Cap got his Gambels Quail yesterday. I saw him throw that head up and start marching upwind, tail up and cautious. Right then a bird flushed, off to my left, and I swung and dropped it. Cap came flying back to make the retrieve. We started back to the place he heated up, and, he went to work. A few minutes later, he locked up on a patch of cactus, looking like a million bucks! I really meant to get his picture, but, I confess, I was excited, too, and I walked in from his right side, kicked the edge of the cactus and a good-looking quail ran out 5 feet and took off. Cap was on him when he hit and made a picture perfect retrieve to hand.
Today, we are moving back to New Mexico. I would like to bag a Bobwhite there. If I do, I will have harvested all four species of quail in the state, in one week. Mearns, Gambels, Scaled, and Bobwhite. It's probably been done many times before, but certainly not by this old bird hunter, and probably not without a guide. I killed a Bob there two years ago, and I will head to the same area. Tomorrow is the day for the Grand Slam of New Mexico!
Also, I will not miss the cholla cactus! Hate the stuff.
