Bird Dogs Afield host Paul Fuller is the gun dog columnist for Northwoods Sporting Journal. The Journal has granted permission to re-print Paul’s articles. Thank you Northwoods Sporting Journal.

October Bird Hunting Recap

How could nature deliver October so beautifully and then steal it so quickly? I’m begging for more beautiful fall days, but I’m realistic and know it’s gone for another year. I made good use of those few cherished days, however. Here’s a report on your scribe’s October.

The first week of bird season was spent visiting local coverts (Southern New Hampshire); let’s call it a “check-it-out” period. What Dillon and I found were both a modest number of woodcock and grouse which is about what we always find. This first week scouting period was fun, but nothing to become overly excited about.

Our serious hunting began the week of October 11 with a trip to Bosebuck Mountain Camps (www.bosebuck.com) in Western Maine. Bosebuck is tucked away about halfway between Rangeley, ME and Errol, NH. It’s deep in the woods, offers delightful accommodations, hearty food, excellent grouse and woodcock coverts and is ably owned and managed by Mike and Wendy Yates. An advantage for Bosebuck is that it offers access to what is often referred to as “above the gates”. This means that guests can hunt and fish within a large tract of land, owned by paper companies, which is accessed only through locked gates. Bosebuck Mountain Camps has, through arrangement with the paper companies, a key to the gates. This means very few hunters.

When hunting Bosebuck, you should request Tom Rideout as your guide. Tom has guided this area for 35 years and knows the coverts as well or better than anyone else. In addition, Tom has a wealth of historical knowledge regarding this region and often resembles a walking encyclopedia; which makes him a fine companion.

Tom has an excellent female Vizsla named Violet. I’ve hunted with Tom before and we usually alternate dogs on the ground. Dillon, my shorthair, is not cheated on time in the coverts At Bosebuck, we found outstanding woodcock numbers and very good grouse numbers. Our best day we had about a dozen finds of each bird. Most of our grouse were found low; in large alder runs. Crops showed the grouse had been feeding primarily on greens, i.e., ferns, clover, strawberry leaves, etc. Keep in mind these last two sentences as you read further.

I was very pleased with our stay at Bosebuck and the quantity of birds. Definitely worth checking into if you’re looking for a full-service lodge for next year’s upland bird hunting.

The following week my wife and I were off to Libby Camps (www.libbycamps.com) in the North Maine Woods. A special treat for this trip is that Dodge gave us a brand new 2011 Ram 1500 for the week. What a sweet vehicle! Libby Camps, sitting on the edge of Millinocket Lake, is one of the old traditional Maine sporting camps. Owned by Matt, Matt Jr., Ellen and Jess Libby, the history of Libby Camps, beginning in the late 1800s, is chronicled in the book Bound for Munsungun. The Oxbow gate into the North Maine Woods is used to access Libby Camps.

For those of you not familiar with the North Maine Woods, it’s a 3.5 million acre tract of land that is fish and game rich. Several paper companies and private interests own it. Recreational opportunities are plentiful and may be explored at www.northmainewoods.org Access is limited to several “check points” so do your homework.

Susan (my wife) and I have made several bird hunting trips to Libby Camps so we’ve developed our own favorite string of coverts. No matter which direction you take from Libby Camps, you’ll find practically an endless supply of logging roads to explore. You’ll find new growth forest, old alder runs, swamps and hardwood ridges with softwood edges; all great cover for grouse.

If ever the old saying that “birds are where you find ‘em” held true, it was this week in the North Maine Woods. Our first day was sunny but very windy. Reasonable and experienced grouse hunters would immediately go low and/or hunt the protected side of the mountain. We had 12 flushes on that windy day and they were both high and low…no pattern in their behavior. Hunters and guides in camp had the same experience that day.

The next day was absolutely perfect fall weather. It was a sunny day with temperatures in the 50s and not a hint of wind. You would have thought that grouse would be “dancin’ in the streets.” It was our toughest day. All day Dillon worked very hard and we ended up with four flushes.

Our third day, overcast but pleasant, we had eleven flushes in front of Dillon. Birds simply were out and about again.

Earlier in this column, I suggested you remember two sentences. They referenced where we found birds and what they were eating during our trip to Bosebuck Mountain Camps. In the North Maine Woods, most of our grouse were found “high” rather than “low”. Also, the crops of several of our birds showed they had been “budding” even though there was still a plethora of “greens” still on the forest floor. You may draw your own conclusions, however, for me, it simply means keep an open mind. Birds are where you find ‘em.

And finally, I spent October 31st with Lloyd Murray, owner of Long Gone Kennels, and Dave Hughes, trainer extraordinaire, filming for my TV show. Lloyd and Dave were hunting in Northern New Hampshire over Long Gone Madison, a multiple champion and, in my book, arguably the best grouse dog alive today. Long Gone Kennels (www.longgonesetters.com) is known worldwide for their English Setters. Although I was carrying a camera and not a gun, simply following this dog was a special treat for me. She had nine grouse finds in about 55 minutes. Pretty amazing. She can pin and hold a grouse better than any dog I’ve ever watched work. Both Lloyd and Dave enjoyed some great shooting. And, furthering our discussion on where to find birds, all of Madison’s finds where high…with a light snow coming down.

Here’s a tidbit to make you feel good. While attending the Grand National Grouse Championship in Stark, NH the first week on November, I met old friend John Lanier. John is an upland bird habitat specialist who spent his career with the White Mountain National Forest and NH Fish & Game. John feels that if the 2011 spring nesting conditions are favorable, we’ll have even more grouse than we’ve had the past two seasons. For me, that encouraging piece of information will help me get through a long cold winter.

I hope your bird-hunting season has been enjoyable and dog work exemplary. See you next month.

Paul Fuller is host of Bird Dogs Afield WebTV program, which may be viewed at www.birddogsafield.com. Paul may be contacted at paul@birddogsafield.com.