Competition in the dove field

Pete and I had a great time on the opener in Imperial County, California. The weather was very warm (112 degrees F) by one o'clock on the 31st when we were scouting locations. The opener was a bit cooler with a slight breeze. We did well enough to return on Saturday to try for a few more birds.

During the Saturday shoot Pete downed a whitewing in heavy brush. Going to retrieve his bird he was warned off by the buzzing of a rattlesnake. Not long after we found this four foot long rattler swallowing a whitewing dove. This is likely the same bird Pete downed a little earlier. Be careful out there...