Better weather for Pheasants.
After days of torrential rain the weather finally broke, and yesterday, we enjoyed a beautiful day working the dogs on pheasants at a local estate shoot.
The day dawned cold and frosty with a temperature reading of -2 C on the thermometer. For the first time this autumn I found a thick coating of ice on the yard gate, and my breath billowed out in clouds.
As soon as the sun rose however, the early frost vanished, leaving us with the most perfect, still, clear, autumn day.
Personally, I can think of nothing finer than to be out in the field working the dogs, in such glorious weather, and if the dogs could speak I am sure they would agree!
The cover worked throughout the day consisted of a mixture of woodland and game crop, and with conditions being fine and dry, most birds were to be found out feeding in the crop. Certain fields simply exploded with pheasants as the dogs pushed forward, flushing birds for the waiting guns.
Hazel, my cocker bitch, now four years old, has really come into her own, and is at the top of her game this season.
I was thrilled to see her make numerous long and difficult retrieves, and one on a wounded cock bird, that had run back 100 yards into heavy brambles, truly made my day.
Such occasions make all the time and frustrations of training worthwhile.
The bag at the end of the day. 66 head. Mallard, Pheasant and Woodcock.
To quote Rasmus Hensen, “Give me dogs and give me winter, and you can have the rest”.
Couldn’t have put it better myself!
Yours in sport,
Scolopax.
Upland Ways 
Sounds like a beautiful fun day.
Oh it was all that Andy! It's hard to sum up in mere words, the pleasure I get from seeing good dogs work well.Scolopax.
It is a pleasure indeed in seeing good dogs work well. I will be back to getting the dogs out next week. I enjoy your posts.
Wonderful report and it is nice to see a hefty bag of game for a change. Here in the States we are so used to one or two or even nothing! What's so nice about your shooting world is that all those birds and ducks will have a good "home", in someone's oven or stewpot and that you can sell the game to those who appreciate it.Thanks for the peek into your wonderful shooting world!