Transitions
My client's pointer "Ginger", with a particularly intense point on a woodcock this morning. Unfortunately, my client couldn't get to the dog in time, but it was great to witness Ginger establish a staunch point on that bird nonetheless.
The grouse and woodcock seasons are progressing through the month of October here in northern New Hampshire and Vermont, and this is the time of the season when we are noticing changes, almost daily. Not only have most of the leaves dropped, changing the cover habits of the grouse, but we are rapidly nearing the end of encountering woodcock on a consistent basis.
For the grouse, the biggest change occurs as they lose the vertical cover overhead (leaves) and start transitioning to horizontal cover for their safety. Blowdowns and small evergreens and any other thick, brushy cover becomes critical for grouse survival, so hunting the appropriate cover is more important than ever.
Their food choices will also start to be affected by frequent frosts that knock down some of the green plants (clover, ferns, raspberry leaves) that they have subsisted on for so long. Now they will gravitate more towards buds (a ruffed grouse staple through the winter) as well as fruit (apples, high bush cranberries, mountain ash berries, hawthorn berries) that are still available and last in to the winter.
Now, we haven't had a good frost in a while, as we just went through a warm spell here in the north country. This should all be good news for the other native game birds that we pursue, woodcock. Last weekend we were still seeing good numbers of timberdoodles, but we have seen fewer of them the last few days. The ground is nowhere near frozen, and there's still plenty of robins around, so earthworms must still be readily available for the woodcock, but it appears as though a good number of them have continued their journey southward.
We will finally have a cold night tonight, and this will become the norm for the next week at least. Hopefully the woodcock, at least some of them, will be around for another week or so and the grouse are cooperative for the dogs. More updates to come ...
The grouse and woodcock seasons are progressing through the month of October here in northern New Hampshire and Vermont, and this is the time of the season when we are noticing changes, almost daily. Not only have most of the leaves dropped, changing the cover habits of the grouse, but we are rapidly nearing the end of encountering woodcock on a consistent basis.
For the grouse, the biggest change occurs as they lose the vertical cover overhead (leaves) and start transitioning to horizontal cover for their safety. Blowdowns and small evergreens and any other thick, brushy cover becomes critical for grouse survival, so hunting the appropriate cover is more important than ever.
Their food choices will also start to be affected by frequent frosts that knock down some of the green plants (clover, ferns, raspberry leaves) that they have subsisted on for so long. Now they will gravitate more towards buds (a ruffed grouse staple through the winter) as well as fruit (apples, high bush cranberries, mountain ash berries, hawthorn berries) that are still available and last in to the winter.
Now, we haven't had a good frost in a while, as we just went through a warm spell here in the north country. This should all be good news for the other native game birds that we pursue, woodcock. Last weekend we were still seeing good numbers of timberdoodles, but we have seen fewer of them the last few days. The ground is nowhere near frozen, and there's still plenty of robins around, so earthworms must still be readily available for the woodcock, but it appears as though a good number of them have continued their journey southward.
We will finally have a cold night tonight, and this will become the norm for the next week at least. Hopefully the woodcock, at least some of them, will be around for another week or so and the grouse are cooperative for the dogs. More updates to come ...
Yes, that's a dog in there somewhere. Maggy, a Braque Francais, points a woodcock in New Hampshire last weekend. She had a number of points on grouse and woodcock in her time out there that day and has made steady progress in becoming a bird dog.
