Winter 2025 | Feature

Quail Quest

Hunting for this upland game bird is worth the trek.

From the thicketed banks of the Truckee River to the meandering alpine creeks atop Mount Rose, plump, ground-dwelling quail skitter about in search of seeds and insects.

In the Reno-Tahoe region, hunters search for two types of this upland game bird — the mountain quail and the California quail, also called the valley quail. Both quail varieties reside near water sources with vegetation for protection.

“Their water and feeding areas have to be very close together because they live in close proximity their entire lives — not more than a mile,” explains Clay Belding, an avid hunter who has built several businesses around the outdoors.

Alongside his brothers, Chad and Clint, Clay runs The Fowl Life Productions, which just began filming the 18th season of its hunting show, The Fowl Life, and The Provider, a company that makes dry rub and sauce for wild game.

Worth the Hunt
“We have a lot of good habitat for quail because you’ll find them along the river, but also on Mount Rose. There are a lot of creeks there with thickets where they can hide,” Clay notes. “The birds of prey, like hawks and eagles, will swoop down and grab them. Coyotes, foxes, and bobcats are hell on them, too.”

Along the Truckee River east of Reno used to be a prime location for quail hunting, but with more development, many of those areas are no longer open for hunting. However, there still are opportunities on the riverbank between USA Parkway in east Sparks and Fernley, as well as in Fallon and Yerington. Across the border in California, quail abound along the Little Truckee River between Stampede and Boca reservoirs.

“Their favorite food is anything with a lot of seeds in it, like barley, milo, alfalfa, and other grasses, so out in Fallon you’ll find them where there’s water near agricultural land,” Clay explains. “There are usually a lot of thickets along the river where they live, but they can get into the fields and get whatever the farmer is growing that year.”

Preparation of the harvested game has always been a part of The Fowl Life, starring Chad, so the creation of The Provider, with its line of dry rubs designed to complement everything from big game to waterfowl, was a natural next step. In 2021, the brothers published a cookbook, The Provider Cookbook: Fish and Game Recipes for Eating Wild and Living off the Land, with Chad Belding and mixed-martial-arts fighter/avid hunter Chad Mendes credited as authors.

Quail can be spatchcocked and grilled, marinated in buttermilk and hot sauce before being battered and fried, or served more elegantly in a mushroom-wine sauce, Clay says.

Though the wild quail certainly won’t be as big as the farmed variety you may have enjoyed at a restaurant, the earthy flavor of the wild variety is worth the hunt.

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UPLAND GAME BIRD IN MUSHROOM SAUCE

This recipe works well with smaller birds such as chukar, dove, quail, or pheasant. Serve with wild rice, brown rice, or your favorite pasta.

Servings: 4 servings

Author: reprinted, with permission, from The Provider Cookbook: Fish and Game Recipes for Eating Wild and Living off the Land by Chad Belding and Chad Mendes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter plus more for greasing dish
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 upland game birds boned (about 2 pounds total)
• 1 yellow onion sliced
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 cups white mushrooms sliced
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 1 10.5-ounce can condensed cream of mushroom soup

Instructions

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 2-quart casserole dish with butter.
• Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the birds lightly, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Add the onions, garlic, and mushrooms, and sauté lightly until the veggies are soft. Season with salt and pepper.
• Using tongs, transfer birds to prepared casserole dish. Add wine and cream of mushroom soup to mushroom mixture in the skillet and bring to a slow boil. Pour the mushroom sauce over the birds and cover the casserole dish with a lid or aluminum foil. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the birds are cooked through.