by Glen R. Blackwood
On the Wing: A Lifetime Afield with Shotgun and Dogs
Soft cover edition
Author: E. Donnall Thomas Jr.
ISBN: 979-8-218-36429-8
DonThomasBooks.com
Retail Price $26
As an author of more than 20 previous sporting books and numerous magazine submissions based upon his days afield, E. Donnall Thomas Jr. understands the components of strong sporting writing. His new self-published soft-bound book, “On the Wing: A Lifetime Afield with Shotgun and Dogs,” continues to fit this mold. The stories found within the book’s covers feature not only game birds and gun dogs, but a strong dose of wilderness – whether it’s a tale of ptarmigan or snipe hunting in the barrens of Alaska reached only by a float plane or quail in the Kalahari. While the author certainly enjoys time afield with friends and his wife, Lori, his stories feel most alive when he’s paired with only his dog and the vastness of uninhabited land.
Tundra, prairies, foothill coulees and other dramatic landscapes are developed in detail. Thomas allows them to become supporting characters in these tales, letting the reader’s eyes follow the day’s steps as if they were striding alongside. The slide of a rock scree becomes as sharp as a clump of brambles. A muddy cattail slough or tidal flats add a sense of his hunter’s perseverance as footing is more of a wet slog than a stroll through the grassy plains.
The book’s tales are organized into sections based upon species (pheasants, grouse, partridge and quail), odd birds (woodcock are included in this section), ducks and geese with additional sections on dogs and wild world of wingshooting. Thomas has traveled extensively throughout his life in search of gamebirds, and the final section discusses international adventures. Yet, like many RGS & AWS members, he holds both ruffed grouse and American woodcock dear. The chapter entitled Sentimental Journey is a reminiscent tale of the author’s beginnings of wingshooting for ruffed grouse in a cover called “The Hole” in the state of New York with a German shorthaired pointer name Bits and concludes in Montana’s Indian summer with Maggie, a German wirehaired pointer. Different topographies, different dogs, but the same challenging game bird.
About his boyhood first grouse, the author writes:
“An hour into the hole that day, the copper bell on Bit’s collar (the esthetically superior if less practical means of keeping track of bird dogs prior to electronic locators) stopped tinkling. My father and I set off abreast to find him. Suddenly an explosion of wings rose from the alders ahead, and then a grouse was hurtling across a gap in my side of the brush. Assured of the shot’s safety, I threw the shotgun to my shoulder, drove the muzzles in front of the speeding bird, and slapped the trigger, at which point. the grouse collapsed in a the most glorious puff of feathers imaginable.”
Continuing into a more modern hunt, he states:
“… I eventually yielded to the practicality of a locator collar, which I find invaluable when I’m hunting Mearns quail in the oaks or ringnecks in the brambles. However, this device was not consistent with my memories of ruffed grouse hunting. When I searched for an old-fashioned belled collar I had trouble finding one. I wound up wiring a cowbell to an old leather strap. By the time we’ve covered a quarter mile of brush today, its musical cadence has nearly lulled me to sleep. Then it stops, leaving me to play a game of hide-and-seek with the dog. Finally I spot Maggie frozen mid-stride with an intensity that would have done old Bits proud.”
“On the Wing” also features a forward by noted wingshooting editors Steve and Jake Smith and color images from his wife, Lori’s, catalog. Both the forward and images add to this volume’s value.
The last TONK! of a dog bell on a ruffed grouse point is truly a magical sound. Don Thomas’s essays not only deliver the sounds of bells and beepers and the landscapes of habitat where wild birds survive, but a sense of contentment by the quest. Gamebirds and gun dogs just seem to be his excuse.
Glen R. Blackwood is a director of development for RGS & AWS. He’s a student of the sporting life and literature, focusing primarily on wild birds and trout. He resides in Rockford, Michigan, with his accommodating wife, Kathleen and trio of English cocker spaniels.
