GREAT NEWS FROM RANCHO "EL COYOTE"

May 2009

Dear California Quail Hunter:

It is a 5-Star Service that embraces you and focuses on every aspect of a professional quail hunt that also makes you feel, all the time, as a very Special Guest. I’m talking about the kind of service that Alfredo and Esteban Meling, as dedicated Premier Guides, invariably deliver to hunters at Rancho “El Coyote” in San Telmo, Baja California.

After two years of disappointing quail seasons, we are now pleased to announce that due to good winter and spring rains as well as evidence of prolific quail hatches, Alfredo told me Friday evening (May 9, 2009) that they are very optimistic and excited about the upcoming quail season. He also asked me to join him and his brother, Esteban, in efforts to organize, promote and develop a successful 2009-2010 quail program at “El Coyote."

I have enthusiastically accepted and will in due time send you an update of our progress. Thank you very much.
Warm regards and take care,

Rolando E. Torres
213 385-9311
Cell 213 210-6761
Email: wildlifead@aol.com
Nextel 124*1504*51

Hola Rolando:

Pete Fletcher was suprised you needed no County Sheriff "good-guy" letter. Boy, is that good news. It used to be $2.00 and now I think $30.00. We will comply with Homeland Security forms. As I said on the phone, US Customs declarations are small and should also suffice. They are also respected by Foreign Governments when traveling past Mexico.

I am glad you have the Meling family back. Duncan and I both feel their warmth as friends; also Ofelia their second in command for so many seasons. We have a great deal of respect for the Meling's long-term view of their hunting resource. Good stewards of their land is another expression for the financial setback they experienced by cutting down the number of hunters the last two years.

As I reported to you after a recent Spring trip, the stage was set with dramatically improved field conditions for the possibility of a superior hatch. Nature could still mess up the predictions, but I will put money on your latest Meling report.

Warm regards,
Tom Clotfelter

GAME BIRDS OF MEXICO
RANCHO "COYOTE"
San Telmo, Baja California

Memories that last a lifetime. For California Quail there's no place better than Rancho "El Coyote" in Baja, a two-hour drive (83 miles) from Ensenada to the San Telmo turnoff, plus a 20-mile drive on a graded dirt road towards the Sierra San Pedro Martir Park and the National Observatory. The thrill of hunting wily California Quail at "El Coyote," the beauty of the area and the enjoyment generated by the warmth and hospitality of Esteban and Alfredo is without doubt, what dreams are made out of. They always seem to bring into the equation the knowledge and love of the land and it really shows when hunting because they undoubtedly are premier guides.

Your heart takes flight.The pressures of the world recede with each step you take into this beautiful ranch and you feel as if you were adjusting to a different kind of clock. These unique and marvelous hosts are also four-generation ranchers who have hunting rights on several quail ranches in their area. So watch out! When a covey of quail explodes from the brush, you'll have a split second to react and a lifetime to recall the exhilaration. Awesome!

In addition to the completed forms, please provide the following material:

These are the documents we'll process on your behalf for your hunts at Coyote": Tourist Card and Military Gun Permit. The Hunting Services Agreement and Hunting Tag will be delivered to you at the ranch. There is a one-time charge of $100.00 for the hunting tag.

Cost of documents is $390.00. Sorry, no credit card on this hunt.

Not included: room, board and guide: $130.00 per day per hunter. Please be prepared to pay cash for room, board, guide service and tips. Room and board for minors and non-hunters: $75.00 per day per person.

The California unofficial quail season opener is scheduled for Friday, October 2, 2009; this date will be confirmed as soon as possible. Rancho "El Coyote" is a total escape to an authentic working ranch that retains much of the charm of turn-of-the-century Mexico, but with upgraded amenities that provide comfort and safety. Guests stay in adobe duplex cabins in which each room had a private bathroom with modern plumbing and electricity. The setting for the ranch is beautiful high desert (about 3,000 feet in elevation) and the autumn colors are spectacular. Hunters say that even without hunting a trip to "El Coyote" is well worth the effort just to spend time in such wonderful surroundings and the pleasure of meeting friends like Alfredo and Esteban, a couple of very professional and friendly hosts.

Dear Hunter,

The opening date of the 2009-2010 waterfowl season in the state of Sinaloa, Mexico, is October 30, 2009, and if you are looking for a comfortable bed at a 4-star hotel plus an unforgettable duck hunt, we have exceptional bargains that require your valuable and prompt attention!

We understand the concept of price and quality and thats what we are enthusiastically offering to you and to your friends.

With all due respect, time is of the essence!

For a 5-day escape call:

Rolando E. Torres
213 385-9311
Cell 213 210-6761
Nextel 124*1504*51

Affordable Whitewing & Mourning Dove Hunts

MEXICO is richly endowed with birds and of all the doves and pigeons that occur in Mexico, the mourning dove and the white-winged dove are much the most important game species. The substantial breeding population of mourning doves in northern and central Mexico is augmented in winter by a considerable migration from the United States, and this bird is hunted in that season. The greatest concentrations occur in the arid, temperate uplands, the numbers diminishing toward the tropical coasts. The converse is true of white-winged doves, which are most numerous along the coasts and are sparsely present in the interior. The 2009-2010 season for both species will open on October 17, 2009, so there are at least four more to consider such a hunt in the beautiful city of NAVOJOA. Last season there doves all over the place.

Getting to NAVOJOA is easy. You can fly or drive. Most hunters fly commercially to Ciudad Obregon, which has daily flights from Phoenix, Tucson, Tijuana and Mexico City. If you are a pilot you can fly privately. Your estimated time of arrival will allow a hotel executive to pick you up at the airport and transfer you to the DEL RIO HOTEL, a Best Western affiliate in NAVOJOA.

The dove opener takes place on October 17. Guns may be brought in from the U.S. but paper work and hunting licenses must be taken care of before your departure. It takes a minimum of three weeks to process your documents. Please call Rolando E. Torres for complete and specific information about price, guns, hunts, reservations and guides. Our prices are always a pleasant surprise! Just follow the money!

Phone: 213 385-9311
Cell: 213 210-6761
Email: Wildlifead@aol.com
Website: www.mexicoadvisoryservices.com
Nextel: 124*1504*51

Chasing Roosters

The ring-necked pheasant is a native of China. The bird was introduced into Europe soon after the Marco Polo's travels to Asia, and more recently it has been successfully acclimatized in North America and New Zealand. In North America the pheasant has thrived best in the central grain belt, but throughout the West some thrifty local populations have developed in irrigated valleys. Such a colony was created in the Mexicali Valley by private introduction of stock from China, beginning in 1922. Soon afterward, in 1926, some birds were liberated in the adjoining Imperial Valley. Today these two valleys, which together comprise an important farming center of 800,000 acres, support a pheasant population of modest density. Because of less intensive farming methods, the habitat is better in the Mexicali Valley. If you appreciate the most exciting things in life, we enthusiastically recommend this wonderful hunting experience. The following package is the most cost-effective. Package #2, Mourning dove, $385.00, plus one Pheasant tag for 8 birds, $125.00. Subtotal: $510.00. If you wish, please add $125.00 for an additional tag. Guide service $50.00, per day, per hunter to be paid directly to the guide. Our prices are always a pleasant surprise. JUST FOLLOW THE MONEY! The season opens on October 23, 2009.

The Legend Continues

“I had always heard about the Mexican dove hunts but figured that the stories were the typical exaggeration of my fellow hunters. Boy, was I off the track! I knew I had found dove hunting paradise when I asked my guide why the ground was moving out in the fields, and moments later the ground took off to the air in the form of five thousand dove, and that was just the first wave of dozens to come. The most difficult part of the hunt was trying to pick a single bird to take out from a flock of hundreds!” White-wings will never disappoint you in the Los Mochis area when you are hunting with a premier guide like Raul, the son of Alfredo Dominguez, a world-class guide who assiduously taught his young son how to hunt doves, and the importance of customer service. Alfredo was an honorable man who knew how to live and how to die. Ethics define what you do, he would say, morals define who you are. Raul now runs “La Torcaza” Club and offers all-inclusive dove packages that are reasonably priced. His service is out-standing and he can help you big-time. Please call Rolando for more information. Thanks.

Epigraph

We must acknowledge, as it seems to me, that man with all its noble qualities, with sympathy which he feels for the most debased, with benevolence which extends not only to other men but to the humblest living creature, with his godlike intellect which has penetrated into the movements of the solar system, with all its exalted powers, man still bears in his body frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origins.

Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man

The Game Birds and Mammals

Foreword
(Excerpted from the book Wildlife of Mexico by A. Starker Leopold)

Because of its varied topography and its situation at the juncture of the Nearctic and Neotropical zones, Mexico is endowed with a rich and varied fauna. Since the initial faunistic Studies by Francisco Hernandez, doctor at the court of King Philip II of Spain, who traveled extensively in Mexico in the period 1570 to 1577, the natural history of the country has continued to interest naturalists.

Contributions to our knowledge of the Mexican fauna have been made over the years by various expeditions and field investigations. Some of the more important of these were the royal expedition sent by the Spanish Crown at the end of the 18th Century under the command of Martin Sesse; the studies of the “Scientific Mission to Mexico” conducted during the transitory reign of the Emperor Maximilian, the results of which are presented in various volumes; the compilation of materials of great interest that served as a basis for the Biología Centrali-Americana; and extensive collection of birds and mammals assembled by E. W. Nelson and E. A. Goldman for the United States Bureau of Biological Survey. These and countless lesser undertakings have laid the foundation of knowledge of Mexican Wildlife. Until now, however, there has been no investigation of adequate scope focused specifically on the game animals of Mexico and their importance in that country. There have been efforts in this direction, the first of which was a book by Don Pedro Blazquez, published in 1869 under the title El Cazador Mexicano, an interesting work deserving of praise in its time but now only a bibliographic curiosity.

Early in the present century two authors residing in central Mexico in the state of San Luis Potosí, Sres. Carlos Lopez and Carlo M. Lopez (who were not related), published their classic volume, Caza Mexicana. This work, carefully edited and well illustrated gives evidence of the authors’ profound understanding of the game animals but suffers nevertheless because of their lack of biological training. Later, the senior author, Carlos Lopez, became associated with the Direccion de Estudios Biologicos, Departamento de Taxidermia, and in this position-–where I had the pleasure of knowing him well–-he acquired much zoological knowledge that would have been of great help to him had he possessed it while he was preparing the book.

In 1938 Arturo Imaz Baume published his Cacería, which merited a second edition in 1949. Although an elegant and interesting treatise on hunting, it is not a contribution to zoological or ecological literature nor did the author intended it as such.

The only book about Mexican hunting and Mexican game that has been written with a biological slant is El Cazador y la vida silvestre, by Morelos Herrejón, published in 1952. In that volume is clearly manifest the zoological background of the author, who is Professor of Zoology in the Escuela Normal Superior, and who has been a lifelong hunter. But there is still urgent need for a complete treatise on our game animals, such as is presented here by A. Starker Leopold. The author, a scholar of unquestioned competence in the field of zoology, has dedicated more than twelve years to the preparation of this work, including extensive periods of field investigation in all parts of Mexico.

To say that the present book is the “best” in its class is an understatement. Indeed, it is the “first” in which an author has been able to combine an adequate biological background with thorough, firsthand investigation of wildlife problems as they exist in the field. In effect, this volume fills a real vacuum that has existed in the literature of Mexican wildlife.

The hunting of wild game has always been an important activity in Mexico and wildlife, if properly conserved and managed, can be further developed into a productive future resource. There has been lacking, however, an authoritative summary or guide to the problems of wildlife management in Mexico, to the needs of future wildlife research, and to the broad field of wildlife education.

In 1934 it was privilege to establish in the Escuela Nacional de Agricultura at Chapingo, a course in “Wildlife Zoology.” It was hoped that this orientation course, designed specifically for the inclusion in the forestry curriculum, would interest future foresters in wildlife problems, at least to the point that they might help gather data and specimens and perhaps consider wildlife needs in their professional practice. There was the possibility, too, of developing a few wildlife specialists. But this course was dropped from the curriculum and for many years now the foresters in Mexico have had no chance to become oriented in wildlife biology. The Escuela Nacional de Agricultura offers an interesting and valuable course in “Wildlife Administration,” but this lacks the biological approach necessary as a foundation for wildlife management. Perhaps the present book, when it becomes available in Spanish, will make the resumption of university training in wildlife biology easier.

The parts of this volumen that treat of the individual species of game mammals and game birds are excellent; these accounts will serve far into the future as an authoritative reference work. The first part, in which Leopold discusses the fundamentals of game management is in my judgment equally well done.

The author makes continued reference to the dynamic and ever-changing character of ecologic problems, a point of view that can scarcely be overemphasized. He expresses this idea clearly in the paragraph of chapter 1 which states: “But landscapes are not stable entities. A forest can be cleared and planted to corn so that it no longer is habitat for deer but becomes a home for doves, quail and rabbits. The cornfield in turn can erode into a series of raw gullies that support no animals at all. The impact of human activity upon the land may substantially alter the native animal life.”

We are accustomed to thinking of forest protection chiefly in terms of regulating excessive logging, as though this were the only or the principal cause of forest destruction. Yet the clearing of trees and brush from the land to make it suitable for farming, or the inadvertent clearing by burning or overgrazing, may be even more significant

ENRIQUE BETRAN

Mexico, D. F.
Summer of 1957

“PATOLANDIA,”
CULIACAN, SINALOA, MEXICO

Located in the Great Sinaloa Marsh with one of the largest concentrations of waterfowl game species, “PATOLANDIA” has been proclaimed by many hunters as being the most exciting and productive duck/goose lodge in Mexico. Nestled in a rustic environment, “PATOLANDIA” is easy to reach yet impossible to beat when it comes to hospitality and exciting hunts. Only 35 miles north of Culiacan, “PATOLANDIA” has some of the best wing shooting in the world. Estimated at three million, the annual population of birds includes an abundance of pintails, cinnamon teals, blue and green-winged teals, “pichiguilas”, canvasbacks, gadwalls and widgeons. The 2009-10 waterfowl season in Sinaloa will open on October 30, 2009 and close on February 27, 2010. Although individuals are certainly welcome, corporate groups have evolved into a large part of our business and references are available upon request.

THE AVAILABLE DATES AS OF NOW FOR THE 2009-2010 SEASON ARE:

November 2009

(Oct. 30, 31) and Nov. 01 — space available, 12 hunters
Nov. 6, 7 and 8 — space available, 12 hunters
Nov. 13, 14 and 15 — space available, 12 hunters
Nov. 20, 21 and 22 — space available, 12 hunters
Nov. 27, 28 and 29 — space available, 12 hunters

December 2009

Dec. 8, 19 and 20 — space available, 12 hunters
Dec. 28, 29 and 30 — space available, 12 hunters

January 2010

Jan. 1, 2, and 3 — space available, 12 hunters
Jan. 15, 16 and 17 — space available, 12 hunters
Jan. 22, 23 and 24 — space available, 12 hunters
Jan. 29, 30 and 31 — space available, 12 hunters

February 2010

Feb. 5, 6 and 7 — space available, 12 hunters
Feb. 12, 13 and 14 — space available, 12 hunters
Feb. 19, 20 and 21 — space available, 12 hunters

If you are looking for an awesome duck hunt, take a trip to Mexico’s pacific paradise. “Patolandia” is pretty impressive! To lock up your hunting dates, please call Rolando. He will work with you to the best of his ability and process your reservation in accordance with your special needs and preferences. If at a later date you have to cancel, no problem! There is no cancellation fee. You want to reconfirm? Great! A 50% deposit is required on a date that is mutually acceptable. No hassle, just great service! Please remember that availability of space changes from day to day so with all due respect, please call as soon as possible.

New From the Pichiguila Club
“As this year’s hunting season is about to begin, we look forward to providing a unique hunting experience--unlike any other--at the Pichiguila Club where like-minded sportsmen can enjoy the best duck hunting in the best of company. I am pleased to announce that our current season has been extended from October 31st to March 15th, 2009. This is great news for all of us because more time is allowed for migrating birds to settle in our region. Thus, we are able to guarantee our hunters the highest concentrations of ducks throughout the hunting season. It has been my experience that during these four months, we have had more wild ducks here than at any other duck hunting area in Mexico. This longer hunting season will also provide ample hunting opportunities up to the third week in March for those who may want to hunt late in the season. During the hunting season of 2007-2008, our guests had numerous opportunities to shoot their full limits of pintail and blue and green-winged teal as well as cinnamon teal. Pichiguila ducks and other North American ducks such as greater scaup, were abundant as usual. Actually, the sheer number of birds was phenomenal! Our sportsmen will fully enjoy the special experience we offer in our awesome and very private marshland, without hunting pressure from other hunters. At the end of each day, any fatigue felt by our friends will be completely overshadowed by the exhilaration of the hunt. Lively conversation will be the norm as the day’s events are recounted: unbelievable shots, hard-to-get birds, as well as the incredible number of birds flying over the Chiricahueto lagoon. The majority of our regular guests have already booked their hunts. We will miss those who could not join us this year, and we wish a speedy recovery to those who have recently had health issues and hope to see them later this season or next year. Some dates are still available due to cancellations; I encourage all those who have not yet made reservations to book the remaining dates with Wildlife Advisory Services, as soon as possible.
Thank you!

Payment Conditions:
Payments must be sent in full to book a reservation during the hunting season. Any Cancellation will result in the forfeit of your payment.

We recommend that you purchase travel insurance from ELVIA, phone 888 489-3227 or AIG Travel Guard, 800 826-4919.

Reservations "Premier Club"
Pichiguila Club

Date Availabilities Upon Request

Day One
Arrival at Culiacan or Mazatlan airport

Two And Three
Hunt AM - PM

Day Four
Hunt AM
&
Departure

Upon arrival: transfer from the airport to the Premier Club Lodge. Depending on the time and personal preference, an optional afternoon duck hunt is available and will be charged to you account in accordance with the price list. On Day Four, we will schedule a hunt in the morning and do the transfers to the airport in the afternoon.

Dear Hunter,

I thank you for your support and sincerely hope that you are enjoying good health. How has hunting been this season in Baja? Is everything all right? Is there anything I can do for you? It’s great to have you as a customer and feel confident that you are aware I’m always here for you. The enclosures are about astonishing duck hunts at the Pichiguila Club in city of Culiacan, Sinaloa. It was founded by Antonio Pico, a highly respected businessman who worked very hard to make the Club a world-known hunting destination. His son, Tony Jr. is now in charge and has turned out to be an intelligent and talented executive who has also worked tirelessly and has earned the respect and gratitude of his many friends and hunters. I sincerely hope you can make it there this season. Good luck and best wishes.

Thank you,
Rolando E. Torres