February 14, 2022 Update

Upland Bird

Hi Jon,

I got your inquiry just as I was getting ready to send you my end of year report. Like all years, this one was unique, but I would have to characterize it as challenging. The early season was very dry and warm, and I recall the dogs kicking up dust running the field edges. The weather allowed some farmers to disk their fields which caused the quail to move to other areas. One farm where we had found 5 coveys last year was Fall plowed and we found none. Looking at my records, this past season was about on par with 2012 for us, a year in which we found very few coveys. I feel like the birds were there, but the conditions were not good for finding them. When we found coveys they were in good shape with good bird numbers, but I limited my take even more than usual, taking only a bird or two per hunt. We revisited farms that we’d not hunted in a while, but overall the first half of the season was slow. Once January hit, the weather played a role again, but with snow and cold. The back roads get dicey then and our hunts were limited. When we got out, we found some coveys and enjoyed our days out.

As you may recall, my wife, Elaine, is a tag along and carries the camera on all of our hunts. She got some good photos this year, and it’s nice to be able to look back on our “family outings.” Our Gordon Setter, Aspen, is now nearly 5, and I saw a great leap in his ability, even with fewer bird contacts. I got to “blood” some new-to-me guns, so every bird we took was a trophy in our view.

It’s so nice to have access to good places. I am fortunate to be able to be a member and get to wander such nice farms. Thanks, as always, for the continued work you do to provide these opportunities for us.

Garry

Except for those farms that were Fall plowed, we found good cover and food for birds.
In case you’re wondering, that’s a dog first aid kit in the game pocket of my vest, not birds. We took one bird on this hunt, from a covey that held upwards of 15.
A few stragglers from a covey flush. They were flying right at Elaine and were putting on the brakes when she got this photo.
Aspen has rounded into quite the bird dog, and as my father used to say about a good bird dog, “He likes his birds.”
A 1904 BHE Parker that took a hen on its first chance with me as its new caretaker.
After 40 years of chasing quail, I consider each bird a trophy and don’t need to kill a limit to feel successful. This is a bird we took with a 1909 Damascus barreled Watson Brothers 28 bore.
A late season bird that tried to sneak out from Aspen’s point. Last year’s long stretch of snow and ice on the Iowa/Missouri border obviously took its toll on bird numbers, but we found a few coveys.
Although not a season to remember for lots of birds, it’s still satisfying to be able to get out and hunt nice farms. Here’s hoping that the rest of the winter is mild and the nesting season good.

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