How are upland bird numbers in your area?

Chuckbuster said:
I hope your right...your dog flushed double the number of birds I saw all of last year!
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my fingers are crossed.. I think I bagged a total of 7 all last season and I was out quite a bit... maybe saw 12-15 all year.. so over the weekend I think I saw more than I did all last year too.. so hopefully this new spot and the couple others I've had luck with with in the past I'll clean up this year
 
Season opened today. Got out for a couple of hours this evening...saw 1 bird which is now in the refrigerator (with help,from my favourite daughter). A second, unseen bird, flushed at the shot. As a result, I have already encountered 1/3 of all birds seen last last year and taken half of all birds taken last year. A pretty auspicious start!
 
10 so far for my family and seemingly a lot more where they came from.

Last night I cooked up 4 sprucies (boneless) with caramelized onions, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and olive oil. Seared on the outside and nice and pink on the inside.

Such a delicacy. Can't wait to get out there for more!
 
Havent seen a grouse this year. Quail are plentiful in areas, and rabbits. All this from mid vancouver island. Deer are around at least.....
 
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You really can't judge grouse numbers by a one or two trips out. Lots of factors like weather, leaves, people traffic will affect how many you see on any given day. They are cyclical so if they were low last year, they are likely to be the same or a little higher/lower this year but unlikely to have a massive swing one way or the other

Patrick
 
Expecting a good season up here in northern Ontario, as usual. Got two sprucies two nights ago and a big fat ruffie last night. Think I ended up with around 50 birds last year, which is a normal year up here. Went to the local hardware store opening day and picked up a mossy pump .410 just to change things up this year. Usually use my 20 gauge, but that little pump is so light for carrying through the bush. Shooting 2.5 inch shells out of it, they pattern really nice. Anyway, it's the most exciting season of the year!
 
SK numbers seem very spotty, but generally low. I can't say I hunt all over the province every single year, but I do get out to three or four different areas of the province each year. I'll be in the SE side, and in an area that, if Saskatoon was a tip of a triangle, and the flat side was against the AB border, that's the area I'll be all over this year, for everything from migratory (got the first 2 Canada's a couple days ago on a quick trip in the morning!) and upland to deer and moose.

Last year our old hunting spot near Spiritwood looked like a nuclear fallout zone. Not even any tracks! I only spent one day up there and that was enough for me. There are pockets of grouse around that area though, they just seem to be very low numbers.
 
memaquay said:
Expecting a good season up here in northern Ontario, as usual. Got two sprucies two nights ago and a big fat ruffie last night. Think I ended up with around 50 birds last year, which is a normal year up here. Went to the local hardware store opening day and picked up a mossy pump .410 just to change things up this year. Usually use my 20 gauge, but that little pump is so light for carrying through the bush. Shooting 2.5 inch shells out of it, they pattern really nice. Anyway, it's the most exciting season of the year!
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Lucky bugger. In my neck of northern Ontario I saw a grand total of 7 birds last year. Only 2 of those presented a shot, and both were taken....and that was it! I'm going to take a long drive this weekend to try out a different location.
 
My goal is generally a dozen Grouse per season & 2 hares(minimum), it's a rare season I don't find that for the freezer. Hares are more my issue, I've gone as long as 2 seasons with supplying the father his Christmas Eve Rabbit Pie.
 
Southern / Mid VanIsle grouse is very good. I was out the other day and flushed 11, took home a couple ruffed and one Sooty. A co-worker and his kid bagged their limit the next day.

 
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I've only been out once and it seems the Hungarian population is up a bit but the flocks were not as largr as in the past. We only found one flock of sharptails that my new dog pointed but chose not to shoot any as the numbers are down far enough I believe a moratorium on hunting them for a while could help in their recovery along with some predator control near the nesting areas.
 
We are heading out tomorrow for a week of wingshooting... I will have a good feel for the relative population levels when we get back.
 
Drove 200 clicks round trip today to hunt a new area. Walked for over 5 hours. Saw not a single bird. Did see lots of bear sh!t and 2 deer. I was sorely tempted to pop a snowshoe hare that we saw, but deferred and let my visiting nephew take the shot. I guess there will be hassenpfeffer in one Toronto household this week.
 
Chuckbuster said:
My nephew is visiting from Toronto...we were hunting halfway between Sudbury and Gogama. Apologies for any confusion.
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Ahhh, I see... birds were down last year... we shot a few dozen or so, and not very far from you. The location we are going to this week is usually good for 60+ for the week... we will see how it goes.
 
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