Upland Birds in southern Sask

[drock]

I've been upland hunting in Sask for a good many years. I've mainly focused in southern Sask and hunted mostly for pheasant.

Has anyone noticed a huge decline in the numbers of huns and sharp-tails?
It used to be that every abandoned farm yard, windrow or field corner had some huns. This year, I've only seen 2 or 3 flocks.

I have only seen about 5 sharp-tails in total, and I've been out 4 times in Oct.

Pheasant fared a little better, but still no where the numbers that existed even 5-7 years ago.


Now with all of this in mind, why in the world is Sask Environment keeping the bag limits so high for huns and sharpies? I don't even shoot at huns or sharpies anymore because their numbers are so low, and I feel bad for taking more.

And why is the season for pheasant open from Oct 1 till Dec 31? I know when deer hunting that it would be nice to pot a pheasant or two, but really... even the birds need a break from hunting pressure. I used to look so forward to the late season as that last bit of hunting fun before the year ended.


Do they not know that this past winter and spring was horrible conditions for upland birds? Do they not go out and take some sort of count and set the season according to what numbers are represented?

What if there was a tax break for farmers wanting to raise and release pheasant?

This is a resource that, IMO, is being poorly managed. Am I out to lunch here? Is there someone who can fill me in a little more? If there are any upland hunters who are familiar with Sask, I wouldnt mind hearing your opinions.

Thanks.

 

[hunter5425]

I agree 100%, I have seen large flocks of both Sharptails and Huns but they are few and far between, even more disturbing was the lack of nesting sites I found this summer, down by at least 70% from previous years. I was surprised to see the limits and season not severely curtailed this year, it seems that population surveys are no longer done or else the results are ignored. I and several hunting compatriots plan on sending multiple letters to SERM and the minister expressing our concerns.

 

[drock]

I'm glad I'm not the only one.

I was actually surprised that pheasant didn't take a bigger hit given the winter & spring. Some of the places I hunt still had standing water in what would normally be perfect nesting areas. The level of the water was readily apparent with flood debris catching on trees and barbed-wire fences.

If this was a year to reduce bag limits or at least keep the season the same length to ease hunting pressure, this was the year. Sask Environment missed the mark.

 

[ben hunchak]

They miss the mark on most things.....don't you feel that coyotes take a large toll as well and in my part of the prairie there are more coyotes then ever....

 

[Honeydealer]

Bird Populations, I fear will be even worse next year due to the poor nesting grounds this year. The only saving grace may be the fact that many Farmers seeded Winter wheat and Rye because they didn't get anything else in the ground this year. That will help nesting next year, if we don't flood again.
It is still troubling to see how many sloughs and wetlands get burnt by all the fire bugs every fall. I just don't get it.
On a related note, I am disappointed we can buy two Deer tags again this year. Obviously the population counts are being done from an office in Regina, I have never seen the Deer population so low in my 30 years. Between the hard winters and the Moose and Mule Deer moving in, it's going to become rare to see a White-Tail in South-East Saskatchewan.

 

[drock]

They miss the mark on most things.....don't you feel that coyotes take a large toll as well and in my part of the prairie there are more coyotes then ever....

Every time I go out for upland birds I bring the .223 with me. Got one this year, out of the 4 that I saw.. just couldn't get it out of the truck in time.

I would agree that predation plays a big role. Hawks and owls take their fair-share of upland birds too.


Of course I would like to see the bounty brought back in for coyotes in Sask, but I don't think they ever will again. I don't think the Sask government is in favour of paying for paws from other provinces, which I'm pretty sure was happening. Its too bad really. All provinces would have to have bounties to make it fair.

 

[drock]

It is still troubling to see how many sloughs and wetlands get burnt by all the fire bugs every fall. I just don't get it.

I have sited loss of habitat as a possibility for the decline of upland birds. But there are still many abandoned farms with nice trees and cover for huns. What I definitely don't like seeing is habitat destroyed, then land posted because the farmer thinks he's not seeing any birds because of the hunters.

On a related note, I am disappointed we can buy two Deer tags again this year. Obviously the population counts are being done from an office in Regina, I have never seen the Deer population so low in my 30 years. Between the hard winters and the Moose and Mule Deer moving in, it's going to become rare to see a White-Tail in South-East Saskatchewan.

Only saw 1 spike buck in an area that is usually thick with deer, multiple mule deer does and 3 moose. I would say you are accurate with your assessment.

 

[Suka]

Snow the last two years has been devastating in SE Ab and from what I hear in SW Sask. Around my own land last year I never did see a flock of partridge. (should be 3-4)
About a week ago when out hunting ducks I did see a very large flock of partridge, at least 20 birds, maybe closer to 30, but only about 6 adults or so. The rest were this years models.

They'll come back. Shooting coyote's is a good winter pastime though and I plan to do my part with my new .243.

Pheasant's are non existent around here now. Irrigation ditches gone underground, corresponding loss of cover, 2 kinds of fox, coyotes, more hawks than ever before.............it all contributes.

 

[tbdtp]

You can't really blame SERM for the limits we have compared to the birds we have. When they put the yearly synopsis together they need to have it done in time for the draws opening on May 1st. Heck the Weather Network can't tell you what the weather is going to do tomorrow and that is their job. We can't expect SERM to predict what the weather will do for the whole spring and summer. The huge amount of rain we had this June had a very large effect on the nesting success of our upland birds. We as hunters have to police ourselves when conditions are like this. Me and my friends have put a self imposed limit on partridge at 0 and only take a chicken or 2 for the season. Instead we have been taking advantage of the outstanding duck hunting we have as a trade off with all the water.

 

[pharaoh2]

Upland bird numbers rise and fall and reach a peak every 7-10 years if I remember correctly. It's all a cycle that involes everything from racoons to blizzards and has always and will always take place. I'm in S. Alberta and I've noticed native bird numbers are way down. When you play this game you take the good with the bad.

 

[drock]

You can't really blame SERM for the limits we have compared to the birds we have. When they put the yearly synopsis together they need to have it done in time for the draws opening on May 1st. Heck the Weather Network can't tell you what the weather is going to do tomorrow and that is their job. We can't expect SERM to predict what the weather will do for the whole spring and summer. The huge amount of rain we had this June had a very large effect on the nesting success of our upland birds. We as hunters have to police ourselves when conditions are like this. Me and my friends have put a self imposed limit on partridge at 0 and only take a chicken or 2 for the season. Instead we have been taking advantage of the outstanding duck hunting we have as a trade off with all the water.

Any idea why they extended the pheasant season through till the end of Dec?

 

[Brutus]

I would like to see the prairie provinces step in, and enact laws so that habitat loss (road ditches/right of ways and other such narrow but prime nesting areas are forbidden for cultivation) is lessened.
PFRA gives away free bushes for windrows, why not make it mandatory on some windswept land boundaries to provide a narrow shelterbelt?
IIRC, North Dakota has rules such as this to protect prime upland bird nesting areas. One drives a little more east to Manitoba and man-made windrows seem to be more prevalant.

 

[tbdtp]

Any idea why they extended the pheasant season through till the end of Dec?

Just a guess but I have heard that they are trying to get more people hunting, which is why they now allow Sundays. The more days that there are for us to hunt the more likely people are to use them.

 

[dead meat]

Not many huns in my area either, i feel it was the winter we had last year. I had up to 60 birds feeding with the cows, by spring not to many left. We didn`t see many birds in harvest this fall, covered 10,000 acres and saw one small flock of huns. West of Saskatoon a fellow told me they had lots of birds, both huin and chicken, it would apear some areas got hit hard some didn`t.

 

[G P]

With many species of game birds a breeding pair could become 15 birds by next summer. It's their ability to reproduce quickly that makes the population go in cycles. If there aren't many birds this year, the predator population will be hurting and the gamebirds will rebound.

 

[craigo]

I'm with ya drock! You have to manage things like your bank account. When things start getting tight (lower bird counts) we need to back off. It is not rocket science to see if fish and game lowers the bag number and birds in possession we can help to get the numbers back up. Thats just a small part though. Like you also said about bird farms, great idea. Perhaps our government that is raking in huge oil revenue can assist a fella on getting something such as a pheasant hatchery going? That in turn get's more birds into the field and I suspect could allow out of province hunters to hunt pheasants. Soon your local town benefits from all this. I understand that either North or South Dakota towns relie in this influx of hunters to help keep there buisness's running.
Where I live are numbers are down due to predators and one real ####ty winter. Need to get some fox, coyotes, racoons and do something about the hawks. They seem like pretty bad customers to laying hens and full grown birds. They are the biggest factor where I'm at IMO.
Bird hunting is a fantatic sport and lots of fun. Just would be nice to see a little stronger bird population. Lots of great posts on here about this topic gang.