Anybody finding birds???

[509]

Everybody said that it was a great hatch this spring.  They also said all the birds disappeared after the 110-115 temps in August.

New puppy at 11 months.  Six days hunted.  Birds pointed ZIP.  Birds flushed, maybe one or two a day.  Two days hunted with other dogs....birds pointed ZIP, birds flushed maybe one or two a day.

Other reports??  Heard or NO shooting on most days.  Lots of bird hunters left after day two of geezer hunt.

Spokane paper says.....worse than normal season.

Anybody finding birds outside the release sites??

[metlhead]

Only shooting right now has been quail and partridge. That has been real good. Since you mention release sites, are you asking bouts pheasant?

[KP-Skagit]

General consensus I have heard from everyone I know who hunts release site phez is that they did not release any this year. This is both E WA and W WA.

My dad hunted the W WA 65+ season out at Samish and said it was very apparent they had not put out birds as the access roads had not been driven in quite a while. He got birds but they were clearly holdovers. What really irked him (and me) is that the 65+ is a couple days AFTER the youth. Meaning they didn't put any birds out for the kids.

They sure love selling licenses though.

[MR5x5]

Everybody said that it was a great hatch this spring.  They also said all the birds disappeared after the 110-115 temps in August.

New puppy at 11 months.  Six days hunted.  Birds pointed ZIP.  Birds flushed, maybe one or two a day.  Two days hunted with other dogs....birds pointed ZIP, birds flushed maybe one or two a day.

Other reports??  Heard or NO shooting on most days.  Lots of bird hunters left after day two of geezer hunt.

Spokane paper says.....worse than normal season.

Anybody finding birds outside the release sites??

What neck of the woods were you in?

[phildobaggins]

General consensus I have heard from everyone I know who hunts release site phez is that they did not release any this year. This is both E WA and W WA.

My dad hunted the W WA 65+ season out at Samish and said it was very apparent they had not put out birds as the access roads had not been driven in quite a while. He got birds but they were clearly holdovers. What really irked him (and me) is that the 65+ is a couple days AFTER the youth. Meaning they didn't put any birds out for the kids.

They sure love selling licenses though.

Took my pops out for the senior pheasant hunt. Talked to a guy (who spoke really broken english) who claimed to have seen them release pheasants the weekend prior. We didn't find any birds and we covered a ton of ground. Saw some pheasant feathers in some crud up a draw, but that's it.  Had my lab with me.

[509]

I hunted FIVE days in south-east Washington,  ONE day in the Columbia Basin, and ONE day in the Okanogan.

I wanted the pup to point on holding birds.  So I did pick sites that were release sites or situations where quail would hold tight for a pup.

Hunted three release sites in south-east and there were NO releases on those sites.  Worse yet, those sites did have quail populations and I believe we flushed one quail and a couple of wild pheasants.  Hunted several areas with wild birds and they were around, but populations seemed much lower than in previous years.  Quail were missing in areas that we normally found them.  The locals did say no releases for the youth hunt in the area this year.

The Department did release on one site in the Columbia Basin.  I drove past it and a confused rooster was standing in the road wondering what just happened!!!  I did hunt another site for quail and found none.

Last headed up the Okanogan for a couple of areas where I always found quail.  None found.  No roosters flushed either.

Pretty disappointing.

I missed out on the last two years as my dog died of bone cancer and it took two years to find a replacement pup.  Seven days....and counting.  I did hunt with a couple of other dogs so I don't think it is just my pup, BTW she was covering so much ground that she should have just stumbled in dozens of birds!!!

[MR5x5]

Interesting...  I'll have a Palouse report after the opener.

[509]

So will I.

The areas I hunted were selected for the pup to encounter birds that would hold tight.  So they were not areas that normally hold the largest number of birds, BUT there should have been MORE than we found.

I have covey's of quail numbering 30 to 40 just outside the house.  But that is too many birds for the pup to hold point.  All hell breaks loose and she just wants to chase!!!  Even here, the population seems down.

All my new neighbors from Seattle are afraid of people with guns, not to mention what would happen if I actually shot a quail!!!

[NJClark7]

I'll add on that the coveys in my usual hunting sites in central Washington are halved at best and non-existent to return after the first flush. Some spots, the usual covey that I would've encountered in years past are not even there. It's very dry, still warm, and maybe the birds aren't moving because the weather's fit for a picnic?

[Sandberm]

I assume its covid related but the Army Corp of Engineers didn't take care of any of the habitat management units along the Snake River. Didn't open Levy Park from what i can tell. Maybe there wont be any pheasant releases this year for similar reasons?

[andersonjk4]

From what I am seeing in southern Spokane county, the hun and quail hatches were strong and survival was good.  Pheasant numbers seem to be the same as last year or a little lower.  I don't think the pheasant hatch faired as well as the smaller birds.  These are all wild birds.  No information on release site birds. 

[509]

My observation is ALL upland birds are down significantly from years previous.

And its not just me.  Other hunters have reported the same.  It was looking to be a banner year until that hot spell in August.

We will see in a few days if the birds are in hiding or just gone!! 

The predicted rain might just scatter the birds further.

Vladimir

[MR5x5]

Yeah, it was a little rough in the Palouse for the opener.  I'd say numbers at 60% of last year.  Weather did not help either.  Am hoping the weather made it seem worse than it actually was. Headed back out soon for some more punishment!

[metlhead]

Was in the Palouse this past weekend hunting state land. Not a human seen all day. Huns were plentiful. Some chukar and lots of quail, which were left alone. Also smoked two geese that came in a flock out of somewhere, directly overhead about 20yds. Try packing those out of a drainage with other birds loading you down! My observations were that numbers seemed good. Seen plenty of pheasants on private grounds.

[Daman9091233]

2 guys with no dog we got 3 pheasant in 3 hours on opening day in eastern wa. Also grouse have been friendly to me got 2 in 30 mins at a spot we found just before dark. but it sure sounds like i just got lucky finding spots from many of the posts