I see small coveys of wild birds at least once a week, this time of year. I saw a covey fly across the highway Friday afternoon. But, the coveys are very small, seldom over 10 birds each. My hat's off to the little boogers. They are true survivors, of whatever it is that decimated their numbers.
I bought a 526 acre farm in 1989 that had been repossessed by Farmer's Home in 1979. It had sat idle for 10 years, and had grown up in broomsage, scattered briar patches and volunteer pines. Beautiful habitat. There was at least 10 coveys of wild birds on the place. I had to cultivate the fields to plant crops, in order to pay for the place. We got a couple of good years of bird hunting on it, but the coveys dwindled down to about 2-3, which remain to this day. I see them often, but seldom try to hunt them.
SRH
