There were plenty of birds (21) seen at Monday's running of the Pennsylvania Grouse Championship, but only one dog - Sassy's Topper, owned and handled by Steve Groy, finished with clean bird work. Topper finished with two good finds on five grouse, and had either a third find or a perfect stop to flush on another bird seconds after her second find. Conditions - The weather was mostly cool and cloudy on Monday, with temperatures in the low-to-mid 50's, mostly cloudy with a few short sunny periods, light winds and good humidity levels. Birds - Grouse were seen on seven of the eight courses, but Sassy's Topper was the only dog of the 16 that ran to get one pointed. Four other dogs crashed. During the day, 20 grouse and one woodcock were seen; the woodcock was seen in an unlikely spot...open pole timber with virtually no ground cover, on Lamonaville #2. It is not known if the woodcock was a carryover from resident birds, or the beginning of the fall flight. The only course without birds was Loleta #4 (which had five birds on Sunday); however, both dogs on this course were up before the 30-minute mark for being out of judgment. The running: Brace 9 - Loleta #1 - two birds were seen - Kendal Hills Meg did not have a bird. Electric Spark was ordered up for taking out the two birds that were seen. Brace 10 - Loleta #2 - three birds were seen (two of them flushed from trees) - Ash Creek Rocky and Taz finished with no bird work. Brace 11 - Loleta #3 - Four birds were seen on the M&M Course, which was without birds on Sunday. Ruff Hills Repeater and Elhew Adam finished with no birdwork. Brace 12 = Loleta #4 - No birds seen - Needlepoint Chieftan was lost at 20, and The Inspector was lost from judgment at 15. Brace 13 - Lamonaville #1 - one bird seen - Chip's Little Spark finished with no birdwork, and Thornapple Tara took out a bird at 58. Brace 14 - Lamonaville #2 - seven grouse and one woodcock seen - Sassy's Topper had two finds on five birds, and a third contact on a single bird (from her second find) that may have been either a find or a mannerly stop to flush. Two other birds were walked up. Modaka's Jeff was leashed after an incident with a woodcock. Brace 15 - Lamonaville #3 - one bird seen, with no dog involved - Waybetter Buck was leashed at 35 after a second unproductive stand. Allegheny White Flash as leashed at 45. Brace 16 - two birds seen (one walked up at 15). Lucifer knocked a bird at 58, and was leashed. High Five's Ranger had a nonproductive at 5t (this reporter saw a bird leave the stand, and then land again across the road at the finish) This was the bird that Lucifer contacted at 58. Tomorrow - The NWS forecast is for a 40% chance of showers overnight, and a 30% chance Tuesday before 9 a.m. Partly cloudy skies, 10-to-15 mph winds, and temperatures up to 62 are forecast. Tuesday's running will begin at 7:30 a.m. on Loleta #1.   Day 3 -- Tuesday Oct 18th   On Tuesday, 10 grouse, two woodcock and one pheasant were moved during eight completed braces of The Pennsylvania Grouse Championship. Three dogs - Dunroven Sidney, Can't Go Wrong, and Sky's Blue Belle finished their braces with clean bird work. It was not certain if the two woodcock marked the fall flight, or whether they were left over resident birds. The pheasant most likely was stocked by the state for a youth hunt. Grouse were seen on six of the eight courses (Loleta #3 and Lamonaville #3 did not produce a bird. Conditions were temperatures from the low-to-mid 50's, under partly sunny to sunny skies. The going was tough at times, due to noisy leaves and a brisk wind that began in late morning and lasted until late afternoon, when it moderated somewhat. Humidity levels were average. The running: Brace 17 - Loleta #1 - two grouse and two woodcock seen - Dunroven Sidney had a find on a single grouse, and finished. Innoway did not have a bird, but finished. Brace 18 - Loleta #2 - Two grouse were walked up. Long Gone Nixon and Wycoff Run Freestone finished their hour with no birdwork. Brace 19 - Loleta #3 - no birds were seen - Eveline finished her hour without birdwork, and Danny's Double Trouble was lost on the breakaway. Brace 20 - Loleta #4 - one grouse and one pheasant seen - Highlander's TH finished his hour with no birdwork, although he pointed a pheasant in the big basin in the middle of the course; the pheasant was observed running away from the point, and handler Dave Hughes elected to collar the dog away rather than claim the find - Mr. Biggs did not have birdwork before he was leashed at 50. Brace 21 - Lamonaville #1 - one grouse seen - Can't Go Wrong had a find on a grouse,  Emmy's Applejack finished her hour without birdwork. Brace 22 - Lamonaville # 2 - three grouse were seen (two pointed and one walked up) - Sky's Blue Belle had two finds on grouse and finished her hour - Feather's Batman was scratched. Brace 23 - Lamonaville #3 - no birds were seen - Keystone Pale Ryder and Shady Hills Tuna did not finish their hour. Brace 24 - Lamonaville #4 - one grouse was heard to flush - Texas Chili Pepper and Smokey Mountain Sally finished. Tomorrow - The championship will resume at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday on Loleta #1. The derby will resume on the Lamonaville Road, but I did not learn the starting time. The NWS weather forecast is for temperatures ranging between 43 and 56 degrees, with light winds, under partly cloudy skies and a 20% chance of rain. Day 4 -- Wednesday Oct 19th   Times got tough in Marienville today. Only two grouse were seen all day, and no dogs finished with birdwork. The day began as cool and clear, with little wind and widely scattered light frost. Conditions were good for the first three brace. Then the wind began to pick up, rising to perhaps 30 mph-plus in early afternoon, and moderating late in the day. Highs were in the 50's, but the air was dry, scenting conditrions were poor and the winds made it tough for handlers and dogs to remainm in contact. For the superstitious, a full moon seemed to affect some normally biddable dogs (take this with as many grains of salt as you wish). One grouse was seen on Loleta #4, and one was seen on Lamonaville #2. Neither were pointed. Handler Dave Hughes claimed a stop to flush on Lamonaville #4 for his charge, Magic's Rocky Balboa, but the bird was not seen or heard by the judges. The running: Brace # 25 - Loleta #1 - no birds were seen - Eaglerock Indigo was up at 20, and Hard Driving Bill was out of judgment at 25. Brace #26 - Loleta #2 - no birds were seen - Sump's Timbernoodle and Shady Hill's Billy finished their hours; Billy had one nonprodtive stand. Brace #27 - Loleta #3 - No birds were seen - Pennstar had two nonproductive stands, and finished his hour - Rowdy Rover had one nonproductive stand and was out of judgment at 55. Brace #28 - Loleta #4 - one grouse flushed wild - Texas Copper Top and Shady Hills Whirlwind were up at 40. Brace #29 - Lamonaville #1 - No birds were seen - Grouse Ridge Maxima finihsed her hour. Iron Doll was scratched. Brace #30 - Lamonaville #2 - one bird was flushed wild - Chip's Cactus Jack and Analyze This finished their hours. Brace #31 - Lamonaville #3 - no birds were seen - Forward Loop's Lefty and Keystone Red Ryder did not finish their hour. Brace #32 - Lamonaville #4 - no birds were seen (although a handler claimed a stop to flush when the judges did not see or hear a bird) - Magic's Rocky Balboa did not finish his hour, and Chip's Torquato was lost to judgment.  Day 5 -- Thursday Oct 20th The weather and bird count improved for the fifth and final day in the running of the Pennsylvania Grouse Championship. In six braces Thursday, seven grouse and two woodcock were seen. Only one dog - Rainbow Heidi (Hughes) - finished with clean birdwork. Two other dogs crashed on birds. Conditions: Clear and cool conditions prevailed through the day, with clear skies and temperatures ranging from the mid-30's through the mid-50's. There was some humidity in the air, but the leaves were noisy and the air dried out as the day progressed. The Running: 1. Brace 33 - Loleta #1 - Rainbow Heidi finished with one find, from which two grouse and two woodcock were flushed. Texas Cherry Bomb did not finish. 2. Brace 34 - Loleta #2 - one grouse was flushed wild - Governor Sam Houston and Kendall Hills Archangel finished without birdwork. 3. Brace 35 - Loleta #3 - Three grouse were seen - Beaver Meadow Benjamin and Swank's Blackbeard did not finish. 4. Brace 36 - Loleta # 4 - no birds were seen - Shady Hills Shake and Wycoff Run Sally did not finish. 5. Brace 37 - Lamonaville #1 - one grouse was seen - Modaka's Luther and Bonfire did not finish. 6. Brace 38 - Lamonaville #2 - no birds seen - Hard Driving Bev and Long Gone Agnes finished.