Few things upland wise can compare to explosion of grouse wings and the sweet smells of decaying leaves in Oct in Wisconsin, but 60 degree temps with warm sunshine on your back and the explosion of 100 pairs of wings is AWFUL close!
Every holiday season i get the opportunity to visit my in laws, catch up on vitamin D, and witness the largest coveying bird in North America. I often refer to things as "Desert Beautiful", and no one understands what I'm trying to convey. i hope that with these pics you might be able to understand what i feel when I'm there. There is truly no place like it, and I cant wait to go back.
There really isn't a more detailed bird than a valley quail. It has blues, tans, whites, oranges, hints of dark purple, all of which find a way to blend into the most majestic of top hats. Even after harvest, the pride of the quail remains erect, i almost think they know how pretty they really are.
In the Winter chill of Wisconsin, there is little to do activity wise if you want to upland hunt, and Wisconsin's early trout season doesn't open until the first week of March. So you basically have two choices when the cold breath of old man winter sets in; Take pictures or ice fish. While the thought of spending an entire day with another man in a plywood shack seems VERY enticing, (insert sarcasm here) I choose to take in the full winter plumage of the heartiest of the remaining waterfowl. I especially like the feeding shot, amazing what happens when you throw a bag of corn when it 7 degrees outside!
