Another day in the field of working Pippa, my English Pointer, and another day of snow…albeit a light coating.  With approximately six inches of snow pack with an additional four to six inches of new snow, food for wildlife is hard to come by.

Most cover in my part of the country has been beaten down from snow, ice and freezing resulting from what has become our worst winter in twenty years.  One doesn’t have to spend much time in the field to see that berries are no more, acorns, most likely ruined are under twelve inches of snow and any seed pods are long gone.

All this spells tough times for wildlife.

A quick survey of my slice of heaven today resulted in finding numerous song birds and woodpeckers dead from lack of food or exposure.  I have received numerous reports of quail coveys being found frozen to the ground. The landscape is crisscrossed with the tracks of coyotes, fox and cats.  A rare site for this part of the country is the “yarding” of deer.  I witnessed this today counting no fewer than thirty-seven deer herded and moving together in search of food.

Extreme times call for extreme measures.  Song and ground nesting birds can benefit greatly by supplemental feeding of seeds high in fatty oils.  Deer can forage on many things but again high protein, energy producing foods are in high demand.  Fruits and vegetables not making the grade for grocery or restaurant use can be obtained from commercial produce markets and then there is an array of products for supplemental feeding that can be used in your deer feeder.

Sportsman are the greatest conservationists and wildlife managers and now is the time to get to work.

Warm Barrels & Tight Lines.

Today was one of those picture perfect days in the field…although I took no pictures.  The 9 degree air had no bite as the sun was shining bright and just a breath of wind; all that was needed was a hat, wind shirt and gloves. The sun bouncing from the snow required sunglasses.  The layer of ice was still covered in snow from a few days ago.  Birds were tucked under the snow and ice, as cover has been greatly diminished due to the recent ice.  Pippa quickly figured out the restricted scent cone.  Admittedly it was amusing watching her on the first bird.  With a solid point, she shifted slightly as I walked to the bird. As she moved you could read the expression on her face…”I know there was a bird”.  Circling the bird, with feet sliding into her first tracks, she locked up for the second time.  Flushing the bird resulted in a single shot, with the bird falling into the snow and feathers drifted upon the light breeze.  Such was the scenario for the remainder of our birds.  Eleven more concentrated, focused points, eleven more single shots, eleven more birds in the vest with the day yielding a total of twelve.  Just about a perfect day with even a few improved retrieves.

Warm Barrels & Tight Lines.