Autumn fog, moorland raptors – 5th October 2008

The fog on the moor this morning was quite thick. Whilst this meant that visibility was poor it was interesting to see how the wind swirls and moves at ground level, and just how often the mist was moving in a slightly different direction than expected. This really reinforces the need to let the dog work the wind out for herself. There is absolutely no point in my enforcement of a quartering pattern that seems to suit my understanding of the wind direction 6′ above the ground when in reality, it is very different 12 inches above the heather. Despite this, we didn’t come across any birds. Well, live ones anyway. I found, on a rock, a pheasant leg and breast bone – obviously the remnants of a raptor’s evening meal.

Grace ran well though. I am really quite happy with the way she is performng at the moment. She has started to mature now and the effect is really quite obvious. She needs much less handling and I feel a great deal more relaxed. I assume that it works this way around…maybe I am more relaxed so she therefore needs a lot less handling. Whatever, things are looking pretty good.