SPRING TIME IN THE SIERRA'S TIME FOR SAGE GROUSE COUNTS AND FISHING

There is nothing quit as wonderful as springtime in the mountains. Each day as the trees green-up, the skiing almost over and the high pressure lifts warm Pacific air current over Blue Canyon, is when the Great Basin Desert wakes up from a winters rest.  Sage grouse males find their historical leks and display themselves to pass on their DNA. Females wait at the fringes to see which dance pleases her the most and in a moment she is fertilized. Against all odds with raven, coyotes, late freezes, low water, she will spend the next 8 months alone with her brood.  These birds are highly adapted to the vegetation, winter cycles and drought that before the introduction of European agriculture they had leks at most natural seeps and springs. Now they are decline probably due to West Nile Virus resricting the gene pool and water psring tapped for unuglated like cattle and feral horses

In Nevada they are declining fast.  Nevada is a very fragile ecosystem in the rain shadows if the Sierras and competition for water is fierce

THE QUAIL AND DOVES WERE BOUNTIFUL

With our aging hunting dog, Fe the bearded female GWP  and the exuberant retriever, Tess the black lab and having sent out the Christmas letter with no more nester living at home, we were off to the Sonora desert for our Christmas  camping and shooting party.  An evening visit with my falcon mentor Harry McElroy and Beth, in Kingman AZ,  filled the temperamental refrig with Christmas treats, chicken, various cheese and tortilla and watered up in Wikieup. That night we found an arroyo to camp nearby the shooting fields and set up base camp. We finally felt the warmth of the sun https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnB7RI5oSxo.


Ellen dug a hole for her dutch oven cooking, immediately set out on her walks through the Sonoran garden while I loaded the Jeep in tow and began to scout for dove flights.

I would not to be disappointed this year.  Alongside a vacant field I noticed a covey about fifty Gambels.  Tess moaned when she spotted the group but I wasn't going to road hunt. Before long a single doves lite into the mesquite roost and within ten minutes thousand of late season morning doves followed.  I was content and decided no to distrub the flights.
My weapon for next day was an AYA 20 ga model 53.

I love this gun choked IC and IM. The first shoot was looking westward against the setting sun making for quick reflex shot the norm. By sunset I had enough and so had the dogs. I popped a Mexican lager, cased the Eibar handmade 20 bore, watered the dogs, field dressed the game for dinner and life was good while listening to Loreena McKennitt heading back to camp https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxTpvA-pUG0.



It was almost sunset and Ellen had a great feast prepared of pheasant, wild rice ala Saskatchewan mushroom soup and sleep came quickly after a few songs.  With our new phone apps and a clear sky Ellen quickly located Venus and Jupiter which shown a distinct red. The sun went down and the coyotes harmonized.

For the nest several days we celebrate Christmas exchanging gift hunting birds watching the dogs work, cooking great dinners and pairing with the wines