Aug. 7th scouting notes

These are the notes for today in my hunting log.

Found more chukar today. Saw at least four different covey's. Three of the covey's were six or more weeks old. Largest covey had 8 chicks. One covey had over a dozen two week old birds that flew maybe thirty yards into the heavy brush behind ma and pa. They flew off this rock out cropping.

Two separate single chukars were jumped. I'm hoping those were males who were leaving their partner on a nest of eggs yet to hatch. Usually, if they have little ones on the ground they give the injured wing trick to lure you away. Twice today I had doves fly to the ground and look injured to protect their nests.

So far only one of this doves eggs had hatched.

Closer to the road, I found quail of all different sizes. Ages ranged from 1 week old chicks to 8 week old chicks.

I saw one covey with at least 15 babies, but I'd guess they averaged about 8 per group.

The temperature was 64 degrees when we left the truck at 7:00 and 74 degrees at our return at 10:00. I covered just over 4 miles and Jake just over 12.

Our big entertainment came rescuing this range bull from a mud bog he was stuck in.

When Jake and I first found him I thought he was dead, but as I climbed down the hill to him he started snorting and blowing mud everywhere. My tough dog guarded my pack up on the hill while I got down in the bull's face and aggravated him. I got in the mud with him and slapped him in the face a couple of times and he finally got some footing with his front legs. I was careful not to to get my feet stuck next to an unhappy range bull and after he got his front legs under him I backed off and used a large branch to keep him excited. I learned something today. Bulls do not like getting their nose pulled on or getting sticks shoved in their nose. He got angry enough to finally free himself and wearily walked into the heavy brush to rest.

Jake kept guard from behind a bush.

I've had several people ask what the last picture is. That is the tail and back end of the bull in the picture. The rest of him is so deep in the muck it is hard to tell it's even a bull.