It's always an adventure living in the North Woods. Today, Tony, Marie, Katie, and I went out to visit the grouse nest we found a couple of weeks ago. About five miles before we got there a grouse lifted from the road leaving a stream of dust behind like a contrail. When we pulled up to his launch spot we found this perfectly round depression where he had been dusting.
When we got to the grouse nest I could not see the eggs or the grouse and at first thought something had destroyed the nest. Then the hen grouse stood up and scurried off. When she did things didn't look right and then I saw a tiny chick scamper off to the left. When I took a step closer and peered into the nest I could see a number of chicks that had recently hatched and at least one egg that still needed to hatch. They are a little out of focus but if you look at the next two pictures you can see the chicks and pieces of their eggs. We didn't want to disturb the nest anymore than we already had so we left without getting an accurate count. There were nine eggs last time we checked.
After we left the grouse, Marie spotted this doe on the edge of a log landing next to the road. There was most likely a fawn nearby.
A friend sent me these two pictures taken four hours apart on May 27th. We can assume the hen woodcock that layed the eggs lost her first clutch. These should be some of the latest woodcock to hatch this year.
On another note, I took a trip to Connecticut Saturday to interview Gene Casale for an article that will appear in the field trial magazine section of Pointing Dog Journal. It was great to visit with Gene as he held court in the shade of his horse trailer at the trial. At 91, he had run a dog earlier in the morning.
