"A man surprised is half-beaten." ~ Proverb
Gentle Readers and Loved Ones,
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| Where's Woodcock? |
Please play "Where's Woodcock?" There is one in this picture.
In the last week, Rowdy and I have captured some really great videos of the Woodcock migration. I’m about to show you the best one.
It’s not hunting season, so we did not shoot any birds. In a few weeks, it’ll be nesting season and we’ll leave them alone until August or so. By then, many of these Woodcocks will have migrated on up into Canada.
Some setup discussions.
First, the GoPro is a wide-angle lens camera. That means you really have to be close, well
within 10’ to see details. It is
designed to give you the feel of how your eyeballs work – your eyes are also a wide-angle
camera.
Second, Rowdy is a Golden Doodle. That makes him a mutt; not of any breed recognized by the AKC. Goldens and Poodles are in the ‘retriever’ section of the hunting dog Venn Diagram. By nature, Retrievers run around blindly in the woods until they flush a bird accidentally. If they “get the nose” or hear a bird they will charge off in the direction their senses tell them until they flush the bird. You can tell when Rowdy gets ‘birdy’ by his posture and the flaggy, jerky wave of his tail. Retrievers do not have the pointing dog “Whoa” when they sense a bird and go on point waiting for you to come over. So, my challenge is to keep Rowdy well within reasonable shotgun range while he beats around for the birds. This is one of the things we were working on here in the off season.
Most game-birds are flighty and will flush when a dog gets within 20 yards or so.
Woodcocks are really different in this. They tend to hold in place – perfectly still – until the threat goes by or until we get really uncomfortably close. I have heard a theory from an expert that I highly respect that the woodcocks are really tired after migrating all night. They’re nocturnal. So, they’ve evolved to hold tight and only fly short distances when disturbed to conserve stamina and calories.
Rowdy deviates from his flushing dog nature when a Woodcock holds tight. When he senses he is really close to the bird, he locks up instead of beating around. Which is what he did in the video. The woodcock let him get within feet. In fact, the woodcock let me get within feet of it. Which is why this video is so striking.
Third, I am very proud of how well Rowdy has learned to work with me. If watch the video closely you will see him look back to check where I am as he struggles to locate the bird. He knew what his job was and was having a great time doing it. I note after watching the video that I was in such a hurry to get over to him that I crashed through a thorny berry bramble on the way and never noticed it. Normally, I work pretty hard to go around those patches….
Here is a short GIF of the flush.
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| The Woodcock can't stand the tension anymore. |
Here is where the woodcock was hiding. I never saw it until it flew.
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| Here's where Woodcock |
Finally these three pictures are just fun.
After watching the video, you will note that there is no way I could have safely taken a shot at this bird. It was either highlighted against the dog or after I turned to follow it, highlighted against my wife. So, in this case, the bird’s escape strategy was really wise.
On the other hand, the bird did the Woodcock short escape thing and re-settled well within range of Rowdy and I over pretty close to Ann. I suspect they really don’t see very well in daylight. So, Rowdy went over and popped it up again. If I had been quick enough to sit Rowdy, we’d have had a second chance at that bird.
On that happy note, I remain,
Dad/Geoff
