California Chukar Hunting: Planning a First Season on Alectoris chukar
The pillar planning guide to California chukar — the Eastern Sierra, the Modoc Plateau, and the Mojave ranges; water as the limiting resource, escape cover, the narrow elevation band that holds birds in October, and the boots and lungs the east side asks for. Refreshed each year.
Reading California's Upland Harvest: A County Map of Where the Birds Were Taken in 2023–24
We built a county-by-county map of California's ten huntable upland species from CDFW's 2023–24 harvest survey — where doves, quail, chukar and pheasant were actually taken, what the numbers do and don't tell you, and how to read them for your own scouting.
The California Mountain Quail Hunting Guide: Where, When, and How to Hunt Oreortyx pictus, the West's Most Overlooked Upland Bird
The pillar guide to California mountain quail — the chaparral-and-conifer mid-elevation country from the Trinity Alps to the Los Padres, the calling cadence, the running habit, and the early-season opener almost nobody hunts on purpose. Refreshed each July.
Planning a First Trip to Owens Valley Chukar Country: What We Found, and What We'll Find Out in October
We haven't been there yet.
What we have done is spend the better part of a winter evening going deep on the Owens Valley — topo maps pulled up on one screen, CDFW regulations on another, a half-dozen trip reports from forums we trust enough to read critically.
Band-tailed Pigeon: California's Overlooked Upland Migrant
California's only native wild pigeon: band-tailed pigeon habitat, hunting seasons, acorn and mineral spring ecology, and why it matters to NorCal hunters.
Spring Rainfall and California Valley Quail Chick Survival
California valley quail chick survival hinges on spring rainfall — how April-May rain shapes NorCal forb, insect, and brood cover before fall upland season.
