Hunting Washington Forum
Other Hunting => Upland Birds => Topic started by: Gutpile on June 06, 2008, 09:46:40 PM
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Is it going to be another poor hatch. It's been a lot cooler this spring but we havent had to much rain. What do you think. Last year was horrible. I want another good pheasant season bad!
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You're right. I hadn't even thought about that. I was wanting to try out my new Brittany on some pheasants, and all I hunt are the wild pheasants in SE Wa. No release sites for me. If there's not many birds I probably won't want to burn all the gas driving over there, so I guess I'll just stay close to home and take her out for some grouse.
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Gotta love those grouse. They've been thick out here the last couple of years. Nothing like a big fat cackling rooster though! :drool:
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The good news is that there is a lot of cover this year... although it seemed like there was a lot last year too.
Hopefully it will warm up quickly and we'll get some bugs and hoppers for the little ones. I was surprised that it's actually the presence of bugs(protein) that has a big effect on nesting success. I spoke w/ a biologist in SD and he said while the young birds can definitely die as a result of cold/wet weather, it's often times the lack of bugs that really does them in. They can't grow quickly enough to withstand the hardships they face early in life.
Hail is really bad too.
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Just talk to the birdman. THIS SUCKS!
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I've got three sets of chukars around my house. All three lost all of their chicks or did not hatch any. The hens are off the nest and the brood is gone. Between snakes, and bad weather. My place is protected as well....no dogs, no coyotes, limited raptors. Out of 4 quail families, one is on the nest, one is barren(lost all her babies to the last big storm) no babies left, one has 5 day olds and fairing well, and one hatched yesterday, fingers crossed. I have several others that the hens came up empty. Pheasants are a big ZERO. In and out of the cage. Babies all gone, and hens are off the nest. I know of one that is still setting with proud papa, keeping fairly near. I see him everymorning, and she hasn't joined him yet.
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>:(Thats not good news at all!! This week is going to do some real damage. Snow? June? Holy cow! :'( :'(
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Might have to pass on blasting too many this year. Well, there is always duck and goose....
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Spent the day hiking the Columbia breaks north of Wenatchee today. Snow line was about 2,500'. Saw a few pairs of quail, one predated chukar, 4 predated blue grouse, 1 live chukar. ZERO grasshoppers, very few bugs at all except a few ants. Bleakest second week of June for gamebirds I've EVER seen.
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came into work this evening and anotehr female pheasant walked across the road with no babies. She'd been setting.
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saw a coyote just down the road too. dang blast it.
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Pat and I found several huge empty egg shells on the "shore line" where we were fishing this weekend. Figured the coyotes must of got them. They appeared bigger than goose eggs so I was confused until we saw 7 pelicans swimming and flying around the area.
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Boy if we there were problems before yesterday they just got worse. There was a raging thunderstorm that blew through Spo and the Palouse last night that dumped buckets of rain and hail. I'm sure it messed up alot of nests....
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The neighbor found a couple baby quail abandoned on her sidewalk yesterday in the big blow. Some wind came through...holy moly... anyway she tried to save them and they died. I wish she would have left them as mom probably would have saved them. More casualties of mother nature I guess.
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I have seen one quail pair with chicks, and about twenty pair without. I am worried as well.
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I had 5 adult quail running around my yard just befor deer season. Than they disapeard. About a week ago I saw 2 (a breeding pair?) with no chicks.
Though I have plenty of rabbits around. I've only seen 1 baby so far a couple weeks ago but havn't seen it since.
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u gonna use those rabbits for bow practice? they taste yummy and ya can mount one for fun!!
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Today I went for a hike up to the state land near where i live (nine mile falls) and only saw 2 quail with no chicks. Normally there are alot more quail and chicks everywhere. Any news on pheasents?
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Same here . We live in Suncrest and usually have momma and poppa in the yard with the chicks by now.
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Theres another thread on here somewhere about this very topic. The last big weather we had was devastating to the hatch. Sawe another barren pheasant this morning.
YEAH somebody found it(and combined it). THANKS!
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On the + side I did see a family of quail while riding my bike yesterday. Little tiny buggers about the size a pingpong ball.
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Out coyote huntin last night, came across one, half grown grouse, normaly would have been a bunch.
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would releasing crickets be dertomental to the local environment? thousand here thousand there. just near wherever you guys have these families pegged. it's really a sad topic bout a bad hatch. :dunno:
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Seen three babychucks today. Course its about to rain again. :(
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would releasing crickets be dertomental to the local environment? thousand here thousand there. just near wherever you guys have these families pegged. it's really a sad topic bout a bad hatch. :dunno:
That's an interesting idea. Releasing some kind of native insect for food.... hmmm. Gonna have to hit up my biologist buddy at the Fed F&W and see if there have been any studies/trials on this. I know the overall biggest issues is habitat.... not only acreage but quality. In many areas around Spokane there is CRP but it really isn't "quality" habitat for nesting and rearing birds. Not all CPR is the same unfortunately. But I wonder if there were increased food if that would offset the quality deficiencies any?
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yeah see what the biologist thinks. im sure in mass purchases crickets would be even cheaper than they already are. could prolly get them donated for the good cause even?
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Saw a quail family by west Ellensburg park Fri. evening. 8-10 chicks. Guessing it's their second brood. So maybe there's hope. :dunno:
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That is encouraging. Anyone been anywhere near the entiat? Grouse populations?
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I have two quail families around the place this year. We have a lot of local cover hear that is kept fairly free of yotes so have decent numbers in the 8 years I have lived here.
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I've been driving to Lewiston-Pullman-Moscow-LaCross every Thursday, Republic-Curlew-Colville etc. every Tuesday, Lake Roosevelt area(7Bays, Deer Meadows etc.) on other days and been heading to Hayden, CDL on the days I don't do the other driving, so far I've not seen a single chick only adult quail, no pheasant and because I drive to Curlew Lake area most of the time I go thru Boulder Pass where I've seen only cows, a deer now and then but no grouse.
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I've been seeing tons of quail as of late. Little tiny golf ball sized buggers. Maybe the pheasants gave it another go too? :dunno:
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we need to put aphrodisiacs into their water supply.
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My buddy just drove over to spokane and back and said he didn't see a bird. Probably another bad year. :'(
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I have not seen squat around my place :dunno: Normally there are about 200 quail and about a dozen pheasents around my house, but this year for some reason nothing...Depressing
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I have seen three diffenert hatchs this year at my parents place. There are so many quail there you wouldnt know which way to shoot :o. I have seen a lot of birds out the LT, I've even seen a ruffled grouse for the first time.
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(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi154.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fs241%2Fbrossi22%2F031.jpg&hash=1763fbab17454212fc03518ed6e5a79c361d8ffd)
How do these look for hatchlings!!
Brandon
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Pretty sure it's still gonna be a poor year, but I'm starting to see a lot of little quail.
Headshot-- damn near ran over a "pair" of quail right out your front door this morning. They had 8-10 chicks with them. Nothing like driving east with the sun coming up.
I'd spill my coffee for a bird-- but never a cat. Unless it's one of those black and white puddy cats. ;)
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Chukar -- Yeah I started feeding them the other day and more are coming in, it's nice to see all those little *censored*s.
I want to mow down the field at my place but I'm afraid of chopping them up too.
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The hatch doesn't seem that bad to me. Late but not bad. The quail are thick and the chukar seem to be average. The pheasant seems low but that is average for Washington. If nothing else we will have some good quail shoots in.
Shannon
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There are two breeding pairs with only two chicks each :( in the neighbor's backyard. Been hearing lots of them calling around the area, tho. They drive my Brittany Spaniel nuts thru the fence. :drool: This is in the Spo Valley near the "Valley View" big burn from a few weeks back. Kinda late but encouraging.
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Drove through our pheasant spots and didn't see a bird. Not looking good.
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Second quail hatch came off stong. Huns and chucks are average I suppose, they not stellar. The Pheasant hatch sucks this year.
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Starting to see some late quail hatches around here. Sure would like to get rid of some neighbors cats though.
Slenk
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SEEING LOTS OF BIRDS IN NORTH CENTRAL WASHINGTON...LOTS OF QUAIL, CHUKARS AND PHEASANTS...EVEN TURKEYS. OVERALL NUMBERS ARE STILL DEPRESSED. SOME BROODS MAYBE HAVING SECOND CLUTCHES BECAUSE FIRST ONES FAILED. WHICH ISN'T GOOD GOING INTO WINTER. THIS SEEMED TO LOOK GOOD COMING OUT OF WINTER...HAD A FEW RAIN SHOWERS DURING HATCHING TIME...NOW THINGS ARE DRY AS A BONE...AND i HAVE PLENTY OF INSECTS AROUND FOR TABLEFARE. eVEN FOREST GROUSE LAST YEAR WAS A LITTLE DEPRESSING...i AM HOWEVER SEEING LOTS OF DOVES STARTING TO SHOW UP AFTER WHEAT HARVEST....AND LOTS OF THOSE EURASION COLLARED DOVES...THEY LOOK LIKE A CROSS BETWEEN A MOURNING AND PIGEON..BIG AND SLOW. THEY WERE PUT ON THE DELETERIOUS SPECIES LIST SO IF YOU SEE THEM BLAST EM IF YOU CAN. BE SURE ON ID HOWEVER.
