Snow on high bush cranberries. |
Gray
skies dribbled wet snow, which mixed with the soggy ground. The weeds that
still stood readily soaked clothes. The dogs didn’t mind any of it. They were
happy to hunt and loved the conditions.
It
was the last stretch before we turned the woods over to the rifle hunters and
their search for deer. The morning temperatures had been down around or below
freezing and the days were noticeably shorter than a few weeks ago. The hills
bordering our valley looked soft, almost like supple gray fur.
The
grouse had scattered, the family groups broken up by hunters, human or
otherwise. Woodcock were still around and a lucky hunter could find flight
birds in numbers, or none. Soon they would all be gone. Depending on the year, grouse might be around apple
trees or mountain ash or high bush cranberries. This year every fruit bearing
tree produced massive crops, so the birds were scattered.
With
the season winding down we decided to spend the morning in a favorite old
covert. The cover has changed from alders to poplar to mature poplar, but it was
still a favorite covert that always has birds. A few ancient apple trees hid in the mix, always hinting of grouse..
The ground was soggy everywhere.. |
The
ground was soaked and almost immediately a woodcock fled ahead of one of the
dogs. Down the hill we hunted and then turned northward when the ground turned
to bog. On small hummocks covered with young maples each of the dogs pointed a
woodcock. When Maggie points Colby always honors, I wish the opposite were also
true. Some easy shots were miffed, but during the next hour two connected.
Colby pointing a woodcock hiding in a nasty thicket. |
Working
our way back by a couple of old apple trees another
woodcock was found, but no grouse. Often they are there, but not that day. Near the truck bird scent aroused Colby’s interest, but after some serious tail wagging she abandoned it.
Maggie trotted over and snapped onto point. On second thought, Colby decided to
honor.
It
was a thicket impossible walk into. Kicking against the side, the woodcock
almost smacked me in the face on the way by, then wove its way downhill through
the trees.
Two shots never touched a feather.
With
clothes soaked it was time to leave. The dogs slept on the drive home while I
sipped coffee.
The
bird season is just too short.
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