tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37913725.post6697454769409876794..comments2023-03-29T07:22:43.667-06:00Comments on sometimes far afield: dinner blogmdmnmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00191436711956580423noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37913725.post-53557265655703640152008-07-28T18:32:00.000-06:002008-07-28T18:32:00.000-06:00Thanks, HenryGood luck with your freezer hunt, too...Thanks, Henry<BR/><BR/>Good luck with your freezer hunt, too!mdmnmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00191436711956580423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37913725.post-8281649975568317802008-07-28T16:47:00.000-06:002008-07-28T16:47:00.000-06:00Great post, Mike. Many thanks! Makes me want to di...Great post, Mike. Many thanks! Makes me want to dig through my freezer for those few remaining quail and squirrels.Henry Chappellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18013645114503780931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37913725.post-16027367838055919612008-07-28T11:21:00.000-06:002008-07-28T11:21:00.000-06:00Matt,That meeting would be really interesting and ...Matt,<BR/>That meeting would be really interesting and I'd like to see it. Unfortunately for my chances of heading that way, I have an elk tag for northern NM for that same time period, so I'll be busy trying to fill the freezer.mdmnmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00191436711956580423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37913725.post-24532296158537668072008-07-27T14:32:00.000-06:002008-07-27T14:32:00.000-06:00Hey Ive love to come out your way and it's always ...Hey Ive love to come out your way and it's always a possibility. I have a couple good hawking friends in the Sandia Hills area I've visited before, and of course Steve B. further south.<BR/><BR/>This Thanksgiving I'll be in Amarillo as usual, but this year the national falconers' group (NAFA) is meeting there. If you had any interest in seeing a lot of interesting hunting, maybe you can make it out for a couple days?Matt Mullenixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11198069782508775543noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37913725.post-77624274062280983242008-07-26T15:24:00.000-06:002008-07-26T15:24:00.000-06:00Rebecca- Good luck in your freezer hunt! This time...Rebecca- <BR/><BR/>Good luck in your freezer hunt! This time of year mine, at least, starts to get down to the bits and ends, with a few exceptions.mdmnmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00191436711956580423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37913725.post-90477892540322613732008-07-26T15:10:00.000-06:002008-07-26T15:10:00.000-06:00Well, hey, Matt-Gun writers go into all sorts of r...Well, hey, Matt-<BR/>Gun writers go into all sorts of rhapsodies about shotguns that "point themselves" and "leap to the bird". In your case, your partners not only point & flush but literally leap to the bird! I envy your short trips & local hunting, too. You just need to find a work reason to come out to northern NM in Sept. or October.mdmnmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00191436711956580423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37913725.post-67098976550278634242008-07-25T22:18:00.000-06:002008-07-25T22:18:00.000-06:00That did it. The falcon can eat more quail. I need...That did it. The falcon can eat more quail. I need to see if there's a red hed or something equally tasty left in the freezer. I duck breast salad would chase the summer blues away for a least a meal!Rebecca K. O'Connorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03203358870369377876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37913725.post-11558046732878706152008-07-25T21:01:00.000-06:002008-07-25T21:01:00.000-06:00I would love to try more upland game with my hawks...I would love to try more upland game with my hawks. It's about as classy a kind of falconry as it gets, especially with a dog. <BR/><BR/>But I get only my one week a year in any sort of upland area (TX panhandle); the rest of the year I am stomping around in marshes and cow pastures down here below sea level. :-)<BR/><BR/>What I do is sort of the underbelly of upland bird hunting, the flip side. Bizzaro World bird hunting, to borrow from the Superman comic. Instead of a classy, textbook accipiter I've got a neotropical "Mexican chicken," and in place of the big square-shouldered pointer, I work behind a paper thin, ravenous whippet.<BR/><BR/>But the work is very similar, mechanically. On the last day of last season one of the landowner's sons-in-law came out with me. He had just returned from a plantation quail shoot in south Georgia, Elhew pointers and mule-drawn carts, etc. When Rina winded and pointed her bird, and then flushed, and the hawk chased, he just laughed and laughed. <BR/><BR/>It IS pretty funny when you see it from another context. :-)Matt Mullenixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11198069782508775543noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37913725.post-21392351143667448492008-07-25T12:53:00.000-06:002008-07-25T12:53:00.000-06:00The mountain grouse out here tend to like meadow e...The mountain grouse out here tend to like meadow edges during most of the season, so you could probably get a slip in the open. They fly about as fast as a quail, but look like they are going more slowly since they are larger. One covey of quail in 11 years is kind of grim.mdmnmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00191436711956580423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37913725.post-66012223837569335882008-07-25T12:38:00.000-06:002008-07-25T12:38:00.000-06:00I know some Harris hawks have taken woodland grous...I know some Harris hawks have taken woodland grouse, and plenty folks have taken them with the faster goshawks. I'm sure it's a great flight and a challenge for any hawk.<BR/><BR/>The closest thing to grouse we have here, in sporting terms, are woodcock (not very close otherwise, I grant you). These you can catch with a well-conditioned (or lucky) Harris, but mine have only come close enough to bump them a bit in the air. If we only had more slips at them...<BR/><BR/>Quail used to be here in numbers but I've flushed only 1 local covey in 11 years (and that was 11 year ago). They are wonderful quarry for a confident Harris, and mine have taken a small number in Texas hunts over the years--every one a prize. :-)<BR/><BR/>Rail season will start mid Sept here and we'll be ready. These are prety easy for a Harris, but they're tasty.Matt Mullenixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11198069782508775543noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37913725.post-44836844409242314332008-07-24T12:26:00.000-06:002008-07-24T12:26:00.000-06:00Hey Matt,Thanks! If I recall correctly, a mallard ...Hey Matt,<BR/><BR/>Thanks! If I recall correctly, a mallard drake was the source. Our first season opens 9/1, with dove, grouse, and squirrel. Of those, I usually go for the grouse. Fairly recently, the state extended the season to mid-October and they are nice big birds, though frequently hard to find. I bet a good size blue grouse would be a great challenge for a hard charging Harris!mdmnmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00191436711956580423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37913725.post-89639964916448372312008-07-24T06:38:00.000-06:002008-07-24T06:38:00.000-06:00Some beautiful fillets!What's the first season to ...Some beautiful fillets!<BR/><BR/>What's the first season to open for you out there?Matt Mullenixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11198069782508775543noreply@blogger.com