PANDEMONIUM

There was hardly a cloud in the sky above the upper Merrimack Valley where temperatures peaked around 69 degrees.  Winds were moderate, so I opted to take K-Lee along the Merrimack River's "edge growth" to see what we could find. 

Yesterday, we were farther north along the river, where we came upon a gaggle of Canada geese feeding in a cornfield.  (K-Lee is struggling with remaining "still" in the presence of birds. For her, that's not easy!)  We approached carefully and K-Lee behaved well.  She remained at "heel" and didn't quiver and whine as much before.  To help her stay with me, I attached her leash. I was pleased that there was no pulling on her end.  The geese stayed just out of shotgun range.  As part of this "palette",  a few Mallards left in a hurry, a snow goose passed overhead and a coyote trotted along the edge of the field.  All in all, yesterday was a good day.  I called it quits before I pushed her too far.

Today, we chose another intervale and worked our way south along the riparian growth, looking for transient birds.  We found no woodcock, but plenty of ducks and a few Canada geese.  

At one spot, K-Lee pointed about 35-40 mallards and a goose or two that were lounging in a flooded slough.  In less than several heartbeats, it seemed like the entire river erupted with noisy waterfowl!  Needless to say, it put K-Lee over the "edge" and she gave chase.  It was pandemonium!  My initial thought  was to shout "whoa" and try to stop her.  Instead, I decided to let her discover that she was engaged in a futile exercise.  Dogs can't swim as fast as birds can fly.  I'm still at odds with myself as to which was the correct course.  Dogs can easily injure themselves by chasing, and they can spook up other birds in the vicinity.  Besides, it's just bad manners.  Fortunately, she was immediately in the river and pushing water like a naval destroyer.

Barely repentant, she came back to me.  I put her at "heel" to give her time to calm down and consider the error of her ways.  After a short walk, I released her.  My mistake!  She found a small flock of black ducks and put them to wing. (I'm not sure if the ducks went up and she gave chase or if she chased and then they flew.  Either way, my patience was worn too thin.)  Back at "heel" she went and we exited the (once) game-rich environment as I explained to her --in very unhappy terms--the "shame!" of it all.  

I took her to another location where I though there might be woodcock and snipe.  Apparently there were woodcock in the area earlier, but none today.  She did point a snipe in the wet field, which brought me back to the happier side of the day. 

K-Lee doesn't tend to chase "planted" birds, but wild ones seem to ring her bell--particularly waterfowl.  That may be because they splash, quack and honk  their way into the air.  

Regardless, it looks like we'll have time to learn proper manners this summer.  She and I are going to spend a lot of time in the field and in the Great North Woods.  I have the necessary permission from "headquarters".

Point!