April 2, 2004
Great article in the March/April 2004 AG&F magazine, Arizona Wildlife Views, by Josh Avey, "Keeping the Gates Unlocked."  Check it out. Many of us who have lived in Arizona all of our lives do not realize what a treasure we have with so much public land. Did you know that even Texas is 97% privately owned?  Ugh!  Here's a quote from Josh, "We Arizonans have a special responsibility to the land. It is what makes this state great. It is our heritage; it is our legacy.  Let's be sure our actions today sustain it for those who come when we are gone."  Amen, Josh. How many of us have the luxury of going 15 minutes in any direction from our homes to give the Britts a one-hour training session on public lands with wild birds?  Whatever it takes Josh to keep those lands open and accessible for all those generations who follow us.  Whatever it takes.

May 1, 2004  Globe, Az.  I'm still hearing Gambel's "caw" calls.  Birds have been in their nesting phase for over 4 weeks now. We should be seeing youngsters in the next couple of weeks.  The AG&F Dept. set the 04-05 hunt regulations and you can download the pdf file on their website.  See my favorites. The Mearn's limit was lowered from 10 to 8.  Personal opinion: it was purely a political decision based on pressure from the Az.Quail Alliance (not the Western Gamebird Alliance) group comprised of many southeastern ranchers and Mearn's guides as I understand it.  As far as I can tell, the research, history, and scientific data just don't support the decision. If fewer hunters make the trip down south because the limit was lowered, that just opens the door for more guided hunt days for the selected few. At around $200/hunter/day?   Am firmly convinced that there are more hidden motives to all this then will ever be made public.   Call me cynical and skeptical.  Like the Missouri mule, "Show me."
Note:
Received an nice email response from a member of the AzQA who lives "up north" and guides for Mearn's in the winter about my skepticism.  He said that if I got to know the people involved, I would realize that the motives are true and the hearts are pure. It is all about the birds and the habitat. . . . well, I'm hoping he is correct.

June 10, 2004  Northcentral Gila County  Took a 27 mile ATV scouting trip early this morning with two good hikes thrown in the middle for exercise.   The staghorn cholla are in bloom but not much prickly pear fruit at all.  A poor sign.  BUT saw lots of rabbits -- both cottontails and jacks up until about 7:00 a.m.  A good sign.  Now seeing three different sizes of young birds:  walnuts with wings, some 3-4 inches fuzzballs, and some hatchlings nearly 1/2 their adult size.   And this morning saw  pairs of adult birds time and time again like they were still in the nesting cycle.  This is proving to be a very interesting spring and early summer.  And then to top it off -- a bear!  He was returning from a Cottonwood spring back to his day bed.  First saw him at about 75 yards, then he casually strolled off through the prickly pear and cedars (Utah juniper).  Black bears come in a multitude of color shades and this guy had a sun-bleached, light brown coat. We have also had two black bear incidents in the Globe city limits. I'm guessing the 6-7 year drought that we are experiencing is driving them to extremes.

June 24, 2004  Dripping Springs Mountains in Southern Gila Co.  On June 23 we received a small rain shower (very minimal) with thunder and winds coming from the southeast.  Monsoon-like. Early for sure if, in fact, it was considered a monsoon shower.  Took an 18 mile ATV scouting trip into Dripping Springs.  Stopped at 4-5 concrete drinking troughs.  All held water.  Checked 6 dirt tanks.  Two held water, the rest were dry.  Young prickly pear plants were very wilted.  Some prickly pear had green fruit, but need moisture to bring fruit to a full, ripe stage.  Saw lots of pairs of Gambel's "alone."  Couldn't determine if they had a brood they were protecting by making them hold tight or ?  Observed at least two separate sizes of young birds.  Broods ranging from 4 to about 12.  Mostly around the water sources.  Saw very few rabbits.  As opposed to north and west of Globe where rabbit young are in abundance. The Dripping Springs area is a checkerboard of private, State Trust, BLM, and USFS lands. The difference between private/State Trust and other public lands is dramatic.  Private/State Trust lands held cattle and in most places heavily grazed down to dirt.  BLM and USFS lands had nice grass cover for the most part.  The USFS may have taken political heat for removing cattle the last couple of years, but it was the right thing to do.  For future animals, and for the stewardship of the land.
Mark your calendars.  About 4 months until we can hike the hills with the Britts for real.

Dec. 11, 2004  South of Globe.  If you're looking for a "bonanza" hunt this year, you may be disappointed.  We were so hopeful after seeing nestlings early in the spring, but we are just not finding big coveys, nor bird numbers liked we had hoped. Because of our recent moisture, I really think the birds are scattered in smaller covey groups.  My friends in the Tonto Basin area are basically finding the same thing.  I wonder now if there was a juvenile survival issue.  Saw some really good coveys this week, but they were oh so hard to pin down.  Makes it tough on my young Mr. Maxwell.  He's pointing, backing, and retrieving really well now, but I still need some sessions with him alone. He just gets too competitive when the other Britts are working around him.  Kind of a panic in his eyes if they find birds and he doesn't.  Yes, some quaility personal time in the field just with me would be a good thing. Haven't heard any reliable Mearn's reports.  If you're a Mearn's fan, you may have to contact somebody in Sierra Vista or Patagonia.

Dec. 29, 2004  North of Globe.  Good rains moving state-wide today.  Bring it on. And predicting snows in the high country.  Good hunt yesterday in an area I've never explored before.  I love that. . . . exploring new areas. Found some good habitat, and discovered a dirt tank (although dry), and coveys of 20-25-30.  Scattered the birds each time into "huntable", though rough, prickly pear.  Some really great dog work. Good breeze.  Britts were picking up the scent cone and freezing, then slipping up to re-set sometimes 15-25 yards into the breeze.   Even young Maxwell is backing well now.  Way neat!  My gene pool. .  Took a dozen or so photos of dogs on point.  Will develop and scan to add later.
And talk about some tough shooting. Wow. Steep slopes, rolling rocks, unstable footing, and birds duckin and diving. One shot you need a totally open choke with #8 shot at 18 yards ducking around a cedar tree, and the next shot the covey jumps wide and you need a tighter, maybe improved/mod with #6 shot.  What a challenge!  Wrapped up today's hunt after 4 hours at about 2:00 pm.  All the bird crops were stuffed with green annuals.  Wonderful to see at this stage of the winter. Interestingly, I'm seeing as many or more coveys and as many birds off the reservation on public lands as I'm seeing on the San Carlos.

Was great to hunt with a couple of old friends, Dave Lukens and Bill McLean, last week.  Dave took some really neat Britt videos and Bill has two good lookin' daughters from litters that my Ben sired. Dave has been doing well down south on Mearn's. He made an interesting comment, "You will never find a bird feather or a footprint near the road in my favorite hunting spots."  His friends tease him about wearing a branch around his waist so he can erase his tracks. I completely understand.

Jan. 3, 2005  Statewide rains today and more predicted for later this week. Tough to get the Britts their exercise and to keep them in shape, but oh so good for the state and habitat. Winter storms lined up off the Calif. coast makes for great winter moisture.  Stay tuned.

San Carlos Apache Reservation Quail Hunting

Bob is a San Carlos Apache tribal member who learned about the outdoors from his father and grandfather. He has hunted, explored, and scouted every corner of the reservation.  He guides for elk, deer, javelina, predators, and small game.

Nov. 18, 2004   I was fortunate to be able to hike some hills with two good friends, Lee Mortimor and Bob Stevens, today.  After dealing with Alzheimer's for about a month, it was great getting back into the "real world."  Saw birds, hiked far, hiked hard, rolled lots of lava rocks, and have legs full of cacti and yucca wounds.  Man, it was good. It would've been good with just the Britts and me, but to add the companionship of two friends who have similar values and a common love for the land and the birds.  Well. . . it was a special day. Carpe diem.  Carpe diem.
Was great to see Bob's 9 month old GSP, Snoop. He is out of another friend's kennel in Payson, and is really turning into something special.  The lightbulbs are coming on.  Snoop has some great genes but I'm even more convinced than ever that to develop a great dog, get him in the field with wild birds - and often. Bob and Snoop were featured in an Az. Republic article today, and man did we tease him about being famous.  It was not unmerciful, but close to it!!  And the article's emphasis on Bob's traditional values was right on the mark.  Kudos to the writer, Carmen Cavolo.  http://www.azcentral.com/travel/arizona/outdoors/articles/1118out-side1118.html

Dec. 11, 2004  Some nice rains and cold fronts moved across the state in the last two weeks.  Water in puddles in every little drainage.  My last two trips to the rez have been tough hunts. Birds scattered. Coveys hunkered down, not making a sound.  Hard to pin them down.  Wild son of a guns.  Seeing a lot of evidence (shiny, red 12 ga hulls) of bird hunters this year.  Of course, this selfish old bird hunter remembers the 70's and 80's before the Arizona population explosion and before the rest of the world discovered our great winter bird hunting weather. What a dilemma!  Do we encourage everybody to grab a gun and enjoy hiking our beautiful hills, or do we want them to stay in the malls and play Nintendo?  The AG&F found that mistake in 2001 when they advertised that the Mearn's population was way up.  Everybody with a shotgun in the lower 48 headed for southern Arizona.  I know.  I know.  We should mentor our next generation and our new Ariz residents to show them the joy we have experienced behind good bird dogs, but hope you can appreciate my hesitation about sharing information with e-scouters.
See you in the hills with my Britts.

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