Like I said previously it’s been a hot August and early September so Missy and I haven’t had many opportunities to chase birds yet. We got out one afternoon last week and Missy flushed 5 woodcocks. I was really happy with the way she worked. The last time Missy had been on birds was the last day of grouse season in January. We missed the entire spring woodcock migration because Missy had a bad injury to her carpal pad (the small pad above the front foot) that ended with it having to be amputated. She was out of action for almost 2 months. Missy is a little over 1 1/2 years old and she had a great first season (we got 31 pheasants and 6 grouse–those numbers would have been much higher if I was a better shot), but I didn’t know what to expect her first time out in so long. I turned her loose, said “hunt ’em” and she was off hunting like she hadn’t missed a day. She hunted hard, close, and flushed 5 woodcocks in about an hour.

Last Thursday Missy and I went to Scattergun Preserve to warm up on some preseason pheasants. Again I turned Missy loose, with a “hunt ’em” and away she went. We hunted about 20 minutes and Missy got “birdy” in some heavy cover. She was hot on a bird and I could see it struggling to break through the cover, but Missy was on him and her didn’t make it out. She came happily pushing her way through the cover with the rooster in her mouth. First bird of the year with out firing my shotgun. The next bird Missy flushed was a thing of beauty. She got birdy again in a patch of very heavy cover, and worked the bird until until it flushed right in front of me. The bird went straight up, caught the wind, and off he went. I missed him twice with my Citori. I never came close to catching up with him and both shots were way behind him. The next bird was a rooster that jumped out on to a mowed trail and ran. Missy flushed him well out of range. More on that when I make a longer post on Missy and my training. It was starting to get warm now so I decided to hunt one more patch of cover and then call it a morning. Missy got birdy in some light cover, worked the bird into a patch of thick goldenrod and got a hen into the air. I swung on it and dropped quickly. Missy was on the bird as soon as it hit the ground, picked it up and made a perfect retrieve. I put the bird in my vest and we called it a morning.

We will probably go to the preserve a few more times before pheasant/grouse season starts.