Friday, April 09, 2010

Persistence

So, last fall we were driving out after a slow day duck hunting when we spotted a drake mallard in a riverside drain. Uncharacteristically, the bird didn't fly, so we eased past it a good ways then walked back down the road to flush it. The drake went down wing tipped and swam for the bank. We got the dog on the spot and this is the video of the retrieve.

Booker located the mallard in a beaver hole. At about the two minute mark Booker starts digging and eventually gets the bird to flush from the hole, then runs him down. Unfortunately, most of the action occurs into the sun and behind a Russian Olive. Edited a bit for length:

3 comments:

Terry Scoville said...

Very nice, way to go Booker. Did I hear Sandhill Cranes in the background, sure sounded like'me?

Chad Love said...

Great retrieve!

While those unerring arrow-straight retrieves are nice, I love watching a dog get challenged and have to think and adapt and figure things out...

mdmnm said...

Terry,

Those are sandhills. A bunch of them winter in NM.

Chad,

Thanks! This was one of those birds that would have gotten away without a dog- deep in a thorn bush and then down a hole, I don't think I'd ever have found it.