- Details
- Category: Waterfowl
- Published: Saturday, 22 November 2014 20:39
- Written by Dallas
Good Boy Woodie!
If you could see the video of Woodie (my 9 month old yellow lab) retrieving my swan yesterday, you’d hear several “good boy Woodie” encouragement praises being dished out.
Even though we were up just after 4:00 am yesterday, we missed the morning flight of swans by about 30 minutes. While we heard the high pitched “woo, woo” of the swans as they took flight, we just couldn’t make it close enough to their location before the entire flock had flown. As we sat starring across the empty water (actually mostly ice), we decided we might as well get comfortable because we’d have at least an eight hour wait before the afternoon flight began.
Woodie's first ice water retrieve Woodie breaking through the ice with swan in tow
Several hours had passed as we lay soaking up what little sun we could on this freezing but clear November morning, when in the distance we heard the distinct “woo, woo” of tundra swans. It was just before noon, but a few birds were already beginning to fly in the far distance. It wasn’t long until we watched a small flock fly in from the northeast and land several hundred yards away, out in the middle where the last open water remained. Encouraged that the afternoon flight might be starting four hours early than we had anticipated, we decided to make our way east.
Spent afternoon pheasant hunting Soaking up the sun
Within approximately 20 minutes we estimated we were close to where the swans had crossed on their flight path to the open water. Moments later we again heard the distinct “woo, woo” to the north. A small flock of swans were flying from the north and slightly west of our location. I quickly made my way 50 yards west while my Dad remained still, but the swans noticed the movement and flared just out of range. I thought I’d just blown my chance. Seconds later I noticed another small flock on roughly the same flight path. I crouched into the reeds. Closer, closer, oh no, the swans are going to fly overtop my Dad, again out of range. Luckily a moment ago my Dad noticed the swans flare when they saw me, so he stood up and took a few steps. It worked, the swans were headed directly for me.
One blast from my Benelli Nova and a swan came crashing down onto, and slightly through, the ice. With Woodie by my side watching the whole event unfold, I sent him on the retrieve. Unfazed by the icy conditions, Woodie was on a beeline for the swan. Until this morning Woodie had never been on ice so I was apprehensively awaiting the retrieve. Just as Woodie reached the swan and fell through the ice, my Dad arrived and started recording the retrieve on his phone. Watching back the video of Woodie during his icebreaking retrieve, I realize that all of the “good boy Woodie” encouragements were well deserved.
After several minutes of clawing and pawing and breaking through ice, Woodie’s determined fight was over as he brought me my swan and held the bird to my heel!
