Taxonomy

..stalking down into an early morning anabatic wind Chief alerted to me that a deer wasnt too far away and another 70yards downhill came to a full point on this stag at about 30yards.Maintaining his poise right throughout the shot until i whistled him in to claim the stag....

Puppy pile on Orion

(note that milky color in eyes is usual for pups when their eyes first open)

Some I litter pups nursing at 2 weeks

Alma licking I litter pups as they nurse. Pups are two weeks old.

Alma with I litter pups at two weeks

Close on sixty and a pretty tired dawg (but so happy)

I use a 4 shot pump action 870 boat paddle - its scary how quickly Cocoa learned to wait for the last shot before diving in to load up the bike trailer...

This is Cocoa's second season on the turkeys and what a difference it has made - last season was all fingers and thumbs. Filled the trailer in a morning, just the dog and me sneaking in amongst the bulls and rams.

Think of Nemo.... mine,mine,mine,mine,mine

This is the life, I tell you. Big farm, unlimited birds and all day to fill the trailer before we head off to Basecamp for salami.

The bearded lady, happy to be with the rest of the family.

Finding rabbits is good, the fences not so good - solved that with a small headtorch round her neck that she lifts up when she is unsure of where she is.

After shooting this yearling spiker just on dark Chief proved invaluable with over 1000yards between us and the deer, Chief made short work of bringing us in for the carry out.

Alma leaps into her work...

A team effort... hunting on Clive's amazing station up the Motu

Bas and Bryta looking for deer and pig up the Motu

Left to right, Bas , Karel (Dinah), and Clive look for deer and pigs at Clive's Motu station

Alma helps celebrate Orion's 4th birthday...

Never far from my side no matter what I'm doing, my faithful companion watches on as i try and snare a fish since the deer wern't playing my game.

Fletch taking a break after hiking up the nearest thing that resembled a mountain.

This pheasant was a little unlucky. If he had made it another half hour, then the season would have been over. Kaca and Alma found him, Jake shot him, Kaca retrieved him, and Orion and Canyon posed for the pic that Kim took.

Kaca with a Whirinaki Stag March 2010

Kaca and Alma relax in the birthing box. Alma was born in this box, and together Kaca and Alma have had all the fousek litters in NZ in this one box. date April 2010

Fletcher retrieving a Pukeko

The only shot I managed to take with the camera of the brids we got this morning (the rest were taken with the 20gauge) Fletch proved his eyes work, on a blind retrieve, he really showed his trust in me when I sent him back. He hadn't seen or been near me when I shot this bird, but headed out on his back command, and came back with a mouthful of feathers. Happy Happy owner. We hope all the rest of the Cesky Fousek Families had as sucessful morning as we did.

Fletcher has a thing for water. Unfortunately there were no birds in the water to search for, but still had a great time snoofing around looking for some.

Fletch in the back of the flaxen maimai

Here we are, our first week under our belt, the dog didn't wander off, the owner didn't get lost. Who looks happier?

Navigating the swing bridge, Fletch proved it to be no obstical, and didn't flinch once at the uneven motion, including the weight of his pack.

Seriously looking for an interesting smell

Cpyk in the crown fern while deer hunting. Photo by Cliff H

Fletcher's first pheasant encounter was a fairly positive one... He went on hard point after nearly running face first into it.

Fletch's nose, up close and personal.

Puppy piles are pretty common, but this one was particularly cute because you could see all of their faces. Here they have taken the chance to pile up on my overalls.

They seem to get along allright from the beginning...

Erik comes out of his travel crate to meet his new boss...

Ergo plays with a soft toy

A head shot of Epoch, with Erik poking his nose in...

E litter pups climbing on a hay bale, seven week old. Epoch (left), Ergo (middle) and Erik (right)

Ergo walking on a windy day...

Epoch looking the part

Erik having a think...

E litter pups running down the driveway with Orion. Erik (left), Epoch (middle) and Ergo (going off picture on right)

Jake, Alma and Aran hunting in the Kaimanawas

Jake with Alma and Aran hunting in the Kaimanawas

Jed carrying a rabbit looks at a piece of wood thinking it is another rabbit...

David with Baromir on the pheasant cart after a pheasant shoot

Orion (at almost 2 years) and Duke of NewBohemia (at 8 weeks) off on an adventure together

Decoy of NewBohemia waiting for some ducks to land

Bryta just after a refreshing dive..

Photo by Lea Deighton

Alma and Kaca both fell asleep in the crate. Because they were both crammed in the crate, Alma's head lolled out onto the floor

Alma is playing in the surf and shaking. She has a real joie de vie that comes thru in this pic.

photo by Kim

photo by Kim Young

Photo by Barry Shaw

photo by Barry Shaw

Photo by David Bayles www.davidbayles.com

Alma of NewBohemia at 11 weeks old carrying a nice drake

It takes a strong dog to retrieve a black swan. Kaca did a great retrieve on this bird. It was crippled in a big area of flooded willows. Kaca splashed off 200 m away and vanished in the willows after this crippled swan. Meanwhile, I went off chasing some ducks. She found and subdued the bird on her own and brought it back to us across the river, but she was hesitatant to bring it to me because earlier she had been zapped by an electric fence, and there was a fence between us and her. Photo by Pete Gatley.

Alma at 11 weeks old carrying around a nice drake