Going to the Birds
Source: gf.state.wy.us
Published: Aug. 10, 2008
"I want to hunt wild pheasants in Wyoming," the caller on the other end of the line was saying. "Where should I go?"
While on the surface this question might seem easily answered, it is not that cut and dried. Wyoming does have pheasants and does have wild pheasants in a number of areas. Those that have hunted pheasants for long in the state know that much of the public access hunting is supplemented through stocking of pheasants from the two bird farms operated by the Game and Fish. These farms release around 30,000 pheasants each year in Wyoming. Most releases take place on Game and Fish wildlife habitat units and walk in areas where the public has access for pheasant hunting. But, in answer to the question, there are wild pheasants in Wyoming, and some of the walk-in areas have wild pheasants. There are also wild pheasants in much of the private lands outside of walk-in areas, but to hunt these areas, permission must be obtained from the landowners.
The greatest pheasant harvest occurs in Goshen and Bighorn counties. Recent years have seen harvests of about 45,000 birds. Since stockings amount to around 30,000 birds and not all are harvested by hunters, it is obvious there is some hunting for wild birds. But, if it were not for the bird farms, there would be much less chance of bagging a pheasant on lands with public access. Wyoming simply does not have as much pheasant habitat as the better known "pheasant states" and consequently, we have fewer pheasants.
While other upland birds may not have the glamour of pheasants, there are opportunities for a number of other species. These include sage, blue, ruffed, sharp-tailed grouse and chukar and Hungarian (gray) partridge. Upland bird populations rise and fall on the whims of the weather, and if there are several favorable moist years with a good carryover of adult birds and good nesting conditions, the populations increase dramatically. The last time these conditions really came together was back in 1999 and 2000. During those years, the harvest for grouse and partridge was at least double to more than triple the harvest of more recent years. But with that being said, there are still opportunities to take birds. In this day and age of high gas prices more hunters are combining their big game and fishing trips with birds hunts. For the hunter who only wants to pursue birds a day or two, a daily licenses are available for both residents and nonresidents which can save a little money over purchasing the season license.
The following are a few of the counties where hunters have a good opportunity to run into the different species of game birds.
Sage Grouse
This is advice for next year as the sage grouse season is very short, usually running the last week of September. The 2008 season was Sept. 20-30. Sage grouse and antelope often share much of the same habitat and there are many antelope hunt areas, particularly in the western and central portion of the state, where their seasons overlaps with sage grouse dates making a combination hunt possible. A nice thing about sage grouse is that most of the hunting is on public land. Counties with the greatest sage grouse harvest are Sweetwater, Sublette and Fremont counties.
Blue Grouse
Blue grouse are found in most mountain ranges in the state both on national forest and BLM lands. Annual harvest usually runs between 8,000-10,000 birds. Many blue grouse are taken incidental to deer and elk hunts. The season is long, opening Sept. 1 and running until the end of November. Greatest numbers of birds are found in the Sierra Madre Range in Carbon County, the Snowy Range in Carbon and Albany counties and the Big Horn Mountains in Sheridan and Johnson counties.
Ruffed Grouse
Ruffed grouse are found in the national forests in the western half of the state. These include the Shoshone, Bridger-Teton and Targhee national forests. Harvest is typically more than 5,000 birds with top producers in the forested areas in Teton and Sublette counties. Blue grouse are also found in many of these mountain ranges and hunters often run into both species. As with blue grouse, the season closes on Nov. 30.
Chukar and Gray Partridge
As with other upland birds, chukars and gray (Hungarian) partridge are very dependant on the weather for good populations. As an example, in the aforementioned years of 1999 and 2000, the harvest for gray partridge was 17,000 and 16,000 birds. In recent years the harvest has been around 1500 to 2000. Chukars haven't had as dramatic of a fluctuation. Recent harvest was 8300 birds compared to nearly 12000 in 1999. The best places for chukars are Hot Springs and Park counties. Huns are also taken in those counties along with some harvest in the Spotted Horse hunt unit in Sheridan and Campbell counties.
Story by Al Langston, Information Specialist
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