As it turns out, the first weekend in October 2013 would be an upswing for SPD and my upland bird hunting “career”.   Several months back, I was invited to attend and shoot the Al Litzenberger RGS chapters banquet and sponsor grouse hunt.  I am quick to jump at opportunities to work with different RGS chapters, so I accepted the invitation gratefully.

On my way up to Harbor Springs, where the banquet was to take place, I took advantage of a couple hours in the woods on the way up.  I stopped on some state land where I had hunted once before.  Last year, the area held a decent number of grouse, so I figured that would be a good place to hit for a short hunt.  As the dog and I made our way through, it quickly became apparent that the grouse were not here as in the year before.  The rain was also picking up, and not making for an enjoyable stop.  My dog doesn’t get a whole lot of time in the woods, so I wanted to give him a fair chance to find some birds.  We only flushed on woodcock, which he had a solid find on a running bird and made a rather impressive retrieve, given his history.  Not bad for a quick run through the water logged upland.

That evening, I attended the Petoskey chapter banquet.  It was a great event, and lots of money was raised for successional forrest habitat.  I did have the chance to meet and have a conversation with John Eichinger, the president of the Ruffed Grouse Society.  He is a great guy with a great vision for the future of the organization.

The following morning, I met up with the group I was to head into the field with for the day.  I had picked up John E. on the way to our morning hunt.  We convened at place called Maple River Farm.  This is a large tract of private property situated in northern Emmett county, that has been carefully planned out by owner Paul Keiswetter.  We entered a building on the property dubbed ‘Grouse Hall’.  This is a beautifully and meticulously built hunters dream lodge.  No detail has been left unaccounted for.  We met up with Paul, Keith Creagh(Michigan DNR Director), and Rex Schlaybaugh(NRC commissioner) for the mornings hunt.

The rain had not let up from the night before, so we took time to tour Paul’s facility, and learn about the history of the farm and what has done there to manage for grouse and woodcock habitat.  As the morning went on, the rain let up a bit, and we decided to take to the field.  Making our way back through the property, we drove past a couple of the areas that Paul had worked with Al Stewart on, in his efforts to create sustainable upland habitat.

We parked the trucks, donned our hunting gear, and loaded the guns(and camera).  Paul guided us through a small patch of mixed young growth, with his setter energetically leading the way.  The rain had let up, the the under brush was wet, but navigable.  It wasn’t long before the dog had found point, and a bird took to the air.  With a quick miss, we carried on.  The birds were plentiful, and there were lots of chances for hits and misses.  In total, we put up about 14 woodcock, and 8 grouse in a 1.5 hour hunt. They even bagged a couple of those to brag about later.  I was able to grab some great photos of both the hunting party and even some birds.

As noon approached, the rest of the hunters were headed to Grouse Hall for lunch, so we packed up and headed back to the lodge.  Lunch was great, and it is especially gratifying to have a big bowl of hot chili after a soggy hunt.

That afternoon, a large portion of the hunters embarked on a tour of the property that we had hunted, and go to see first hand the fruits of sound habitat management.  The tour was led by Al Stewart, who escorted the party around.  I was offered to trade the camera for the gun, and head out into the woods with our regional director Bruce Wojcik and a guy from the chapter named Dennis.

They made the call to put Corbin(AKA Special) on the ground for the afternoon.  I warned them that he is not a champion hunting dog, so I wouldn’t take responsibility for his antics.  However, he surprised me and went right to work.  We don’t hunt with groups too often, so I had no idea what to expect.  Rather soon into our hunt he put up a pair of woodcock.  I shot one, and he retrieved it.  I was feeling better about his performance already.  He proceeded to put up 15 WC in a short 2 hour hunt.  We shot 3 in total, and made our way to the trucks to ready ourselves for the dinner that evening.  I was proud of the old hound and how he handled that afternoon.  We parted the field just in time to miss the heavy downpour that continued on into the evening.

That night, everyone in the hunting party were treated to a wonderful wild game dinner at Chandlers in downtown Petoskey.  It was the celebration of a successful days hunt, combined with the fellowship of those who were like minded in their commitment to preserving our hunting heritage and habitat management.  I was honored to be able to be a part of the day.  Thank you to everyone for allowing me to tag along and document this fantastic adventure.

The next morning I headed out early, and met a couple friends for breakfast before heading out to give one last good effort at bagging a grouse that weekend.  We drove down state for a while, and finally pulled off on a 2-track the had a small aspen stand adjacent.  Once again, Corbin was invited to hit the ground, this time with a couple seasoned grouse dogs.  Again I was nervous, as he doesn’t have a whole lot of experience working with other dogs.  The first area produced a couple birds, but no shots.  We quickly moved on to the next, with no luck there either.  At the third spot, we saw one WC but were still empty handed.  We ended the day empty handed, and sweating profusely from the now warm humid weather.

I wasn’t complaining, as I had one of the best bird hunting weekend of my life.  I really hope this is the start of an annual tradition in my schedule.