Summer Mornings at the Shoot – Keeping the Pheasants in Phil’s Dingle
There is something rather special about the shoot at this time of year.
The countryside is reaching the end of a hot, dry summer, the mornings are still warm, the hedges are full and green, the grass is starting to regrow, and everywhere you look there seem to be pheasants!
Our birds have reared exceptionally well this year, which is wonderful to see. There are certainly plenty about — although, as we are discovering, they don’t always choose to stay exactly where we would like them!
So, Whizbit and I have been enjoying our summer morning ritual of gently herding the pheasants back in the right direction.
As the young birds become more adventurous, they begin wandering further afield, often heading out of the drives and, rather inconveniently, towards lanes and roads.
Our job is to gently encourage them back towards the cover and woodland where we want them to settle.
There is, of course, a traditional shooting term for this particular job — but having recently discovered that Google has rather different ideas about what that term means that got my google business post banned, we’ll stick with pheasant herding here! 😂
While the game keepers look after the rest of the shoot our attention is on Phil’s Dingle, one of our drives here at David Morris Sporting. There seem to be pheasants everywhere, so Whizbit and I have been walking the boundaries and gradually pushing the wanderers back in the right direction.
Whizbit is our ten-year-old Cockapoo and, although he may not look quite like the traditional gamekeeper’s dog, he takes his responsibilities very seriously! He absolutely loves being out on the shoot and has done a brilliant job of searching out birds heading in the wrong direction.
There is something incredibly peaceful about these early walks. Just us, the birds and the fields — and occasionally a pheasant looking rather indignant at being persuaded to turn around.
It is also one of those jobs that reminds you just how much happens behind the scenes of a shooting season.
Long before the first shoot day, there are months of work involved in rearing and caring for the birds, managing the cover, maintaining the drives and keeping everything where it needs to be. These morning rounds are only a small part of that, but it all contributes to the days our Guns eventually come to enjoy.
And after seeing how well the pheasants have done this summer, we are becoming increasingly excited about the season ahead.
There should certainly be plenty to shoot at!
For now though, Whiz and I will keep up our morning rounds, enjoying the countryside and attempting to convince several hundred pheasants that this side of the hedge really is much nicer than the road.
Not a bad way to start the day.
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