Tricks & Treats
Some treats in the form of good numbers of grouse and woodcock for my hunters out in the grouse woods over the last couple of days, and an unwanted trick today, as the temp rose to an uncomfortable 70 degrees. In a season of strange turns in the weather from week to week, today's change was the most drastic. From a chilly 17 degree start on Monday morning, to our heatwave today, it was not the kind of weather we want when venturing forth to hunt.
Bella had a very good session on Tuesday, with a number of staunch points on grouse and woodcock. Scenting conditions were nearly perfect that morning, starting in the mid-20's and topping out at about 50.
With the vast majority of our leaf cover down, the hunters are getting better looks at the birds as they attempt to escape.
Tuesday started off chilly again, with temps in the mid-20's and a slight wind. It didn't take long for us to start contacting birds, as Bella staunchly pointed a woodcock (yes, there's still a few around) that got away unscathed. After that, she continued her search and we had perhaps our best morning of the season.
Lots of grouse (16 to be exact) and eight woodcock were located, and Bella was responsible for most of them. The grouse came in ones, twos, a three and a four (sounds like a Lawrence Welk line ...) and one of the hunters managed to scratch down a bullet-like grouse that tried escaping over an opening.
They also managed to take a couple of woodcock as well, and I was encouraged with the numbers we saw that morning. We're still seeing good numbers of robins around, so seeing the woodcock isn't that much of a surprise. Many of the birds that we've taken lately have been males, signifying the tail end of the migration. All good things must come to an end ...
Wednesday morning brought slightly warmer temperatures, but the bird numbers were still pretty good. The work from Millie and Rocky was not as consistent as it had been the day before with Bella however. Not sure if the slightly warmer temps that day made that much of a difference, but there were a few bumps mixed in with the points that each dog was able to establish. A grouse and two woodcock fell to the guns, of the 8 grouse and 5 woodcock we saw that morning.
I had a bad feeling about today as soon as I went outside early this morning. It was warm and almost humid, and with the looming forecast for the rest of the day, I suspected it might be an early day. Still, my client and I decided to hunt as long as we could, until things became unbearable. His ten year-old pointer did a nice job pointing a couple of grouse that just didn't offer shots for him. We also saw a woodcock in that small covert.
It was then that the temp really started to climb, and by 10 o'clock it was getting steamy. We managed to see four more grouse behind my client's five year-old pointer, but none of them gave any opportunities. Bella got the last run of the morning, but by then it was nearing 70 degrees and the writing was on the wall. We pulled the plug and decided to regroup for hopefully a cooler day ahead.
Tomorrow is our last day hunting New Hampshire, and then we head to Vermont for the next ten days. Cooler temps will be here by this weekend, and conditions look better for the dogs to work in as well.
Lots of grouse (16 to be exact) and eight woodcock were located, and Bella was responsible for most of them. The grouse came in ones, twos, a three and a four (sounds like a Lawrence Welk line ...) and one of the hunters managed to scratch down a bullet-like grouse that tried escaping over an opening.
They also managed to take a couple of woodcock as well, and I was encouraged with the numbers we saw that morning. We're still seeing good numbers of robins around, so seeing the woodcock isn't that much of a surprise. Many of the birds that we've taken lately have been males, signifying the tail end of the migration. All good things must come to an end ...
Wednesday morning brought slightly warmer temperatures, but the bird numbers were still pretty good. The work from Millie and Rocky was not as consistent as it had been the day before with Bella however. Not sure if the slightly warmer temps that day made that much of a difference, but there were a few bumps mixed in with the points that each dog was able to establish. A grouse and two woodcock fell to the guns, of the 8 grouse and 5 woodcock we saw that morning.
I had a bad feeling about today as soon as I went outside early this morning. It was warm and almost humid, and with the looming forecast for the rest of the day, I suspected it might be an early day. Still, my client and I decided to hunt as long as we could, until things became unbearable. His ten year-old pointer did a nice job pointing a couple of grouse that just didn't offer shots for him. We also saw a woodcock in that small covert.
It was then that the temp really started to climb, and by 10 o'clock it was getting steamy. We managed to see four more grouse behind my client's five year-old pointer, but none of them gave any opportunities. Bella got the last run of the morning, but by then it was nearing 70 degrees and the writing was on the wall. We pulled the plug and decided to regroup for hopefully a cooler day ahead.
Tomorrow is our last day hunting New Hampshire, and then we head to Vermont for the next ten days. Cooler temps will be here by this weekend, and conditions look better for the dogs to work in as well.
