[mobirdhunter]

After a week of hunting that seemed to bear out the biologists' forecast of low quail numbers after our February bad weather bout, I was getting pretty dejected. As bad as not finding birds is, we also encountered other, more ominous signs -- farms sold, access denied, and bulldozers busy demolishing cover. Still, we hunt...and hope for the best.

I had no expectations for success when we headed out this morning to one of our Sunday morning farms -- a small place close enough to allow us a morning hunt, a Sunday tradition. This little farm is adjacent to a small public lake that includes a tiny, old field cover that the Conservation Dept. burns regularly (thank you for fire!) to keep the cedars at bay. Less than an hour into our hunt Aspen ran into the middle of a covey spread out on the hillside. He put on the breaks, but not before birds erupted all around him. No shots. Aspen then found singles and I took my self-imposed limit of two, both retrieved to hand.

Elaine and I headed out with blessings of the day from our Sunday morning service.

Photos:

1. A farm draw we visited earlier in the week that has held a covey of birds for over 10 years. The bulldozers took care of it.

2. Elaine managed to get this single in the air just before the shot...

3 ...and then snapped a photo of the end of a successful retrieve by Aspen.

4. My 1918 DHE 20 was made for wild Bobs, ordered by a quail hunting Kentuckian during a pandemic 100+ years ago. Its 30 inch barrels, perfect quail chokes, and high dimensions make it just right for the kind of hunting we have in our home covers.