My mind is already wandering to cool mornings in camp, as we
prep to head uphill to search for blues. Admittedly, it is a bit premature, as
the birds have just hatched and we had mountain snow in the past ten days. Ripe berries and hoppers of the dog days of
summer are weeks away. Regardless, there will always be a few blues in their
reliable high-elevation haunts on September 1st.
With upland bird season just two months away, I am
formulating a more deliberate list of hunting trips for the upcoming season
than normal. I started a list on my iPhone of places I want to not forget about
in the next 4-6 months, as I think of them. In other words, ideas gleaned while
at work or during “conversation” with the wife. Some brainstorms involve new
areas I have never traveled to, some out of state, a few here in Montana. Old coverts that I have neglected the past few
seasons for whatever reason are also on the list.
Nevada- is in the former category. Every year I attempt to
make a late season chukar trip and every year a winter storm pops up as I pack
up. I guess that shouldn’t surprise when trying to travel 12 hours, across
three mountain passes in January, but this is the year. I swear. The vast amount of public land is intriguing,
as is the topography that appears much more hospitable than the Hells Canyon
vert.
The Charlie M. Russell Wildlife Refuge – While I live only
an hour from the western-most edge of the 1.1 million acres of public land, I
haven’t hunted it much the past four or five years. While bird densities can be
fairly low per mile on the CMR, it is truly endless walking for those that seek
sharptail and sage grouse in their native range. I don’t own a horse, but if I did, saddle
up. I will also probably invite along a sage grouse rookie, so they can have a
chance at checking off the big bombers from their life-list.
Wyoming Blue Grouse- Sure, leaving blues in my backyard to
search for blues in another state seems foolish. But, the satisfaction of finding birds in new
country is always enjoyable. Early
September is the window for this hunt, as snow comes early in the
high-country. There was plenty of white
stuff on the ground last September 15th when I promised the family a
“camping trip” in the Cowboy State.
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| Blues are a great early-season opportunity - in any state |
Minnesota Sharptail- Same. Montana has ample sharptail.
Minnesota’s numbers are a fraction of Big Sky Country’s. No matter, this is mostly nostalgia, to check
on some of the grouse habitat that I first hunted in as a youngster. I don’t think the peat bogs and birds have
gone anywhere. It will be interesting to see if the countryside appears the same
way that my memory paints it. I will already be back in the North Woods hunting
ruffs and woodcock, so this can be a side trip.
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| Minnesota "chickens" circa 1985 |
The usual favorites. I have
already made one trip to Idaho scouting for chukars and saw plenty of breeding
pairs in new areas. This research combined with an off-season knee adjustment,
makes chukar hunting a priority. Wyoming
chukar hunting is also decent and offers another late-season option when
Montana is shut down. It appears Montana Huns and pheasants populations will be
on the rise, so a few prairie road trips are also in the cards. Specifically, I
noted a large, remote parcel that I discovered while hunting mule deer last
November. Flushing sharptail, Huns and a
few pheasants while sneaking on deer may be annoying to some, but I was
laughing the entire time. September can’t get here quickly enough.
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| Chukar habitat, settter on point, public land. That's all. |
