Montana Upland bird outlook

Upland bird outlook: birds most plentiful around water sources

Upland bird hunters can expect to see good numbers of grouse, pheasants and partridge, but the best hunting in northeastern and north-central Montana is likely to be in moist habitats around streams, ponds and other water sources.

Hunting season for sharp-tailed and sage grouse as well as Hungarian partridge and dove opens Friday, Sept. 1. Pheasant season opens Oct. 7. All the seasons run through Jan. 1 except sage grouse, which closes Nov. 1.

Overall, upland game bird populations appear to be above average across Region 6, say Fish, Wildlife & Parks wildlife biologists who monitor population trends. But the intense drought that descended on the region starting in June has concentrated birds around any available water.

“Birds will likely be using moist habitat due to the hot and dry summer,” says Culbertson-based biologist Scott Thompson who surveys Sheridan, Daniels, Roosevelt and parts of McCone and Richland counties. “These areas typically hold more succulent forage and more insects.”

Across the region biologists reported good over-winter survival of adult birds and favorable spring nesting conditions.

“Most of the moisture came in April, before or during the period that upland birds are nesting,” notes Thompson, and the precipitation produced heavy vegetation, critical for hiding young chicks and producing insects that are a favored food source. “Though the remainder of spring and early summer were relatively dry and warm, this weather pattern typically results in high brood survival.”

In the western portion of the region, biologist Al Rosgaard notes that production of sharptails, Huns and pheasants was boosted by ample cover during the brood-rearing months of late April and May. “Broods of all these species have been observed, with good numbers within the broods, so the forecast is for average to above-average hunting” in Hill, Blaine and Chouteau counties.

Thompson notes that spring surveys in his area of eastern Region 6 indicated that adult bird populations coming out of the winter were 18 to 45 percent above the long-term average. Specifically, Thompson estimates that pheasants in the eastern portion of the region are about 18 percent above the long-term average and 39 percent above the 2005 survey. Sharp-tailed grouse numbers are 45 percent above the long-term average and 37 percent above the 2005 survey. Biologists don’t survey Hungarian partridge populations, but Thompson notes that Huns appear to be more abundant, with larger and more numerous broods observed.

In the central portions of the region, in Phillips and Valley counties, upland bird populations appear to be above the long-term average.

Biologist Mark Sullivan says that adult pheasant numbers this spring were similar to last year, and sage grouse surveys indicate that the native grouse populations increased over 2005 levels. One of the most significant changes to upland bird regulations this year is a 4-bird bag limit for sage grouse, double last year’s daily bag. The sage grouse possession limit is twice the daily bag, or 8 birds.

The more liberal bag limit is recommended and justified by the Montana Sage Grouse Plan. Widespread and significant increases in sage grouse populations across their range in Montana have triggered the liberal bag limit through the plan’s Adaptive Harvest Management models. Trend areas in Region 6 indicate this spring’s adult population is 74 percent over the long-term average and the second-highest population since the annual census of sage grouse started in 1989.

From a hunter’s perspective, upland bird hunting this fall may be an experience in widespread poverty and sudden wealth. The poverty will take the form of fruitless miles of walking over dried-out range. The wealth will be an abundance of birds in pockets of habitat that have remained moist. Precipitation in the early fall may help redistribute birds, but hunting for habitat may prove to be the most successful strategy well into October.

The heat will likely affect bird hunters in other ways. The intense fire danger requires hunters to be extremely mindful not to drive or park in tall grass. Hunters should have a shovel, rake and a fire extinguisher or a few gallons of water in their vehicles. Dogs can dehydrate easily. Plan to hunt in the morning and evening and keep mid-day activity to less than an hour at a time and pack water for your dog as well as yourself. And be sure to care for any birds you harvest. Simply throwing their carcasses in the back of a pickup as you head to the next covert may result in a spoiled bird, and a ticket for waste of game. Bring a cooler and block, not crushed, ice to keep your game fresh. If you clean your birds in the field, be sure to leave either a wing or foot – as the law for that specific species requires – naturally attached to aid in identification.

There is some good news in this drought season. Thompson notes that the spring’s moisture produced a good crop of berries that are curing in the heat. Those berries will prove a valuable food source for upland game birds later in the fall and into the winter.