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.....

Reflections

Republished in late 2018 by Strideaway, this book is a must-have for the field trialer and bird hunter alike. In this book, the now late, Ed Mack Farrior reflects on the great handlers and bird dogs of a bygone era, resurrecting them in narrative form for our reading pleasure. It's a hard-to-put-down read with a ton of great illustrations. The book is available at www.strideaway.com.

Derby Winners

Photo by Jamie Marks

Both Indian Head Pistol (Pete) and Indian Head Intrigue (Jill) are coming along nicely. Although not completely finished on their birdwork, both have the necessary ground game to be competitive at the derby-age level; which is approximately two-years-old and younger. At a recent field trial Pete and Jill placed 1st and 3rd respectively (the second place dog is not shown in the picture). Derby's are not required to be steady to wing and shot in the fall, but come spring they should be "broke" and act mannerly at the flush and shot; which is to say, they don't break and chase the bird as it's flushed and a shot fired, they wait to be released.

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!!

Summer Training

Indian Head Intrigue - Jill

I've never tried to break more than one puppy/derby per year. This year I have three, and with a busy work schedule it has been pretty rough. All three are coming along, but all three are so very different. Jim is smart, bold, and tough, and was a challenge to get to hold point. Pete is really smart and soft, and didn't like being set-up in yard work or the bird field. Jill is high-energy and a bit scatterbrained, but very athletic and smart. All three are bird-finders, have brains and style, but have taken different paths in the training/breaking process to get to where they are. It's important to be able to figure out what it's going to take to get your dog broke and do it so they keep their style and intensity on birds.

Mike Stephens passes - a tribute

BBQ Season

The next best thing to bird season is BBQ season! I actually dusted off the gas grill about month ago, re-seasoning it with fatty chicken thighs and a few varieties of sausage; stuff that puts a nice gloss on the stainless steel grill. Today I was rifling through the fridge, checking the "best used by" dates on condiments, salad dressings, and pickled goodies, and came across a not-too-old bottle of soy sauce; I instantly thought of BBQ teriyaki chicken. Transforming soy sauce to teriyaki is simple, equal parts of each: soy sauce, water, and granulated sugar. So today I combined 2-cups of each ingredient in a stainless steel bowl and whisked it until the sugar was dissolved into the liquid. Then I sliced half a red onion, chopped a bunch of green onion, and added them to the teriyaki. I let the teriyaki and onion combination  marry a short time, then poured the mixture over the top of 12 chicken thighs I had placed in an porcelain baking dish. I'll let the chicken marinate a few hours on the kitchen counter before throwing it on the grill this evening. I recommend using indirect heat on your gas or charcoal grill when preparing teriyaki chicken.