Tag Archives: Photography

December 19, 2025 · 6:39 pm

Oklahoma!

Where the wind comes sweeping down the plain! Henry and I went on a solo quail hunt in the western Oklahoma WMAs. We spent a day in each Sandy Sanders, Black Kettle, and Beaver River. With perfect, mild weather, it was a great walk in some of the best quail habitat there is. Agriculture is king here, and all the folks were super friendly, with handshakes of skin stretched over thick granite. There is an abundance of dilapidation here, and you could spend a month photographing the ruins if you are into that. It was a great experience being in this country, except for the $300 price for an out-of-state license. I will spell it out so you know I did not make a mistake with the decimal . . . three hundred fricken dollars! I got some decent pics, and I hope you enjoy them.

Henry, the best dog ever.

Sweet boy!

Were gonna find LOTS of quail in here!!

Gotta be quail in there!

Gotta be quail in there!

Nice point, but only on scent. I did hear the rapid baritone flapping of a departing bob. Never saw him.

Gotta be quail in them trees!

Gotta be quail in there!

Thick grass – no quail in here.

This is the Salami Nipple Barrel Cactus.

Not quail, but nice turkeys.

Oklahoma Democratic HQ.

Hard to believe there is no Buc-ees in this county.

This is a cow squeezer. It is used to address constipation or a buildup of gas.

Texola is one strong wind away from extinction.

This ranch house is in the Texas panhandle, on TX 305 just north of TX 213, south of Lipscomb, Texas. As I drove by at 70mph, a small covey of Bob White quail flew over my truck. I was surprised and pleased to see them. They were the only quail I saw on this trip.

$300.00

Thanks for visiting the Birdhunter! We will get ’em next time!

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November 9, 2025 · 2:52 pm

North Dakota is Loaded with Pheasants!

That is what we heard from reliable sources and locals. There are pheasants for sure, but 3 weeks into the season, hunting public land, we did not see that many birds, and few limits were taken. I would say there was almost enough to keep us interested, almost. We hunted out of McClusky, ND, because it is within striking distance of an abundance of PLOTS and government land open to hunters. The habitat was excellent, and the local folks were glad we were there and were very generous with information and access to their land. These small, remote AG towns really need hunters to show up and boost their economy. There are countless ponds and small lakes for the waterfowlers. McClusky is a good 13+ hour drive from Denver, where we live, so there was that. Regardless of my negative tone, it was good to be in the field with friends and dogs, the weather was wonderful, and everyone had a good time.

Henry is in top form and hunted hard every day.

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October 25, 2025 · 7:11 am

Bird hunting begins in Wyoming.

The Wyoming bird hunting season begins in mid-September, and we hunt there as soon as the days cool down. This year it has been warm for a long time. When the forecast said the highs would be in the 60s, we went to hunt Hungarian Partridge and Chukar; the Sage Grouse season had already ended. It turned out that reality was high temps in the mid to high-70s. So we were relegated to morning hunts, as there was no evening cool-down until it was dark. Hunting has been excellent over the last two years, but this year the bird numbers are significantly down. We encountered about half the covies that we found last year, and we saw no Chukar. Maybe it was due to the heat. We will go back when it is colder, with some snow on the ground, that might change things. Regardless, we had a terrific time, with comfortable hunting and an excellent effort by the dogs. Harley, the Pudelpointer, hit some solid points, and that is always exciting. I hope you enjoy these pictures from the hunt.

Point on a morning road covey flush.

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September 18, 2025 · 11:49 am

Too Hot to Hunt!

Wyoming is where we start our hunting season, and just like last year, it was too hot to hunt the 9/15 partridge and chukar opener. Sage grouse runs from the 20th to the 30th, and except possibly on the 22nd, it is also too hot for the dogs, in my opinion. But it might be fun to chase some rattlesnakes! Temps will cool, and we will be in the field, but not soon enough.

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February 16, 2025 · 9:45 pm

Mining for Quail

Our season ended with a trip to the public lands of the Southwest in search of desert quail. We hunted the rugged country of the true West, where, 150 years ago, you might have been scalped by Indians, where the famous and infamous of western lore existed, and stalwart, hearty men mined the rocky ground for riches. This is a tough, rugged country, and we thoroughly enjoyed our time in it. I hope you enjoy these pictures of the hunt.

Henry is on point. He is 4 years old now, and I sure hope we will be hunting together for the next 6 years or so.

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December 13, 2024 · 10:21 am

Waterton Canyon

Living in Denver, we have Waterton Canyon less than half an hour away. It is an impressive and large canyon carved by the South Platte River. While I may know nothing about geology, I find the rocky canyon walls ruggedly beautiful. Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed in the canyon because a herd of Bighorn sheep hangs out there. I hope you enjoy these non-bird hunting pictures.

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November 26, 2024 · 8:45 am

November Quail ’24

A great benefit of retirement is that you can hunt public land when most of the public is busy punching a clock, staring at a computer screen for hours. I did that for 50 years, and now I enjoy the benefit of time, as long as God allows it. On this two-day mid-week hunt, we encountered few other hunters, and the ones we did meet were super nice and in a great mood. They must be retired as well!

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November 3, 2024 · 6:41 pm

A Hot Start to 2024

Most of September and some of October were too hot to hunt if you were running dogs. Though it can be hard on the pups, global warming has made for some very comfortable hunting when we did get to go. I am not a cold weather fan, so I encourage the cows to keep farting away! Maybe we will be hunting quail in North Dakota someday. Here are some pictures from the three states we visited so far. I hope you enjoy them!

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March 4, 2024 · 9:01 pm

Public Quail

Hunting public land is often a choice driven by economics, but it’s also an excellent option for those pursuing bird hunting objectives other than body counts or a tailgate covered in feathered carcasses. That is what preserves and expensive guided private land hunts are for! Since we hunt mostly for our dogs and to be in the open spaces with enough wing shooting to keep it interesting, hunting public land works well for us. Access is usually about free, but the downside is that often there is not an abundance of game. We are happy with the handful of birds we usually find, but the truth is that we rarely take a limit, and sometimes the number of birds is zero. Because that is the norm, the times we do get into them are extra special, appreciated, and never taken for granted.

I hope you enjoy these pics from this season’s Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico public land hunts; looking for my favorite game bird of all time!

Thinking about quail.

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November 17, 2023 · 9:34 pm

Bird Hunting in Flyover Country

We do love hunting the flyover country. The Great Plains and its small towns, where the pace is slow, the people are mostly friendly, and the food is fried. These are places rich in Western history, where we ponder the tough souls that lived and died on the land and the relics they left behind. Vast sections of public land still remain here, wild places where self-reliance is mandatory, and the beauty of God’s creation is on dramatic display. Something is endearing about the modest accommodations, the lack of opulence, the absence of pretense, and the value of functional utility in the rural West. We certainly enjoy the sparse humanity and the consequent silence of these desolate places. I do lament the dying rural communities we see that once had a purpose but are now dilapidated ruins, holding on, rotting in disrepair until they disappear into forgotten history.

I do hope you enjoy these pictures from our hunt.

Henry, on top of the world!

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October 22, 2023 · 2:52 pm

This is a good year!

A good bird hunting year that is! Certainly not a good year in terms of the probable continuation of the human race, but it is a good year for birds. I believe a wet winter and spring brought grasses and bugs, precipitating more birds. There seem to be more birds than there have been in the last half-decade, IMHO. We have been to Wyoming and North Dakota; both were terrific hunts. There were opportunities to take limits on both hunts, which is especially rare in the Cowboy state.

It feels good to be stumbling on uneven, rocky ground again. The weather has been spectacular, if not a bit too warm. I hope you enjoy these pictures.

I am not a big fan of the obligatory tailgate carnage photo, but this is a good one. It was a great day.

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September 3, 2023 · 12:16 pm

Dove Season Opening Day!

Sadly, this was my view on the 2023 dove opener. A friend of mine refers to the days of good health and open seasons as “quality time remaining” or QTR. We have only so much QTR, so we strive for a reasonable balance of work to keep the bill collectors at bay against the joys of bird hunting, dogs, the great outdoors, camaraderie, et cetera. 9/1/2023 was for sure a wasted day of QTR. But no worry, our time in the field is right around the corner. Rent has been paid, the truck is full of gas, I have a flat of 6s, and bird dog Henry is ready to go!

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February 25, 2023 · 7:54 pm

Pointers at the Preserve

The hunting preserve is sometimes close enough to the real thing. The dogs certainly love the day, and that really is the point, if you will forgive the pun. The wild bird season is over now; not nearly enough time in the field for either puppies or hunters, so this is a lovely morning in a 20 mph batting cage hitting nothing but home runs! These pictures are from two hunts, one at The Bluffs and the other at Kiowa Creek Sporting Club, both in Colorado.

Henry is two years old now, and we look forward to his 3rd season. God willing, it will be another wonderful time of wandering the Great Plains and stumbling through the desert with hardly a care.

I hope you enjoy these pictures!

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February 5, 2023 · 4:24 pm

Southwestern Quail Hunt

We ended our bird hunting season with a three-day Arizona Mearns hunt with the great guys at Double Aero Guides and then two days on our own on New Mexico public land. This season seems to have ended about the time it began. We had hoped to return to Wyoming, but it was ridiculously cold for weeks and weeks. So down to the warmth of Arizona we went, only to find snow and freezing temps! But it was no problem; the dogs loved it and we had a great hunt. The best quail hunt in years. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

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November 6, 2022 · 12:11 pm

Public Land Hunting – Oct ’22

The focus this year is hunting western public land. Vast sections of BLM land, national grasslands, and state hunter walk-in access provide abundant opportunities. So far, we have found tolerable pressure, encountering few other hunters, and bird numbers have been acceptable. I hope you enjoy these pictures from our October hunts. If you are interested, these hunting spots are all about 125 miles southeast of Houston. Hope we see you there! 🙂

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July 2, 2022 · 11:17 am

My Dog Can Lick Your Dog!

Sweet old Tex. We miss that boy!

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April 30, 2022 · 11:21 am

Tennis Ball

Dog park fun with a tennis ball! These action shots were frozen with a Nikon 850 with an f/4 70-200MM at 1/1600 shutter speed.

I hope you enjoy these pics of Henry showing this tennis ball who is boss!

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March 20, 2022 · 12:24 pm

Beautiful Bird Dogs

The joy of bird hunting is found in our dogs. We learn to work together, training the finer points, and enjoying their miraculous bird hunting instinct. Here is Henry on his last hunting morning of the season. It was a great first season for him and he dramatically exceeded our expectations. I hope you enjoy these pictures of the handsome pointers we had the privilege to hunt with this season.

Henry looking good in the early morning light.

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January 23, 2022 · 8:13 pm

Sun City Kansas Quail

We enjoyed a Kansas wild bird quail hunt with Upland Bird Guide Service out of Sun City, Kansas. Very nice accommodations in a renovated, old bank building, and excellent cuisine from our Louisiana guide, Jamie Johns, added to the enjoyment. The hunt was great fun, the birds were thin but that is expected in the current down cycle.

It is common for pointers to bloody the end of their tail as they run through the brush. This old boy was super focused and gave himself a blood bath as his tail whipped back and forth. This speaks to the focus and drive that these dogs have.

Let’s roll!

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November 28, 2021 · 7:25 am

Henry Hunts

This is Henry at one week on 1/5/2021. Born Xander at the great Deutsch Kurzhaar (GSP) breeder Vom Gansehimmel in North Dakota. It has been a great pleasure to watch him grow from a mischievous puppy to a legitimate bird dog (but still full of mischief!).

Undoubtedly, one of the great joys is to see your dog grow into what he was bred and born to do. I hope you enjoy these pictures of a transformed dog on his first wild bird hunts.

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