After
a slow start the 2016 bird season improved slightly, if only because we finally
received some much needed rain and the woods returned to something near normal.
The usually abundant streams that dried up in August again had water in them.
And the late arriving cooler temperatures helped both the dogs and hunters stay
comfortable.
Finding
grouse remained difficult, but woodcock were easier. We never found a bumper
flight, but the numbers were average. Luck has a lot to do with hitting a
memorable flights of woodcock. There was that day in the National Forrest a few
years ago where we flushed more woodcock in a hour than we do some seasons. I
am sure it will happen again, but not this year as the shooting season has
closed and there are ten inches of snow on the ground.
Even
well into November a few grouse could be found hanging around apple trees that
still had fruit. Usually by then the fruit is gone and so have the grouse, but
in spite of the drought there was a bumper crop of small apples. Hunting the
clear cuts took lots of walking between birds. Deer hunting in late November
with several inches of snow on the ground I have yet to see a grouse track of
flush a bird.