Thinking about a trip west this fall. Haven't been to Sask since around 2008. Anyone got any comments/forecasts what the Sharptail and Hungarian prospects are? Fairly mobile but traditionally I have hunted the SW part of province.....Kincaid down to Mankota general area. Also sometimes up around Leeder.
Southern Sask upland prospects Fall 2015
- Thread starter canvasback
- Start date
Sharptails have been down in most areas quite severely for several years to the point I haven't shot one in 3 years, Huns are a bit better but are vary significantly in numbers by area. Having said that this years mild winter and spring should push numbers up but not to point where the populations are at or near historic levels. Pheasants ( Sask residents only) have recovered to the point where the limit has been raised back to 3 but I worry this may be premature.
driftpounder
Member
- Location
- Martensville, SK
I only shot two sharp tails all of last year, they were the only birds I saw. I typically hunt the north east corner of the province, totally opposit where you want to hunt, but if you were going to try up there I would recommend some extra help finding birds. Populations are down in most areas from my understanding.
Don't waste your time coming out unless you have some old friends you want to see. There were two partridges in the southwest this year until I was cutting hay and one flew up in front of the swather and a hawk killed it. I have no idea how the population will recover with just one left.
I grew up in north eastern Saskatchewan a long, long time ago, in a land with a large population of prairie chicken (sharptail grouse) and partridge (grouse.) Conditions were made to order for the birds; mixed farming, lots of uncultivated land with pot hole sloughs and best of all, the grain cut with a binder, then thrashed with an immobile thrasher and leaving large straw stacks for chickens to winter in. Plus, any type of hawk or owl was fair game, to be shot anytime a person wanted to.
As a teenager I attended a formal fish and game club meeting, where the key speaker was a game warden. He encouraged every one to always carry a firearm in the vehicle with them, so they could shoot any predator they saw. His words were that if we didn't keep the hawks and owls under control we would lose our game bird populations.
In later years game biologists have told me that once a population of anything reaches a certain low, it will never come back.
Under present conditions where the predators are the darlings of the land and highly protected, with huge fines for any interference with them, it seems to me that sharptail grouse may just have reached low of no return.
As a teenager I attended a formal fish and game club meeting, where the key speaker was a game warden. He encouraged every one to always carry a firearm in the vehicle with them, so they could shoot any predator they saw. His words were that if we didn't keep the hawks and owls under control we would lose our game bird populations.
In later years game biologists have told me that once a population of anything reaches a certain low, it will never come back.
Under present conditions where the predators are the darlings of the land and highly protected, with huge fines for any interference with them, it seems to me that sharptail grouse may just have reached low of no return.
madtrapper143
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Steep Rock Lake NWO
H4831 you are right on the money. Loss of straw stacks and raptors have done in the birds. You must have a degree in biology to come up with that observation. According to the DNR hunters, farmers and trappers don't know enough about nature to be listened to.
Darryl
Darryl
Hungarian Partridge numbers are recovering well, and Sharptails are also recovering in the areas where there is miles of rough pasture/sandhills/river valleys adjacent to crops. Several more mild winters and good spring recruitment are required to bring numbers back up in the areas I hunt. As stated before, the recovery is spotty, and there are miles and miles of cropland with almost no birds.
Clean agriculture and several brutal winters were very hard on upland bird numbers in the SE of Saskatchewan.
Clean agriculture with no cover and no winter food for upland birds has a great deal to do with survival, more so than predation in my mind.
Sharptails evolved with plenty of predators and survived, even thrived. Their numbers increased with the increased food and cover of early agriculture practices.
Bald assed prairie agriculture doesn't support much wildlife, which is why adjacent rough pasture, sandhills or river valleys is so essential.
Clean agriculture and several brutal winters were very hard on upland bird numbers in the SE of Saskatchewan.
Clean agriculture with no cover and no winter food for upland birds has a great deal to do with survival, more so than predation in my mind.
Sharptails evolved with plenty of predators and survived, even thrived. Their numbers increased with the increased food and cover of early agriculture practices.
Bald assed prairie agriculture doesn't support much wildlife, which is why adjacent rough pasture, sandhills or river valleys is so essential.
Ive seen a good number of sharp grouse around Moose Jaw but few huns...loads of ducks if thats your thing. Heard the pheasant numbers are starting to rebound in the south and bag limit has been brought back to 3.
Cheers!!
Cheers!!
powder monkey
CGN Regular
- Location
- saskatchewan
The amount of hawks and ravens we have around here,upland birds are hard to find. Blame the harsh winters if you want to but the huge increase in predatory birds has had the most impact IMO
LuckyStrike
CGN Regular
- Location
- Vancouver Island
Habitat loss in S Saskatchewan is extensive.... Each year I return to Saskatchewan (where I began hunting in the early 70's) and each year the countryside looks less and less like it once did.
Agricultural practices have stripped away long standing windbreaks , old farmsteads with trees and bushes, road allowances with any kind of cover are disappearing quickly. Huge farms with no obstructions are now the rule to make money farming.
Chemical farming now rules... land is continually sprayed and resprayed with "harmless" substances to kill weeds, bugs, blights, ripen crops , Chem fallow ... Of course none of these chemicals would harm birds or people???
I agree... coyotes and hawks are also in an abundant cycle .... a few terribly long and cold winters have also taken a great toll.
All these things add up to low low numbers of upland birds.
I have not hunted upland game in Saskatchewan for the past 3 years , though I have had some opportunity..... Those seasons should be highly restricted or closed (along with whitetail deer whose numbers have plummeted)
On the bright side ..... the water levels of lakes, ponds, sloughs, etc has been constantly high and more than ample for ducks and geese. Those populations have increased to great numbers, so opportunity for waterfowl is fantastic throughout the province.
Just my 2 cents worth .. maybe 3?
Lucky ...
Agricultural practices have stripped away long standing windbreaks , old farmsteads with trees and bushes, road allowances with any kind of cover are disappearing quickly. Huge farms with no obstructions are now the rule to make money farming.
Chemical farming now rules... land is continually sprayed and resprayed with "harmless" substances to kill weeds, bugs, blights, ripen crops , Chem fallow ... Of course none of these chemicals would harm birds or people???
I agree... coyotes and hawks are also in an abundant cycle .... a few terribly long and cold winters have also taken a great toll.
All these things add up to low low numbers of upland birds.
I have not hunted upland game in Saskatchewan for the past 3 years , though I have had some opportunity..... Those seasons should be highly restricted or closed (along with whitetail deer whose numbers have plummeted)
On the bright side ..... the water levels of lakes, ponds, sloughs, etc has been constantly high and more than ample for ducks and geese. Those populations have increased to great numbers, so opportunity for waterfowl is fantastic throughout the province.
Just my 2 cents worth .. maybe 3?
Lucky ...
