Bolivia Pigeon Season Wrap-up
| Sep. 15, 2017
Trek’s inaugural season is in the books shooting with Mozo Vidal at his Pigeon Palace Lodge! We are happy to report a very successful first season with Mozo on a pigeon only program near the town of San Jose de Chiquitos in the Santa Cruz province of Bolivia. While this was Mozo’s seventh season operating Pigeon Palace, the support of Trek and our experience to help develop the program further has allowed Mozo to really hit his stride.
As is the case with all “first seasons”, we learned many things and like all Trek outfitters, we provided Mozo with your comments and suggestions that allowed him to improve with each group. We can now define the season better with bird numbers picking up rapidly from late May through August and even from the looks of things now, numbers are strong into September. Like most pigeon programs the morning hunts were solid until the sun got high and temperatures started to rise. Pigeons eat as fast as possible in the morning as the heat will drive them back to the trees to rest until the afternoon. Around 3pm, they start to get hungry again and filter back into the fields allowing hunters some fast action decoy and pass shooting. While the sheer numbers are not as high as what Paraguay has produced, the consistency is much better and should satisfy those looking for a solid pigeon only program.
Pigeon Palace Lodge is very adequate for groups as its location close to fields means short drives, all five double rooms have AC & private baths, and Mozo’s team works very hard to please all hunters. One of the greatest improvements made this season was to the Wifi. It seemed non-existent early on, but after educating Mozo on just how important this is in today’s world, he invested and today the lodge has good WiFi. Mozo’s wife Vicki oversees the lodge including setting the menu and even doing most of the cooking. She really worked hard to improve the cuisine throughout the season trying new dishes and relying on customer feedback while they were at the lodge. Kudos to both Mozo and Vicki who were super receptive to feedback and used that information to advance their program and gained valuable insight to what clients expect.
We experimented with a few charter flights this season and it seems this is a great alternative to driving out to Pigeon Palace. Groups wishing to upgrade to the charter will have a mere 50 minute flight from Santa Cruz’s domestic airport out to San Jose de Chiquitos and then only a 15 minute ground transfer to the lodge. Mozo’s team in Santa Cruz are excellent clearing guns and are also responsible for getting hunters from the international airport over to Chiquitos. Should you have an interest in traveling to Pigeon Palace next season, make sure to inquire about chartering.
In summary, Trek will continue to promote Pigeon Palace for the 2018 season where many groups have already re-booked for next year solidifying the program’s stay. Bolivia is on the rise for wing-shooters as you can clear your guns easily in Santa Cruz, it is a short, daily flight from Miami compared to other areas of South America and the fact pigeons are migrating there in strong numbers puts the icing on the cake. Kevin Gehm will be handling the bookings for Pigeon Palace, so give him a call (800-654-9915) or email [email protected] and get your space held for 2018. We are excited for the future at Pigeon Palace!
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