Grouse & Woodcock

Grouse & Woodcock: The Birds of My Life

This magnificent new book celebrating two of America’s greatest game birds is the pinnacle of one man’s lifetime devotion to ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) and American woodcock (Scolopax minor), what he calls the “classic combination” of upland gunning.

It has been a passionate pursuit for Timothy C. Flanigan.

He started as a boy more than half a century ago at the arm of his beloved grandfather, with an old shotgun, in the hemlock drumming-log and beaver-pond alder coverts of Pennsylvania. Later, during his professional career, he helped protect wildlife resources as a decorated conservation officer serving the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

Along his extraordinary journey, Tim studied grouse and woodcock, these most wild of forest species, up close and personally, in their native habitats all year in all weather. He developed a keen and intimate understanding of their lives to an extent that few humans ever have—maybe none. And to top it off, he taught himself to make exquisite closeup pictures of these shy and reclusive birds that are nothing short of dazzling. He shares secrets about his photographic artistry in this book, too.

If Tim Flanigan’s spectacular imagery weren’t enough to make Grouse & Woodcock: The Birds of My Life a rich sporting treatise for the ages, the author shares his considerable skill with a shotgun—always expressed with generous modesty—along with his original observations about the seasonal behavior and daily activity of both species. Tim’s advice will immediately make you a more thoughtful hunter and effective wing shooter.

It’s all here: natural history, anatomy, breeding and nesting, habitat preferences, predators, food and feeding habits; selecting shotguns and loads, improving your shooting skills, training and keeping dogs; identifying productive coverts, how to work a covert effectively, the importance of hunting edges, following up on flushes; early-season strategies, hunting in the snow, hunting in the rain, best time of day for maximum points and flushes—and a great deal more.

Forty chapters are narrated in an easygoing storytelling style, drawn from a vigorous lifetime in the field chasing the classic combo, with new and old hunting friends who never really go away.

This full fountain of memory and valuable knowledge is a must for the serious upland gunning enthusiast and dedicated wildlife conservationist—and for anyone who truly cares about the legacy of our sport and the future of these singular game birds.

You will be mesmerized. You will learn much. You will cherish this beautiful book.