What can I say? IT WAS HOT!  Certainly hotter and drier than any of us can remember, the start of a season for a very long time, if ever.  Temps hovered in the 70s, and the drought made for just a miserable experience for man and dog many days.

We were seeing far fewer birds than we were used to.  The gloom and doomers who had been predicting summer rain killed the hatch, and we were in for a tough season, were patting themselves on the back.  The inherent lack of road birds always gets them going, and there were a few of those as well.

I have been doing this for a long time in the North Maine Woods. I am an eternal optimist most of the time, but I do recognize one thing as well: until we have a few consecutive nights near or below freezing and temperate fall days, we really don’t get a good idea of what the season looks like.  

We kept at it each day, as that is what we do.  A couple of the most enjoyable first days were spent with a little 2-year-old Brittany named Luna.  This little girl is not only a pleasure but has the makings of a fantastic bird dog.  She came to me without any wild bird experience.  She had been shot over in preserve settings and did appear to know how to use her nose in our little pre-session in camp the day before we hunted together.

Our first day in the field together came, and it was nothing less than a pleasure!  

It all came together on the first bird of a very tough couple of days for this little dog. The weather conditions were not at all in our favor, but I was so impressed with her. About 200 yards into our first covert, she got very birdy and slammed on a staunch point.  It was a very special moment. I was sure by her behavior that there was a bird right in front of her; her master, I believe, was a bit in shock at the sight and not quite ready for what was about to come.  I positioned the Sport where I thought the bird would present, and Luna held tightly. The grouse began to run, and that was too much for her. She leaped into the cover, the large adult exploded out of the cover at us, over our heads, and straight away down the trail we were standing on, BOOM – BOOM, both barrels expended, and the vision of why these are the King of all game birds.

For a young dog on her first wild bird, EXCELLENT! A memory I will hold for a very long time.  Hope to hunt with you again Luna, come back and see us soon!