Conditions aligning for pheasant, duck seasons

The water fowler and the pheasant-hunting crowd have promising hunting days ahead. The USFWS, Ducks Unlimited and Division of Wildlife agree on the optimism for more migrating ducks and see the state’s spring pheasant hatch and numbers on the rise as well.

This fall is expected to yield a banner pheasant year.

Buy this photo

    Overall, the 2009 spring duck hatch in Canada and the Dakotas is up 13 percent, with the popular mallard showing a 10 percent increase over last year and the Northern Pintail up a whopping 25 percent. Good snow pack provided full lakes and reservoirs, and higher river flows, suggesting a much-improved 2009-10 waterfowl season in Colorado.

    DOW Small Game Manager Ed Gorman observed that a mild 2008 winter, bumper 2009 wheat crop and mild summer moisture and weather have combined to produce “counts in the northeast Colorado counties as high as they’ve been since the 1970s.” Yuma, Kit Carson, Phillips, Logan, Washington and Morgan Counties hold promise for a good upland bird season. Gorman estimated the 2008-09 pheasant harvest was 41,000 birds compared to 43,000 in 2006-07 season, which was plagued by a major drought. The drought ended this year providing good crop/food production for birds and improved cover for young pheasants.

    With bird numbers improved, hunters need only to find public hunting areas that hold the pheasants and water that will attract the ducks. Random calls to some of the private hunting clubs suggest the down economy and tight family budgets may be impacting the typical number of members. If that is the case the DOW public access areas will be the saving grace for small game hunters.

    The DOW State Wildlife Areas established some years ago offer a variety of offerings for both upland bird hunting and water fowling. Dennis McKinney’s book “Guide to Colorado State Wildlife Areas” is the Bible for small game hunters, containing maps and narratives on small game found in specific SWA. Northeast Colorado hosts 29 SWA of which 20 are located along the South Platte River. While the 20 are primer waterfowl sites, the lush cover along the river basin supports considerable numbers of pheasant and quail. Eleven of the SWA between Brush and Fort Morgan are an easy hour drive from the North Metro area. Promising areas include the Dodd Bridge and Brush SWA between Fort Morgan and Brush. Cottonwood, Elliot and Atwood on to the northeast are equally attractive for both upland game and waterfowl. All of the SWA have river access and most are close to nearby reservoirs and lakes including Riverside, Jackson and Prewitt Reservoirs that hold major numbers of migrating ducks.

    A $20 walk-in permit will open up thousands of acres of public access lands for upland bird hunters. The DOW 2009 Small Game Walk-In Atlas clearly identifies accessible land in each county. Land is well marked with signs that state in bold print “WALK-IN HUNTING AREA. Signs show either foot access only, parking area, no vehicles and safety zone or other guidelines. The colored atlas maps alert hunters to the crop or cover found on the hunting land, such as W for wheat, C for corn G for the popular CRP grass fields, O for creek bottom, tree rows and so on.

    Some of the more popular pheasant counties include Morgan, Logan, Phillips and Sedgwick, surrounded by the towns of Brush, Akron, Sterling, Haxtun, Holyoke, Julesburg and Wray. To reach these counties and towns take Interstate 76 to Brush, then either east on US 34 to Akron and Wray, or on to Sterling to the US 6 exit that leads to Haxtun and Holyoke, or continue on I-76 to the Julesburg area.

    A small game license, walk-in permit and habitat stamp will open ample public access for both water fowling and pheasant hunting. Pheasant season opens Nov. 14 and runs through Jan. 31 and duck season extends from Nov. 7 through Jan. 24.

.