How the Birds learn?

W

Weimdogman

Well-known member
Wild pheasants try many things to escape danger(us). Someone asked about pointers being able to pin/point educated birds? I believe whatever has worked for the bird in the past is what they do=learned behavior.

I have shot many birds over points where the bird was holding on the edge of cover.

I found birds in one area,one time , that would circle back around. The dogs tracked them so I knew this to be the case.

And of course some just run ahead to flush wild.
 
I'm not sure I can explain it great but it's the same way as all animals. Learning by association. If every time a car door slams and then 20 mins later something comes pushing through, they learn that car door equals disturbance. Same thing for paths. If everytime they sit in a spot and they get chased out, they will either not go there or run away sooner. If on the other hand they go to one spot and they don't ever get pushed out, they "learn" that its safe.
 
Many of the roosters that I have killed (not on edges) were pointed by dogs working back at me. My experienced dogs seem to learn to pin the bird between us. Whether it is the bird they were on or just other birds that were not as far away and were caught in between ... suppose I have no idea.
 
I once worked a 10 acre cattail slough back and forth 4 times (2 each way). I knew birds were running behind me because of the tracks in the fresh snow. On the final return pass the dog finally pinned a rooster. That bird had an impressive tail and long spurs.

More than once I have seen pheasants run out of cover (on the side) as other hunters were walking a drainage ditch ... vs. just running to the end.

We once watched two guys (in ND) jump out and chase a flock of pheasants into a dry roadside cattail slough. We were parked up on the hill about a quarter mile or more away. Slough was small ... they did not get up one bird ... we watched as the two guys and their dog must have walked by the birds and the birds actually ran out of the slough, over the gravel road and into the field on the other side.

We drove by them and stopped. They were miffed at why they did not get an easy shot. I told them the birds ran out behind them and over the gravel road. Pretty sure neither guy believed us.
 
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