Exploring some new Coverts

Emma and I hunted some new coverts yesterday. The first stop was located along a busy highway but showed signs of new growth aspen that were to good looking to pass up. Once in the covert much of the aspen turned out to be white birch with mostly swampy moss covered ground with a good growth of teaberry plants. It looked like good grouse cover but we found nothing.

Our next stop lead us up a logging road to several immense clear cuts. Emma gave me  a half-hearted point and then moved deeper into the cut, just as I saw a grouse flush out far head of her. This cut was just too thick with treetops and blackberry briers to be able to get through so we tried the cut on the opposite side of the road. It was more open but was still tough walking and I soon decided to abandon this cover.

The next cover was on a reclaimed strip mine. Most of this cover was too thin to hold birds, but Emma did point one woodcock in the thickest part. Like most of the birds this year it chose to flush from one side of a pine as I walked in from the other side offering me no shot.

 

The last spot we tried was along the edge the of the strip mine. It was mostly long rows of mature pine and birch with some goldenrod. I walked up one woodcock in this cover.

 

Although no birds were shot at and only a few were found I considered it a good day as I got to see some cover that I had been wondering about for some time and now I know their potential.