A day's work at wild birds 245 



have but little more to say by way of advice to my 

 pupil, and, I trust, friend, the novice. When birds are 

 wild, it is a good plan to endeavour to drive them 

 during the day towards rough, hilly, or hillocky 

 ground for the eveninof's work ; if such endeavours 

 are successful, and the dogs are steady, some rare 

 good shooting may at times be obtained, especially 

 towards the ' gloaming,' and if the dogs are not of too 

 obtrusive a colour. Birds have a feeling of security in 

 such broken ground, and when a dog points, if he re- 

 mains staunch, it gives time to cross him, and so obtain 

 command of the pack ; but it is necessary to cross well 

 wide of the dog, if possible, and if not, a low hush of 

 caution will serve to keep him staunch while crossing 

 to the spot whence it may be concluded he is winding 

 the birds. In such ground they will be close at hand ; 

 if there is no such hiding the chances are they will 

 flush some distance off. But late in the evening birds 

 always appear to be further off than they actually are, 

 and, if in sight at the 'gloaming,' are always within 

 range. I have often, after a day of disappointment 

 after wild birds, having perhaps but one brace to show 

 as the result of a morning's labour, suddenly come upon 

 the driven packs of the morning lying well in such 

 rough ground as I have described, and have bagged 

 as many as forty brace after four o'clock in the 

 evening. 



An example of this kind of luck happened to me 

 many years ago, when shooting at Beaufort (Lord 

 Lovat's) on a beat named Bawblany. The late 

 Colonel the Hon. Alastair Fraser (the late Lord 

 Lovat's brother) and I had only succeeded in bagging 

 one young grouse (the only one we saw) up to 



