Late January 2013. Purdey my working cocker spaniel and I spent the afternoon in search of the very secretive wild woodcock. We zig zagged left and right through the woods, trying to cover as much ground as we can between the 2 of us. Purdey quartering left and right as we walked, following my hand signals. There is nothing quite like the team of man and dog. Suddenly a woodcock springs from the cover and starts to zig zag through the trees. I raise my gun hoping that I don't let Purdey down for all of his hard work. I didn't and the bird fell to the ground. Purdey was off at once, nose down in search of it. He was soon bounding back looking very pleased with himself. As I took the woodcock from his mouth I shouted loudly "good boy, good boy"! We were both over the moon. Purdey managed 7 more flushes that afternoon and I managed to shoot another. 2 birds in the bag, we had both worked hard for our prize! It was one of my most memorable afternoons shooting that i can remember for some time. The woodcock migrate to the UK every winter from Scandanavia and Russia. We never know how many will come each year. It depends on the weather way further north. That's what makes them such a mystical and prized quarry!
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