There are a lot of reasons why I like to hunt
Most of all it is because hunters have to leave the roads and paths and dodge the chaparral, poison oak, quicksand muds and swamps to get where wild things live.

And it's not about some power trip, walking with a weapon in your hand. A shotgun or a rifle is just a tool and most of the thought is respect for the fact that if you are not careful the tool will turn on you, or worse, your friend.

It all adds up to an awareness that other pursuits can't match, even birding or other naturalist endeavors. Wild creatures are really wild when they're pursued with intent. That's why I can find quail at will in the canyons by my house where there is no hunting and that the best place to find them otherwise is those remote housing developments adjacent to natural quail habitat.

When I go to look in the areas where hunting is allowed, they may be there one year and not the next. Fires, floods, ATVs, meth labs, pot farms - who the heck knows what changes a year can bring. The birds can be there on dove opener and gone when quail season opens.

Today my good friend Fernando Garduno took me to some of his favorite spots in the local mountains. We ran into heavy burns and beautiful habitat. Lush springs and plenty of feed. Lots and lots of deer hunters ahead of us at every turn. Never a sign of a quail where many a covey had been found before.

We hiked and checked out new spots, we had a sandwich and relaxed and hunted some more. It's the hunt, after all, that entices. And we looked as much for deer hunters as we did for birds and wore really bright clothing. Talk turned to mountain lions and Native Americans and how natural it must have been to protect your hunting grounds and water sources.

We went home without a bird.

Yet the season is young and we'll be meeting up with my brother Bob (Fernando was his best man) in the Sierra over Thanksgiving to tromp some more. It's all good.

Rich Holland's Roundup