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The Official Publication of Woodcock Limited
SkydanceAutumn/Winter 2013
Volume I, Number 2$ 4.95
Woodcock Limited, a 501 (3) (c) non-profit conservation organization, was founded in 2003.
We are a Fraternity of Hunters and Other Conservationists dedicated to the welfare
of the American woodcock.
Woodcock Limited 242 Baxter Road
Montoursville PA 17754570-435-3487
Skydance, the official magazine of Woodcock Limited, is published twice annually,
autumn/winter and spring/summer.
EdItorIAL tEAM The Keer Group, Marla Kaplan,
James Bradford, and Marcus Schneck
EdItorIAL CoMMIttEEJoseph J. Faux, Marcus Schneck,
and Timberdoodle Tommy
BoArd MEMBErs/offICErsJoseph J. Faux, President Michael Kotay, Secretary
James Nyce, TreasurerRobert FriedlTim KisielskiMichael Rose
D. Randolph Street
IN THIS ISSUE
01 President’s MessageThe Second Decade
02 East texas timberdoodles Winter In The Pineywoods
09 on Bird dogs
Selecting And Working With A Dog Trainer
12 reflections of A shooting Guest George Bird Evans And Kay Evans
16 Janet Nyce
2013 Sybil Ludington Award
17 Chapter News
21 sponsor spotlight
24 Covert ops
COVER ART
“Woodcock by the Brook”by Brett James Smith
Brett James Smith bio – see page 10
More art available at Woodcock Limited member discount – see page 20
COPYRIGHT
Nothing that appears in the pages of Skydance may be reproduced in any
form without the express, written per-mission of Woodcock Limited.
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for those of you new to Woodcock Limited, we’re a 501 (3) (c) non-profit conservation organization founded in 2003 and newly reorganized in 2011. We are a Fraternity of Hunters and other Conservationists dedicated to the wel-fare of the American woodcock. Our goal is to positively impact woodcock populations across the breadth of the spe-cies’ range, which encompasses about twenty-seven states as well as several Canadian provinces. As we begin our second decade we have some lofty goals in mind. In time, we hope to have State/Provincial and/or Region-al Chapters representing all of the states and provinces within the woodcock’s range. The goal of Woodcock Lim-ited is to enable these Chapters to do the educational and habitat work needed in their own individual areas. We rec-ognize that work done on a local level actually benefits the bird across its range, as the sum total of all these individual projects benefits the woodcock exponentially.
We have helped to fund various research projects during our first decade and we hope to provide even more funding for meaningful research on woodcock, woodcock management, and woodcock habi-tat as we go forward. Currently we are working in the Central Flyway to open more public land for woodcock hunting. We will continue to be an advocate for expanded hunting opportunities wherever it is appropriate.One of the difficulties facing all conservation organizations today is engaging people in a manner which will entice them to become shareholders in the efforts of that organization. We’ll seek to expand the edu-cational and outreach work we do through new publications and by using the social media in new ways as much as possible. Habitat work, much of it hands-on, will continue to be expanded. The PLOW (Private Land Oppor-tunities for Woodcock) Program will have a national coordinator to help it move forward.We’re sure that during our second decade many of these goals will be further-refined and that new goals will emerge. Through it all, we’ll strive to make our work as meaningful as possible, and as enervating for our members as we can. Thanks again for joining us in our quest to help put more woodcock in your coverts. Until next time, be safe – and help make a difference!
The Second Decade Begins
FROM THE PRESIDENTp
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Joseph J. Faux Woodcock Limited President
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EAST TEXAS TIMBERDOODLES
Winter in the Pineywoods
historically, the east texas pineywoods were largely composed of open pine savannahs with densely vegetated mixed pine-hardwood and hard-wood riparian areas. Shortleaf pine dominated the northern half while longleaf pine covered the southern half; both were widely spaced, providing ample room for the tallgrass prairie component that flourished in these fire driven systems. In the far southeastern portions of the Pineywoods is a region referred to as the Big Thicket (now the Big Thicket National Preserve). Characterized by dense understory and overstory forests (hence the name), the Big Thicket stretched along southern
portions of the Trinity, Neches, Angelina, and Sabine rivers and their associated flood plains and creeks. Dense thickets of both small and large hardwood spanned drainages creating barriers among more easily navigable upland savannah habitats. Beginning at the divide of shortleaf and longleaf ecotypes near Nacogdoches, Texas a transition from rolling hills to flatlands occurs across which the streams, floodplains, and riv-ers widened. A labyrinth of cover types ranging from canebrakes, mature beech-magnolia forests, prairies, to upland pine savannah resided along undulating gradients of soil texture and moisture.
Field Technicians collecting habitat data.
BY DAN SULLINS AND WARREN CONWAY
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EAST TEXAS TIMBERDOODLES
American woodcock occurrence and habitat use in pre-European settlement East Texas is not well documented, and speculation about its occurrence during summer near Caddo Lake in Northeast Texas revolved around its potential movement to that region from the Big Thicket. The upland open-pine savannahs were more suitable for Northern bobwhite and wild turkey than for woodcock, but it is likely that during any winter, no matter what the habitat conditions and/or precipitation patterns were, some portion of the landscape featured the moist soil and dense overhead cover required by woodcock. After European settlement, East Texas was essentially cutover for timber, then plowed and planted to grow cotton, where eventually the shal-low erodible topsoil layer diminished and cotton farming was no longer viable. Row crop agriculture was then replaced by large, industrial timber pro-
duction, which did not require the rich fertile soils needed to sustain cotton farming. It is difficult to comprehend what was once was ideal woodcock habitat in East Texas and there are no baseline data to determine truly optimal habitat or occurrence throughout much of the first half of the 20th Cen-tury. However, the American woodcock has proven to be very adept and successful in making use of current pine plantations and National Forest land throughout the Pineywoods. Today, the East Texas landscape has changed drastically since European settlement. Almost all of the pine savannah was cutover by 1930, and fire has largely been removed as disturbance fac-tor driving landscape patterns. Second (or third) growth forests of mixed hardwoods and loblolly pines dominate private timberlands and the four National Forests in East Texas. Most private lands
English setter pointing a woodcock during surveys.
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EAST TEXAS TIMBERDOODLES
are comprised of a mosaic of even age stands of loblolly pine on 18-25 year harvest cycles. Wood-cock appear to have adapted well to these changes and can be found during winter in most cover types and forest age classes throughout the region. However, available habitat has not been quantified and habitat use across the landscape, both spatially and temporally, encompassing periods of flood and drought, is not well understood. Our cur-rent research being conducted through Stephen F. Austin State University seeks to identify region-ally important habitats across a range of landcover types in east Texas. Our field research was conducted during winters of 2010-2011 and 2011-2012, where woodcock surveys were performed along second-ary roads in the Davy Crockett National Forest in Houston and Trinity counties, and on a private timber property in San Augustine County, Texas. The 5,900 acre private property contained stands
of even-aged loblolly pine timber interspersed with mixed pine/hardwood streamside manage-ment zones, where management consists of tra-ditional industrial forest management practices. The 150,000 acre Davy Crockett National Forest is predominately second-growth mature loblolly pine with a hardwood understory and has small patches of bottomland hardwoods and mixed pine hardwoods throughout. Management on the Davy Crockett National Forest incorporates selective thinning, cool season prescribed burning, and habitat management for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker. We conducted woodcock surveys using a point-ing dog (English setter) affixed with a GPS collar from December, 31 2010 –February, 12 2011 and November 8, 2011- February, 28 2012. We began each survey at the center point of each survey site (circle) and each survey lasted an hour-and-a-half. Each site was surveyed at least three times
Pine sapling regeneration on the edge of a stream side management zone of the Private Timber property San Augustine County, Texas.
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EAST TEXAS TIMBERDOODLES
each winter, and once woodcock were located their locations were recorded using a GPS. Because the pointing dog was wearing a GPS-track collar, we could calcu-late the dog’s travel path and area searched during each survey. We performed nearly 180 surveys during this research, with 301 flush events being recorded. In 2010-2011 alone, we traversed over 500 km during pointing dog surveys. In the first year, we observed that all survey sites on the private timber study area and 77% (14/18) of Nation-al Forest survey sites were occu-pied by at least one woodcock, where 1.7 birds were flushed per survey on both sites combined.
Streamside cane habitat on the Davy Crockett National Forest. Photo by Thomas Riecke
Study areas in the Pineywoods ecoregion of Texas.
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In 2011-2012, we observed that 17 of 24 plots, including all survey sites on the private timber site and 61% (11/18) of National Forest plots were occupied by at least one woodcock, where 1.6 birds were flushed per survey on both study areas combined in this second year. For both winters combined, woodcock were present during at least one survey on 21 of 24 survey sites. Between one and three woodcock were found on 50% of occu-pied sites and a maximum of eight woodcock were flushed during an individual survey. Our survey results indicated that unoccupied sites had a prominent upland mature pine or hardwood component with excessively drained sandy soils. Within survey sites we determined that the greatest woodcock densities occurred in small stream and riparian seasonally flooded hardwood forests, followed by young (1-3 m tall)
English setter pointing a woodcock during surveys on the Davy Crockett National Forest.
pine forests, while upland deciduous forests had the lowest densities. Woodcock were often located under any available cover close to riparian or wetland areas including sapling pine trees, dew-berry vines, wax myrtle, cane, sapling hardwoods, Chinese privet, yaupon holly, American holly, and American beautyberry. During winter of 2011-2012, three survey sites occupied the prior winter were vacated and one previously unoccupied site was colonized on the Davy Crockett National Forest. There was no turnover in occupancy at sites located on the private land, as all sites were occupied at some time during both years. However, the maximum number of flushing events occurred on differing sites each winter for both study areas. On the private land, sites holding the most woodcock had a good amount of three to five year old plantation
EAST TEXAS TIMBERDOODLES
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Map of a dog track log from a survey on the Davy Crockett National Forest.
with tress 15 to 20’ tall, with nearly shaded out dying undergrowth of beautyberry, briars, and blackberry vines. On the Davy Crockett National Forest, sites holding the most woodcock varied between winters. In the �rst year, most woodcock were found along a cane-dominated stream while in the second year, the greatest number of wood-cock were found in a site having dense pine sap-ling regeneration in a hurricane blow-down area. Most birds were found on �ne sandy loams. In December 2010, all sites were in the midst of extreme drought, and by the start of 2011-2012 surveys (in November) both study areas were under exceptional drought conditions. However, by the end of February 2012, drought conditions lessened to only “severe” on National Forest sites and to “moderate” on timber property sites, due to mid and late January precipitation which was the only substantial precipitation occurring in both seasons of the study. During the �rst winter, woodcock were found in the lowest elevation portions of survey areas in close proximity to creek and river channels, next to springs, or on the fringes of drying beaver ponds and swamps through the first winter and half of the sec-ond winter of surveys. Dry conditions prevailed throughout spring, summer, and fall of 2011, e�ectively drying out forested wetlands and ripar-ian areas, particularly on the National Forest - the edges of which no longer provided soft moist soil habitat for woodcock during 2011-2012. After significant late-January precipitation in 2012, woodcock were found at slightly higher elevation locations in sapling and pole pine stands on both study areas. Throughout all surveys woodcock proved adept at existing in multiple-landcover types, where habitat use was not dependent on speci�c plant species, but cover-structure provided. How-ever, certain species providing necessary cover requirements may be critical during dry years. For example, we determined that cane thickets were havens for woodcock during the dry years of the
EAST TEXAS TIMBERDOODLES
study. �e thickets often provide the requisite soft most soil habitats and adequate cover, but also serve to slow overland �ow during �ood events, trap nutrient rich sediments, and provide suitable probing substrate for woodcock. Such cane thick-ets have been greatly reduced, and are considered locally and regionally rare throughout the South-east. Loss of cane thickets have likely been greatest in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley where forest and thickets along the Mississippi River have been replaced with row crop agriculture. Although there are historic accounts of very large canebrakes in the southeastern United States, such canebrakes have all but vanished. The reduction of these thickets has been substantial enough to reduce or possibly drive to extinction avian species far more specialized than the American woodcock, such as the Bachman’s warbler and Swainson’s warbler.
Comparatively, in East Texas habitat change from open pine savannah to even aged managed
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timber and mature loblolly forests with thick undergrowth has created no reduction in avail-able cover for woodcock. Although it is unclear if these habitats are optimal or marginal, they are not likely to be as fertile as they once were. Small streams and riparian areas that meander through-out the east Texas landscape provide undulating gradients of soil texture and moisture, where, in dry winters, such as those occurring during this study, woodcock spread out amongst small pockets of densely covered moist soil habitat along these habitats. Whether woodcock distribution becomes more clustered during wet or average precipitation winters is not known and there were areas within the study areas that had greater densities than those randomly selected for surveys. Future data analyses will incorporate detection probabilities based on
several site and survey covariates to provide more accurate estimates of occupancy rates. Recorded GPS track logs combined with distance sampling techniques will be used to provide more accurate density estimates. Woodcock have adapted well to current land uses in East Texas and this area is providing wintering habitat for large number of individuals. However any future changes in land management could have consequences on wood-cock populations and should be monitored.
Dan Sullins is a graduate student at Stephen F. Aus-tin University in Texas. His thesis research is focused on the origin of woodcock wintering in east Texas and their habitat use. Dr. Warren Conway is Dan’s thesis advisor.
EAST TEXAS TIMBERDOODLES
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ON BIRD DOGS
you’ve just bought a new bird dog – the dog of your life, you hope – and you want to find the right dog trainer. Your first step must be to research some possible trainers. Ask friends who own bird dogs. Check online; look on dog web-sites. That will give you some possibilities and probably help you to eliminate some others. When you’ve decided on a possible trainer, talk with a wide variety of the trainer’s clients. Talking with different clients should allow you to get a better handle on the trainer. Remember to take the differing personalities of the clients into consideration. Next, visit the trainer and watch him work several dogs. You’ll be able to see if he has any pat-terns and how he handles different breeds as well as situations. A good trainer will be consistent in his approach to training, even taking into account the differences among the dogs he’s training. When you’ve decided on a trainer, you’ll need to give him some time with your dog. Most dogs come with issues, and a trainer must first develop trust with the dog before he can correct any bad habits. Only after that has been accomplished can the actual training commence. Many owners believe they will have a fin-ished dog returned to them in one month. But that’s just not realistic. It’s more likely that sev-eral months will be required to get the job done, although it may take more time or less. Be patient during the process. There are many ways to get a finished dog
BY PETE DEANGELIS
Pete DeAngelis, our new bird dog columnist, owns and operates Longview Kennels at Slatington, PA, and trains dogs at Water & Wings, a 200-acre private training club at Zionsville, Pa. He boasts a long and successful career as a professional trainer and handler, having trained many champions, including national grouse and woodcock field trial champions. He takes only 20 dogs for training at any given time so that each dog can be given the attention it deserves, and develops a personalized training program for each dog, because no two dogs are exactly alike.
Selecting And Working With A Dog Trainer
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visiting the trainer would be a good idea, I’d sug-gest letting your trainer introduce your dog to both birds and to the gun. Both you and your dog will have fewer problems that way. In closing, let me warn you that you’ll find there are some bad dog trainers and a lot of good ones. Most importantly, see the dogs the trainer is putting on the ground. If they are the kind of dogs you want, you’ve found your trainer.
and you are hiring your trainer to finish your dog using his method. Your dog will be trained the trainer’s way, not your way. When your dog is ready, you need to work with the trainer as much as possible. To have a trained bird dog your trainer will also need to train you. In order to maintain consistency you’ll need to work your dog in a manner similar to your trainer’s way. While some yard work with your dog before
ON BIRD DOGS
cover artist Brett James Smith is among the very best sporting artists in the country. His work has been featured Gray’s Sporting Journal, Ducks Unlimited magazine, Sporting Classics, Shooting Sportsman, and Double Gun Journal. Woodcock Limited thanks him for use of his painting “Woodcock by the Brook.”
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12 SkydanceKay and George Bird Evans, on right, hunting in Lycoming County, Pa.
Recollections Of A Shooting Guest BY TOM KOTAY
in 1978 george and kay evans collaborated with Amwell Press to produce 1,000 copies of Rec-ollections of a Shooting Guest. It’s a book about hunt-ing opportunities seized and hunting opportunities missed. It’s about sharing knowledge about what we love with others and receiving the same in return, and it’s about the times spent together doing special
For those of us who hunted upland birds with a passion in the later decades of the twentieth century, George Bird Evans is a name synonymous with that passion. Relying on meticulously-kept hunting journals, Evans created some of that eras best writing on the upland gunning experience. WL member Tom Kotay was fortunate to have known and to have spent time with Evans and his wife Kay during that time. We are fortunate that Tom has provided us with this glimpse of that relationship.
MEMORIES AFIELD
things and times spent apart hoping they would happen again. If you haven’t read it, find it, read it and cherish its words. George Bird Evans died in 1998. Kay passed away in 2007. It doesn’t seem possible, but back in the early 1980s, I had lots of troubles with a bird dog. I wrote to George for advice and graciously he
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and Kay responded. We corresponded for several years before the subject came up about me own-ing an Old Hemlock Setter. I said yes, and Old Hemlock Brooke came into our lives and brought tremendous fun, satisfaction and eager anticipation for the next hunt. I think of Brooke often and reminisce about her with my brother and other hunting companions from that previous time. George and Kay spoke to me about the value of a hunting journal, and I return
to mine often to take a walk down woodcock and grouse memory lane. I hope you can do the same. My friend David Hall and I both had Old Hemlock half-sisters back in the early 1990s, and we hunted with Kay and George on several occa-sions in upstate Pennsylvania. George even wrote a story about one of our hunts with us in Lycoming and Tioga Counties. You can find the article in a back issue of The Pointing Dog Journal. If your memory is a little foggy like mine, that’s
MEMORIES AFIELD
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Old Hemlock Brooke on point on a woodcock.
OK. In today’s ever busy and complex world (and we make it more so via all of our communication technology), it’s more necessary than ever to sort out what’s important - family, Faith, the outdoor sporting life, whatever - and live life to the fullest without constant distractions. That’s what Kay and George did for more than 65 years. Here are a few tidbits from our times together. During one of our hunts it poured for several days in a row. George would say, “You boys go and hunt if you must.” Well, we did that to little avail. Instead, Kay and George toured historical and cultural sites in the region, visited with the own-ers of the Slate Run Tackle Shop, and gathered local information for a future story about a hard-working setter named Char. It was easy for Kay and George to find other interesting and creative things to do. Are we that pliable? How often does
something small and petty like bad weather turn our temperaments sour? During his early years at Old Hemlock, George experimented with reloading his own shells, but he got carried away with many of the proportions. George gave me eight boxes of those experimental shells but I’ve been too scared to try them. As a result I’ve never shot one of those Canuck Target Load shells. Kay and George loved reading aloud to each other, listening to classical music and talking about everything under the sun. They would do that at Old Hemlock in Bruceton Mills, WV, or in Cedar Run, Lycoming County, PA. If you’re ever nearby, please take the time and visit Old Hemlock. It’s occasionally open to the public. LeJay Graffious is the current administrator of the Old Hemlock Foundation. His telephone number is (304) 379-
MEMORIES AFIELD
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7505. West Virginia University in Morgantown also has a very exhaustive collection of the Evans’ publications, illustrations, audio-visuals and per-sonal papers, including George’s shooting journal from those 65-plus years of hunting. “Field & Stream” and “Pennsylvania Game News” ran many articles by George in the 1950s and 1960. He was no different in person than on paper. He loved his setters and the game he pur-sued. He didn’t much care for how-to articles. He was always ready to tell you what he saw, smelled or felt while hunting. He truly enjoyed eating in the field, and Kay always had special culinary treats for George and the dogs. Kay took marvelous pictures and video of their hunts. The videos capture many of the wonderful sights and sounds of hunting that we all love, but too rarely talk about. George never liked hunting in a formation with another hunter. He preferred to hunt together in a vast area with some infrequent contact if the dogs brought everyone together. George would fre-quently say, “Boys, I’m no celebrity so stop taking pictures. Let’s hunt!” Like many of you, George and Kay often took three or four dogs on extended hunting trips. He never minded the crying when he left one or two behind in the Subaru station wagon; he always found time to hunt all of them each and every day. George didn’t put much stock in morning woodcock or grouse hunting, but he hunted hard all afternoon. Oftentimes he relied on the stars and the moon to help him find his vehicle. Their car was always packed full of personal items, hunting gear and dog supplies. It may have been cleaned out several times a year when the dog hair and other byproducts of hunting just had to be removed. George ended his hunts by cleaning, grooming and doing a hands-on inspection of his beloved Old Hemlock Setters for cuts and bruises. He always completed the routine by rinsing out his setters’ eyes. Visiting Old Hemlock was an adventure. Kay and George would let us walk through their home,
open and read his sporting journals and handle his most precious shotguns. Sometimes we would have dinner with them on a make-shift table in the breezeway. Kay always kept the dogs out of her small galley kitchen. She’d keep them in another room while we were eating. I never remember the dogs crying or barking during meal times, but maybe that’s selective memory. Old Hemlock (the home and grounds) is very modest in size, but every hemlock tree, fern or trib-utary, or view from a window, or the well and water distribution system was so special to them. We often walked around the property “to let the dogs stretch their legs” or just hung around outside for long periods of time while dogs were being bred, and we would just talk about our lives and what was happening in our worlds. After moving from New York City and settling into Old Hemlock, George and Kay knew very little about current fashions, or new movies or television shows. Tak-ing a quiet walk through the area where all of their famous setters were buried was always a retrospec-tive and introspective time. I was amazed at how gracious George was about a dry spell near the end of his hunting career. He went a number of years at the end without shooting a grouse or a woodcock. He hunted into his early 90s, and his trips into his and our favorite coverts weren’t easy. Mounting his gun was nearly impossible. But none of that ever diminished his love for the sport, or for his dogs. George was on that long dry spell when he last hunted with us. When David and I heard shooting, we’d hope and pray for a judicious, quick and dignified kill. Our first question when we’d hook-up would be something like “Any suc-cess? We heard the shot.” His response was usually brief and forward looking, “Not this time boys, but there’s always tomorrow.” His tomorrow never came; he never killed another bird. That, however, did not diminish him. His was a life well spent in the company of his beloved wife Kay, his dogs and their time. Time enough.
MEMORIES AFIELD
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Janet Nyce works the registration table at the first national dinner of Woodcock Limited in 2012.
janet nyce, a member of the board of directors of Woodcock Limited of Pennsylvania, recentlywas awarded the 2013 Sybil Ludington SybilLudington Women’s Freedom Award from theNational Rifle Association. The NRA describesthe award as honoring “the accomplishments ofmodern heroines.” More than 500 women gathered for the seventh annual NRA Women's Leadership Forum Luncheon & Auction in Houston, TX. Hosted by luncheon co-chairs Gaye Kelsey and Melanie Pepper, the record-breaking event featured a keynote address by Sean Hannity and a live and silent auction. Forum Co-Chairs Susan LaPierre and Suzie Brewster presented the program focusing on the event's "New Energy" theme, honoring new members of the forum. The event raised more than $1.2 million for the NRA through a matching gift challenge made by Sally Clark, Bill Hober, Hornady Manufacturing, Donna and Eric Johanson, Gaye Kelsey, Susan Kriley, Laser Shot, Michael Luzich (in honor of his mother, Carol), Melanie Pepper, and Angie and Bryan Tucker, plus a number of sponsors and the generous auction bids made by guests. In addition to her leadership position with Woodcock Limited of Pennsylvania, Nyce recently took on co-chairmanship of the newly launched Hunting Works for Pennsylvania, with membership consisting of a cross-section of businesses across Pennsylvania’s economy advocating for public policy that supports jobs and economic prosperity through the hunting and shooting sports. Nyce previously was awarded the NRA’s Marion P. Hammer Woman of Distinction Award,
which recognizes exceptional contributions to the preservation of the Second Amendment and the shooting sports through education, advocacy, volunteerism and legislative activism in support of the goals of the NRA. “By winning both the Hammer and Ludington awards, Janet has won the top two awards the NRA gives to women,” noted Joseph J. Faux, president of Woodcock Limited. “Sarah Palin won the Ludington award a couple of years ago. It’s really a phenomenal accomplishment. “Our members and our organization are privileged to have Janet and her husband Jim and the passion and the experience they bring to the table. Their work on the behalf of Woodcock Limited has already helped to create more habitat and put more woodcock on the ground. “ An accomplished shooter, Nyce hunts with rifle, shotgun, inline, primitive muzzleloader and compound bow. Her devotion to training and education led to her becoming an NRA certified instructor in shotgun, rifle and Refuse To Be A Victim. She also volunteers with her community’s Women On Target Instructional Shooting Clinic and serves as a shotgun range master at the NRA’s Youth Hunter Education Challenge. As an appointee o f the Pennsy lvania Governor’s Advisory Council for Hunting,
CHAPTER NEWS
Pennsylvania Board Member Wins Prestigious NRA Award
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Fishing and Conservation, Nyce also was liaison and mentor to the 30 young people who made up the Governor’s Youth Council for Hunting, Fishing and Conservation.
In 2005, she was a finalist of the Budweiser C o n s e r v a t i o n Aw a r d . W h i l e m a n y o f the organizations with which Janet and Jim are affiliated with are much larger and more e s t ab l i shed than Woodcock L imi t ed o f Pennsylvania, she said, “we get excited about all the organizations we belong to. Although Woodcock Limited is small, the focus on education and habitat is on the mark. We’ve always liked to help youngsters who need help to get places and organizations that need help to get started. Woodcock Limited may be small, but we’ve already accomplished a lot for woodcock with habitat, and the other species that share that same habitat.”
�e award was named after Sybil Ludington. According to the NRA, “on the night of April 26, 1777, a wounded messenger barely reached the home of New York militia officer Henry Ludington with desperate news of a British attack on nearby Danbury, CT. Munitions and supplies for the entire region's militia were at stake, and with not a moment to spare, Col. Ludington turned to his 16-year-old daughter, Sybil, for help. While he organized the local militia, Sybil mounted her horse and galloped through the night to rally troops in the surrounding countryside. Trekking on dirt roads that were unknown to her, Sybil never lost sight of her mission - to alert the patriots about the British attack, thereby preserving the cause of freedom. By risking her life that dark and desolate night, Sybil made a profound difference in America's successful pursuit to become a free and independent nation. For her act of courage, General Washington and General Rochambeau personally thanked her.”
CHAPTER NEWS
Central Flyway Watch
EFFORTS ARE UNDER WAY IN the southern portion of the Central Flyway to expand woodcock hunting opportunities by opening more federal lands to woodcock hunters. Woodcock Limited discovered several National Wildlife Refuges in Arkansas do not permit woodcock hunting as a result of regu-latory changes made in the past few years. Includ-ed among the refuges are Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge, White River National Wildlife Refuge and Over�ow National Wildlife Refuge. Combined, the refuges hold more than 200,000 acres, much of it in the Mississippi Alluvial �ood-plain. �e e�ort to restore the woodcock seasons to these refuges is just beginning. Woodcock
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centered on the future of our local forests. The day was recalled with great fanfare and stories of past hunts were retold, as the evening approached. It was agreed by all that this type of social event should be continued and a new chapter tradition was born.
CHAPTER NEWS
Limited will keep the membership abreast of any developments. Additionally, Woodcock Limited discovered several other federal refuges located in the Mississippi Alluvial Floodplain do not permit woodcock hunting. In the coming months, we will open a dialog with the proper federal authori-ties to expand woodcock hunting in those areas as well. Expanding woodcock hunting on these lands is not just about providing fair hunting opportu-nities to Woodcock Limited members and wood-cock hunters in general. Engaging the federal authorities who manage the refuges for woodcock hunting and opening seasons on the refuges may also improve woodcock management priorities. The end result is a win-win: more hunting area for woodcock hunters and higher management prior-ity for woodcock.
New England Holds First Annual Shoot & Grill Eventwoodcock limited of new england held the first annual summer Shoot & Grill Event June 30 at the Hampton Rod & Gun Club in Hampton, N.H. The day was filled with the sweet smell of spent gunpowder, as old and new members worked their way through a challenging 5-Stand venue. Our sincere thanks go out to the Hamp-ton R&G Club for graciously opening up the club for the event. After closing up the club the “Woodcock Crew” headed over to New England President Pierre Brazeau’s home for a mixed din-ner grill and the honorary enrollment of our newest member John Langdell, who travelled all the way from Spearfish, S.D., via Canada on his cross country motorcycle journey. John was pre-sented with the lastest edition of Skydance along with the recently sponsored Talking about Young Forests, a Communication Handbook as discussions
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in april, members of woodcock limited of pennsylvania again teamed with the Col-Mont Gobblers Chapter of the NWTF to hold their Fifth Annual Northeast Region Habitat Workday. Wildlife Manage-ment Institute, Ruffed Grouse Society and Pheasants Forever also assisted in planting aspen, alder and silky-dogwood at the Montour Preserve PLOW Program site. PLOW—Private Land Opportunities for Woodcock—has more than 30,000 acres enrolled in Pennsylvania in an effort to create more early-succes-sional forest habitat for woodcock and the more than 40 other species that benefit directly from ESH.
Pennsylvania Continues Habitat Workday Tradition
CHAPTER NEWS
______ print(s) of Ned Smith’s “Sunset Woodcock” at the Woodcock Limited member discount price of $195. (non-member price is $215)
______ copy(ies) of the inaugural issue of Skydance at $4.95 each.
Send this form, with payment (Pennsylvania residents please add 6% sales tax), to : Woodcock Limited, 242 Baxter Road, Montoursville, PA 17754
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ State: _______ Zip: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________$__________________________________________________________________________________________________________Security Code: _________ (ignore if sending check)
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______ Woodcock Limited pin(s) at $7.95 each.
Woodcock Limited Merchandise Order Form
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decoverly kennels, in the Endless Mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania, is a blend of history, heritage and lineage with modern state-of-the-art. The kennel, a training, boarding and breeding business, has been operating full-time for four decades, with a professional staff and modern facility. But its DeCoverly’s English setters really set apart the operation. The personality, intel-ligence, natural abilities and beauty of each new litter are the result of 100 years of thoughtful, dedicated breeding to a timeless ideal by a family dedicated to the love, appreciation and tradition of the English setter as it was meant to be. The line dates to 1907, when Mr. Mangan of Pittston, PA, bred his champion setter Sir Roger DeCoverly. The dog had developed a tremendous reputation as a grouse dog and was thought of as the standard for “the perfect Gentleman’s shooting dog.” George H. Ryman, who had started breed-ing English Setters in Shohola Falls a couple years earlier, in 1912 started breeding to Sir Roger and in 1916 to Sir Roger DeCoverly II and Sir Roger DeCoverly II Jr. Through a succession of ownership that maintained the heritage of the line, Ken Alexan-der launched DeCoverly Kennels in 1977. The name was suggested by Ellen Ryman as a public demonstration of the support of Alexander from the lineage of the original Sir. Roger DeCoverly. Bill Sordoni Sr. bought a started setter named Smokey from DeCoverly Kennels in 1982.
Heritage Continued
The famous outdoor writer George Bird Evans had watched the evolution of the line and in 1990 he considered the DeCoverly setters to be “the true heritage bloodline of the Ryman gun dogs.” Sordoni and Alexander became business partners in 1992 and began plans for a new DeCoverly Kennels. The 20,000 square foot, state-of-the-art kennel was completed in 1995 in Lake Winola, PA. After 40 years of developing the line, Alex-ander retired from DeCoverly in 2009. Bridget Bodine returned in 2010 to DeCoverly as general manager and head trainer. Bridget and DeCoverly Kennels are now carrying on the line breeding dogs that are beautiful to look at, beau-tiful to live with and beautiful to hunt with. In her spare time, she breeds Labrador retrievers and participates in AKC conformation dog shows and AKC retriever hunt tests. She has titled numerous dogs through the senior level achieving Master passes and teaching clients to train their own dogs through the Master Level Also at DeCoverly since 2006, trainer Bob Barth has more than 32 years of experience obedience training dogs of many breeds. He also has owned and trained beagles, German shorthair pointers, golden retrievers, Brittany spaniels, Australian shepherds and English set-ters. He has been recognized by the Friends of the SPCA in his area, for his time and expertise in helping to make shelter canines more adopt-able. Bob trains the customer pointing dogs and
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starts all of the kennel dogs. Danielle Zdaniewicz realized a lifetime dream of working with dogs when she came to DeCov-erly in 2010. She also enjoys painting, the out-doors and spending time on walks in the woods with her two dogs, a blue-tick beagle named Harli May, and a Siberian husky mix named Miss Molli, who have inspired her to become a professional dog trainer. Dani is in charge of socialization of the pups and making sure all the dogs are healthy and happy. Dani is Bridget’s right hand girl and is a very valuable part of the kennel. William B. Sordoni bought his first DeCoverly English setter in 1982, 10 years before he became a business partner in the kennel that he now owns.William E. Sordoni grew up with DeCoverly set-ters from the age of seven and in 2005 become actively involved in the kennel.. Matthew Sordoni became quite active with the kennel in 2010 when Bridget returned and in 2013 became President of the kennel business. He and Bridget continue to work together to see that the business is self-sufficient. DeCoverly Kennels today is a 20,000 square foot, state-of-the-art complex on extensive acreage for hunting and training. The whelping room consists of three whelping pens, each to accommodate a single mother and litter. The floors are radiant heated so that the newborn puppies maintain body heat. The room is soundproofed and secluded from other areas of
the kennel, to give new mothers and infant pup-pies a quiet, restful environment. The puppy room – nearly everyone’s favorite part of the kennel – has four separate eight-square-foot pens and access to two outdoor runs. Puppies and their mothers are moved to the puppy room when the pups’ eyes open and they are stable, affording constant contact throughout the day, exposure to sights and sounds, people and other dogs. They also are introduced to an audio-tape for gun introduction. The heated and air-conditioned indoor/out-door training and boarding runs average 25 square feet indoors and more than 80 square feet out-doors. The indoor is separated from the outdoor by Pickwick doors for bad weather. Outdoor living areas provide more than 100 square feet of living space per resident. All are sloped at a quarter-inch per foot into drains that lead to a 5000-gallon septic system, which is pumped several times each year. There are large enclosed, vented, insulated custom made dog houses for inclement weather. The outdoor pens consist of breeding pairs, young dogs being held by us for breeding evaluation, and retired dogs. There are often retired dogs available for adoption.DeCoverly’s Socialization Program has been designed to make sure each puppy has the cor-rect exposure to humans and the outside world. Handlers evaluate individual puppy personalities and then work with more aggressive ones and pull up any shy puppies. The basics are also the begin-nings of DeCoverly’s puppy evaluations. The kennel’s developmental approach to rais-ing and training setters is another key component of the DeCoverly Difference. It is tailored to the personality and temperament of these loyal com-panions and works wonders on their growth and education. There are times and places for all of the training tools and tricks, but they are not the primary teaching modality at DeCoverly. Instead, the instincts, intelligence and desire to please of a well-bred English setter, when developed through
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a relationship with a human partner, allow the best things to happen.
DeCoverly’s breeding program is another sig-ni�cant part of the DeCoverly Di�erence. Breeding pairs are matched towards the centerline, standard dog. �e system is expensive to maintain and oper-ate, as it requires a large number of dogs to make the necessary crosses. However it is the best method to consistently produce quality companions. No litters are planned that do not have the potential to produce English setters for the future of DeCoverly Kennels. The breeding selection process takes at least two years, with initial selections made at seven weeks of age. An emphasis is placed on conforma-tion and personality as �eld ability cannot yet be assessed. Youngsters must be selected because of their individual quality, not because they are out of particular dogs. All breeding stock going into the future will have been trained to a minimum of started dog level, with birds having been shot for them. At that point the individual will be assessed for natural ability and brains, BUT also trainability and con�dence and style in the �eld. Only then is the judgment made to breed or not to breed. �is is of course assuming that health clearances and struc-ture meet our strict criteria.
If you’re traveling out of town, DeCoverly also
o�ers short- and long-term boarding. �ey pro-vide indoor and outdoor runs, regular exercise and socializing, a climate-controlled indoor sleeping area and can accommodate your dog’s own food and administer medications as directed. With over 26 years of boarding experience DeCoverly o�ers one of the safest and most comfortable kennels in the country.
More information: DeCoverly Kennels, 175 DeCoverly Lane, Factoryville, PA 18419 570-378-3357; [email protected]; www.decoverlykennels.com.
DeCoverly KennelsEnglish settersLoyal companions
at home and in the fieldFull service training/boarding
facility for all breeds
www.decoverlykennels.com
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Finding Covert
we woodcok hunters love long sweeping fields that are adjacent to thick stands of young alder, poplar, and white birch.
Add a river bottom or a seep and we’ll smile like kids on the first day of Summer vacation. When the conditions are right the woods are pock-marked with chalk.
Grab your hunting buddies, bell your dogs, and drive slowly down the dirt roads. The flights are on, and a hunting we will go.
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