Hunting Washington Forum

Other Hunting => Upland Birds => Topic started by: boneaddict on June 05, 2011, 07:34:51 PM

Title: The hatch
Post by: boneaddict on June 05, 2011, 07:34:51 PM: Bunch of baby quail showed up tonight. Big hatch! Hopefully the rain holds off for a few days.
Title: Re: The hatch
Post by: True Sportsman on June 05, 2011, 07:51:27 PM: I was cruising timber last week and I had a momma grouse fluff up and charge me! It was pretty funny :) I backed away and she had quite a few babies that were hopping after her. Made me smile. It was neat hearing the sounds she made gathering all of them up after I left. I love being in the woods...

Dumb question, because I'm not a bird hunter. Why is the rain bad for the hatch? Why is bad for the new chicks?
Title: Re: The hatch
Post by: Sumpnneedskillin on June 05, 2011, 07:56:40 PM: They get wet, get hypothermia and risk dying. The longer the time between their hatch and rain the better.
Title: Re: The hatch
Post by: True Sportsman on June 05, 2011, 08:02:03 PM: Learn something new all the time I guess. Thanks for the info...
Title: Re: The hatch
Post by: ribka on June 05, 2011, 08:15:24 PM: Hope for a good year.

I saw baby huns today
Title: Re: The hatch
Post by: Machias on June 06, 2011, 10:39:59 AM: I couldn't be any worse than last years, possibly the worst hatch year I've ever seen!
Title: Re: The hatch
Post by: Birdguy on June 06, 2011, 09:12:29 PM: Just keep the good weather and hatch report coming :IBCOOL:. Gives me a little more motivation each day to work with the dog. If all else fails I have a couple hundred chukars in the brooder so he will get his either way :chuckle:.
Title: Re: The hatch
Post by: dscubame on June 06, 2011, 09:15:02 PM: Baby Robins above my deck looking good. After I got rid of those starlings (thanks to the information on this site) the Robins went to work nesting and hatching.
Title: Re: The hatch
Post by: Justin7mm on June 06, 2011, 09:21:25 PM: The farmer where i hunt says he has seen a pair of quail with about 10 babies this last week. Looks like nothing but good weather on the horizon
Title: Re: The hatch
Post by: Justin7mm on June 06, 2011, 09:32:45 PM: Quote from: True Sportsman on June 05, 2011, 07:51:27 PM

Dumb question, because I'm not a bird hunter. Why is the rain bad for the hatch? Why is bad for the new chicks?

Sumpnneedskillin is correct that the young chicks cannot regulate their body tempurature and that they risk dying if they get rained on. Most game birds will re-nest several times though if a nest is destroyed or if a clutch is lost. What is really bad is when almost an entire clutch dies and maybe one or two chicks live. The parents will raise one baby if that is all that's left as opposed to re-nesting. Game birds have a very high mortality rate (70-80%) as it is, so they depend on large hatches to keep numbers up year to year.
Title: Re: The hatch
Post by: MtnMuley on June 06, 2011, 09:39:39 PM: Saw a lone Blue chick with mommy
on Saturday out hiking. 2" tall. Only birds I saw. Usually see 10-20 on that hike. I guess thats a start.
Title: Re: The hatch
Post by: shorthair-on-point on June 07, 2011, 08:58:42 AM: I have not seen many chicks yet, it has been a very wet year in the Columbia Basin.
Title: Re: The hatch
Post by: Sumpnneedskillin on June 08, 2011, 08:47:20 AM: Still seeing pairs of quail running around and a few pheasant hens.

Talked with my parents last night and Mom said that she's seeing only male quail right now at the house in Yakima. So it appears the hens are sitting there.
Title: Re: The hatch
Post by: deereman on June 08, 2011, 12:29:29 PM: I saw my first batch of pheasant chicks the other day, must have been at least 10 chicks that came out of a hay field. Hopefully a few more will hatch before the hay swathers get in the fields. We are 20 days later than normal cutting our hay so maybe a few more chicks will make it this year.
Title: Re: The hatch
Post by: JackOfAllTrades on June 08, 2011, 12:57:20 PM: Quote from: deereman on June 08, 2011, 12:29:29 PM
We are 20 days later than normal cutting our hay so maybe a few more chicks will make it this year.

Up here in the north interior, many farmers are a month behind for the first cut. I know dairy farmers that completely ran out of bails. There was one weather break where many cut grass for silage then it rained again and most couldn't even get equipment on the soft/wet fields. My field was nearly four feet tall last week. My neighbor came and cut it, tetted over two days, then it's rained again. I'm sure he won't be able to round bail until this weekend. That puts my relatively dry field about a month behind. I heard of one big tractor last night sunk to the frame down the road from us on a field that's normally cut long before this time of year. Not good... .

-Steve
Title: Re: The hatch
Post by: boneaddict on June 08, 2011, 06:48:55 PM: Another new batch straight out of the shell. The first batch is well. I've got lots of cover for them. Lets hope for the pheasants.
Title: Re: The hatch
Post by: Rhinoron247 on August 17, 2011, 06:27:54 PM: Hopes are high for a good year of quail at least. I have seen no less than 12 new batches of babies. There must have been a very late hatch. Ive seen them in the basin, on the nation and in the Kittitas valley. Fingers crossed for a great season.
Title: Re: The hatch
Post by: JackOfAllTrades on August 17, 2011, 08:59:58 PM: I'm goin with 'late hatch' in the northern interior. (Grouse) So damn much snow up there. I think they were buried! But, it's been dry for quite a while too, so I'm hopeful that what little broods were started should have a good chance here.

We saw several Quail along the Methow last week.

-Steve
Title: Re: The hatch
Post by: boneaddict on August 18, 2011, 04:46:25 AM: Quail have done well. Pheasants are almost non existent. Chukars/Huns seem to be fairly rare these days as well. I haven't been in the woods enough to evaluate grouse.
Title: Re: The hatch
Post by: Sumpnneedskillin on August 18, 2011, 11:17:58 AM: Seen a few quail and a few pheasant chicks. Been seeing fewer adults compared to last year. Did see a clutch of huns last week that looked like they didn't have feathers yet. There were little puff balls about the size of feed store chicks.