View attachment 128101View attachment 128102View attachment 128103View attachment 128104View attachment 128105Well, the last week we had the fall fling up at the ranch. Fishing for the four of us was the major focus but after the boys left, I got to hunt. I wasn’t sure I was gonna find many birds because there was a timber sale on Mount Hull. The coverts have been destroyed and roosting trees are gone. But I was lucky and found one area that was still fairly pristine. A short walk in gave me an opportunity to bag one bird from the three that flushed. It was a beautiful, mature, male bird. It had been some time since I had walked back to the truck with a bird in my hand. Back at the house I let the bird hang while I fixed my lunch. After lunch and a nap, I went out plucked the bird gutted it, and breasted the meat. I was surprised to see very little in the bird’s crop, after all, it was a good sized bird. The breast meat was clean with only one pellet hole. The bird had already started to grow pectinations, the comb like growth on each toe of their feet. It helps them in the winter to be able to walk on the snow, miniature snowshoes. The feathers on the ruff had a beautiful bluish green iridescence. All in all a beautiful bird.
Well, the last week we had the fall fling up at the ranch. Fishing for the four of us was the major focus but after the boys left, I got to hunt. I wasn’t sure I was gonna find many birds because there was a timber sale on Mount Hull. The coverts have been destroyed and roosting trees are gone. But I was lucky and found one area that was still fairly pristine. A short walk in gave me an opportunity to bag one bird from the three that flushed. It was a beautiful, mature, male bird. It had been some time since I had walked back to the truck with a bird in my hand. Back at the house I let the bird hang while I fixed my lunch. After lunch and a nap, I went out plucked the bird gutted it, and breasted the meat. I was surprised to see very little in the bird’s crop, after all, it was a good sized bird. The breast meat was clean with only one pellet hole. The bird had already started to grow pectinations, the comb like growth on each toe of their feet. It helps them in the winter to be able to walk on the snow, miniature snowshoes. The feathers on the ruff had a beautiful bluish green iridescence. All in all a beautiful bird.
