In the spring, the Bitterwater Valley, adjacent to Parkfield, enjoyed above-average rain that was timely and really greened up the country.

"I would think that this fall, we're looking at a vastly improved quail population for this area," Blankinship said.

Fort Hunter Liggett, located along the California coast near Bradley, offers up pretty good hunting for those who want to hike into terrain on the base that holds valley quail.

Last year was a good year for quail hunting on this base, provided you knew where to hunt. For tips, call Luke Knox at (831) 386-3310.

There's a pretty good population of valley quail in the southern ranges of the High Sierra, and you can often flush a covey of mountain quail at higher elevations.

Jim Hosler, of 4 Seasons Hunting, said that there was little rain in the Tehachapi Mountains. "I'm a little worried about how well the valley quail will propagate," he said.

The region had enough rain to trigger crops of winter wheat, but there wasn't enough significant rain to bring the crops to maturity.

Gerry Scotton heads up Onyx Ranch in Walker Pass, along the South Fork of the Kern River.

"I'd think that quail hunting will be a lot better than last year," he said, "when there were very few successful hatches of young birds. Either the adults didn't go to nest, or the predators picked off the chicks as soon as they were hatched, due to the barren ground conditions in the valley."

Scotton said that when this year's chicks were just hatched, he saw higher cover and plenty of water.

"This fall, hopefully, it will all come together, and upland game bird hunters will be rewarded with some good gunning for quail and chukar."

The high desert greened up nicely this spring, and there is good ground cover at most elevations above 3,000 feet. There's a lot of public land to hunt in the Mojave Desert, but last year was very tough on the birds. Hunters who worked hard to locate a covey of valley or Gambel's quail harvested mostly adults.

"It kind of depends on where you hunt and how much walking you plan on doing to locate a covey of quail," said Harold Horner of High Desert Guide Service, based out of Victorville.

The late-winter rains replenished springs and watering spots, but the desert didn't receive much precipitation during the key months of mid-spring when the chicks are likely to be hatched.

The back side of Big Bear Lake and parts of the San Bernardino Mountains that escaped the wildfires last fall should offer up some pretty good quail hunting. The higher elevations hold a good number of mountain quail, while mid-elevations and the canyons along the year-round streams are home to small coveys of valley quail.

Access to this remote area of the San Bernardino National Forest is difficult due to washed-out roads. To find out where 4x4s can access the backcountry, check with a ranger station or the local Forest Service office off Highway 38. Call (909) 382-2724.

Plan on doing a lot of very difficult hiking uphill and down. This terrain is very rugged. But it also receives very little pressure from quail hunters, especially in the more rugged draws off the southeastern end of the mountain below Baldwin Lake.