Bird Dogs

Val and Jill hunted hard and showed some wear at the end of this hunt; bloody-tipped tails and teets from busting brush, hocks and forearms chaffed from running through ice-crusted snow. Conditions were cold and cruddy; hunting was in about 8-inches of snow which had fallen a couple nights prior, thawed a little the previous day, settled, then froze and developed a good crust overnight.

We didn't start hunting until around noon because temps had dropped into the single digits that morning; temps while hunting were initially in the low to mid twenties and at the end of the hunt started dipping back into the teens.

Initially we hunted some stand-alone tule patches and clumps of whitetop, but didn't see any pheasant tracks, point, or put-up any birds. Things started to change the deeper we got into the property; I started seeing tracks and the occasional wild-flushing (200 yards distant) bird. I marked where a couple birds had landed and hunted the girls into that cover; this resulted in a couple points, and wild flushes, but no shots fired; the scent and birds in the air put a little spark in the girls hunt though, and the game was on.

We hunted into a huge patch of pepperweed, tracks were everywhere trailing into heavy clumps of brush, and the birds began popping distantly; in five minutes we put ten birds in the air, mostly roosters. In short order Jill was on a hot trail, having two barren stands in rapid succession with great intensity; eyes staring distantly, head and tail high-and-tight and not flinching as I went in to flush on both occasions. A hundred-yards further I saw her stack-up again; this time Val was off to her right and staunch as well. I made a dash toward both dogs and about thirty yards out the first rooster went crossing left, and at the shot the second rooster lifted and went crossing right...

The Jester

 

"Duel"

Mike Gaddis' "Duel on Tabernacle Mountain" is a great read. A tale of an amazing young setter, and his nemesis, a wily ruffed grouse "wisdom bird." Duel is a page-turner, a must-read for all upland bird hunters who appreciate a good bird dog, and love to see one work. The book was published in a limited edition of 200 copies; leather bound with gilded edges, and presented in a one-time only, heirloom-quality, signed, numbered, and individually personalized. Find it at www.duelontabernaclemtn.com.

Indian Head Whiski - Jim

 

Jim is turning out to be quite a bird dog. I've had him out several times this season hunting both chukar and pheasant. Chukar seem to be a bit easier on him than these cagey old roosters. The chukar have been holding a little better, and even if they do run a little in front of the dog, you can usually put them up. When a dog points chukar you generally get some form of bird-work; even if it's chasing them across a hillside and having them flush wild on you. Roosters just seem to disappear; vanish. It's aggravating. Prior to pointing this old bird Jim had several very staunch points which had me running to the front of him and flushing like a mad man; to no avail. He was pointing with such intensity I thought a bird was there; hen or rooster I just wanted to flush him a bird. After trying to kick a bird out for a minute or so, I'd release him, and off we'd go hunting again. When this rooster hit the ground I cut Jim loose so he could get his mouth on the bird; he pounced on it, he mouthed and pawed at it, he snarfed it and got a general nose-full. Based on his reaction after reaching the bird, it seemed to be just what he needed......

Pups First Covey

Photo By Holly Higgins

IH Pearls Blindsider (Miller's Blindsider X Pearl Again), was aquired earlier this year from Daniels Kennels, of Bronwood, Georgia."Val" has been hunted in chukar country several times now and has pointed a covey each time she has been down; a great start for a young dog. Val is showing high style on her birds and points with intensity. She's also making great progress in her yard work, roading off the ATV, and with pigeons in the bird field. Quiet in the kennel and easy to be around, Val is a nice addition to the string.

 

My Opener

 I generally consider November 1 the start of my upland hunting season. I'm not a fan of opening day crowds, mosquitos, pin feathers, or the heat, or snakes.... I like to run two or three dogs a day, one at a time; and in the early season, when it's hot, it's tough to do that. By November things have started to cool off, the crowds have thinned a little, and hopefully my dogs are tuned-up and ready to hunt. This past weekend there was a skiff of snow on the ground, a cool north wind, and things felt just right with a couple layers of wool up top, heavy pants and socks down below, nice gloves; perfect conditions......

De La Valdene

Guy De La Valdene is mentioned several times, in Thomas McGuane's "The Longest Silence, A Life In Fishing." Poling Key West with McGuane, angling for bonefish, tarpon, permit (the big three), and mutton snapper among other species. A quick web search put me into a list of De La Valdene's books, and I chose "Making Game...", mostly because I hadn't done much reading on woodcock and the description of the contents of the book sounded interesting. This book covers a few good hunts, but also focuses on habitat, migration, the conservation of the species, and the bird as table fare. I don't know any woodcock hunters, but after reading it, I imagine this book would fit into the niche of "a must have" among the tried-and-true. Russell Chatham illustrated the book, Jim Harrison makes an appearence or two, you get the point..... good stuff!

Pointing Chukar

Sammi pointing Chukar
Photo by Holly Higgins

Sammi had as a pup, out of the shoot, a ton of point; butterflies, grasshoppers, bumblebees, stalks of grass blowing in the wind; you name it, she'd point it, and with intensity! Initially her pointing, it seemed, was focused on moving objects that caught her eye; something would move, she'd point, and then pounce and chase.... When Sammi was about 6-months old I started running her in the bird field, into electronic launchers loaded with pigeons; she had a great nose and pointed with intensity. From the start, I could get in front of her and launch birds before she would chase. After letting her chase a few times, it didn't take much effort to keep her from chasing more than a few feet. Walking up to flush for her, I could see her drinking up the scent; high tail and head, mouth opening and closing, eyes staring into the distance, body motionless. I remember thinking to myself every time I ran her in a training situation, "this is a bird dog." Toward the end of this bird season I was fortunate to get her into Chukar country and get her into some birds. Unfortunately, on both occasions I had her down, her littermate Ella was down with her, and before I could get to Sammi to kill a bird for her, Ella came in and ripped them...

On Point!

Photo by Holly Higgins

In this photo, Meg and Wheels are backing Gertie, which is just over the ridge, too the front, and out of the picture. This was the last hunt of the season and all three girls were put down together for the final-final. Wheels and Gertie had backed each other on previous hunts, but Meg had only seen the backing silhouette to that point. And the birds were there!

News From Chukar Country

After the Thanksgiving snows, and successive subsequent storms provided much needed moisture to the eastside, birds began to disburse and the hunting improved. Chukar could still be found in the clouds if you chose to go that high, but much of the front country was littered with birds as well; birds that were now finding fresh feed from the green-up which occurred across the landscape post precip. Both dogs and hunters were rewarded with birdwork, not just exercise....
By the end of the season birds had begun to pair up, so pairs and singles were let fly anticipating the clutches that might be produced this spring by these early cohabitors.

Thanksgiving Pheasant Hunt

Photo by Holly Higgins

We hunted pheasant Thanksgiving day hoping to harvest a rooster for the table that evening, but at the end of the day were glad we had thrown a chicken in the cart (just in case) while shopping the previous evening. That morning there was a skiff of snow on the ground and tracks were noticeable everywhere in the cover; criss-crossing through the sage and native grasses, down fencelines, in and out of the willows. There was a chill in the air all day and the frost never left the cover except when one of us, or a dog, brushed it off while hunting through it. When the wind came up you felt it anywhere there was bare skin or wet clothing. The dogs were the heroes of the day, hunting hard in the cold and wet persistently. We managed to put a few birds in the air but pinning a bird down was tough....

Green-up Is Coming

Photo by Sutter Rogers

In late September, early October, Fall seemed to be coming-on like a lion; a fair amount of rain, a skiff of snow, and some chilly mornings had us believing it was "on" for chukar season. But for the last month, since a week-or-so before the season opened, "dry and dusty" best describe what conditions have been like. It has been warm and dry, almost too warm to get the dogs out for more than a few hours in the morning. And birdwork has been at a premium, at least in southern and eastern Oregon.
It's now Thanksgiving and things seemed to have changed. As much as a foot of snow has hit the eastside! The snow should get them moving, but after this cold spell when temperatures reach the high thirties and we get a little sunshine some green-up should occur in the cheat grass and the chukar should begin to disperse as feed becomes more readily available. Something to be thankful for?

Base Camp

Feeding Time

The end of the day, and the fun continues; dogs and gear get unloaded and situated; feed pans filled and dispersed; fresh batteries installed in GPS transmitters; e-collars and tracking collars on chargers; truck gets fueled-up; ice for the coolers; more food and beverages purchased; doctoring of dogs and hunters as needed; the list goes on......
We were fortunate to be at a location where fuel, food, and accommodations are all available, and where the proprietors cater to a lot of bird hunters in the fall and winter and understand the kind of baggage we bring with us. We did make sure to clean-up after the dogs immediately, and fitted the barkers with their collars; trying to keep our presence as low-key as possible, and not taking things for granted.
The proprietors of these rural destinations are providing us with a great service and we appreciate them being there. By cleaning up after ourselves, and leaving them with a good impression of who we are, we hope they will be accommodating to us again in the future.

Crown Jewel

Chukar Partridge - Red-legged Devil

End of the Hunt

Abbi drinking, and Holly with Gertie

We got into eight coveys, and got all the dogs hunted this day. At the end of the hunt we felt like we had ridden a stage of the Tour de France; a lot of calories were burned and everyone was tired and a little sore. Back at the truck we had more water and treats for the dogs, and cheese, crackers, and leftovers from dinner the night before for us. Good stuff!

Staked-out

Stake-outs are a great option when weather and ground conditions allow for a good spot to get the truck off the road; in the late season a nice dry wide-spot is often hard to find. The stake-outs give dogs that would otherwise be crated an opportunity to stretch their legs and lay in the sun, recover from an earlier hunt, relieve themselves, and get watered-up and fed. The stakes should be kept far enough apart so that dogs can't get tangled in each others chains; this could be disastrous, if not deadly. Each of my stakes has a 30-inch chain on it, and I generally space the stakes about 7-feet apart. With that chain length, and that distance between stakes, dogs can generally just touch noses or paws.  Dog stools are picked-up as generated, which generally occurs within the first ten minutes of being staked-out after the morning ride to the grounds. Bring along a shovel to scoop the poop, and to fill any holes your dogs may dig while stake-out.

TOAST!

Meg and Jill

These two pups had six covey finds in two hours, and covered a bunch of ground on fairly steep terrain. They were DONE! at the end of the hunt. Both pups are holding for the flush and chasing when birds are in the air. Before next season we plan to have them steady to wing and shot.
I like to line my crates with grass hay because, the dogs can burrow in it to stay warm at night, it provides a lofty layer for a dog to lay on after a hunt or while travelling, and it's relatively dust free. You can tell by the disposition of these two that they are perfectly content to be where they're at.....

Geared Up

Ready to unload dogs for a hunt

The truck was loaded with gear and dogs for our last excursion of the season, four days of hunting in the outback; chukar country. The weather was perfect; cool in the mornings (low 20's) and mild in the afternoons (low 50's); blue skies from dawn till dusk. Green-up from the precip and sunshine of prior weeks made feed plentiful, and sign was fresh in locations were not much had been seen earlier in the season.
We had 6 dogs loaded in crates in the back of the truck, under the canopy, along with our food and dog gear; one more dog in a crate in the back seat along with our personal items, and a puppy loose in the cab.
Seven bird dogs is just about right for a four day hunt; 3 braces a day, approximately 2-hrs each. Six hours of solid hunting each day. On an average day hunters averaged 7-10 miles on the ground; a dog in a two-hour hunt would cover twice that! Amazing! Dogs that were hunted early the first morning would be fresh and ready to go the following morning after being well fed, rested, and doctored; that same prescription goes for hunters. Ibuprofen and Carprofen containers, and wine bottles, were relieved of their fair share of the elixers they contained....

News From Chukar Country

Wheels with a chukar --- photo by Holly Higgins

The first half of the season was dry and coming across fresh sign of a covey was generally reserved for a location near water or, on the north and north-east slopes of chukar country. It seems as though some weather and a little green-up have had a positive affect on the birds activity and they are a little more dispersed now than they were earlier. Quite a few hunts early in the season left both hunter and dog with only a humbled heart and sore legs and pads. Finally the dogs have been rewarded for their amazing efforts, and some feathers have been added to the vest.....

Familiar Country

Photo by Holly Higgins

We covered a lot of familiar ground last weekend in chukar country and as is the case more often than not, the birds won. The birds we came across were hard to get pointed and were flushing wild. Scenting conditions were great, allowing the dogs to be well off the birds when contact was made, but the birds were spooky and blowing-out at the twitch of a whisker. Of the 6 dogs we put down, 4 are less than 2-years old. They are covering the country well and we are very happy with their application, but they need more bird contacts; those dogs need to know why they are out there. Hunting chukar with young dogs can be frustrating because contact with birds can be pretty sporadic. Guess we just have to keep going back for more!!