Field Notes ....Greetings from another hot summer in the Sandhills! The blazing hot temps we have been experiencing makes me long for those cool crisp fall mornings, and even for some of those frosty ones in the winter that we tend to complain about so often. It seems like the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Not to worry though, those cooler days will be upon us soon enough, and bring with them another great hunting season at The Webb Farm.
Summertime is a busy time around here. As you will read in this month's feature article, Bill and Debbie Webb have been hard at work making improvements to what I think is the best wingshooting experience around. More birds, new hunting tracts, and expanded facilities all work to make hunting The Webb Farm a terrific time for both the experienced and novice bird hunter.
I want to introduce a new column that will be appearing in Covey Call from time to time. Many of you always ask "What ever happened to that dog...." so we are going to answer that question in a series of stories about our retired canine friends. This months story is about Albert and his new home, owner and change of lifestyle. Be sure to catch other Whatever Happened To updates in future issues!
So in the spirit of keeping the short, I just wanted to say a warm hello and remind you that October and the 2012-2013 season is just around the corner. I look forward to seeing you again real soon!
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Wedding Bells!
Congratulations to Bill's daughter Olivia Webb on her engagement to Brett Webb. Many of you know Brett, as he is one of our guides at TWF. The happy couple announced their engagement on May 11th, and an outdoor spring wedding is planned for April 27, 2013. 
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Whatever Happened To......
ALBERT!
Many will remember Albert, the big setter who injured his ankle and had to undergo surgery, missing most of two seasons at TWF. After his surgery, we brought him along slowly in his rehab program and he progressed to the point he was nearly back to his old self. But the daily grind of work here proved to be too much on his newly constructed ankle, so we begin to look for Albert a new home, where the rigors of hunting would not be as rough, and the pace of life slower than TWF. Enter our good friends Tom and Angela Keer and their daughter Morgan.
Tom and Angela run a world-class marketing firm in Cape Cod when not in the field hunting or fishing the flats somewhere. In his spare time, Tom is an award winning outdoor writer too. OWAA Award WInner
On a fall trip to TWF, they met and fell in love with big 'ol Albert. The Keer's already own two wonderful setters, Ocracoke and Rowdy, so adding Albert, was just well, a "small addition" according to Morgan. Albert always was a ladies man!
So Albert, our Southern born and bred bird dog packed his stuff and moved to New England, where I am happy to report he is enjoying life! Morgan has adopted him as her own and is working on his training to foot hunt with the Keer clan on their many hunting trips.
According to Tom, Albert now lives in the house and is sporting a new collar with the name of his proud new owner -- Morgan Keer.
We wish all the best to Albert and his new family!
As a side note, Tom wrote an expanded version of this story for the Summer 2012 issue of Ruffed Grouse Society magazine.
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Plan a Hunt at TWF
It is simple to schedule a hunt with us. Simply check our online calendar for availability and let Bill know when you want to schedule your hunt It is really just that simple! And remember, hunts are already being booked for the upcoming season. Call and reserve your spot today!
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The Webb Farm does not sale or share our mailing lists. Your privacy is important to us.
Besides, don't you get enough SPAM already?
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A Busy Summer at TWF!
I trust everyone is having a good summer. Summer at the Webb Farm is always a busy time of year. We started out getting some prescribed burning done in April, and have been planting fields and feed patches since then. We hope to finish that by late July. Hot, dry weather has been tough, but so far we have gotten enough rain to make everything grow well, and the cover should be good for the Fall.
New hunting areas!
In May, our family purchased 53 acres of our neighbor's farm that we surround on four sides. Danny Hawks has been working hard at prepping those new fields and patches. While the short term effect will be very noticeable in having a great deal of new area to hunt, in the long term I see this new area as being great escape cover for our quail, as well as new turkey and deer habitat. It really is going to make our hunting courses flow well and be a lot of fun for all of you. It will result in more coveys and better access to coveys. It just needs 3 or 4 years of aggressive burning as it matures.
Birds, birds, and more birds!
On that note, I want to also reveal that my good friend Jerry Allen and I have been hard at work on our Surrogator-raised bird program. We have been raising chicks since June 18. Our experience has allowed us to kick the program up several notches. If it continues as planned, we will be releasing 3 TIMES the number of Surrogator-raised quail than before. Our goal is to provide to you the best wingshooting we have ever had here!
In addition to that the Surrogator program, we are raising our own birds for the first time for early release. We plan to release 5 TIMES the number of birds we normally early release in October.
Our new bird emphasis is coupled with an extra aggressive control program of our four-legged predators as well. All in all, we believe our bird program will be in fantastic shape for the coming season.
Frankly, all of this is very labor intensive and requires commitment most operations just won't invest. We believe this flows from our natural love of the sport and from our commitment to provide the best wingshooting in the South. Our focus in the off season is our quail, not weddings, receptions, nature walks, equestrian events, and other non-wingshooting happenings. I believe you can bring any of your friends or business clients here and notice the difference between us and others that hold themselves out as premier wingshooting operations just based on our quail program.
News on the horizon!
On the Lodge side of the operation, we have exciting new things we are in the process of finalizing, and will announce those in the upcoming newsletters. In the meantime, we already have over a month of dates booked for the upcoming season. Give us a call and let us make sure you get the dates you want!
It's funny, but at the end of March we are ready for a break, and by July we're all ready to get the hot weather behind and feel those cool frosty mornings! It's right around the corner! I'm already excited!
Best Regards,
Bill Webb
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Duck Hunting is Back and Expanded!
Because our partnership with Summer Duck Farm was such a great success, we have decided to expand our duck hunting program for the 2012-2013 season. We will be hunting the private 1,400 estate throughout the entire waterfowl season this year, providing our hunters with a unique quail and duck hunting combination experience. Our friends at Summer Duck have done an excellent job with their 80 acres of managed impoundments and we saw hundreds of ducks at each hunt last year. 
Stay tuned for upcoming announcements on the available dates and booking information.
In the mean time, check out their wines and news at www.littleriverwines.com.
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The Legacy of Traditional North Carolina Quail Hunting
522 John Webb Road
Ellerbe, NC 28338 |
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