Birds plentiful during Hawaiian New Year’s hunt Large ranch features many birds

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If you happened to note that my photograph and paragraphs were absent from their usual spot on this page last Saturday, I was on vacation.

I took my own advice from my story on New Year’s resolutions and enjoyed a special trip. It was actually a belated 30th anniversary present for my wife who, after enduring my faults and foibles for more than three decades, deserved a medal as well as a vacation.

So it was that I enjoyed a spectacular New Year’s Eve fireworks display from the ocean view balcony of our room at the Hapuna Beach Prince Resort on the big island of Hawaii.

On New Year’s Day, when most Maine sportsmen were watching football and considering the general opening of ice fishing season, I was standing on a lava-rocked slope of a dormant volcano preparing to hunt upland birds in 81-degree sunshine. Just as my wife seeks out golf opportunities during any business or pleasure trip, I always inquire about fishing or hunting possibilities in case there’s a bit of spare time.

Beef and birds

Tourists flock to the Hawaiian Islands for the warm weather, breathtaking scenery, swimming, snorkeling, surfing, sailing and sunbathing. The Kona coast of the big island is also world renowned for deep-sea fishing for record-book marlin, as well as tuna and mahi mahi.

Most visitors to this tropical paradise don’t know about the ranching and hunting, two enterprises that happen to go hand in hand, yielding outstanding results for each.

At 175,000 acres that extends from sand beaches and a lava- lined coast up the side of Moana Kea, a dormant volcano, the Parker Ranch is the largest working cattle spread in the country. Along with beef critters, large populations of 13 species of wild game birds make their home amongst the rocky-based and lushly vegetated grazing land.

Some of the upland birds are very rare on the mainland, and the challenge of the rugged terrain and the wild, hard-flying quarry make a Parker Ranch hunt a shot-gunner’s dream outing.

Among the flying feathered trophies are Rio Grande turkey, Chukar partridge and sand grouse; Valley and Japanese quail; ring-neck, blue and Kalij pheasant; Erkels, black and gray francolin; and two varieties of dove, including the unique Lace neck dove.

Certain species prefer the cover and habitat of particular sectors of the ranchland, but most areas harbor at least three different species. It’s odd to follow the dogs through a huge fenced-in hunting field and see hundreds of cattle polka dot an adjacent, immense pasture on the distant hillside. Our gunning sites ranged from 2,500 to 4,500 feet above sea level, and I’m here to tell you that for a woods-walking Maine boy, the air is kind of thin up there!

Scenery is breathtakingly beautiful, ranging from lush foliage to arid, open dried grass and cacti. Although it’s not reasonable, from my experience, 80 percent of the terrain is either uphill or steeply slanted sidehill.

With every uneven step my feet and legs extolled my decision to bring along a pair of L.L. Bean’s tough Gore-Tex Kangaroo upland hunter boots. Their support and lightweight waterproof comfort in the wet cover and hot weather without a minute of break-in time was a blessing.

Two-dog afternoon

Within 20 minutes of leaving the hotel I was on Parker Ranch land and kept driving upward for 20 more minutes on the winding road, sighting field after field of several breeds of cattle. What really got me excited was spotting three different flocks of Rio Grande turkey along the field edges.

As badly as I wanted to get hunting, I still stopped to take photos. Laurie Michaels, my guide for the day, met me at the designated field gate and we took care of my license and bird stamp taken. Laurie and her husband Dan own and operate Crystal Creek Lodge in Alaska where they spend most of the year hosting anglers and hunters.

She’s a veteran bush pilot with 30 years of flying experience and an interesting lady with whom to spend time. During the winter, they and their dogs help guide sportsmen visiting Parker Ranch.

I filled my vest pockets with shells for the over and under Browning 20 gauge while Laurie got two dogs rigged with beepers, training collars and locators.

I’d often hunted with two dogs, but never as a pointing and flushing team. Elvis, a keen-nosed English pointer, would locate the birds, and then Laurie would unleash Jazz, a black Lab that bulldozed in to jump up the birds. Due to heavy rain during the night, the cover was wet, which makes for difficult scenting conditions, and frequently the feathered quarry ran rather then held for the pointer. Often birds were 25 to 35 yards out when they took flight.

My first chance was at an Erkels francolin, a fast, erratic-flying game bird a bit larger than a grouse. I was on one side of a deep, 20-yard wide arroyo when the dog bumped a bird on the other side. Off balance, stepping uphill through brush, I loosed both barrels to no avail.

Having never seen an Erkels other than in a photo, I may have been inspecting the unique, fast-flying quarry rather than my sight. That’s my story anyway, and I’m sticking to it!

On the next point the bird didn’t hold well, and when finally tracked down by the Lab, despite my trying to keep close, the flush was at 35 yards. My first shot caused a leg to drop, but my upper barrel only sped the Erkel along. Zero-for-2 was not an auspicious beginning to my Hawaiian bird hunt, especially on a species I very much wanted to bag. We had been afield less than 30 minutes when the third point came. As Jazz pushed forward, I was right at her tail and suddenly a patchwork quilt of colorful plumage soared skyward right in front of my face.

Cackling raucously and dragging at least a foot-and-a-half of tail feathers, the cock pheasant soared over my head and away. I spun, checked on Laurie and the pointer, and shouldered and fired at the straight-away fast receding rooster. It tumbled beak over tail, wings askew, to earth, and the Lab was on it in a flash, bringing it back to Laurie’s hand. Before placing the gaudy prize in my game vest I admired the long spurs, crimson cheek patches and lustrous breast feathers produced by running through the rough Hawaiian grasses. Every true sportsman will understand my mixed feelings of satisfaction and sadness as I admired the beautiful game bird.

Over the next couple of hours we experienced a combination of wild flushes and productive points on ring necks, Erkels francolin, Japanese quail and Chukar partridge. We managed a limit of three Erkels and another mature rooster ring neck. My high point, however, was a 15-pound Rio Grande turkey; and what made the feat truly unique was that I shot the bird on the wing – with a 20 gauge!

I was so surprised when the dog flushed such a large bird from such sparse cover, that I actually stopped with the gun midway to my shoulders to gawk. Thankfully my reactions took over, and although it took both barrels, the big bird was downed.

Blue Monday

Heavy rain fell throughout the night and during much of the day of my planned Monday hunt. Finally, about mid-afternoon, head guide Pat Fisher and I ignored the drizzle and headed afield with his English pointer Kana and Mea (Ma-ah), a relentless 12-year-old German shorthair. When birds tried to creep forward or run on this pair, the dogs moved with them and foiled the getaways. One of my prime goals of the outings was to take one of the unique blue pheasant that inhabit certain sectors of the ranch. The wet conditions offered difficult scenting and tough going for four- and two- legged hunters.

As if the Hawaiian spirits were trying to make up for the miserable conditions, the first point was on pheasants. In all, four ringnecks and a blue got up and scattered skyward in all directions. Thanks to Pat’s warning that wise, old blues often flush late, I didn’t shoot at the first bird flushed.

The third pheasant up had run and became airborne at 35 yards, and it was a resplendent, long-tailed rooster. Thankfully, I was carrying and O/U 12 gauge that day and was able to reach out and anchor the radiant streak of iridescent blue.

Despite the rain-shortened outing, we managed to put another blue, two Erkels francolin and a brace of ring neck roosters in the game bag. Sadly, I missed two chances at black francolin that got up at long range and also a couple of shots at Japanese quail, which are a bit larger than a sparrow and faster than a hummingbird. A covey of valley quail also maneuvered unscathed through my volley of pellets. The 21/2 hours just flew by.

Trip planning

Hawaiian hospitality is world renowned and I experienced that warm congeniality at my hotel and from everyone connected with Parker Ranch. If a visit to the islands is in your future, call Patrick Fisher at 808-960-4148 to arrange your own spectacular Hawaiian hunt. Go on line at pfisher@parkerranch.com to get more information and to view photos of the wide variety of game birds, many unique to Parker Ranch on the Kona coast. Guns and ammo are available for a nominal fee per day, and full- or half-day guided hunts are reasonably priced. Visiting shooters do need a hunter safety card to acquire a Hawaiian license.

The Hapuna Beach Prince Resort is roughly half an hour from Parker Ranch land and, if not for the great hunting opportunities, I might never have left the resort. Watersports, golf, tennis, a fitness center, a huge white-sand beach, several wonderful restaurants and daily children’s programs keep the whole family entertained, pampered and well fed.

Rooms, suites and even villas are available to fit any family size. Sightseeing adventures via bus or helicopter, fishing trips, horseback outings, scuba diving and ocean kayaking can all be set up at Hapuna Beach Prince. Those seeking more information may call at 1-800-882-6060, or visit them on line at www.PrinceResortsHawaii.com for an overview of this wonderful property.

Outdoor feature writer Bill Graves can be reached via e-mail at bgravesoutdoors@ainop.com