Unintended Consequences

Brandy backing Tick.

Brandy is still recovering from a procedure and is only allowed yard work at least for another week or so.  So I went out and planted some pigeons for her and took her out on the checkcord.  I was halfway down the yard when a big white dog streaked by and then pointed Brandy's pigeon.  It was Tick, one of the six and 1/2 month old Bud Bros.  He had broken out of his Kennel even though I had put extra snaps on the door to keep him in (it wasn't his first escape).  I flushed the bird from its remote launcher and he stood for the flush and shot.  He only released when I walked up behind him with Brandy.  I took Brandy on for two finds on her own while Tick zigged when we zagged.  He then went back and pointed the pigeon trap.  I didn't have a spare lead with me so I walked Brandy up to the kennel put her up grabbed a Wonder Lead and then went back to find Tick still standing pointing the empty pigeon trap.   I slipped the lead over his head and then walked him back to his kennel which I secured with the extra snap and a couple of heavy duty zip ties.  That seem to work as he did not make another appearance as I worked the other dogs.  Here's a bad video of our youngest puppy Dottie pointing a pigeon on her own.

Earlier in the day, I ran Birdy, Fiona, Spiggy, and Hattie.  All had wild bird contacts some handled better than others.  We're making progress but still not finding the wild birds in the numbers we need.

Tomorrow the Bud Bros and Sam and Glow will be on the truck as we try a few spots that got good about this time last year.

19 and 2

Every summer we go through the same thing.  It seems like birds are next to impossible to find and then they seem to appear out of nowhere.  This morning was like that in Red Barn.  Birds have been hard to come by until Saturday when Tony ran by himself and had 17 woodcock with Big Frankie.  This morning we ran seven dogs and moved 19 woodcock and 2 grouse with three braces of dogs. I was running the Bud Bros and they all had bird contacts with Spot finding a couple on his own and getting a few chances to back G-III who just came in from Ohio early yesterday.  Of the Bros, I'd have to give the edge to Tick who ran with Tim K's Dottie puppy and they both had finds on their own.  Tick was broke on his -- he's been broke on pigeons in the yard but really didn't expect it to happen on wild birds as well.  No wonder his sire, Chasehill Little Bud, has won over 30 championship placements.  All three of his boys that are with me this summer are going to be all about finding birds. When I got back this morning I got out the pigeon traps and ran some more dogs.

Spot, one of the infamous Bud Bros backing G-III this morning. (Tony Bly Photo)

Wild Apple Calvados is still on restricted duty but is staunching up nicely on pigeons.

Wild Apple Molly McGee runs even bigger than the Bud Bros and has almost as much style.

Yesterday we tried more new covers and had birds in all the spots we ran dogs.  Although we have a couple of hot spots, we still keep searching for new covers as well as checking out existing ones.  All the good covers will eventually have birds in them but we have to wait for the grouse to rotate into the available feed.  The raspberries are just starting to ripen and we should start finding grouse feeding on them in the next week or so.