Bonding over annual partridge hunt

“Remember when we were kids and about this time each year partridges just covered every roof top of each house in the community,” was Ziggy Beardy’s comment as I strolled with him down a dirt road in the back bushes of Bearskin Lake.

November 12, 2009: Volume 36 #23, Page A7

We had teamed up to join the annual partridge fall hunt that was held Oct. 24.

The only weapon allowed on this hunt is a slingshot which when mastered is a deadly weapon and sometimes your only hope for survival.

Ziggy is an “outta towner” or “spy” (as some would refer to these visitors) who is originally from Bearskin but now lives and works in Sioux Lookout and comes home to visit on special occasions mainly during the Annual Fall Hunt, Spring Homecoming and Canada Day.

Alex Bundy Fiddler and Llyod Nothing hold their prize-winning partridges.
-Joe Beardy - Special to Wawatay News

The day is now coming to high noon and we had been up since 6 a.m. with no sighting of any feathered peckers. The weather has changed since the first ray of sunlight mixed into the cloud line revealed a calm dry day.

The rain is in drizzle mode as we come to another bend in the road and our legs are about to give with each step. In the five hours that we have been strolling to different spots around the community we encountered other hunters who are travelling on their four wheelers and with trucks.

The competition is divided into two categories, one for men and the other for women. Cash prizes for each was $500 for most partridges, second place prize at $300 and third at $100. Entry fee was $50.00 for each team.

In one of our ventures into the bush we had split up to cover more ground. After a half hour we met up at our truck and were ready to drive off when he mentions he spotted a partridge but it got away.

“See,” he says as he flips his camera my way to witness his sighting. He had taken pictures of the beast.

“Did you use your slingshot at least,” I replied.

No answer meant his wild life photographing is more important to him than sling shooting a prime pecker of the forest.

“Well, maybe the judges will give us a half point for spotting one,” I told him as we headed home for a short meal before heading out to another spot.

Ziggy is right about the abundance of partridges that used to migrate through our community each fall.

The partridges would always migrate from east to west and every community member would be up just before daybreak with slingshots and .22 calibre guns to hunt for their supper.

There were no cash prizes at the end of the day and no trophies just the excitement of the hunt that brought everyone together. The loss in numbers of partridges migrating has declined in the last twenty years. No one really has an answer to this mystery but the people are still optimist that the last great migration will happen.

The deadline was 4 p.m. that afternoon and being the dedicated hunters we are we hunt till the last crucial minutes.

There was nothing for us to report at the check in so we headed home feeling lost and a bit disappointed in being skunked.

One good thing you learn about being a good loser is to find a positive to your mishap.

“At least I didn’t have a hangover this morning, being out in the fresh air and having all this exercise is always better for you, the scenery in the fall is devastating despite the rainy days and last but not least I got to spend a whole day with my older brother and that is always priceless.”

The winners for the Oct. 24 Annual Fall Partridge Hunt for the men’s division were Lloyd Nothing and Bundy Fiddler with 12 points winning them $500, second place of $300 went to Cameron Mckay and Donelly Mckay with six points and third place was a tie with the teams of Wayne Brown and Bruce Kam and Donny Brown and Quentin Chapman each bringing in two partridges for four points netting them a cash prize of $100, which they split.

In the women’s division the winners were Linda Kam and Marie Meekis with eight points.

Second place was a three-way tie with the teams of Patsy Brown and Sally Brown, Virginia Wemigwans and Tara Wemigwans and Anita Nothing and Cynthia Linklater splitting the $200 prize.

The three teams brought in one partridge giving them two points each.