Tag Archives: grand forks

GF indoor archery, small-bore rifle leagues set to begin

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You know it’s winter when area archery and rifle clubs start gearing up for their respective shooting leagues.

It all starts Jan. 3, when the Red River Archers hosts a swap meet and chili feed at 7 p.m. in their indoor range at 2100 N. 42nd St. The next day, the Forks Rifle Club launches its winter indoor small-bore handgun league at the indoor range west of Merrifield, N.D., on Grand Forks County Road 6.

Here’s a look at what’s on tap for the Grand Forks archery and rifle clubs.

Archery

Jan. 3: Red River Archers open house, swap meet and chili feed, 7 p.m., Red River Archers indoor range, 2100 N. 42nd St., Grand Forks. Info: John Brewinski, (701) 746-8602.

Jan. 8: Red River Archers’ 3-D League begins, Red River Archers indoor range, 2001 N. 42nd St., Grand Forks. Info: Paul Hahn, (701) 741-8279.

Jan. 10: Red River Archers’ 300 League begins, Red River Archers indoor range, 2001 N. 42nd St., Grand Forks. Info: John Brewinski (701) 746-8602.

Shooting

Jan. 4: Forks Rifle Club winter indoor small-bore handgun league begins, indoor range, 2051 12th Ave. NE (8½ miles west of Merrifield, N.D., on Grand Forks County Road 6). League will run for 10 weeks, with relays at 2, 3, 7 and 8 p.m. Fridays. Handguns limited to .22 long rifle caliber. Info/squadding: Tom Reiten, (701) 775-0008.

Jan. 6-7: Forks Rifle Club winter indoor light rifle league, indoor range, 2051 12th Ave. NE (8½ miles west of Merrifield, N.D., on Grand Forks County Road 6). League will run for 10 weeks. Relays run from 2 to 5 p.m. Sundays and from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Mondays. Rifles limited to .22 long rifle caliber. Info: Tim Coons, (701) 599-2565.

Jan. 9: Four-position smallbore rifle league begins, indoor range, 2051 12th Ave. NE (8½ miles west of Merrifield, N.D., on Grand Forks County Road 6). League will run for 10 weeks, with relays from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays. Rifles limited to .22 long rifle caliber. Info: Dennis Coulter, (701) 746-6959.

Jan. 12: NRA Light Rifle Sectional, Forks Rifle Club indoor range, 2051 12th Ave. NE (8½ miles west of Merrifield, N.D., on Grand Forks County Road 6). NRA light rifle rules apply, and relays start at 8 a.m. Info/squadding, Dennis Coulter, (701) 746-6959.

GF Audubon meeting draws strong crowd

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I took a trip to “Middle Earth” earlier today when I joined a friend at the midnight showing of “The Hobbit,” the prequel to J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. The movie clocked in at nearly three hours, but staying awake wasn’t a problem, and “The Hobbit” met one of my key requirements for qualifying as a good movie: the time went by quickly.

But I digress.

Earlier in the evening, I attended a Grand Forks Audubon meeting in the office of Herald publisher Mike Jacobs. Robert Seabloom, UND professor emeritus in biology and author of “The Mammals of North Dakota,” was the guest speaker and delivered a power-point presentation on the state’s mammals, which also included an overview on the contributions of explorers and researchers such as Alexander Henry, Lewis and Clark and John James Audubon to North Dakota’s natural history.

I knew of Audubon’s contributions as an ornithologist, but didn’t realize Audubon also was an avid hunter who pulled the trigger on just about any critter that came into range.

I’m a Bemidji State University alumnus, but if I had attended UND, I would have enjoyed taking one of Seabloom’s classes. He’s been my “go-to” source on several mammal-related questions and issues in the past few years.

It might have been a cold, snowy December evening, but Jacobs’ large office was packed with about 30 people who came to hear Seabloom’s presentation. Dr. Rolf Paulson, who organized Thursday night’s Audubon meeting, suggested that perhaps Seabloom should speak every month.

In talking with Paulson after the meeting, I learned Audubon is in the process of regaining traction in Grand Forks after a period of relative activity. He said the group doesn’t want to detract from the Grand Cities Bird Club, but judging by the number of bird club members attending Thursday night’s meeting, there’s plenty of room for both.

The Audubon group — it’s not yet an official chapter, as I understand it — tentatively set Jan. 10 as the date for its next meeting. I’ll keep you posted as more information becomes available. If you’re looking for more information in the meantime, drop Paulson an email at rolfpmd@yahoo.com.

Not a peregrine, but a notable sighting just the same

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Gary Olson of Grand Forks sent me a photo he took last week of a raptor in his backyard.

Gary Olson of Grand Forks photographed this banded Cooper’s hawk last week in his backyard.

The bird had bands on its legs, and he wondered if it could be one of the peregrine falcons that have been making news around town again this spring. Roosevelt and Terminator are back, and they hatched three chicks on the UND water tower that were banded last week.

Not being an expert on birds — especially raptors — I forwarded the photo to Grand Forks birding expert Dave Lambeth and Heidi Hughes, director of the Audubon Center of the Red River Valley near Warren, Minn.

Lambeth and Hughes both confirmed the bird Olson photographed was not a peregrine, but instead was a Cooper’s hawk. Tim Driscoll, director of the Urban Raptor Research Project, has banded several Cooper’s hawks around Grand Forks as part of a study on the birds.

Lambeth said people often mistake Cooper’s hawks for peregrines. They’re similar in size, for one thing, and with recent news reports of the peregrine chicks being banded, falcons are on people’s minds.

Despite the similarities, peregrines and Cooper’s hawks are easily distinguished, Lambeth said.

“A peregrine would have a helmeted look to its head, and its wings would reach much farther along the tail,” Lambeth said in an email. “Cooper’s show up on decks and in backyards frequently (including my own) and people knowing about peregrines think they may be seeing one of those. Understandable! But peregrines are aerial hunters of wide-open spaces, and a backyard would be much too confining for them.”

After hearing from Lambeth, I called Driscoll and told him about the Cooper’s hawk Olson had photographed. He was very interested to hear about the sighting and the photograph, because it was a Cooper’s hawk he’d lost track of during his research.

In a follow-up email, Olson said Driscoll paid him a visit and showed him the nesting sites of Cooper’s hawks around town.

So, even though the bird Olson spotted wasn’t a peregrine, it still had a pretty cool story behind it.