With upland bird and waterfowl numbers looking strong across the state, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks statewide bird coordinator Rick Northrup said hunters might be missing the boat by sticking to their old favorite hunting haunts.
"There are a lot of untapped opportunities out there," Northrup said. "I believe there are lots of places that birds never see a hunter."
After a pair of wet springs, sharptail grouse populations have blossomed in that part of the state.
"There are landowners there who don't get a lot of hunters until the antelope season opens," Northrup said. "There's a lot of good sharptail hunting happening there now and people are missing it."
Closer to home, there are all kinds of areas hiding opportunity for mountain grouse hunters.
"People just need to find them," he said. "I think there are lots of mountain grouse areas around the state that never see a hunter all year long. It's an untapped resource."
With that said, Northrup expects Montana's bird hunters are looking at a very productive season this fall. But don't forget to do your homework before venturing into the field.
Unlike southeast Montana - where rain fell in bucketfuls last spring - most of the state missed out on moisture.
Waterfowl hunters expecting to head up along the Hi-Line may want to make sure their favorite wetland has enough water to float a decoy.
"There are some places along the Hi-Line that are lacking decent amounts of water," Northrup said. "A mild winter and very little rain have left some of those places high and dry."
Where hunters can find water, there should be plenty of opportunity to find ducks and geese migrating south this season.
The annual U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fall survey over breeding grounds in the prairie potholes and farther north in Canada and Alaska found burgeoning numbers of waterfowl.
The survey estimated mallard numbers at 8.3 million and the duck population at
41 million.
"That's 14 percent up from last year - and last year was a really good flight," Northrup said. "Those numbers are up 24 percent over the long-term average."
The increases are credited to good moisture north of the border and a successful Conservation Reserve Program protecting habitat in the prairie pothole region.
"Some of our wetlands are being very productive right now," he said.
The news is good for goose hunters as well.
"Goose hunting should be every bit as good as it was last year," Northrup said. "Goose numbers have been on an upward trend for the last couple of years."
As always, waterfowl hunters will remain at the mercy of the weather. If a frigid cold front descends from the north freezing everything solid in its path, ducks and geese might push through the state in one large flight.
"It's always better if the weather cooperates and allows waterfowl to trickle through the entire season," Northrup said. "The neat thing about Montana is that because we have open water that can hold geese and mallards all the way through the waterfowl season, hunters have the opportunity to switch between big game and waterfowl.
"There can be some really good waterfowl hunting all the way through the season," he said.
Hunters can get a report on the annual migration by calling the Freezeout Lake Wildlife Management Area at (406) 467-2646 during the waterfowl season.
Duck and goose season opened last weekend.
For those bird hunters who like to keep their feet dry, there should be plenty of opportunity to find some upland game birds.
Pheasant numbers are strong, especially in that eastern tier considered the stronghold for ringnecks in Montana, Northrup said. Some areas around Malta and Glasgow did get hit with a heavy hailstorm and that knocked numbers down somewhat, he said.
"Generally speaking, pheasant hunting is looking pretty good this year," he said.
Pheasant season opens Oct. 13.
Hungarian partridge are a different story.
"It looks like it's going to be a really mixed bag this year for gray partridge," Northrup said. "I think people should use a pretty loose strategy for hunting them. Instead of targeting partridge, I think they should focus on sharptails and then be happy if they see some."
That's just the way of partridge, Northrup said. One year there can be a lot of them and the next year, there isn't.
"They are the most difficult species to track," he said.
Mountaingrouse hunting is already underway. And hunters are finding a mixed bag this year.
"In some areas, they're finding lots of birds and in others, their numbers appear to be down somewhat," Northrup said. "The areas that had a good growing season are doing the best."
Sharptail grouse numbers in eastern Montana appear to be strong this season.
"Hunters are generally having a good season," he said. "There was good production this spring in many areas, although it does vary somewhat from one location to another."
Hunters have been able to hunt mountain grouse, sharptails and Hungarian partridge since Sept. 1.
Hunter's calendar
Opening day for most upland game bird hunting seasons occurs on the same day every year: Sept. 1.The statewide hunting season openings are:
Sage grouse, Sept. 1-Nov. 1
Sharp-tailed grouse, Sept. 1-Jan. 1, 2008
Mountain grouse, Sept. 1-Dec. 15
Partridge, Sept. 1-Jan. 1, 2008
Pheasant, Oct. 13-Jan. 1, 2008
Turkey, fall hunt, Sept. 1-Jan. 1, 2008
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