End of the Season

With freezing rain in the forecast for the last day  of woodcock season Bliss and I headed for the Piney Creek covert yesterday for one last hunt.  The woodcock have been strangely absent from my coverts this fall. Disappointing because Emma is in her 11th year and her hunting days are winding down and Thicket and Bliss needed birds to improve their skills. But this year turned out to be the worst year for bird numbers I have ever experienced.  Bliss was able to find and point two woodcock yesterday. I am astonished by this pup's natural ability to find and point birds right from the start of the season. Still shooting blank loads over her so her retrieving ability will not be tested until next year.  Here are a few pictures from yesterday's hunt.

 

 

Piney Creek running high.

 

 

The sign that quickens a woodcock hunter's heart. 

 

Bliss on point.

 

 

 

The Pa. Game Commission has opened the woodcock season back up on Dec. 10 until Dec 18.  I have not seen the reason why they have done this but I will be walking my coverts with the dogs and a hammer gun on the slim chance of finding a stray bird.

 



A Long Time Coming

Into the 4th week of the Woodcock season and I finally found a few birds today.  Emma and I headed to my northern most coverts and moved 6 birds.

 

1st stop was the Muth covert.

 

The wind was blowing and the birds were running but Emma pointed 4 woodcock.

 

 

 

I had shots at 3 of them and managed to drop 2.

 

Next stop  was the Brady covert.  Nice looking cover that for some reason never holds many birds. Today it was empty.

 

 

The last stop was Black Slate Run.

 

 This cover is growing in nicely over the past few years and should become a favorite stop for woodcock.  I flushed one today and Emma gave me a nice point, but the bird flushed to my left and caught me off guard and I did not get off a shot.

 

So ended the day with the Muth covert once again providing me with some wonderful memories.



A Quiet Start

Two weeks into the woodcock season and I still have not found woodcock in any numbers.  Hunting my best coverts has only produced a bird or two each time out. Bliss has been phenomenal pointing the only birds we have found 2 woodcock and 2 pheasants. I'm shooting blanks over her to get her use to gunfire so no birds for her to retrieve yet.

Not since my first setter Hattie have I had a setter pointing so well so young. I'm sure she will make some mistakes as I get her into more birds but she is off to a great start.

 

Thicket found one woodcock for me in the immense Blandsburg covert, which I missed with both barrels. Cover like this should hold birds but not on the day I was there.

 

Of course it's still a joy to be out walking the coverts watching a young dog's natural instincts develop.

 

Bliss's First Woodcock

Sunday at the Harrier Hawk Ridge Covert Bliss pointed her first woodcock.

We followed the bird and Bliss had another point.

 

This was the only bird we found in a 2 hour walk.  Cold weather is  in the forecast for next week so hopefully the woodcock will start to appear in greater numbers.

 

As always I look at the surrounding nature and spotted this fungi growing on a rotting log.

 

 

Some pictures of the Harrier Hawk Ridge Covert. Golden Rod, Aspen, Spruce and Locust make up the bulk of the cover.

 

 

The ground is predominately slate so this must be a resting area.

 

Two points on a single woodcock does not make a bird dog but you have to start somewhere. :)

Back at the truck I told Bliss what a good girl she is.

 



Mushrooms and Fungi and An Old Apple Tree

Took Bliss for a walk along Piney Creek this  morning. Only found 1 woodcock which I flushed but was amazed at the varieties of mushrooms and fungi growing in that damp environment.

 

 

Bliss happily hunted the briery terrain.

A couple of small apples on the "Mammoth Piney Creek "Apple tree. Badly shaded by bigger trees and very neglected, I pruned it last winter and gathered scion wood from this old tree and now have two grafted trees growing in the nursery. A very edible apple.