DARIN
DeNEAL

Stay on Target

Birding with Mom

Mon, May 14, 2012

For Mother’s Day every year, my wife and I spend a day with Mom and Dad birding.  Some years, we attempt to participate in the Illinois Spring Bird Count, but this year we just did it for fun since we missed the spring bird count by a week.  Our group keeps the searching within the borders of Saline County in Southern Illinois.

We headed out Saturday morning and did not quit until dark that evening.  Things seemed to start very slow for us, but by the end of the day, we compiled a list of 74 different species.  We seemed to miss most of the warbler migration this year, and that was most likely due to the early warm spring.  That probably cost us about 10 birds that we normally would see. 

I pack our camera and long lens with us in hopes of not only capturing a few nice bird images, but also to help with identification of the birds.  This year I did not get very many good photos, but I did get a few decent shots.

This big guy is perched over a lake scanning for his next meal

The Osprey that flew overhead was a nice treat

Here I am scouring the trees for some movement

I enjoy seeing the Common Yellowthroat each year

The Prothonotary Warbler was absolutely beautiful.  I just wished he would sit still for a photo

After Marj got a great picture of mom and two babies, I took the picture of the slightly older family

We eventually identified this bird as a juvenile Least Sandpiper

This is a picture of Cathy DeNeal (Mom) playing some bird songs on her mp3 player.

The Savannah Sparrow posed for a couple nice shots.

It is always a memorable day spent with Mom and the birds and I think we all look forward to our now 4 year old tradition each year.

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A couple “must-have” apps for the outdoorsman/outdoorswoman!

Fri, April 13, 2012

Earlier this year, I did the unthinkable.  It is true, and I am more than a little bit embarrassed to admit it, but I finally became a “smartphone person”.  For the first couple months after “it” happened, I tried to hide the fact.  If I went out to eat with other people, rather than do the polite thing and stare at my phone all during dinner, I attempted conversations.  After getting repeated dirty looks for my understandably rude behavior, I finally decided to start doing the appropriate and proper thing which is to play with my phone the entire meal.  Now, if I need to speak to my wife during dinner, I do the right thing, and I imessage her.
So, now that I have embraced all of this and I am proud to admit that I am a smartphone person, I would like to let some of you in on a couple of my new favorite outdoor apps.

Scoutlook

The first one I would like to talk about it Scoutlook.  Scoutlook’s iphone app costs $1.99.  Basically, you set your stand/blinds on aerial maps in Scoutlook, and when you want to hunt one of them, you can click on each location and it shows a “wind cone” for that site.  What all that means, is that it illustrates where scent from that stand is blowing with the current weather conditions and shows it on an aerial map.  Just in case I have completely confused you, below is their description.

Scoutlook Description

The ScoutLook TM Weather App is a world-class resource for U.S. weather details, geocoded to your exact locations.  ScoutLook provides map-based integration of weather details including radar, wind activity, solunar times, lunar phase, hourly barometric changes, and other data hunters use to decide where, when and how to hunt. ScoutLook delivers the information you need to plan your hunt, just the way you need it. It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before!  ScoutLook’s ScentCone sm and SetZone Wind Maps are the first of their kind, delivering visual wind forecasts for your treestands and duck blinds for 72 hours. With these powerful maps, you can select which areas to hunt based on future wind conditions.

I recently received an email from Scoutlook that they now have a great fishing app too.  I have not checked it out yet, but most likely I will be doing that soon.

GPS Kit

The other outdoor app I am excited about it GPS Kit.  Unfortunately, it only appears to work with iphones and ipads.  I do not believe it is available for android phones, but I could be wrong.  GPS kit is basically a hand-held gps.  It lets you record waypoints and load maps into it.  It also gives you access to Google Earth maps as long as you have cellular service.  It locks your position very quickly and for the price of $9.99 I have been very impressed.  Below is a description of GPS Kit from their webpage.

GPS Kit Description
GPS Kit is a full-featured GPS system for the iPhone that combines all the functionality of expensive handheld units with the power of wireless technology. Using advanced technology optimized for the iPhone, GPS Kit offers a superbly easy-to-use system that puts data from a wide range of sensors at your fingertips.
I am not going to bore you with all of the features of GPS Kit, but I can assure you that I have gotten more than my $9.99 worth!

So, Scoutlook and GPS Kit are my favorite outdoors apps so far.  I am sure there are many other useful ones available, so please feel free to comment away about some of your favorites!

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South Central Archery Club 3d Shoot

Tue, March 20, 2012

This past Sunday, Marj and I made our way to Stephen A. Forbes State Park to attend South Central Archery’s monthly 3d archery tournament. 

South Central Archery Club runs a top-notch event.  Their location could not be better.  The state park is something of a hidden jewel in the area consisting of rolling hills and open hardwoods and surrounds a 585 acre lake. 

South Central’s first shoot of the 2012 year drew 49 archers.  While the pleasant 80 degree weather was motivation for people to come out, I am sure South Central’s reputation of putting on quality events also figured into the equation.  They had 30 targets including deer, turkeys an elk and even a jackalope. 

While shooting, I got the chance to meet heartlandoutdoors.com reader Frank Barnfield (eyeswideopen). 

Frank Barnfield with me showing off our bows!

Here is a few more photos from Sunday’s 3d shoot.

My wife Marj at full draw

Kailee Irvin takes aim at the elusive jackalope!

Club member Cory Thompson and Marj scoring the arrows

Enjoying some relaxation and camaraderie after the day of shooting

All in all, I think I can speak for all of those attending when I say that everybody had a wonderful time.  Please make sure you clear your calendar for a couple more tournaments coming up on April 21st and April 22nd.  Go to southcentralarchery.com for more information.  Below are the results from Sunday.

Bowhunter Class: 1st-Daniel Webster, 289   2nd (tie)-Caleb Middleton, 276   2nd (tie)-Robert Squibb 276

Open Class: 1st-Darin DeNeal, 294   2nd (tie) Mike Decker, 288   2nd (tie)- Jesse Foster, 288

Women’s Class:  1st-Margaret Squibb, 250   2nd-Kailee Irvin, 235   3rd-Rogina Daugherty, 220

High School Class:  1st-Trever Butts, 266   2nd-Dalton Hays, 252   3rd-Jace Wilkins, 238

Youth Class:  1st-Madison Fifer, 210   2nd-Laney Webster, 173

 

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