Phoebe's first woodcock

Decided to take a day off from the theater business to pretend I'm a college professor. After spending the bulk of the morning grading papers, it was off to the thickets with Miss Four-Month-Old Phoebe for the woodcock opener.

We were in a favorite covert by 3pm (and if I told you which one, I would have to kill you). It was a balmy 50 deg F, I was as usual wearing jeans, Carhartt vest, Filson cap, LaCross rubber boots with the airgrip tread, but in a nod to safety with Phoebe not yet wearing a bell or beeper, donned an extra Filson blaze cape over the Carhartt.

I was with my new best girl Phoebe. She had received some preliminary gun training before today, mostly 22 cal plinking in the back yard during chow time, and one or two shots with the 16 gauge while she's playing in the dog pen. I figured today I'd take the gun along, "just in case" the opportunity presented itself. So I toted the 16 gauge Parker with the lightest 7/8 oz. RST loads of #8 shot I have.

So along we went through the brushy pasture, poking through all the likely spots and looking for splash. Phoebe was using her nose throughout, sniffing the ground, plants, leaves, dirt, you name it. Very nose-oriented. After about an hour of that, with no results, we landed in a corner that has always produced woodcock in the past.

We weren't disappointed. After ten or so minutes in the thick stuff, Phoebe went off into some dogwood and all of a sudden stopped short, standing totally still. I took a close look at her, and her head was up, nose out, nostrils flaring. The real deal.

We took it slowly, me trying to let her figure it out for herself. When all of a sudden, a woodcock flushed from my right and circled back to the rear of the dog. I let it get out about 25 yards and dropped it cleanly with a single shot.

Phoebe didn't seem fazed by the gun, and I had a great mark on it. Found the bird pretty quickly, and Phoebe had an absolute ball mouthing her first bird. Needless to say I was pretty pleased.

After a couple of minutes of playtime, I gathered up the bird and we moved on. Almost immediately she got birdy on another track, and I looked down and saw splash. Sure enough, within twenty feet another woodcock went up. This one presented an equally good opportunity, and once again after letting it get out about 25 yards, I dropped it as well, marking it on a gnarly apple tree blowdown.

This one was hard to find. I had marked it well, but I circled it twice before Phoebe finally found it! she was mouthing it before I saw it. So that was cool, her first real "retrieve" of a downed bird. Once again needless to say I was pleased.

After another two minutes of letting her play with the bird, off again we went. This time we made our way slowly upslope, not getting any hints of bird scent or anything. Just as we were running out of terrain, she scented a track from the gulley she was in and headed up over the bank on the other side. I crossed the gulley and followed her, this time convinced she was completely in charge.

Sure enough, she followed the track about forty yards, probably the longest trailing of the day, when she stopped in some dogwood. I slowed, again trying to let her figure it out. She relocated, me moving alongside, and within ten yards the third woodcock of the day went up. Once again, the red gods smiled on us, and I dropped the bird cleanly with one shot at about 30 yards. We marked it well, and Phoebe found her third woodcock on the ground as we approached it.

Phoebe's first three birds

Three birds, and a four-month-old woodcock dog. All in all, I'd say it was a successful day. She's got an idea now what the bird scent is about, she's absolutely crazy for woodcock feathers in her mouth, and I'm not at all doubtful about taking her in the woods next week in Maine, gun in hand.

A great opening day all around. And this dogge loves to run around with the bird in her mouth--which Katie never did. Looks like I may have a retrieving setter in the works, boys and girls.