I arrived in Temple about 11:00 a.m. I figured that the hunting would probably be hard going as the pheasant populations wouldn’t be as large as they were earlier in the season. Beyond that was the fact too that I don’t have a hunting dog. The lone pheasant hunter today finds hunting much harder without a well trained dog. Unlike many years ago when Fish and Game stocked over 100,000 pheasant annually, compared to the meager 13,500 they stock today, the lone hunter is at a considerable disadvantage and chances for success are very low in comparison. But, it’s not just about shooting a pheasant, its more about getting out and enjoying the wilderness and lack of stress.

I parked in an old field, got my gear on, loaded the shotgun and started on my way. The field, with orchards, was heavily grown over and it made for some difficult walking. I had gone some distance when I thought I heard a pheasant cackle, but wasn’t sure. I fished through my vest pockets for my pheasant call. It wasn’t there. Thinking I must have left it back in the vehicle, I decided to go back and fetch it. I hadn’t gone 20 feet when I heard the unmistakable fluttering of a pheasant’s wings. The hen pheasant flew low through the trees, before I could swing on it, and was gone. Oh well, at least I did see a pheasant and that made my day better.

Mike Margulies, with his dog Bezos and pheasants
taken while hunting in Temple.

I arrived back at my vehicle, unlocked it and began searching for my pheasant call when another vehicle drove up and parked near me. An elderly gentleman, with a nice springer spaniel, got out. He introduced himself as Michael Marqulies. "They call me Mike," he said. "Have any luck?". I told Mike a hen flushed and headed down toward the main road, but that had been it so far. He said he got a hen pheasant earlier in the morning and asked, "You have a dog?" I told
Mike I didn’t and have never owned a hunting dog.

"Well then Bob, why don’t you come along and hunt with me and my dog Bezos? He’s a good hunter and well trained." What more could I ask for than meeting a really nice person who extends an invitation to hunt with him and his dog. It was the beginning of a great friendship that would make a day of hunting unforgettable. I told Mike about my pheasant call, but still I could not find it. It had to be at home. "Don’t worry about it," Mike assured me. "I’m sure Bezos will find us some action. He’ll find the pheasants."

We went back up through the field where I had flushed the hen. Bezos was going bonkers sniffing through the brush and picking up bird scent. The brush we went into was very thick stuff as we worked through it. About a half hour elapsed when we heard the fluttering of wings. Bezos had flushed out a nice cock pheasant, but it was too far out of range by the time we saw it and it headed across the main road. "Well, that’s two pheasant I’ve seen today," I told Mike. "Guess that’s a good sign." We worked the length of the lower edge of the field and came out onto the main road, unloaded our guns and decided to walk the road down until we came to the dirt road that went back up to the field, but the far end of it.

As we began our walk up the old dirt road to the field again, Mike checked the time. "I’ve got to be home by 1:30 p.m. to help my wife with the Christmas tree Bob, so why don’t we hunt the field back to our vehicles," he said. It was about 12:15 then. We were up on top and half way on the field when Mike said, "Get ready Bob, Bezos’s onto something." Just then a large cock pheasant flushed up high. Mike fired and the bird kept flying. I then fired on it and it dropped down into the thick brush a few yards away. Bezos went into the thick brush and had the bird in his mouth before we knew it. "That’s a real nice pheasant, Bob," Mike said. It certainly was and if we had not had Bezos along, I doubt we would have flushed that bird out, let alone have found it after it went down into the heavy underbrush.

Mike and Bezos sure made my day. I asked Mike to take the pheasant as a token of my sincere appreciation for his invite to hunt and the wonderful opportunity he provided for me that day and providing a great new friendship. That’s what hunting is about.

Bob Harris can be reached via e-mail at: outwriter2@aol.com