Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-08-12

[ tain quail puts in an appearance. The
latter is much larger than the valley quail.
! and Of quite different plumage. It is not
much sought after by sportsmen, as its
! home is usually in the toughest and most
, inaccessible parts of the mountains but
| late in the fall, or winter, when the SHOWS
| in the higher attitudes have driven these
| birds down into the foothills they are often
hunted and good bags secured. They are
a delicious table bird 1t must be under
stood that the habits of our California
| quails valley are very different from those
of the bob whites of the East They are
rarely found in cornfelds and stubble, but
along the bushy banks of streams, or some
where in the vicinity of brusby hill, in
the edge of the valley. They are indeed
too often found so close to dense thickets
that they get into impenetrable cover before
the shooter can get among them and scatter
them. However, with this exception, these
birds afford fine sport. The writer has
rarely foudd any difficulty in having them
lie to the dog, and is of the impression that
the cause of most of the complaint that has
been made on this score was properly due
to the poor quality of dogtleSh used. Il is
true that, in our long quail season, there
often occur many weeks at q time in which
no rain falls to mOisten the ground hence
Liz sGClt XII Al4E iNoSElAs+tg
and no dog can do satisfactory work on
quails under such conditions. The trouble
is that TOO many men do not take into &C
count the condition OF the atmosphere when
they start for the field, or they try to get
too many outings il the season and take
eli the chances knowingly. The wise
sportsman will be content with reason
able number Of days spent among the birds,
and viii select his time 50 as to get the best
results. Now that field trials have been
successfully inaugurated here, and several
kennels of settlers and pointers (of the best
stock in the world established, we shall
look for more satisfactory reports from
quail shooting in the near future. Quais
are very plentiful everywhere, and tho
stranger sportsman cannot well 50 amiss
whatever part of the foothills he may strike.
We have known of market hunters bagging
from seven to eight, and even ten dozen,
birds per day right along, and where little,
if any, grOund-sluicing' was done.
OTHER GAME.
The intention of this article is merely to
call the attention of visiting sportsmen to
the fact that we have here in northern
California a sufficient variety of game TO
please almost any reasonable man. Besides
the quails, we have lin the higher mount
ains) the spruce grouse, which affords ex-
citing but difficult sport. In the summer
months the valleys and foothills fairly
swarm with doves, and many consider dove
shooting the very essence of sport-to sit
under broad live oak of summer after
noon and pop away at the swift-fying
doves as they shoot by in rapid procession
to and from the grain fields or the nearest
water Then snipe shooting is grand sport |
There are places along the Sacramento and
shooters have bagged from 80 to 100 birds
per dav to the gun. Up in Sierra Valley, |
30 miles from Truckee, immense numbers
of the English snipe are shot in Septem
Der on the meadow lands. Robin snipe, |
curlew, plover and all the |
usual marsh birds are found in northern |
CaliforniS in reasonable numbers. OF |
ducks there are almost endless numbers |
and all the common varieties-canvas
backs, mallards, redheads, blackjacks, gray
ducks, blue and green-winged teal, and va
rious other varieties. Anywhere in the |
valleys, from October till April, ducks are
found, and the facilities for hunting them |
are excellent.
There are many other kinds of upland |
and marsh birds that might be mentioned |
but as they do not come under the head of |
. game birds, and are rarely shot, il is |
not necessary to mention them. Perhaps |
it is not best to neglect mentioning some of
the larger four footed animals. In the |
mountain districts grizzly and black bears,
panthers, wild cats, lynxes, foxes, coyotes, |
etc, are to be found-the two Iast-named, |
however, being generally encountered in |
the valleys where cover happens to be |
It was only few days ago |
that the writer saw near the railroad track, |
shortly after leaving Oakland for Sacra-
mento on the morning train, two gray |
foxes. They stood in field and quietly |
watched the train rush by, having doubt
less Just had good chicken breakfast at |
the nearest ranch.
TRouT ANp OTHFR FIsFEs.