Gambling in the Desert

Oh the challenge of the Gamble’s Quail. The limit is 15 birds per day which is quite laughable. The challenge is not seeing that many birds in a day. Gamble’s are everywhere in the deserts around here. The problem is that they run hard, flush wild and rarely hold. These little running devils are brutal on both bird dog and hunter. This morning my next door neighbor and I chased them around the winter desert. Chase is my one year old Brittany. He is a good pup, loves to run, and loves birds.

The three of us started out across the desert with high hopes. We walked for about a mile before we started seeing this.

Not longer after the dog got very birdy.

Up came the covey and I pulled off a crossing shot and was rewarded with a young male bird.

The neighbor went on a hot streak after that and we both finished with a few birds and one bonus species.

We scratched out half a limit which will be enjoyed as delicious bacon wrapped appetizers. Tired feet, worn out dog, and guns to clean but no one was complaining today.