Sage Hen Alley lived up to its handle big time today as the Pointer Sisters pointed an estimated 40 or so during a couple hour loop through the snow-covered sage. While we only saw two antelope you could not take a step and not trample a track; ditto rabbit tracks(jack, cottontail,pygmy). Sage hen sign, tracks and droppings everywhere. Yesterday we saw far more rabbit sign and way less sage hen and antelope sign, no sage hens or antelope sighted and just two rabbits, a whitetail jack and a pygmy. Curious since today we were actually just over the ridge from yesterdays hike. Good thing our goal wasn't to shoot sage hens since they were about as wild as sage hens get...several times the Sisters locked up long range and each time the birds boogied, like right now. I saw one big cock stretched to full height gawking our approach; watching cautiously he stood his ground until we closed to about 75 yards. When he flushed so did 4 of his buddies and as they flapped to put distance between another single flushed wild, at least 200 yards off. All in all I would have been lucky to kill even one bird...so much for the piece of cake reputation you so often hear bantied about, eh? Believe it or not but if there are any other critter tracks in the above rabbit thorofare I could not identify any.
