Upland Game Seasons Open with High Bird Counts

Saturday September 17 marks opening day for sage grouse, chukar, quail, and gray partridge hunting in Idaho, and there should be plenty of birds this year. During recent surveys Fish and Game biologists counted more than 2,000 chukars in a 12 square mile survey area near Brownlee Reservoir. That translates to 174 chukars per square mile, 12 percent higher than last year's record count. On the Snake River in the Clearwater Region, biologists counted 880 chukars, an increase of 10 percent compared to last year's count. The birds were seen in 54 groups with an average of 16 birds per group. On the Lower Salmon River, surveyors counted 1,489 chukars. That's down from last year when 1,722 chukars were counted. Biologists say temperatures were cold when the Salmon River survey was conducted. Many Idaho bird hunters use chukar counts to gauge abundance of other species. Biologists caution that various species populations can fluctuate depending on environmental conditions. However, anecdotal information from hunters and others wandering Idaho's mountains suggests quail and forest grouse had good success rearing young birds in the spring and summer. Gray partridge numbers in the intensively farmed areas of the Magic Valley appear to have increased substantially from 2004. The number of huns observed on August 2005 surveys increased 174 percent compared to 2004. Pheasant numbers observed on August 2005 Magic Valley surveys were nearly double the numbers observed in 2004. Roadside surveys averaged 0.42 birds per mile in 2005 compared to 0.22 birds per mile in 2004 and a 10-year average of 0.21 birds per mile. Sage-grouse populations in the Magic Valley have shown an increasing trend over the past 11 years. Lek surveys suggest grouse populations have roughly doubled since 1994. In 2005, lek counts increased 20 percent from 2004 surveys.