Wednesday and Thursday Woodcock Walks

On Wednesday Thicket and I went back to the Cumberland Dam covert. Nice looking cover but last spring Emma could only find 1 bird on two trips there. I didn't make it down there last fall to hunt and this spring Thicket and I found nothing on our 1st trip. Thicket hunted the cover thoroughly but after an hour and a half I was beginning to think we were going to be "skunked".

 

Finally within sight of the truck Thicket who had just circled and was coming in behind me suddenly stopped.

She had found the only woodcock in this large beautiful cover and held it for me to flush. It's a mystery to me as to why a cover like this, that looks so much like my other woodcock covers fail to hold birds. I'll try to make a trip down in the fall and see what I can find then.

 

 

Thursday I headed for the Piney Creek covert where Thicket had held her first point last week. It turned out to be the day I had been dreaming about. A hundred yards from the truck Thicket when on point and I walked up a nice woodcock.

 

And so began my dream walk. When it was all over Thicket had 5 solid points and no bumped birds that I could tell. Once I did see a woodcock lift off in front of her but I don't think she had yet smelled the bird. Here are pics of her next two points.

 

Her 4th point was in cover too thick to get a good pic, but here's her last point of the day all the more special cause 2 woodcock flushed out when I walked in.

 

At the end of the walk there were lots of hugs, kisses, and ear rubs on the tailgate.

I think this dog is going to be very special.