Maybe geese. I've been out two days for pheasants/upland birds on public land here east of the CBP. I did see a meadowlark. And a quail gave me the wing from inside a hawthore thicket. Otherwise, nothing. Dugan had fun.
I think the days of wild bird hunting in Eastern Washington are over. My son and son-in-law don't hunt, and there's no sense in teaching my grandson. It's just a guess, but he's not gonna think busting coulees for 5 days to see a hen go over the ridge is much fun. And I don't think private pheasant ranches are much fun. I'd rather buy a chicken.
Good on ya guys who can go to MT or the Dakotas, and good for you guys above who got some nice animals.
Sad to hear this. I haven't tried upland in WA in about ten years, and while I grew up duck hunting, I don't pursue it anymore, because I can't stand sitting still and I'm not much of a fan of duck meat. Montana was great, but it took some work and diligence to figure it out. And then, there is luck. The kind of luck, where you are in a cafe, eating lunch and everyone in there is staring at you, because for some reason, they just know you aren't a local. But then the 89 year old farmer speaks up and asks "Whatchoo boys doin?" "Looking for birds", I answer. He nods his head, walks over to our table and writes his number on a paper napkin, and says "Call me in the morning". And we do, and have an epic day.
I was supposed to be on the road to South Dakota right now. Last night I had the car packed, everything set, license purchased, lodging booked, schedule cleared, and then my buddy called me to tell me that the other two members of our party had to back out and that we need to reschedule. Their reasons were more than valid, but that doesn't keep me from feeling crushed. We talked this morning and managed to reschedule for December, and might try to slip something else in between now and then, but now my schedule is a scramble.
The irony in all of this, is that I walk my dog every morning, and every morning, we flush a covey of quail. A couple weeks ago, we flushed a rooster.
And no, I can't hunt them.
