NH Grouse Hunting Update: 10/20
A few more days gone in the 2019 grouse and woodcock hunting season, and conditions are changing fast as we enter the "middle" part of the three phases, as I like to call it. We lost a lot of our leaves last week when the "Bomb Cyclone" came through - it really wasn't that bad up here, but the gusty winds helped dispose of another of our excuses for missing grouse - the abundant foliage.
The first grouse hunting phase is when the season opens and the cover is the thickest, when grouse and woodcock can literally be anywhere. Food sources consist of greens and early fruits (choke cherries). They may still be found in their family groups at this time, as not all broods have broken up yet. Be prepared for multiple flushes.
The second phase is when the foliage is quickly falling and the grouse are shuffling in to thicker cover, with easy access to nearby food sources. These food sources can still be greens (fern tips and raspberry leaves especially), but often also involve fruit (apples, mountain ash berries, high bush cranberries, etc.) and other easily available meals (i.e. mushrooms, maple seeds). This is also when we start seeing birds in what we call "horizontal" cover - blowdowns, and small stands of spruce - as the security of the overhead leaf cover they they were used to starts to disappear. While they can still be found in groups, it is more likely to encounter singles and pairs at this time. Woodcock are also on the move during the second phase, but will readily be found in spruce cover when the weather is bad.
The third phase of the season sees the grouse changing to the thickest cover possible (spruce) to provide shelter from the winter weather in northern New Hampshire and Vermont. This is also when we see them almost exclusively "budding" for their nourishment, especially after the salad and fruit options are long gone. While singles will likely be encountered, it is possible to flush larger groups sharing thick cover or a food source. By now, the woodcock are well on their way to warmer climes.
As for the hunting, we took a break from the weather on Thursday, but we were out in it on Friday. The low pressure seemed to just settle in and spin over us that day, and while the weather wasn't bad Friday morning, it was pretty wet in the afternoon. We had some really good work from my client's two pointing griffons as well as Bode in the afternoon, but none fell to Andy's gun.
My memories of this day will be the grouse that Maggie and Louise tracked and pointed that went up close by us. It flew straight down the trail, with a salute from Andy, but it still flies today ... In the afternoon, Bode had a nice point in a stand of regenerating maple and birch that was backed by Louise and Maggie. The grouse went up from a spot and in a direction that we never anticipated - no shot. Another lesson learned from the wily grouse. Around fifteen grouse and a couple distant flushing woodcock were encountered that day - not bad considering the conditions.
Saturday was spent prowling the cover in neighboring Vermont with another veteran client of mine, Randy. The cover really looked top notch, and has been for me on many occasions, but it wasn't to be that day. Perhaps a few too many hunters this season in this cover had moved the grouse around a bit. We had good work from Randy's pointers Axel and Ginger, but there were no real chances for a shot. We moved five grouse and a woodcock in limited action out there that day.
The first grouse hunting phase is when the season opens and the cover is the thickest, when grouse and woodcock can literally be anywhere. Food sources consist of greens and early fruits (choke cherries). They may still be found in their family groups at this time, as not all broods have broken up yet. Be prepared for multiple flushes.
The second phase is when the foliage is quickly falling and the grouse are shuffling in to thicker cover, with easy access to nearby food sources. These food sources can still be greens (fern tips and raspberry leaves especially), but often also involve fruit (apples, mountain ash berries, high bush cranberries, etc.) and other easily available meals (i.e. mushrooms, maple seeds). This is also when we start seeing birds in what we call "horizontal" cover - blowdowns, and small stands of spruce - as the security of the overhead leaf cover they they were used to starts to disappear. While they can still be found in groups, it is more likely to encounter singles and pairs at this time. Woodcock are also on the move during the second phase, but will readily be found in spruce cover when the weather is bad.
The third phase of the season sees the grouse changing to the thickest cover possible (spruce) to provide shelter from the winter weather in northern New Hampshire and Vermont. This is also when we see them almost exclusively "budding" for their nourishment, especially after the salad and fruit options are long gone. While singles will likely be encountered, it is possible to flush larger groups sharing thick cover or a food source. By now, the woodcock are well on their way to warmer climes.
As for the hunting, we took a break from the weather on Thursday, but we were out in it on Friday. The low pressure seemed to just settle in and spin over us that day, and while the weather wasn't bad Friday morning, it was pretty wet in the afternoon. We had some really good work from my client's two pointing griffons as well as Bode in the afternoon, but none fell to Andy's gun.
My memories of this day will be the grouse that Maggie and Louise tracked and pointed that went up close by us. It flew straight down the trail, with a salute from Andy, but it still flies today ... In the afternoon, Bode had a nice point in a stand of regenerating maple and birch that was backed by Louise and Maggie. The grouse went up from a spot and in a direction that we never anticipated - no shot. Another lesson learned from the wily grouse. Around fifteen grouse and a couple distant flushing woodcock were encountered that day - not bad considering the conditions.
Saturday was spent prowling the cover in neighboring Vermont with another veteran client of mine, Randy. The cover really looked top notch, and has been for me on many occasions, but it wasn't to be that day. Perhaps a few too many hunters this season in this cover had moved the grouse around a bit. We had good work from Randy's pointers Axel and Ginger, but there were no real chances for a shot. We moved five grouse and a woodcock in limited action out there that day.
Today started off hot, with the help of Bode and Andy's griffons, and while the woodcock mostly went pointed, there were very few good shots for my client. Perhaps, again, a sign of the pressure these birds have been under to this point in the season. We also had an incredibly trusting, and lucky, grouse that flushed in to a tree in front of us. It stayed there, looking at us, as I lobbed branches at it to get a flush for my client. Of course, when it finally did fly, it took off over my head, and Andy didn't pull the trigger, luckily for me. It turns out that was probably the best chance we had on a bird today, and we only moved seven grouse and five woodcock in limited action.
A full week of hunting lies ahead, with some decent weather as well. Chris and Jim are once again my victims, and we will be harassing grouse and woodcock all over the north country, if I have my way ...
