Would a wetter than average winter with late spring rains help up there? That type of weather seems to make or break the hatch and chick survival rate in the Grasslands these days (high grass = insects & cover = more protein & protection for chicks) . I am still hopeful we will get that shot of rain that NOAA seems to think might come later in the winter.
Who's buying a Class A season pass?
- Thread starter calamari
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Would a wetter than average winter with late spring rains help up there? That type of weather seems to make or break the hatch and chick survival rate in the Grasslands these days (high grass = insects & cover = more protein & protection for chicks) . I am still hopeful we will get that shot of rain that NOAA seems to think might come later in the winter.
It seems to have a certain window for the rain and minimum temperature requirements. Rain and cold temps can kill chicks if they occur at the wrong time. I'm always amazed that it worked out so well in the past. I think they can find enough water to drink or absorb from dew on plants. It's the invertebrates that seem to be a big missing link. I've heard guys who should know better say that there are lots of pheasants where they have a lot of grain back east but they ignore all the pot holes and other feather edged water sources that have "bugs." Chicks need invertebrates before they need grain.
I agree - they prosper where there are wetlands. They need cover, food and water as the holy Trinity for survival. The decline in CRP lands in North Dakota has resulted in fewer birds, in spite of the fact that it is being converted to food crops. Those birds need aa cover refuge near food and water.
I guess I am back to hoping we get warm wet spring that dries out around hatch time.
quail hound
Moderator
Here's a pic shared by Sacramento NWR taken on the Packer unit. Has anyone ever seen a porky in CA before? I never had though I know they're around up in the hills.
quail hound
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I'd like to see one, just not in JP's jaws.
When I was about 10 years old my best friends family invited me to go camping and fishing with them near Downieville on the Yuba River. Their dog, Reggie, a huge Weimaraner, caught a porcupine somewhere on the road to our destination when we stopped to take a break and got a face full. Only dog encounter I've experienced in Calif.
When I graduated from high school my first job was for the US Forest Service in the Tahoe Nat'l Forest above Foresthill. I worked in the forest everyday and would see two other employees driving around in a USFS vehicle. They were two junior forestry managers whose sole job I was told was to drive around in the IHC Scout with a .22 rifle shooting porcupines and building those sheet metal shields you see on small clusters of trees that prevent porcupines from climbing up in the tree. They must have been very good at what they did because I never saw a porcupine in the 4 months I lived in a tent cabin and worked in the woods.
When I graduated from high school my first job was for the US Forest Service in the Tahoe Nat'l Forest above Foresthill. I worked in the forest everyday and would see two other employees driving around in a USFS vehicle. They were two junior forestry managers whose sole job I was told was to drive around in the IHC Scout with a .22 rifle shooting porcupines and building those sheet metal shields you see on small clusters of trees that prevent porcupines from climbing up in the tree. They must have been very good at what they did because I never saw a porcupine in the 4 months I lived in a tent cabin and worked in the woods.
quail hound
Moderator
JP gave me a scare today, after about an hour he just stopped running and was plodding around trying to eat a bunch of grass at my feet. Not normal behavior at all for him. He wouldn't punch out and I knew something was wrong. He was beginning to bloat I think. We walked slowly back to the truck and by the time we got there he seemed fine. I was debating taking him straight to an ER but I assesed his situation at the truck and it wasn't dire. Took him to the vet in town and they said it was quite possible he began to bloat but was able to pass the gas before torsion started. Scared the crap out of me just seeing him hit a brick wall like that for no apparent reason.
We moved 5 hens and 1 rooster in that hour that he ran.
We moved 5 hens and 1 rooster in that hour that he ran.
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quail hound
Moderator
It was pretty scary. Hopefully it was a fluke, it's possible he found something to eat while I was loading the truck in the morning but he will be monitored closely during our hunts.
quail hound
Moderator
JP is back to normal wondering when he will get his next chance to run.
Adorable face. Want to go hunting once more before season ends. Waiting for later on when things hopefully cool down a bit, meaning the number of hunters. Hoping for some rain to get the ground wet. Thursday storm won't bring us much, hopefully over the next couple of weeks we will get a decent rainfall total
quail hound
Moderator
My brother and I got out yesterday and headed to the Island for a change of scenery. We ended up flushing 10 pheasants but no roosters in range. We also jumped a nice three point buck off a bed and about 400 or so quail. The amount of quail is amazing out there. By far the densest population I've seen despite the prolonged drought.
Where did you go?
quail hound
Moderator
We went to China Island yesterday because LB was packed last time. I wanted to go hit Salt Slough today before the storm rolled in but I didn't wake up.
The pheasants were running devils yesterday. All those grass fields with swaths cut in them are flooded up leaving only the really talk stuff to hunt mostly. We had a flush of 6 hens and a rooster of the edge of one of those flooded fields, I was walking in about 6" of water.We went to China Island yesterday because LB was packed last time. I wanted to go hit Salt Slough today before the storm rolled in but I didn't wake up.
How many people were hunting pheasants at China?
quail hound
Moderator
Only one other guy out of pump but he was only walking the roads. Two more guys out of the other parking lot.
quail hound
Moderator
They had a salmon trap out in the river, no fish in it though.
The plan to introduce salmon to the SJ River is doomed to failure