Wild Apple Kennel and Guide Service

Wild Apple Kennel and Guide Service
The 2007 Grand National Grouse Champion, Winner 2008 Northern New England Woodcock Championship, Winner 2010 Lake States Grouse Championship, Runner-up 2011 Northeast Grouse and Woodcock Championship, Winner 2011 International Amateur Woodcock Championship, Winner 2012 Southern New England Woodcock Championship

Wild Apple Kennel Training Blog

This blog will try to present a running account of the training and field trialing season for the pointers of Wild Apple Kennel. NOW ACCEPTING BOOKINGS FOR THE 2015 GROUSE AND WOODCOCK SEASON WITH WILD APPLE KENNEL GUIDE SERVICE! PHONE NUMBERS 603-449-3419 OR CELL 603-381-8763.



Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Boring


Tony and I took a walk down through Red Barn this morning in hopes of finding sign that the woodcock were taking advantage of the strips we had rototilled.  We had 1.25" of rain yesterday so thought it would be wet enough for the birds to use the strips.  There were a couple of spots where there were some holes in the soft ground that might have been borings that had been partially wiped out by the rain and were not definitive.  The borings in the picture below are definitive and recent.  We won't know for sure for a couple more weeks when we take Jack down through the cover to conduct a census, but we remain optimistic.  The weather in May was perfect for the woodcock hatch.  The male here at the house is still singing every night.


Monday, May 28, 2012

New Arrival

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.