A moist spring helped develop denser habitat for upland recreation birds this spring in Montana, however storms additionally could have pressured some species to re-nest after chilly climate killed chicks.
As a end result, upland hunters should be picky about the place they go this season. In areas with widespread vegetation development, birds could possibly be broadly distributed.
Here is Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ notes from every area on what to anticipate.
North-central: Despite higher habitat and better nesting success, sharp-tailed grouse and sage-grouse numbers nonetheless stay down from their historic common in keeping with spring lek counts carried out by biologists.
Likewise, spring surveys present pheasant numbers nonetheless stay decrease than the historic common within the area. Biologists reported truthful to good pheasant counts in areas of high-quality habitat, however few or no pheasants in marginal habitat.
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South-central: During spring surveys, only a few profitable broods had been noticed. Frequent chilly spring rains impacted chick hatches for a number of upland species, together with Hungarian partridge, pheasant and sharp-tailed and sage-grouse. Though upland birds in some areas had been profitable in hatching broods, many areas are exhibiting only a few young of the 12 months. Turkey brood sizes additionally seem like under common.
Northeast: The mixture of the earlier summer season’s drought and a troublesome winter appeared to influence upland hen populations coming into the breeding season in some areas, but additionally introduced sufficient soil moisture to begin recovering all the area from drought. May and June (probably the most crucial months for recreation hen manufacturing) noticed above common rainfall. As a end result, habitat circumstances throughout nesting and brood rearing season had been good throughout the area this summer season.
Overall hen searching is predicted to be much like final 12 months in jap and central parts of the area and enhance over final 12 months within the western parts. Bird numbers will possible stay under long-term common for central western Region 6, and above common for the jap half of the area.
In the far jap portion of Region 6, pheasant hunters ought to anticipate pheasant numbers to stay the identical or enhance barely from the earlier 12 months, which suggests they may stay above common.
Hunters ought to anticipate pheasant numbers within the Glasgow space to be near long-term common and about the identical as final 12 months, whereas within the Malta and Havre areas, numbers are prone to stay under common this fall.
Sharp-tailed grouse numbers will stay above common this fall for the jap third of the area. In the Glasgow and Malta areas, sharp-tail numbers could get better and be considerably common just like the earlier season.
While climate circumstances this summer season are possible to enhance populations within the Havre space, sharp-tailed grouse searching within the western parts of Region 6 is prone to stay a bit under common.
In Region 6, Hungarian partridge populations should not monitored by way of any structured surveys, however harvest estimates present their populations do observe with the opposite hen species within the area to some extent.
In the jap portion of the area, partridge harvest within the fall of 2022 was nicely above common for the realm and elevated considerably over the earlier 12 months, reaching a 20-year excessive. It is predicted that numbers might be much like final searching season.
Limited habitat causes partridge populations to be comparatively low within the central portion of the area. However, primarily based on adjoining areas and recent climate circumstances, anticipate partridge numbers to differ from common to under common. Based on the climate circumstances this spring and early summer season, it appears possible that partridge searching within the Havre space will enhance however should still be barely under common.
In each the central and western elements of the area, populations could also be spotty and coveys could also be difficult to find constantly.
With the great precipitation acquired this 12 months, sage-grouse searching is prone to be common or barely under common within the Glasgow space this fall, and comparatively much like final season. Habitat circumstances might be higher, which can trigger sage-grouse to be extra dispersed throughout the panorama.
While good precipitation in the course of the nesting and brooding season this 12 months within the Malta and Havre space will assist populations, the recent drought was particularly exhausting, and populations are prone to stay under common.
Southeast: There are many areas throughout the area that skilled extreme thunderstorms with torrential rains, hail and excessive winds. This form of climate can have very hostile results on nesting hens and young broods, particularly in localized areas. Hunters must be ready to be adaptable within the occasion that their favourite spot was the recipient of a few of this climate.
Southwest: Mountain and sage-grouse productiveness, in addition to partridge productiveness, must be first rate this 12 months. There might be wing barrels out in a number of areas all through southwest Montana. Hunters are requested to deposit just one wing from every hen harvested into one in every of these barrels or with the Sheridan or Dillon wildlife biologists’ places of work. Wings might be used to find out the age and intercourse of grouse to find out productiveness for the 12 months.
Northwest: Pheasant searching on the Ninepipe Wildlife Management Area close to Ronan and surrounding space could possibly be constructive in comparison with earlier years. Good grain manufacturing and a few opportunistic moisture within the spring led to truthful circumstances. The chicks/brood ratio seems good and the scale of the chicks noticed signifies a very good survival charge.
For waterfowl, drought circumstances have plagued northwest Montana by way of the summer season and did not assist native wetland circumstances throughout nesting and brood rearing season. This may result in a dip in waterfowl alternatives in addition to Canada geese, which stay wholesome.
West: Across west-central Montana, hunters ought to expertise a median 12 months for forest grouse and wild turkeys. Despite a protracted winter, the circumstances had been nonetheless manageable for a lot of recreation birds to have good winter survival into spring. Spring surveys detected loads of grownup ruffed and dusky grouse, and the spring turkey season confirmed no scarcity of birds. Hunters specializing in dusky grouse ought to transfer up in elevation because the season progresses.
Due to recent efforts to revive native sharp-tailed grouse to a number of areas in western Montana, it’s potential you can encounter a sharptail whereas searching. Be cautious to determine birds, as searching is closed for sharptails west of the Continental Divide in Montana.
