Moorland fog – 24th October 2009

 

I try to feed both dogs at about 7.30am and again at about 7.30pm although the evening feed is often later.  I never exercise the dogs after feeding and only feed them at least an hour and a half after exercise.  With this routine it is easy to wonder whether the whole day is mapped out around feeding times.  This morning, however, I broke with tradition. I got up late, at a quarter to eight, and decided to take the dogs up onto the heather before breakfast.

As I drove up the hill from my house I quickly realised that training would be difficult on account of the fog.  Visibility was very poor at about 1200 feet so I would have to play it by ear.  I ran Grace first giving her no particular direction and she seemed to be  doing ok.  After ten minutes I picked her up and let Archie have a run.  As is now usual he set off at high speed covering the ground well.  I had him turning at the limit of my visibility and quartering comfortably into the wind.  No problems there.

I picked both dogs up after about twenty five minutes and decided to walk to a patch of moorland that had never produced birds but apart from this had everything going for it.  When we counted the moor in August I had high hopes for this particular area but we found no birds despite the fact that the heather was in its building phase, there was a good carpet of bilberry, plenty of gaps in the heather and the odd wet flush surrounded by tall grasses.  The keeper had even been burning patches here so the age structure of this area seemed perfect.  Despite this, we found no birds in August. 

I approached this area with both dogs on their leads, walked to the edge of the moorland and planned to run the dogs one at a time into the wind.  If fog creates visibility difficulties at least it gives a good indication of the wind direction at heather level.  In addition to the fog it had now started to rain heavily and the wind had really picked up. 

I cast Archie off to the left and he ran well.  He covered a good distance before I turned him to bring him across me.  Instead of coming across me, however, he pulled ahead before reaching the half way point of his beat.  He stopped, moved forward, then hesitated then continued to finish his beat before I turned him again.  He did the same again, pulling forward half way along the beat.  I called him back in order to cover the ground that he was missing which he did immediately but felt sure that he had scented something.  I picked him up and cast Grace off.  Grace ran flat out immediately, and swung onto point absolutely rigidly within about five seconds, although off to the left (not where Archie had been).  Archie backed immediately despite being on the lead.  I was then stuck.  I couldn’t move forward to Grace, who was a fair way off, to control the flush without encouraging Archie to move closer.  I had to stand and watch and let Grace work it out for herself.  She slowly moved forward and up sprung a cock pheasant from the heather.  I couldn’t believe it, I was miles from nowhere and it was a cock pheasant.  Never mind, Grace didn’t chase but ran around in circles like an idiot before returning to me looking very pleased with herself.  I picked her up and walked forward with both dogs on leads.  After another twenty yards I put two greyhens up to my right.  These birds were directly ahead of the spot that Archie continually drew forward towards.  I have no doubt that he picked them up earlier on and with a bit more experience would have signalled them in a more obvious way.

After another few yards a black cock got up ahead of us and wheeled around to the right.  Despite the fog its lyre like tail was plainly visible.  The photos look to be a joke but it was far more visible to the naked eye, honest.

Not a bad session but I was drenched.  Even my boots had filled with water.  At least we found birds though. 

I do apologise for the photos; the lens got very wet.