February 4, 2012

Traveling Wingshooter Online
2009

ften regarded as “bonus” birds encountered on a pheasant hunt, prairie grouse (prairie chickens and sharptails) and Hungarian (gray) partridge offer excellent opportunities for the upland hunter several weeks before pheasant seasons open. This year, prospects for the “bonus” birds are mixed: prairie grouse, excellent; Huns, below average.

The two states we’ll focus on for prairie grouse – South Dakota and Nebraska – are the only ones offering nonresident hunters really good chances to bag both chickens and sharpies. (Kansas is the only other state with decent prairie chicken numbers.)

Last year, hunters in South Dakota bagged about 49,000 prairie grouse. You have to go back to 2001 to find a significantly higher harvest total than that. But for this year, the news is even better. Lek counts (done in the spring, when males are performing their courtship rituals) were the highest this decade for both species, as was the per–square–mile count for both. South Dakota’s top area for both birds is the south–central region, extending as far north as Pierre.

Hunters in Nebraska don’t harvest as many prairie grouse, but bird numbers have steadily increased since 2006. This year, Nebraska’s summer survey showed both species to be up on all routes. The survey also found that prairie chickens were significantly more abundant in the Sand Hills, which is the state’s top region for prairie grouse.

In addition to information published in The Pointing Dog Journal, there are good articles available, especially for first time prairie grouse hunters, on both states’ websites: Nebraska’s “Planning a Prairie Grouse Hunt in Nebraska” and South Dakota’s “South Dakota Prairie and Ruffed Grouse Hunting.”

The outlook for gray partridge (Huns) is less optimistic. Montana and North Dakota are usually the two top states, and both also have good numbers of sharpies. But both weather and habitat factors are negative this year.

North Dakota lost about half a million acres of CRP this year, and some landowners have converted from small grain crops (such as wheat, which Huns favor) to corn and soybeans. Following a long, hard winter, the spring was cool and wet during nesting season, which means depressed brood production. As a result, Hun numbers will be lower this year. North Dakota’s best Hun area (where sharptails are also normally abundant) is the western third of the state.

Last year, Montana’s harvest figures of 50,000 sharptails and 43,000 Huns were both just slightly below the 20–year average. However, drought conditions north of the Hi–Line (US Highway 2) and a wet spring in the eastern part of the state will hurt numbers of both birds. Areas just south of the Hi–Line may offer better opportunities.

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