Birds and dogs in the snow

bauerline

bauerline

Well-known member
My boys had off school today and went to Grandma's which gave me some time to run the dogs to the area close to home. This is the place I get most of my pictures and I stop hunting it after Christmas. The last few years I've been able to find birds almost year round. Before I even got to the fields I saw this guy make a few passes just above the switchgrass.

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He ended up flying away because he didn't see anything. But the dogs knew better. These pictures were taken in the same place I saw the hawk fly over several times.

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Nittany and then a close up of him.
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Blitz
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I saw a hen hiding in the grass and tried to get a picture but before I could do that two hens flushed out of the cover. I got a picture of one of them. I wanted to get a picture of them in the cover and move on without flushing them but it didn't work.
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The dogs had another point but no pictures of birds on this one.
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Close up of Blitz
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I know there are more birds in the area but I didn't push too hard to find them. They should stay around for the next several months
 
Nice pictures as usual! If only them hens could pull off a brood or two. :(
 
The past two years I have heard of broods in the area. I saw one two years ago but I don't know what happens to them. :(

I was told the hawk is a northern harrier which is threatened in PA. It likes to hover over fields and swamps looking for voles and mice. I don't know if they eat pheasants or not. I think the area cooper and red tail hawks did the quail in and hurt the pheasant numbers.
 
Very nice pictures! If your dogs are anything like my pup they love the snow. I had to work today, but I left a little early so I could come home and do a training session while it was still light out. I did all my training and then let my pup run around in some switch grass, cattails, etc to smell around and get some exercise. To my surprise she flushed a bobwhite quail on a hedgerow next to my house. This is the first quail I have seen around here (VA). They used to be very prevalent but got shot out. Fortunately, no one can hunt around here because it is too populated, so maybe they will make a comeback and I could have a nice training area. I wish I would have had my camera out because it would have been a great picture. Might have to take her down there again this weekend to see what she can find...this time with camera in hand!
 
steelbull85 said:
Very nice pictures! If your dogs are anything like my pup they love the snow. I had to work today, but I left a little early so I could come home and do a training session while it was still light out. I did all my training and then let my pup run around in some switch grass, cattails, etc to smell around and get some exercise. To my surprise she flushed a bobwhite quail on a hedgerow next to my house. This is the first quail I have seen around here (VA). They used to be very prevalent but got shot out. Fortunately, no one can hunt around here because it is too populated, so maybe they will make a comeback and I could have a nice training area. I wish I would have had my camera out because it would have been a great picture. Might have to take her down there again this weekend to see what she can find...this time with camera in hand!
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It would have been nice to get a picture of the quail. Do you think it's a wild one or one somebody released for some dog work? In any event, I bet it was a nice sight.
 
bauerline said:
The past two years I have heard of broods in the area. I saw one two years ago but I don't know what happens to them. :(

I was told the hawk is a northern harrier which is threatened in PA. It likes to hover over fields and swamps looking for voles and mice. I don't know if they eat pheasants or not. I think the area cooper and red tail hawks did the quail in and hurt the pheasant numbers.
Click to expand...

I would love to see a reduction in mice and voles. My dog must eat his weight in those things. I can't stop him he loves those things.
 
I ran the dogs in the same area today but I forgot the camera. I saw rabbit tracks along with deer and pheasant tracks. The dogs put up 3 different roosters this time but no hens. I'll have to bring the camera next time.
 
I had the chance to run the dogs today in the same area I took pictures last week. I took the camera along in hopes that I could get some pictures. These pictures are from the same area That I saw the northern harrier fly over and I also see red tail and cooper hawks fly by. In addition to the hawks there are owls and foxes in the area.

I started in the same exact area as last time. I didn't take long for the dogs to have a point and I could see some birds running. Then I saw some birds flush wild from the switchgrass. Here are some pictures I took:
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It may be difficult to see but there are 4 or 5 pheasants in this picture:
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By the time the dogs were done working this particular area I counted 19 different pheasants that flushed. It consists of warm season grass, cool season grass and agricultural fields. It is surrounded by woodlots that stay wet most of the year with a small stream running through it. In total there are 17 acres in the CREP program. There are also some pine trees in the area that belong to a neighbor.

The dogs kept working and they were able to find some more birds that were not part of the original 19 that we flushed. There were two more hens in the switchgrass that flushed out from a solid point.
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Some pictures of the woody cover:
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I couldn't find Blitz and I eventually found him on point.
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There were two more hens in this cover.
Here are some more pictures of the different cover the birds hang out:
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You can see some of the grass behind the tree line in this picture:
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And the birds hang out here, too:
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The dogs had one more point before I went home:
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This guy flushed from the switchgrass and went right to the wooded/swampy area.

I think the key to finding this many birds is the switchgrass. There are other woodlots in the area but this is the only stand of switchgrass. The birds looked healthy and flew well today. The first birds were released in early September and the last release was in mid December. The pheasants may be pen raised but they learned to survive and give the dogs a good workout. I've also heard from people that live within 2-3 miles of this area and they see hens and roosters around their yards.
 
Great pictures! I always enjoy seeing your adventures out with the pups. You have some great hunting areas right there around you
 
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