Finally, after walking for days....birds:



It has been a bit colder this year...

Nice gun. You miss me?

Best,
Ted

Looks good Lloyd. Should warm up by the time I hit Nebraska in 10 days.

Well done Lloyd! Great scenery too.

Ted: the weather up here has been abysmal for weeks...I'm spending far-more time indoors than out this year (at least so-far). My brother gave up and left (before his glamper got frozen in the mud). It's raining as I write this. Yesterday was the first truly sunny day in almost a month. I guess the birds needed to get out and about too?

Before the storm...



Lots of walking and time for contemplation, but very few birds (too wet).

Hugh made a long trip to be pushed off by the weather, too bad.

I’m afraid to ask about the fishing.

How was the fishing, btw?

Best,
Ted

A small boat on the big lake would not be much fun...

There was a time in my life when drowning a leech off the dock in the rain would have been better than looking out the window at the dock in the rain.

Coffee and a good book would likely tempt me more, today.

Have a safe trip, Lloyd. Vision is slowly getting better, here, but the weather isn’t.

Best,
Ted

Ted: Glad to hear your vision is on the mend. The weather today is a complete loser, and probably tomorrow too but...the next week has potential. My family arrives about the time it starts to look a little better. The big question for my boy is the gun of choice. Either a light little M12 (circa 1913) in 20 or a modern variant (LH870) in 12. There are other options available here as well (go figure?) so it should be all-right in the end. God willing.

what an interesting looking bird what are they?
the only thing that has those colours here in Australia would be birds of prey they look very much like our hawks and kestrels

They are Ruffed Grouse. Indigenous to North America, and, nowhere else. It is impossible to raise them in captivity, and they are perhaps the best tablefair of all the Grouse. The hunting is a bit intense, they live in dense woods and tend to hold tightly until you are on top of them, when they flush in a noisy and startling bass profundo.
I would be content to hunt them exclusively the rest of my days.
You are not the first to compare them to a small hawk or kestrel. They are strictly prey, not predatory.

Best,
Ted

We drove through snow in central ND, then picked it up again north of Winnipeg. 4" on ground in the Interlake when we got to our cabin. We hunted 6 days and saw the sun for about two hours one day. Roads sloppy. Birds were way down from last two years; Two-hunter total went from 44 to 24 to six this year, so the crash has arrived. Saw a single woodcock. Buddy had a bad encounter with wolves that I will write up later. In the meantime Jamestown had nearly a foot of wet snow with wind that knocked over many trees.Farmers are sitting with nearly all beans and corn unharvested.

Adventure in the Interlake.

On Sunday the 7th, the first afternoon trail for Barry was the Sawmill, an area burned in 1989 and then salvage-logged for jackpine. The forest is now nearly impenetrable, with doghair jackpine about 15 feet tall above a criscrossed mass of charred logs, branches, and timber slash. Visibility is at most 12 ft on either side of the 10-ft-wide trail. After about a half hour, he saw Bernie, his German Wirehair pup about 35 yds ahead looking back at him. Barry thought nothing was unusual when the dog ran toward him to check in. In an instant two wolves appeared on the trail, a black one about ten feet behind Bernie, chasing him, and a silver prancing on the left. Barry had to wait to get a shot at the black one without hitting Bernie. By this time they were 20 yds away. The huge black wolf saw Barry raise his gun and darted away to the right. The silver jumped left and Barry peppered its flank with a load of 8-shot just as it disappeared. This was the only wolf encounter we have had in 51 years of hunting the same general area. Our nearest neighbor lost both his farm dogs to wolves last year and his brother shot at a black one on his driveway the year before.

Halk, my very first hunting experiences were in the Interlake. And I have property at Delta. Where is your cabin?

No wolves here today, just dark, dank and cold. But, persistence still pays it would seem...

Woodcock are coming down as well.

I just arrived in the UP. Snow here. Going to hunt areas with some conifers tomorrow. It’s very, very wet here, and cold. I’m glad I brought winter boots and that I left the DT guns at home this trip. Going to hunt my old standby ....20 ga Browning superposed with its’ single trigger. Clearly need my winter gloves.

For all the double-trigger-or-nothing purists here, pay heed...
JR

I shoot double triggers in any weather. The two coldest hunting trips I have been on were to Montana and North Dakota, both after late season roosters. We hunted in sub-zero conditions on both trips. Different strokes for different folks. Best of luck Buzz!

That looks like great day in North Country Lloyd. Have a good and safe remainder of your trip.

Thanks Steve! Just a few days left up here. The weather keeps turning towards the colder (snowed again last night). Hope to finish on a high note, but it will be hard to improve on yesterday.

Canvasback we hunt north of Fisher Branch. Members of the North Dakota team for the first One Box Sharptail hunt at Ashern in 1968 where we took second place.

Hi lloyd3, looks like you found them! Are you walking them up or using dog(s)? IIRC you were looking for a dog that wouldn't set off your allergies? Or do I have the wrong guy?

Chief

Lloyd, looks like persistence and patience paid off with some great hunts. Gil

Thanks Ted

lloyd: wonderful thread an pitchers...thank you...

Chief: walking them up! got a few more today...



In the cleaning shed, headed for the freezer....

MEA (Minnesota Education Association?) weekend is here Friday and the woods will be packed. Need to make everyday count now. We also fly out Sunday.


Mr. Good: you are most welcome!

More Pix...

Guys,
I've just returned from my yearly U.P. trip. I found that the bird numbers were down but saw plenty just the same. It was cold earlier this year and the leaves were completely down. Conditions were very windy and wet, but enjoyed the trip anyway. It started out clear but ended snowy. That new Churchill carried well on the trip.
Karl

Looks good Lloyd! Wrapping up a couple loose ends today. Headed out soon. Good luck for the remainder and safe travels!

Chief

Woodcock seem to have been plentiful for maybe 3 weeks now. Good numbers of local birds. But my own stay in the UP was cut short by that long rainy period. Still plenty of doodles hanging around northern WI. But amazing how quickly the coverts have dried out--after rain, wind, and snow. From the birds I shot yesterday, I don't think the locals are heading south just yet. They weren't carrying the heavy strips of fat I usually assume are an indication either of flight birds, or of locals about to start their journey south.

Larry,
Fortunately I showed up at the tail of the wet period. Bird numbers were down, but I enjoyed my stay regardless. That new lightweight Churchill carried very nicely for me.
Karl

Had some better weather yesterday and went out with my 14-year old son. The birds clearly are more-active on sunny days and we saw quite a few. My boy even shot his first grouse, ever. A big deal in my little world, a right-of-passage thing. The family made a big fuss of it (as they should IMHO).

This trip of yours is sounding better with every post Lloyd. Congratulations to your boy and I hope you both have many more memorable events in the field together.
Steve

Lloyd,
Shooting a first grouse is quite a milestone for anyone, and very special for your son. Congrats!
Karl

Thank you Karl! I explained to him that in my youth, it was a pretty special thing to do (1970s) but.... that I suspected his peers in Colorado wouldn't even know what he had accomplished. We were born on two separate centuries (20th and 21st) and much has obviously changed. I also explained to him that there weren't many places left to accomplish such a feat (even where I grew up in Pennsylvania), because of the loss of habitat and low-bird numbers (due to West Nile?). His grandfather was particularly jazzed, even bragging about it to his hunting buddies (all in their 70s, of course). The congratulatory texts has been rolling on all morning here from them (the ones that do technology, of course). I don't know entirely about my son feels about it (he's just not effusive), but I certainly feel blessed to have been part of it. A right-of-passage for a parent as well, I suppose.

Congrats, Lloyd. Give my regards to your young man.

Best,
Ted

Lloyd,
Every grouse is a hard won bird, and I'll always remember my first.
I've just returned from Michigan's U.P. and found fewer birds this trip, when we are supposed to be on the upswing on grouse. I've heard about the West Nile problem, but after seeing an unusual amount of turkeys, I'm wondering if they are raiding grouse nests.
I hope you captured the hunt's highlight in pictures.
Karl

Thank you Ted!

Karl, not like I should have. We came home with four birds yesterday and no pix. Today was gorgeous shirtsleeve weather and no pix. I'll try to do better tomorrow. Too much on my plate in other areas.... I fear.

Something...

More blessings here. My son with his second Ruffed Grouse:

Lefty 870 Express, in 12 gauge, perhaps?

Does Liam suffer the same curse of left handedness, that we share?

Best,
Ted

Looks good Lloyd.There's a happy kid. Well done.

Correct ID on the gun. Right-handed but..left-eye domenence issues Ted. Thank you James, as happy as one can be given our circumstances.

Great photo, Lloyd. Handsome young man, and handsome bird, too. So glad you two can have these times together. I know how much that means to you.

Give him a "high-five" from old Stan.

SRH

Lloyd, trust me.....things get better.

Stan:

Best trip ever with my son. Truly a gift!

Have a safe trip home, Lloyd.

Best,
Ted

We did just that Ted. Back to reality today. Grim...but real. Putting things away and putting the harness back on here.