Freighter was the first to get to hunt woodcock this past weekend.  It was a cool morning with temperatures in the 40’s, but once the sun was up, it heated up quickly.

Me First!
Me First!

I did not go along for this hunt.  Freighter was hunting in an area of thick cover where the dogs can usually put up a woodcock or two.  Unfortunately it makes for poor pictures.

The following picture is of Storm last year.

Storm From Last Year Hunting Woodcock
Storm From 2013 Hunting Woodcock

Woodcock like moist young forests with dense cover.  They are a migratory bird and the prime time in Michigan for woodcock is still a few weeks away, but there is a decent local population too.

When you have three dogs that can hunt, one usually gets the short end of the stick and lately that dog has been Freighter.  It doesn’t just happen that the dogs go out and know what to do when they are hunting.  Sure they understand sniffing around the forest and flushing a bird, but a bit more is required of a good hunting partner.

The dog needs the experience of: search, flush, hunter shoots, dog retrieves.  If you are lucky and are able to find the birds and the dog does the sequence a few times, then they seem to get it.  Unfortunately finding birds in the forest is not guaranteed and our hunting season is not too long, especially when you only have weekends to hunt.

Thunder and Storm are old pros, but Freighter has not had the chance to really get out and work, but on Saturday he did.  He put up 5 woodcock and a pair of wood ducks on the river.  With every flush, he seemed to understand his job and was getting into thicker and ticker cover to look for birds.  Unfortunately the cover was so dense that there was only one opportunity for a shot at a woodcock and that was a miss.  (Waterfowl doesn’t open until this Saturday so there were no shots at the wood ducks.)

Sniffing Around
Freighter Sniffing Around

Hopefully Freighter will get a chance to retrieve a bird or two this season.  He will enjoy trying at least.

By the time Freighter got back from hunting, it had warmed up quite a bit so Thunder and Storm did not get out at all.  You can add 10 or more degrees when you are hunting in a thick forest.  No sense risking heat stroke especially when the majority of the birds have not arrived yet.  There will be other chances for them.

Can't Wait To Try Again!
Freighter Can’t Wait To Try Again!

16 thoughts on “It Doesn’t Just Happen

  1. Good for Freighter! It was a hot weekend. Bailie was tracking in the thick brush and it was super warm too. I think next weekend will be much better.

  2. Here’s to better chances soon. (Boy, 40 degrees in the morning sounds like mischief to me! I’m sick of it being so hot here… but 40 degrees is too low for me. I’m such a weather-wuss.)

  3. Our weather is cooling off right now, so hopefully it’s the same for you and you’ll have better chances to get everyone out next weekend. I’m sure its fun for Freighter just to flush the birds…not so fun for the hunter though! 🙂

  4. Hi Y’all!

    Sorry Freighter! At least you had a few fun finds and flushes. I’m sure your huntin’ partner (human) enjoyed watchin’ you work.

    Y’all come by now,
    Hawk aka BrownDog

  5. Sorry Freighter, but it does sound like you had a good time anyways. Better luck next time and lets hope the weather stays nice and consistently cool for awhile.

  6. I bet he catches on super quick. I keep saying it, but I’ll say it again. I think he’s going to make a great hunting dog.

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