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The tourist season is about to begin in Maine. Soon “us locals” will contend with RVs going 10 to 20 mph under the speed limit—while we are trying to get to work. But unlike those pokey travelers, most of us, including my family, don’t travel far during the summer since we already live in “Vacationland.” Even so, in years past we took the kids to Story Land in New Hampshire every summer, traveled back and forth to a camp we owned, and made the obligatory visits to relatives down south. As all parents can relate, anything past a half-hour drive and the kiddies get bored and cranky. Maybe not so much anymore with iPods, portable DVD players, and vehicles equipped with TV screens, but during my intensive parenting days we needed to find a way to pass the time on the highway.
One of our favorite traveling games was Animal Game. We put a numeric value on all the critters we spied while tooling along. Wild animals held more worth than a domestic animal; deer and wild turkeys were worth 20 points, farm animals 10 points, a dog 5 points, and a cat 2 points. If one of the kids was to see a moose or a bear or any unusual wild animal, then that was the jackpot of 50 points. We would set up teams with one daughter and me against my wife and the other daughter. This exercise kept the kids amused for quite a while and made long drives much more bearable.
Another game we played while traveling was the Outdoor Quiz Game. I would come up with questions concerning the outdoors and the kids would try to answer correctly. My daughters ended up knowing more about the natural world than the average wildlife biologist. So, dear readers, do you want to play the Outdoor Quiz Game? Do you think you are quite the naturalist?
Since none of you are buckled into my backseat, I have come up with a series of multiple-choice questions and the answers are printed upside down at the end of this column. Good luck!
1. What’s the real name for the game bird we call partridge?
a) Pheasant
b) Ruffed grouse
c) Quail
d) Spruce grouse
2. Which Maine upland game bird is migratory and flies south during winter?
a) Wild turkey
b) Ruffed grouse
c) Hungarian partridge
d) Woodcock
3. What is the most accurate way to determine the age of a whitetail buck?
a) The number of antler points
b) Analysis of tooth rings
c) Body weight
d) Hoof size
4. What’s the term for what moose and deer rub off their antlers in late summer?
a) Velvet
b) Deeradermis
c) Bugs
d) Antler wool
5. Which of the following trout is the only one native to Maine?
a) Rainbow trout
b) Brown trout
c) Cutthroat trout
d) Brook Trout
6. What is the name of the hybrid created by crossing a male brook trout and female lake trout?
a) Blake trout
b) Brooktogue
c) Splake
d) No such thing
7. What is the term for the floppy appendage hanging under a moose’s jaw?
a) Beard
b) Chin flap
c) Throat tail
d) Bell
8. What is the name for a juvenile male wild turkey?
a) Tom
b) Gobbler
c) Jake
d) Teenager
9. What are the warty looking bumps on a mature male turkey’s neck called?
a) Caruncles
b) Bumples
c) Neck warts
d) Snood
10. What physical characteristic best indicates a wild turkey gobbler?
a) Dark feathers
b) Tail
c) Beard
d) Attitude
11. Black bears are classified as:
a) Omnivores
b) Carnivores
c) Vegans
d) None of the above
12. Which of these is a sea duck?
a) Mallard
b) Pin tail
c) Eider
d) Canvasback
13. What’s the name of an Atlantic salmon that has returned to freshwater after one year at sea?
a) Grilse
b) Parr
c) Yearling
d) Fry
14. What’s an anadromous fish?
a) They spend their adult lives in fresh
water, but return to the sea to spawn.
b) They eat strictly bait fish.
c) They spend their adult lives at sea,
but return to freshwater to spawn.
d) They only eat insects and
vegetation.
15. What’s the average weight of an eastern coyote found in Maine?
a) 20–30 pounds
b) 30–40 pounds
c) 40–50 pounds
d) 50–60 pounds
If you got between 12 and 15 answers right, you need to go work for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife or at the least become a Maine Guide. If you scored between 8 and 11, then you have certainly been off the beaten path but are still a bit of a tyro. Any less than that and you need to back away from your computer and discover the great Maine outdoors!
Brad Eden is an artist, writer, Registered Maine Master Guide, and owner/editor of the online magazine www.uplandjournal.com.
One of our favorite traveling games was Animal Game. We put a numeric value on all the critters we spied while tooling along. Wild animals held more worth than a domestic animal; deer and wild turkeys were worth 20 points, farm animals 10 points, a dog 5 points, and a cat 2 points. If one of the kids was to see a moose or a bear or any unusual wild animal, then that was the jackpot of 50 points. We would set up teams with one daughter and me against my wife and the other daughter. This exercise kept the kids amused for quite a while and made long drives much more bearable.
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Another game we played while traveling was the Outdoor Quiz Game. I would come up with questions concerning the outdoors and the kids would try to answer correctly. My daughters ended up knowing more about the natural world than the average wildlife biologist. So, dear readers, do you want to play the Outdoor Quiz Game? Do you think you are quite the naturalist?
Since none of you are buckled into my backseat, I have come up with a series of multiple-choice questions and the answers are printed upside down at the end of this column. Good luck!
1. What’s the real name for the game bird we call partridge?
a) Pheasant
b) Ruffed grouse
c) Quail
d) Spruce grouse
2. Which Maine upland game bird is migratory and flies south during winter?
a) Wild turkey
b) Ruffed grouse
c) Hungarian partridge
d) Woodcock
3. What is the most accurate way to determine the age of a whitetail buck?
a) The number of antler points
b) Analysis of tooth rings
c) Body weight
d) Hoof size
4. What’s the term for what moose and deer rub off their antlers in late summer?
a) Velvet
b) Deeradermis
c) Bugs
d) Antler wool
5. Which of the following trout is the only one native to Maine?
a) Rainbow trout
b) Brown trout
c) Cutthroat trout
d) Brook Trout
6. What is the name of the hybrid created by crossing a male brook trout and female lake trout?
a) Blake trout
b) Brooktogue
c) Splake
d) No such thing
7. What is the term for the floppy appendage hanging under a moose’s jaw?
a) Beard
b) Chin flap
c) Throat tail
d) Bell
8. What is the name for a juvenile male wild turkey?
a) Tom
b) Gobbler
c) Jake
d) Teenager
9. What are the warty looking bumps on a mature male turkey’s neck called?
a) Caruncles
b) Bumples
c) Neck warts
d) Snood
10. What physical characteristic best indicates a wild turkey gobbler?
a) Dark feathers
b) Tail
c) Beard
d) Attitude
11. Black bears are classified as:
a) Omnivores
b) Carnivores
c) Vegans
d) None of the above
12. Which of these is a sea duck?
a) Mallard
b) Pin tail
c) Eider
d) Canvasback
13. What’s the name of an Atlantic salmon that has returned to freshwater after one year at sea?
a) Grilse
b) Parr
c) Yearling
d) Fry
14. What’s an anadromous fish?
a) They spend their adult lives in fresh
water, but return to the sea to spawn.
b) They eat strictly bait fish.
c) They spend their adult lives at sea,
but return to freshwater to spawn.
d) They only eat insects and
vegetation.
15. What’s the average weight of an eastern coyote found in Maine?
a) 20–30 pounds
b) 30–40 pounds
c) 40–50 pounds
d) 50–60 pounds
If you got between 12 and 15 answers right, you need to go work for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife or at the least become a Maine Guide. If you scored between 8 and 11, then you have certainly been off the beaten path but are still a bit of a tyro. Any less than that and you need to back away from your computer and discover the great Maine outdoors!
Brad Eden is an artist, writer, Registered Maine Master Guide, and owner/editor of the online magazine www.uplandjournal.com.
