Expectations
The ruffed grouse and woodcock seasons in Vermont and New Hampshire are rapidly approaching, and we're in the homestretch of our preparation now. The dogs have all been getting some valuable "woods time" lately, scouting areas new and old, and more importantly getting in to shape for the rigors ahead. While we've had some good scouting sessions, we've also had some very slow mornings in areas that in a normal year produce good numbers of birds. This is not a normal year though, and we might need to adjust our expectations.
Wild apples, as with all of the northern fruit crops (choke cherries, high bush cranberries, mountain ash) are abundant this year. All of the rain we had this summer was good for something ...
The woods are still tremendously wet (we received another 1.5" of rain on Monday and Tuesday), and any lower elevation coverts are sure to have a good amount of flowing/draining water. While we have still been finding birds in some of these areas, we have been focusing more on upper elevations and sometimes that has yielded good results. But, it's not always the case - good boots and a firm resolve will help in the upcoming season.
Thankfully, the dogs have been showing a lot of desire in our runs, even when they're not finding birds as often as we would like. Their drive is impressive, and serves as inspiration when my feet get heavy. Rosie and Millie rip through the uplands in their quest to find birds each session, and Millie had a particularly good run this morning as she pointed first a single grouse from a patch of raspberries, then a brood of five grouse deep in a beech cut. She held steady as they flew away, hopefully to be pursued another day. Bode has been getting in some work here and there. At ten years old, he's slowing down a little but still hits the cover with gusto and thoroughness in his measured way.
The development of the puppies has been great to watch as well. They are going out in the woods several days a week and are showing promise - the genetic makeup is there and now it is a question of bringing it out. Rocky and Bella both show great prey drive and a willingness to comply with my commands - I don't give them many, unless absolutely necessary, which might be why they listen to me when commands are given. At six months old, there are going to be more failures than successes, but they have both had points on birds in the last month or so - very similar to the development of Monty and Rosie when they were pups.
Thankfully, the dogs have been showing a lot of desire in our runs, even when they're not finding birds as often as we would like. Their drive is impressive, and serves as inspiration when my feet get heavy. Rosie and Millie rip through the uplands in their quest to find birds each session, and Millie had a particularly good run this morning as she pointed first a single grouse from a patch of raspberries, then a brood of five grouse deep in a beech cut. She held steady as they flew away, hopefully to be pursued another day. Bode has been getting in some work here and there. At ten years old, he's slowing down a little but still hits the cover with gusto and thoroughness in his measured way.
The development of the puppies has been great to watch as well. They are going out in the woods several days a week and are showing promise - the genetic makeup is there and now it is a question of bringing it out. Rocky and Bella both show great prey drive and a willingness to comply with my commands - I don't give them many, unless absolutely necessary, which might be why they listen to me when commands are given. At six months old, there are going to be more failures than successes, but they have both had points on birds in the last month or so - very similar to the development of Monty and Rosie when they were pups.
After several less than optimal bird-finding mornings, Bella had a very good session yesterday, contacting seven grouse and five woodcock in 1.5 hours of work. She managed to establish brief points on two of the woodcock and a grouse, and was largely responsible for finding the others. I'm confident that more points will come, but there's plenty more mistakes that both Bella and Rocky will make this year. Their "season of fun" is now, and then we'll demand more from them in the coming years. Hopefully we'll have more birds to pursue then ...
