on this time. They made it through the holiday through Thanksgiving,
but I know the inns have some specials in the wintertime,
and I love those opportunities.
Speaker 6 (32:33):
They sure do. We have a winter two for one
savings at our state park ends right now. It's running
from November thirtieth to February twenty six and it's stay
two nights Sunday through Thursday, and your second night is free,
So you can't be that. They're a great place to
stay if you're not up for you know, roughing it
in our campgrounds during the winter. You can stay in
(32:55):
a cozy hotel room.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
And don't forget the food. Because I'm a big fan.
I know Miss Karen Hinton who runs our state parks
and are the inns and all the food and everything
up there, and she does such a great job. But
it's truly fantastic some of the and you can go
to different parts of the state. They have some different
local things, which I always think is a fun thing.
(33:17):
And there's nothing better than sitting around the big hearth
usually in most of these state park inns, and watching
families play games, or people bringing in snacks and just
watching grandkids, or maybe some of the aqua parks that
are in these indoor state park facilities. Always a great
time of the year. Anything that we haven't talked about, Amanda,
(33:40):
that you want people to know about this time of
the year, I think we covered it.
Speaker 6 (33:45):
But if you are looking to camp during winter, can
find more information about what to expect in our campgrounds
on our Winter Camping web page.
Speaker 4 (33:57):
It tells you.
Speaker 6 (33:58):
What heated reshrooms are of allable and stuff like that.
So if you're one to rough it in the winter,
look up before you go so you can be prepared.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
Well, let's face it, Indiana hasn't had a blistering winter
here for a long time, but you know, there's plenty
of opportunities and when the campgrounds are a little less populated,
you get some quiet and peace and solitude. But you
know there's a lot of people that love that. So
great advice and as always I encourage people. Go to
(34:27):
the calendars on the DNR web page before you head out.
Find out where these lights are going to be, find
out what activities, what interpretive naturalists opportunities are going to
be in these state parks. Get those folks that are
lingering after the holidays into the car and say we're
going to work off all that food. Amanda, thanks so
much for being a part of Indian Outdoors. We greatly
appreciate everything you guys do at state parks. Thanks for
(34:50):
having me my pleasure. It is the Indiana Outdoor Show.
I am your host, Brian Pointer. We're brought to you
by Indiana Donor Network driven two Save Lives dot Org.
Don't go anywhere, We're going to be back right after this.
(35:20):
What a beautiful Indiana outdoor Saturday morning. I am your host,
Brian Pointer. Happiest of holiday seasons. Happy Thanksgiving Soon, I'm
not there yet, Merry Christmas will be forthcoming. Let's get
through this beautiful time of the year. A lot of
folks enjoying this family time this Saturday, kicking things off.
(35:41):
Maybe you don't know what to do, well, we gave
you some things you can go to our great Indiana
state parks I got to find out when I should
have asked her when those light ceremonies or light festivals
start at those five properties. But you can count on
the fact that it's always something going on in Indiana parks.
I especially like our parks this time time of the
year that are conducive to outdoor You heard Pokegan State
(36:04):
Park being the first and foremost. The Toboggan is up
and running many thanks to ken Keffer. Birding is so
popular around the country, and I have to admit I
don't know much about birds. I like watching them, don't
know anything about them. I know the ones that annoy me,
but on the other hand, they are fun. So Ken Keffer,
(36:25):
thanks for giving us some great ideas for this holiday season.
Dan Borrett, executive director of the Indiana Wildlife Federation. They
always have things going on. We're going to be paying
very close attention to the upcoming legislative session and finding
out he talked about a very very important initiative which
could be monumental for the states. So we're going to
keep up on that going through Congress. Right now, Amanda
(36:49):
joined us from our state parks. We've already talked about it.
There's first day hikes, there's gift packs, there's opportunities for
specials in our state parks. Get out and enjoy him
this beautiful time of the year.
Speaker 1 (37:01):
Folks.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
Whatever you do, remember turn in a poacher one eight
hundred tip I d n R. Be safe, happiest Thanksgiving.
I'll see outside everybody
Well, happy Thanksgiving.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
I just like saying that it's never too late to
offer thanks, and we give thanks each and every week
here in the Indiana Outdoor Studio for all the stations,
Acarrus and all the listeners, we do wish you the
best this holiday season. Of course, I your host, Brian Pointer,
so excited each and every week, even at this time
of the year, an opportunity to kick off this post
(00:54):
Thanksgiving weekend with some great outdoor chatter. And we're gonna
set this up for you because we have a lot
of opportunity in Indiana this time of the year. Of course,
it's fun a weekend of deer season, firearms and then
a lot of folks taken the field and forest. We're
going to kick things off. I've had so many people
(01:16):
ask me birding questions, meaning where to go, what to do.
I always send him to my friend Ken Keffer, who
is one of Indiana's experts. He owns the Wild Bird's
Unlimited franchise down in Bloomington, but award winning outdoor writer
and contributor and just truly an expert. So we're going
to have him on. I'm looking at some gifts. I
have a couple of people that like to bird and
(01:38):
I've seen these cameras, so I want to talk to
him about these cameras on bird feeders. So many things
to talk about. Plus we're going to talk to our
friends at the Indiana Wildlife Federation. We're going to find
out about the holiday opportunities to gift packs and some
other things. There's first day hikes. I don't want to
steal all of Amanda Anya's updates from state parks, but
(02:01):
there's gonna be Christmas lights at a few state parks.
It's all coming up. I just get so excited.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Here we are.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
I'm in the Indiana Outdoor Studio after Thanksgiving. That means
we're in the final run. We all made it through
Black Friday. Let's all take a breath and enjoy this season.
And we're gonna kick things off with Ken Kaffer from
Bloomington Wildbird's Unlimited. What should we put on our Christmas list?
It's the Indiana Outdoor Show.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
And well, happy post Thanksgiving.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
It is the Indiana Outdoor Show, and I am your host,
Brian Pointer. Always great to visit with you each and
every day, but especially at this time of the year.
Hopefully you still have family around, or maybe you don't
and maybe that's a good thing, or maybe it's a
bad thing.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
So many holiday pitfalls out there. You're having a little
fun here with the Indiana Outdoor Show, and we have
so many things going on, a lot of folks taking
the field and forest as this is the last weekend
of the firearm season for deer. We have a lot
of folks getting ready to do some great stuff, maybe
going to the toboggan up at Pokkagan, another great tradition.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
So many things.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
However, it is interesting to me and every time that
I invite our guest Ken Keffer, who is the proprietor
of the wild Birds Unlimited franchise Dan and Bloomington, good
friend of Indiana Outdoors, Award winning outdoor writer and just
all around great guy to the show. Ken, I'm always
interested because people have this real thing. It's a lot
(03:42):
bigger than perhaps anybody realizes. Bird watching and Karen feeding
of the birds and critters this time of the year
is so important. What are people coming in and buying
it this time of the year, And how you've been
and all that good stuff. Ken Keffer with wild Birds Unlimited.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Hey, Hey, thanks for having me, buddy. Yeah, it's an
exciting time of year. You know, for me wintertime, I
can't get the seasonal depression like anybody else, and so
the birds really bring me such joy all winter long
that it is kind of my favorite time of year
to be watching the birds.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
There are so many people this is a huge thing.
And I know that i'd I sound like my jaws drop,
but I get this. It's like dogs and cats, man,
people have their passions about their birds, and I love it.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
Yeah, yeah, certainly.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
You know, I think one of the cool things about
birds is just that you can become familiar with them
and it become a part of your daily life. And
like you said, it's cats and dogs is a great
example too. It just you know, they've just become so ingrained.
It's not like you have to go out in the
you know, remote stretches of anywhere. They're right there all
around anywhere in the state.
Speaker 4 (04:46):
And so yeah, it.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Kind of bring brings nature to us in the easiest way.
And so yeah, winter's a great time of year to
be feeding the birds. The little the food helps kind
of get through the long winter nights.
Speaker 4 (04:59):
It's not so much the hold.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
That bothers the birds this time of year, but it's
the long nights where they can't be actively beating, you know,
And so that's kind of a stock up on a
high fat treat in the afternoon evening time, and then
they use those calories to stay warm all night long.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
All right, So I know there's gonna be This is
a long answer, but try to try to use your
expertise here because you know, you can go to any
place and buy bird food bird seed, but may may
may or may not be helping the birds in your
local area. How do you advise people on what to buy?
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Yeah, certainly it's a great question, and yeah it's an
important topic. So I think keeping your seed fresh, you know,
in your own yard, you gotta swap it out pretty frequently.
They're gonna eat it down a bunch. But you know,
high quality foods. Black oil sunflower seed is like the
cheese pizza of the bird world. Right, birds like to
eat seed. They're gonna like black oil sunflower It's a
(05:53):
good high oil content speed.
Speaker 4 (05:55):
It's got a nice thin.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Shell, so the birds are able to crack that open
if you don't mind having that shell scatter a lot
of people don't want that shell accumulation in the yard,
so that we also have just black whale out of
the shell kind of sunflower chips or sunflower hearts.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
So if you got that as your key's pizza.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Layer this time of year especially, you want some high
fats in there as well, So a peanut or a
tree nut, kind of a seed blend that's got those
in it can help boost those kind of calories that
the birds are needing this time of year. The other
options then it can like sue it's big this time
of year, right, the old rendered fat and so you
got high fat sue At cakes with some good quality
(06:30):
seed in them, the bird's going to scarp those up
and help them survive. You as long.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
Winters, Ken Keffer, as our guest and truly a gem
to be a part of Indiana Outdoors, we appreciate all
the time that you can give to us because you
are not only birding is one of your passions, but
you have been past president of the Outdoor Writers' Association
of America. You're pretty well versed in a lot of
this stuff. And as I've gotten to know you over
(06:55):
the year since you've been here on Indiana Outdoors, in
your regular country. There's some interesting things that happen to
some of even our smallest birds this time of the
year that I had no idea, and I think it's
important for people to understand. But I also think it's
Mother Nature at her best. And I'm talking about the
little chickadees.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
Yeah, I love the chickenees, you know, the kind of great, great,
just the curious, happy call. I love them because, hey,
they say their name right, chicken eded, so they help
identify themselves. In the north, you've got the black cap
chickadee in our state. Down south here we've got more
Carolina chickenees, So the black capital thing, it's like cheeseburger whistle,
and then down here it's more of a drink. You're
a root beer kind of a four part call. But
(07:35):
chickenees are super busy, active body birds anyway, right They
kind of the classic behavior is they'll fly in, they'll
grab one seed, they'll fly out, and then they'll like
peck it open and eat it, or they might cash it,
they might store it somewhere and they can of the neighborhood.
And so if you think of this little tiny chickenee's
like a ping pong ball, right, And this time of year,
their brain actually grows to help them remember where they're storing.
Speaker 4 (08:00):
All of these seeds for the winter.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
And so they catch these seeds, their brains get a
little bigger to help remember where they can find them
all winter long.
Speaker 4 (08:08):
And it's just a mind blowing.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Fact to me, that is, And that's why I say
Mother Nature is perfect in every way, good, better and different.
She's in control. But I wish they would do this
for humans because I'll get up out of my chair
and go to the kitchen. You can't remember so whatever
that If there was anything that could make my brain grow,
not just in the winter, just so I could remember
daily functions, I'd be happy, right.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
So yeah, certainly. The other thing ticketys do overnight is
they'll actually go into like a slight torp or so
they kind of slow their metabolism down to help them
get through those long nights and then hit the ground
running in the morning.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
So I love me some hummingbirds. Are they do they
stick around or are they gone? Because they can't do.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
It pretty much gone?
Speaker 3 (08:47):
Yeah, yep, So they'll head out, you know, kind of
october ish occasionally. And I'm talking like once a year
in the state, a western species, usually like a rufous
humming bird might show up. And so if you see
hummingbird this time of year, called you know, called audubon,
call wildberd limited, let the boath know and and people
(09:11):
literally will drive all over the state to find one
of these, you know, to see some of these species
because they're so rare in our state.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
But yeah, occasionally they will.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Show up, but yeah, it's it'd be something real special
this time of year to have that humming bird they've
mostly they've mostly headed out for the year.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Well, I know with the foliage off the trees. The
leaves came off in one weekend at my house, so uh,
it's a lot easier to spot and see. But I
know there's activities in different places around the state for
like bird counts and bird watching and the eagle watches
that take place down in your neck of the woods
after the first of the year, I think are fascinating.
But are there things that people can get involved in
(09:45):
if they come into the store and say, hey, what
can I do to get involved? Maybe I want to
learn a little bit more, what do you where do
you direct them this time of the year.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
Yeah, yeah, it's a great question. So folks that you
know are wanting to be more involved, like citizens science,
community science. Birding a great way to do that, and
you can help contribute your reports and the things you're
seeing to larger databases. And so the Cornell Lab with
when Mythology kind of administers a lot of these types
of programs all winter. There's one that's called the Project
(10:14):
Feeder Watch, and so that's one that you just in
the same location throughout the months of winter and you
kind of counting the birds that you're seeing and documenting
that as the season goes. And so that's kind of
a good good winter one. A lot of folks do
it all year round and contribute to the Eberd database.
But this is kind of a specific protocols in the
winter times for Project feater Watch. Christmas bird counts are
(10:37):
going to be picking up soon, kind of mid December
through early January. And I looked on the map the
other day, Indiana is just covered with Christmas bird count circles.
And so this is a great community involvement project. You know,
if you're maybe not as comfortable as birds, they'll team
you up with some experts and so get you out
in the field, and extra sets of eyes always helped
spotting the birds. Even if you're not able to identify,
(10:59):
then you can still produce. So those Christmas bird counts,
you know, that's a one day count and you go out,
it's you know, a circle kind of designed territory you
need to cover and just counting every individual you can
possibly find in that little circle. And then those long
term trends go into that data set and help contribute
to some real science.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
Ken Keffer as our guest wild Birds Unlimited Den and Bloomington.
All right, so it's that time of the year, we're
past Thanksgiving and Black Friday, and you're thinking about gifts.
Here's what's on my radar screen. I want to know
if these are worth it. So I've seen a lot
of these bird feeders that have the the cameras associated
and they run off a little solar battery and you
(11:39):
can get it up close and personal. Are those are
those good? Do you have recommendations? Do you have other
gift ideas for people? Because I know some people that
would really like it, but I don't want to invest
the money and find out it's going to not even
want to make it to the spring. What are your thoughts.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
Yeah, Yeah, there's some great ones out there, for sure,
and it's a fun way to watch the birds. And
I find myself, you know, I'll be here at the
store and I'll pull up my camera in my yard
and I'll look at something and I'll even like text
my wife, I was like, hey, like, look look at
the window, Heather, there's a bird right now, Like how
are you watching the birds?
Speaker 4 (12:09):
And I'm not.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
And the other thing is like, I also even when
I'm when I'm home watching, it gives you kind of
an unique perspective where the bird's usually looking pretty straight
on into the camera, and so you can really get
those up close views that you just don't get really
any other way except for maybe on a window feed
or where they're also pretty close in. But I'm distracted
right now. I got to flock a robin's flying through,
you know, that bird moment.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
So we've got I'm sure a lot of great things
in the store, and as a retail establishment, wild Birds
Unlimited certainly one of the leaders out there. And if
somebody comes in and says, listen, I don't know anything
about birds, but I really want to kind of get involved.
Are there groups that people can get involved in. I've
heard you talk about the birding counts and other things,
(12:54):
but sometimes that can be a little intimidating, especially a
newbie wanting to get involved. Are there play is that
people in kind of a user friendly way can can
get up to speed.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Yeah, well certainly, there's you know a lot of in
person groups, you know, whether they're audible societies or you know,
local land trust, a lot of groups leading field trips
out and you know, experience.
Speaker 4 (13:16):
The wilds of birding that way.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
There's a ton of online resources too, in online communities,
and so there's a couple in the States on like
the social media, there's you know, groups that you can
join and some of them are very specific about like
bird photography, or some of.
Speaker 4 (13:30):
Them very specific about kind of the.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
Rare birds, and so you find one that matches you, you know,
if you're just getting started. There's a lot of really
welcoming communities that will help identify anything and kind of
get build that in excite and enthusiasm. I mentioned Cornell
They've got a great just online presence with just species
accounts and all the you know kind of identification guides
and things.
Speaker 4 (13:50):
To help.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
There's some apps out there that help identify the birds
by sight or by sound, and so that's kind of
a great way to build a little confidence. And the
thing about birds is a lot of it's just repeated.
You know, it's the same sets of birds coming over
the course of the winter, and so you might see
one initially and like, oh, like red breasted nuttatches one
that this is a great year for them. It's kind
(14:12):
of been a eruptive species and so they're not always
here in good numbers. But when there's not a good
cone crop in Canada, you might see a big push.
And so you might have known the white breasted nuttatch
and you've seen that one before. You see this burd
like that looks kind of like that other species, you know,
like there's a familiarity to it. So it's always a
great way to learn and kind of expand your own
own knowledge base about birds.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
Maybe I'm just in my birding season that this is
of interest to me, but I know several that really
are into this, and I'm trying to focus on some
things to get them. You've given some good ideas already.
Just I imagine just coming into the store is a
big step for a lot of folks. And you've got,
I'm sure a lot of great things that you're going
to be pitching this this winter. What are some of
(14:54):
the high Christmas items that you are seeing people and
maybe you're hoping that people come in and buy what's
the trend?
Speaker 3 (15:02):
Yeah, you know, I mean gift items especially people love
like to really splurge on, like a nice set of binoculars.
Speaker 4 (15:10):
We saw a lot of.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
Binoculars this time of year to folks to be like,
you know what, I really wasn't sure I was going
to get into the hobby, so I got a little
cheap hair and now that I'm really excited and invested,
you know, that's that's something that's definitely, you know, going
to be paying off in the long run to just
help your enjoyment of any of the outdoor hobbies, right
and so yeah, yeah, and.
Speaker 4 (15:28):
Glass has come a long ways.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
You know, you don't have to spend thousands of dollars
to get high quality glass in the hands of people,
and so yeah, it's a great great.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
One field guys.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
We saw a lot of books this time of year
where people want to identify birds.
Speaker 4 (15:40):
There's so many resources on helping identify.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
But there's also a lot of types of you know,
kind of fact books and like essays like Simpley's got
a great one that talks about kind of how to
be a bird and like all the parts of the birds,
and like just it's a way, it's a unique way
to look at a bird, you know, can to help
you understand how the feathers work, or how the feet
and the beak adaptations, and so just kind of some
great books out there, a lot of resources, and yeah,
(16:03):
a lot of people just you know, they'll come in
and be like, hey, I want to buy one hundred
pounds of bird feeds from my spouse.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
It's done.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
Is that like buying a washering and dryer or a
new microwave or a pot. I'm not sure how that
would go over, but I know there are a lot
of people, and that means a lot. What about the
raptors real quick, the falcons, the ospreys, the eagles, I mean,
do they change a lot the owls all those things
in Indiana that are so great. Do we get a
(16:32):
lot of those in the.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
Winter, Yeah, yeah, we sure do, you know, and that's
a great time. You're like, the eagles are definitely kind
of numbers are going to peak in the wintertime. One
that's here and this is just just fascinated me. You
don't always see it, but the northern sawt owl Indiana.
Audubond's doing a lot of research with this species. It's
like the size of like a pint glass, you know,
with a tiny little owl that hangs out in some
(16:55):
just usually some real thick conifer trees and things, and
tons of people have no idea that they're actually here
in the winter time, and so this research has helped
showing that even though scientists didn't know quite the extent
that they were traveling here. So winter's a great time
here for something like that. And so you see see
be the big old eyes there and back catch it
(17:17):
from a little theater tree might be a little solid.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
Well, we're going to have some opportunities. I know we'll
be talking about this since we get to the end
of the year with the eagle Watches, et cetera. Stop
in and say hi to Ken Keffer, our regular contributor
here wild Birds Unlimited, Den and Bloomington. Best to you
and your wife, Happy post Thanksgiving and always appreciate your insight,
my friend, and May be calling on you for some
gift ideas. So thanks for everything that you do.
Speaker 4 (17:40):
Here's buddy, Happy holidays you too.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
All right, So fun Ken Keffer wild Birds Unlimited. It
is the Indiana Outdoor Show. We have so many other things.
We're going to give you some other gift ideas here
a little later tis the season. We're going to be
back right after this, and so great to have you
(18:13):
be a part of this post Thanksgiving. Hopefully you come
out of your comas and you made it through the
frenzy of Black Friday. Oh we are in the season
right now. But nonetheless we're going to keep you happy
and we're going to give you some great ideas, including
our friend Ken Keffer from wild Birds Unlimited down in Bloomington,
(18:34):
great friend of Indiana Outdoors and mine, award winning writer
and a great knowledge on the birding. A lot of
cool things to give as gifts. But we also have
to remember those that are doing great work in conservation.
Another opportunity at the end of the year is forgiving
and great organizations and sustaining and all that good stuff.
Our friends at the Indiana Wildlife Federation, the executive director
(18:56):
Dan Borrett, joins me. Dan it's great to visit with you.
I know you're visiting family this weekend after post Thanksgiving
out east and enjoying some R and R. But how
are things at the Indiana Wildlife Federation.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
Yeah, thanks, Brian.
Speaker 5 (19:10):
I hope if you had a great Thanksgiving and all
your listeners things are good. It's a busy time as always.
We're starting to gear up for the legislative session. I
will be a short session this year in the State
House and then track in, track in everything else that
is going on in are rapidly changing the world.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
I know it's hard to believe you're enjoying family and
then we're going to be back in the circus of
the legislature. But the folks at Indiana Wildlife Federation, you
and I have talked about this and I share it
almost every week in some fashion. I encourage people to
become members of something, whether it's your local birden club
and Ken making Ken Keffer happy, or it's if you're
(19:54):
a deer hunter. The deer hunters of the turkey, the quail,
the elk, the pheasants, they all have their organizations and
they do such great work right here in Indiana. The
Indiana Wildlife Federation. What do you guys do, What do
you focus on so that people can understand how important
your mission is.
Speaker 5 (20:08):
Yeah, so we are a statewide organization. We are the
state affiliate of something called the National Wildlife Federation. For
your listeners who are familiar with Ranger Rick, that is
the symbol of National Wildlife Federation. And we are the
state affiliates, So we work in tandem with fifty two
other affiliates throughout the country. But we ourselves focus on
(20:30):
conservation issues in the state of Indiana, and we approach
that from the Big ten perspective. We advocate for hunters
and anglers and access so that people can enjoy the
great outdoor spaces the public lands that we have to
offer in Indiana. And we also promote policies and provide
(20:52):
workshops and educational meetings to teach people how they can
do things to better improve conservation outcomes in the state.
Be it be it using native plants and eradicated invasives
in your landscape to make wildlife habitat, or work in
with agricultural producers to to try and improve their their
(21:13):
their tillage practices and other production techniques that better serve
both the producers by giving them higher yields and less inputs,
but also to keep keep all the all the sediment
and fertilizers out of our our streams which impact our
rivers and so on.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Well, as you do such great work throughout the year,
and you've already mentioned that the legislative session, we've received
some we've the legislature has been in the news unnecessarily
out of session here lately. But as you look forward
to the active session coming in, what are some of
the things that are going to be on the IWF's
priority list.
Speaker 4 (21:50):
That's a great question. We'll see.
Speaker 5 (21:52):
As you said, a lot of the oxygen has been
soaked up in the current conversations leading up to the session,
so really not sure what is going to come out.
It is a short session, so traditionally that means that
things that require budget considerations will not be taken under
consideration this session. There are some bills that we think
(22:15):
may be introduced, some that are good, some that we
would prefer to see either change or not even brought forward.
But we'll really have to and see, because I think
the five hundred pounds elephant is certainly the conversation about
redistricting and depending on how that plays out, I think
it will greatly inform what.
Speaker 4 (22:36):
Happens in the session.
Speaker 5 (22:38):
So at this point, we are tracking several bills, We
are working with legislators and other groups to see what
we can get done this session. But really everything is
in a holding pattern until we have a bit more clarity.
So hopefully, hopefully we can get back to business and
(22:59):
doing things that help promote conservation in the state, help
provide Hoosiers with more opportunities to get outdoors and use
public lands and enjoy what our state has to offer.
We do have some really exciting news on the federal
advocacy front, and that is that a bill, the Ohio
(23:20):
River Restoration Program Act Hr five nine sixty six, has
been introduced with eight co authors, four of which come
from our state. And it's really just incredibly gratifying to
us to see our legislative support for this piece of legislation.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
I love. What does that do?
Speaker 4 (23:39):
Yeah, so it is? It is.
Speaker 5 (23:41):
It is an authorizing bill to provide federally dedicated funds
to clean up water in the Ohio River basin, of
which eighty percent of Indiana falls into.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
I I don't think people realize that Indiana is about
eighty percent of it is in the Ohio River watershed.
And if you're up north, you wait, that doesn't affect me.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
But it does.
Speaker 5 (24:00):
Yeah, it does. No, I mean it really does. So
every again, roughly eighty one percent of the state is
in the Ohio River basin and the other nineteen percent
is in the Great Lakes Basin. We already have legislation
called the Great Lakes Frustration Initiative that benefits the Great
Lakes and it's been transformative for that twenty percent of
our state which falls into that watershed. We're hoping that
(24:23):
this legislation will do the same for the rest of
our state. And again with this incredible leadership by by
Congresswoman Houton, who has really been championed this for years now,
as long as well as Congressman Mesmer, Shreeve and Marvan,
we have this really strong Indiana contingent that is speaking
(24:44):
out federally and saying, hey, we want to provide good,
clean water, good fishing opportunities in our state and this
is a pass forward to that.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
Well, that's going to give us something to get back
on after the first of the year and keep trying
that for sure, anytime you need anything. There's an open
phone here to get messages out. And I do encourage
people to join our friends at the Indiana Wildlife Federation.
It's a member based group and the voice of many
that you carry with you to the legislatures, to the Congress,
(25:16):
wherever you might be advocating is very important and no
better gift than you could give this time of the
year anything for the good of the cause. Dan Bor
it with the Indiana Wildlife Federation for people to know.
Speaker 5 (25:28):
No, but as you said, Brian, we'd love you guys
to go to Indiana Wildlife dot org. If you're not
a member, become a member, tell your friends about us,
and look out in the near future for our annual meeting,
which will be happening March seventh and focusing on how
how everyone in our state can help create wildlife habitat
in their own spaces.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
Well you travel safe post holiday back here, enjoy the
East and your family and some outdoors. We'll look forward
to talking to you maybe before the end of the year,
sure for sure afterward. Thanks for being a part of
Indiana Outdoors.
Speaker 5 (26:02):
Thanks for all you do, Brian, and hope everyone had
a great Thanksgiving.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
Amen and Alulujah talk to you soon, my friend. It
is the Indiana Outdoor Show. I am your host. What
a great guy, what a great organization doing such valuable work.
When we come back, I told you we're going to
find out what's going on in state parks. A lot
of lights, a lot of activities. We're going to get
to it all. It's Indiana Outdoor Show and well happy
(26:40):
post Thanksgiving. It is truly a special time and hopefully
lots of memories made, lots of food eating, and traditions started,
and Indiana Outdoors is glad to be a part of this.
Each and every Saturday, we're brought to you by Indiana
Donor Network Driven to Save Lives dot org. Sign up
to be the organ in tissue donor and you buy
(27:00):
your hunting and fishing license so you go to the BMV.
It couldn't be any easier. Give the gift of life,
save hundreds or save many lives, heal dozens with those gifts,
and we have had a great show. Many thanks to
Ken Keffer wild Birds Unlimited down in Bloomington, regular contributor.
Here this time of the year, a lot of fun
things happen and if you're A. Birder and Dan Borrick
(27:22):
with the Indiana Wildlife Federation. Great organization getting ready for
the session. But Amanya Amanda Anya's joins us today. She's
the outreach coordinator for our Department of Natural Resources. Amanda,
It's always great to visit with you and our friends
at DNR. And this is a very special time of
the year because here we are right after Thanksgiving. But
a lot of your state parks, several of them are
(27:43):
going to be having drive through light displays and other
activities and gift packs. Take it away. What do people want?
If you got lingering company, what's a good thing to
do with them?
Speaker 6 (27:54):
Absolutely take them out in the parks. You know it's
winter time, but hey, our parks aren't closed and sometimes
it's the most beautiful time of the year getting out
in nature. So if you want to stay warm and
stay cozy in your car, you can come out to
five of our state park properties. They are having light
(28:14):
shows Holiday light shows at their campgrounds and that you
can drive through. So those are Abatchie State Park, Mound
State Park, liber State Recreation Area, spring Mill State Park,
and Versailles State Park. Again, great opportunities, and I believe
that several of them. Santa maybe visiting. Yeah, so bring
(28:37):
the kids.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
Have what you smell like beef and cheese. Olks, Sorry,
I'm digressing with my twelve year old humor. Back to
the subject.
Speaker 6 (28:50):
Yes, but it's it's going to be a great time
at the park, so definitely get out there for the
holiday lights. And if you're looking for a gift to
give ball during this holiday season, we have a really
special deal going on with our holiday gift packs. So
this bundles some of our most popular items into one pack.
(29:13):
So we have combined a twenty twenty six entrance pass,
a gift card to either inns or camping, and a
one year subscription to Outdoor Indiana magazine. So they're all
bundled together to save you some money. And you can
give that to someone else or you can get it
for yourself.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
Why not, you know I love you mentioned something. I
just want to hover for a minute, because for all
the great reasons to go to a state park, you
can go in the spring, you can go in the summer,
you can go in the fall, and you can go
in the winter and have a unique experience each of
those seasons in the same state park. Some are especially
(29:53):
conducive to winter time activities like our friends up at
pokeg And it's my understanding that the toboga is up
and running as of yesterday, which is a great thing,
great traditions. But is that true? Are we are we live?
Are we going? Are we going live?
Speaker 5 (30:09):
Yes?
Speaker 6 (30:10):
Yes, So Pokagen is the winter playground up there in
northern Indiana. And yes, the toboggan run is up and running.
So if you want to go on a thirty second
thrill ride dropping nearly I think it's ninety feet over
a quarter mile, that's the place for you to go.
(30:31):
This toboggan run is really fun. It's a tradition for
a lot of hoosiers out there, and if you haven't
tried it, you got to try it, all right.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
What's the current speed record?
Speaker 6 (30:41):
I think it's a forty two miles per hour?
Speaker 4 (30:45):
All right.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
I have threatened with previous director Dan Borton, our great
friend of mine, our good friend Terry Coleman in State Parks,
we are up more of the husky nature, and I
have been told that you get enough weight on that thing.
We were going to try to push this. We never
got it done, but I'm still pushing that we're going
to break that speed record, and I think we got
enough enough oomphs behind us to make it happen. The
(31:07):
other thing that's popular this time of the year, in
addition to pokagan, I just love the atmosphere up there,
But you also have first hikes and those have become
wildly popular after the first of the year, on the
first day January first. Where can people get more information
on that?
Speaker 6 (31:25):
Absolutely, go to the DNR calendar. We'll have information about
all the different first day hikes. You already have the
date marked on your calendar it's going to be January one,
but you can have more of the details about where
they're going to go and what types of hikes are
going to be offered. I know at Obannon Woods down
(31:46):
in southern Indiana they're going to have a walk with
an oxen hike as their first day hikes. So a
real fun opportunity for the whole family to get outdoors.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Walking with an oxen. What could possibly go wrong? That
could possibly go wrong? No, I think that is fantastic.
And you know what's beautiful is it you answer your
phones there making memories naturally, and I think that's wonderful.
There's great opportunities, So seriously, no better value. Load people up.
Find a state park within an hour drive of every citizen,
get in in Indiana and get out and do something
(32:19):
fun in our state parks. And I also promote a
huge fan of the state park inns. Any specials going
on this time. They made it through the holiday through Thanksgiving,
but I know the inns have some specials in the wintertime,
and I love those opportunities.
Speaker 6 (32:33):
They sure do. We have a winter two for one
savings at our state park ends right now. It's running
from November thirtieth to February twenty six and it's stay
two nights Sunday through Thursday, and your second night is free,
So you can't be that. They're a great place to
stay if you're not up for you know, roughing it
in our campgrounds during the winter. You can stay in
(32:55):
a cozy hotel room.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
And don't forget the food. Because I'm a big fan.
I know Miss Karen Hinton who runs our state parks
and are the inns and all the food and everything
up there, and she does such a great job. But
it's truly fantastic some of the and you can go
to different parts of the state. They have some different
local things, which I always think is a fun thing.
(33:17):
And there's nothing better than sitting around the big hearth
usually in most of these state park inns, and watching
families play games, or people bringing in snacks and just
watching grandkids, or maybe some of the aqua parks that
are in these indoor state park facilities. Always a great
time of the year. Anything that we haven't talked about, Amanda,
(33:40):
that you want people to know about this time of
the year, I think we covered it.
Speaker 6 (33:45):
But if you are looking to camp during winter, can
find more information about what to expect in our campgrounds
on our Winter Camping web page.
Speaker 4 (33:57):
It tells you.
Speaker 6 (33:58):
What heated reshrooms are of allable and stuff like that.
So if you're one to rough it in the winter,
look up before you go so you can be prepared.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
Well, let's face it, Indiana hasn't had a blistering winter
here for a long time, but you know, there's plenty
of opportunities and when the campgrounds are a little less populated,
you get some quiet and peace and solitude. But you
know there's a lot of people that love that. So
great advice and as always I encourage people. Go to
(34:27):
the calendars on the DNR web page before you head out.
Find out where these lights are going to be, find
out what activities, what interpretive naturalists opportunities are going to
be in these state parks. Get those folks that are
lingering after the holidays into the car and say we're
going to work off all that food. Amanda, thanks so
much for being a part of Indian Outdoors. We greatly
appreciate everything you guys do at state parks. Thanks for
(34:50):
having me my pleasure. It is the Indiana Outdoor Show.
I am your host, Brian Pointer. We're brought to you
by Indiana Donor Network driven two Save Lives dot Org.
Don't go anywhere, We're going to be back right after this.
(35:20):
What a beautiful Indiana outdoor Saturday morning. I am your host,
Brian Pointer. Happiest of holiday seasons. Happy Thanksgiving Soon, I'm
not there yet, Merry Christmas will be forthcoming. Let's get
through this beautiful time of the year. A lot of
folks enjoying this family time this Saturday, kicking things off.
(35:41):
Maybe you don't know what to do, well, we gave
you some things you can go to our great Indiana
state parks I got to find out when I should
have asked her when those light ceremonies or light festivals
start at those five properties. But you can count on
the fact that it's always something going on in Indiana parks.
I especially like our parks this time time of the
year that are conducive to outdoor You heard Pokegan State
(36:04):
Park being the first and foremost. The Toboggan is up
and running many thanks to ken Keffer. Birding is so
popular around the country, and I have to admit I
don't know much about birds. I like watching them, don't
know anything about them. I know the ones that annoy me,
but on the other hand, they are fun. So Ken Keffer,
(36:25):
thanks for giving us some great ideas for this holiday season.
Dan Borrett, executive director of the Indiana Wildlife Federation. They
always have things going on. We're going to be paying
very close attention to the upcoming legislative session and finding
out he talked about a very very important initiative which
could be monumental for the states. So we're going to
keep up on that going through Congress. Right now, Amanda
(36:49):
joined us from our state parks. We've already talked about it.
There's first day hikes, there's gift packs, there's opportunities for
specials in our state parks. Get out and enjoy him
this beautiful time of the year.
Speaker 1 (37:01):
Folks.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
Whatever you do, remember turn in a poacher one eight
hundred tip I d n R. Be safe, happiest Thanksgiving.
I'll see outside everybody
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The Brothers Ortiz
The Brothers Ortiz is the story of two brothers–both successful, but in very different ways. Gabe Ortiz becomes a third-highest ranking officer in all of Texas while his younger brother Larry climbs the ranks in Puro Tango Blast, a notorious Texas Prison gang. Gabe doesn’t know all the details of his brother’s nefarious dealings, and he’s made a point not to ask, to protect their relationship. But when Larry is murdered during a home invasion in a rented beach house, Gabe has no choice but to look into what happened that night. To solve Larry’s murder, Gabe, and the whole Ortiz family, must ask each other tough questions.