Bob’s smarter half here, again: Winter has arrived and so has the first dusting of snow. Yesterday’s hunt was in 8 degree weather, not including the stiff wind chill factor. We hoped that the birds would be hunkered down and easy to find in big groups. It doesn’t usually get this cold in December, so we didn’t know what to expect. We started looking for the birds high on the mountain and found lots of fresh tracks on the slopes facing out of the harsh wind. Those tracks headed up the hill and right over the edge. As tough as we think we might be, dropping down off the side of a steep, snow covered rocky slope to chase the birds to the bottom on frozen grass and rocks would probably be stupid.
Yesterday, the birds had the advantage over us. We only lasted out in the bitter cold for just over two hours. Angus and the kid didn’t complain one time about the cold. They both probably would have stayed out there all day if we’d let them. Just seeing the tracks was motivation to head out again, soon. Next time, though, we might change our strategy and start low and hopefully try to head them off at the pass.