We are amazed that our bird dogs can pick up the scent of a pheasant, grouse, quail or woodcock at twenty or thirty yards or even more. But the nose of a predator is even keener because he survives by his sense of smell. They hunt at night when the ground roosting birds are at their most vulnerable and the predators know this. They can sneak in soundlessly and kill them in their sleep. I am really surprised any of these ground roosting species are even as plentiful as they are today and I’m not surprised in the least by the “kill em on sight” of the old time plantation owners and managers.
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"I'm a Setter man.
Not because I think they're better than the other breeds,
but because I'm a romantic - stuck on tradition - and to me, a Setter just "belongs" in the grouse picture."
George King, "That's Ruff", 2010 - a timeless classic.
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