VT Upland Bird Hunting Update: 11/9
Our guiding season finally concluded this week, with a couple of mornings spent in New Hampshire, as well as the last two days in Vermont. The woodcock migration is undoubtedly winding down in the north country, and we now pursue the "King of Gamebirds", the survivors of the last five weeks, exclusively. Still, we managed to encounter a timberdoodle or two the last few days, and Millie (above) put in some good work on them.
Wednesday and Thursday morning, we patrolled the edge cover in some of my favorite spots in New Hampshire one more time. Millie did the honors the first morning, and she performed really well, pointing most of the six grouse and one woodcock we moved. Rocky brought his boundless energy to our Thursday morning session, and he also did a great job in finding six grouse and two woodcock. His hunting range is usually moderate and he is very responsive to my commands, and while no birds were harvested, my client got an appreciation for the cover and the speed of the birds, as well as the work of the dogs.
We switched over to Vermont for the last two days of our guiding season, and, as usual, the weather kept us guessing both days. Friday was dominated by a blustery north wind, occasional showers, and periods where it was just fine. With temps in the low 40's, it was perfect scenting weather. Saturday was colder in the 30's, blustery again, but sunny at least.
Wednesday and Thursday morning, we patrolled the edge cover in some of my favorite spots in New Hampshire one more time. Millie did the honors the first morning, and she performed really well, pointing most of the six grouse and one woodcock we moved. Rocky brought his boundless energy to our Thursday morning session, and he also did a great job in finding six grouse and two woodcock. His hunting range is usually moderate and he is very responsive to my commands, and while no birds were harvested, my client got an appreciation for the cover and the speed of the birds, as well as the work of the dogs.
We switched over to Vermont for the last two days of our guiding season, and, as usual, the weather kept us guessing both days. Friday was dominated by a blustery north wind, occasional showers, and periods where it was just fine. With temps in the low 40's, it was perfect scenting weather. Saturday was colder in the 30's, blustery again, but sunny at least.
Yup, that's a grouse feather hanging out of Millie's mouth, fresh after retrieving a bird that my client took in Vermont over one of her steady points.
Millie and Bella split duties on Friday, and both dogs had great moments with sticking grouse points and opportunities for the hunters. Only one bird was brought to the vest unfortunately, but a couple of others fell in to that "should've had" category. Overall, the dogs worked hard plying the hillsides and lower spruce areas of the coverts, while we had to try merely to keep up with them and get there quickly when points were established. Fortunately, that happened quite often with the thirteen grouse we encountered, and there were probably a couple more that escaped unseen.
Saturday belonged to Rocky, as he hunted about four hours before we called it a day. Once again, he performed very well, establishing points on several grouse, but they weren't nearly as cooperative as the day before. Some were simply rockets, flying high and fast with little warning, while others did what grouse often do: sneak away and flush from the wrong side of a tree, stump, blowdown, etc. We moved eleven grouse in our high elevation Vermont coverts yesterday morning.
Rocky also had a nice point on a lonely woodcock, perhaps the last one we'll see this year - of course, it got away as we walked past it and Rocky, expecting a grouse instead. It flushed behind us - you know how that goes.
In the meantime, Rosie is healing but not quite ready for the woods, and Bella and Rocky need a little rest after a long guiding season. Perhaps I can get out in the woods with Millie to chase the King ...
Saturday belonged to Rocky, as he hunted about four hours before we called it a day. Once again, he performed very well, establishing points on several grouse, but they weren't nearly as cooperative as the day before. Some were simply rockets, flying high and fast with little warning, while others did what grouse often do: sneak away and flush from the wrong side of a tree, stump, blowdown, etc. We moved eleven grouse in our high elevation Vermont coverts yesterday morning.
Rocky also had a nice point on a lonely woodcock, perhaps the last one we'll see this year - of course, it got away as we walked past it and Rocky, expecting a grouse instead. It flushed behind us - you know how that goes.
In the meantime, Rosie is healing but not quite ready for the woods, and Bella and Rocky need a little rest after a long guiding season. Perhaps I can get out in the woods with Millie to chase the King ...
