“The woodcock is a living refutation of the theory that the utility of a game bird is to serve as a target or to pose gracefully on a slice of toast,” says Aldo Leopold in the “Sky Dance” essay of his classic A Sand County Almanac. He adds, “I must be sure that come April, there be no dearth of dancers in the sunset sky.”
I totally agree.
Nothing introduces spring to New England more distinctly than the initial peents of the male American woodcock engaging in the sky dance. The birds’ migration north starts in early March, and the sight of the romantic dancers is so exciting it can instantly turn a once innocent bird hunter into an enthusiastic voyeur.
One chilly March evening, friends Bill Reid, Chief Ranger for The Last Green Valley; Steve Broderick, retired Extension Forester, University of Connecticut; and I walked to a protected property up our road to find a good spot to observe. Steve had been grooming the area with woodcock in mind for years.
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Esta historia es de la edición Spring 2020 de The Upland Almanac.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
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Luigi Franchi Imperial Monte Carlo Extra: One of Italy's "Best" SxS Doubles
As on London’s gun-maker’s row, Italians had skilled craftsmen who made “Best” guns of superb quality
An Upland Bird Hunter's Equipment in Need and Equipment Indeed...
From the first year I discovered upland bird hunting in my early teens, my search for the right clothing and equipment began in earnest. All you need to see to support this reality is to look at all the upland clothing and equipment I have stored from ceiling to floor in my garage and sportsman’s closet downstairs
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Has there ever been a bird dog man or woman with a soul so dead that he or she has not been re-energized by the first cool days of September, by the first forecast of frost, by noting the opening days marked on the calendar so many months before?
A SIMPLE PLEASURE: THE HUNT LUNCH
In William Harnden Foster’s classic book, New England Grouse Shooting (1942), for which he wrote the text and provided numerous black-and-white sketches, he includes a wide-ranging catch-all chapter called “Grouse Shooting Outfits
PACKING for Success
I spend a lot of time these days chasing game birds. But it hasn’t always been this way
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Scientists have recently discovered that human brains operate in two settings – a fast, reactionary “fight or flight” mode (System 1) and a slow, considered, contemplative mode (System 2)
Private Lands, Public Access
“Just what lies behind that fence?”
Early Season - GREATER PRAIRIE CHICKEN HUNTING
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QUAIL Struggle to Survive a Multitude of KILLERS
By some estimates, the wild bobwhite population in the U.S. has declined 70 to 80% since the 1960s
Journeys Shared: A Worcester Letter
Hi Bob, Just finished the sensational roller coaster “memoir-style” essays of man and bird dog(s) that you and Dave Smith assembled and put into print