At the chance of jinxing it, that is shaping as much as be an excellent fall for those who’re an upland recreation hen hunter.
Whether sharp-tailed grouse, Hungarian partridge or ruffed grouse, the outlook is optimistic to downright bullish on either side of the Red River.
Grouse and partridge season opens Saturday, Sept. 9, in North Dakota and Saturday, Sept. 16, in Minnesota. That’s adopted a number of weeks later by pheasant season, which opens Saturday, Oct. 7, in North Dakota and at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, in Minnesota.
In North Dakota, the Game and Fish Department hadn’t launched outcomes from its August roadside brood depend surveys earlier than the deadline for this column, however all indicators level to good manufacturing. Jesse Kolar, upland recreation administration supervisor for Game and Fish in Dickinson, hinted as a lot in final week’s
“North Dakota Outdoors” webcast,
a weekly video function the division produces.
Contributed / North Dakota Game and Fish Department
Sharptail broods within the survey had been averaging 4 to seven chicks, “which is good — a little bit up from last year,” Kolar stated within the webcast. RJ Gross, an upland recreation biologist for the division, made a
comparable prediction for pheasants throughout a “North Dakota Outdoors” webcast
a number of weeks earlier.
The roadside survey was nonetheless a piece in progress at the moment, “but I’m optimistic it’s going to be a real good fall,” Gross stated within the webcast. Spring pheasant crowing counts had been up 30% statewide from final yr, with the very best counts within the southwest and northwest, at 19.5 and 16.6 crows per cease, respectively, Game and Fish reported in June.
Spring sharptail and Hungarian partridge counts had been just like 2022, which got here as a little bit of a shock, given the extreme winter, Kolar stated in final week’s webcast. Spring drumming counts for ruffed grouse within the Turtle Mountains had been additionally up 40%, Kolar stated, however the division wasn’t in a position to conduct the spring drumming survey within the Pembina Hills.
The abundance of Hungarian partridge has been particularly shocking, Kolar stated.
“Partridge continue to surprise us every year,” Kolar stated within the webcast. “Every year, we think that this is probably going to be the last year where we see partridge this high. This year again, they’re increasing — another year of really big brood sizes and lots of broods.”
In the webcast, Kolar stated he didn’t count on upland birds to outlive in addition to they did through the extreme winter of 2022-23.
“To be honest, it’s a little bit of a mystery why upland birds survived the winter as well as they did compared to deer or pronghorn,” Kolar stated. It could possibly be, he stated, that there weren’t as lots of the extreme blizzards that entice and suffocate upland birds. Snow additionally supplies thermal cowl for each sharptails and Huns.
“As long as they can find food, the snow can be helpful in some ways,” Kolar stated.
In northwest Minnesota, the place ruffed grouse are the preferred quarry for upland hen hunters, anecdotal reviews point out good numbers of ruffed grouse brood sightings. The Department of Natural Resources doesn’t survey ruffed grouse broods, as a substitute counting on spring drumming surveys to supply inhabitants insights.
Even when drumming counts are excessive, although, manufacturing holds the important thing to looking success, and this summer time’s dry circumstances might have been simply the ticket for a robust ruffed grouse hatch.
“Anecdotally, I am very optimistic about the grouse season around here,” stated Charlie Tucker, supervisor of Red Lake Wildlife Management Area at Norris Camp south of Roosevelt, Minnesota. “I am normally optimistic — hard not to be — but this year I am more confident in my prediction. I’m definitely seeing more broods this year.”
The DNR on Tuesday, Sept. 5, launched outcomes of its summer time roadside survey for pheasants and Hungarian partridge. The pheasant index elevated 101% within the southwest area and 38% within the west central area, though numbers declined within the central, east central, south central and southeast areas.
Of particular curiosity to hunters in northwest Minnesota, although, was the growth in Hungarian partridge numbers. In the northwest, the survey tallied 14.9 Huns per 100 miles pushed, up from 2.2 per hundred miles in 2022. In the southwest area, by comparability, Hungarian partridge numbers ticked up from 2.7 per 100 miles final yr to 7.6 per 100 miles this yr.
Randy Prachar, supervisor of Roseau River Wildlife Management Area in northwest Minnesota, stated he’s been “mildly impressed” by the variety of Hun broods he’s seen and inspired by the abundance of sharptail broods.
For many — and maybe most — outside fanatics throughout the Northland, fall is the most effective time of yr, and this fall gives loads of purpose for optimism.
It received’t be lengthy now.
