Weird weather

The locals are aware of the strange September weather we are having in chukar country so this is more for an update to the out of staters that are thinking of venturing this way for chukars later during the season.

We’ve had a lot of rain the last two days. I think that is good news all the way around. Although there is still some hot weather to come, the recent rains have helped knock down the chances of fires to some extent. So far the chukar country has been pretty much free of any bad fires in 2023.

Also, this weather should have some effects on bird movements. There is so much water available this year that the birds should be scattered, and 12 days from now the waiting at a water hole might not be as successful as past openers. Also there are a lot more green shoots under the tall cheat giving the chukars more available food besides the thousands of insects crawling across the surface.

Another very good thing for the dogs is that some of those cheat seeds have been knocked down by the rain and wind and hopefully we won’t have that early season problem with cheat. Scenting conditions should also be a lot more positive for the opener this year even though we still have a chance of some fairly warm weather before the opener.

There are still going to be some negative factors we have to be aware of come opening day. Yes, snakes will still be out there and we have to be aware of where we hunt and time of the day when the rattlers are more likely to be out sunning themselves. Even though there will be more water on the hill, we still need to pack a lot of water for the dogs. It doesn’t take much on a hot and sunny day to damage our canine partners.

And yes, the young birds are out there. I had another reader report seeing a lot of young chukars and bumble bee size quail on a trip just yesterday. I also saw a lot of young quail along the road on my way to grouse hunting yesterday. But the positive aspect of what I saw was more mature size quail than immature birds.

It’s just my opinion, and I’m wrong as much as I am right, but I think the opener is going to be one of the best openers in the state in quite a while. I can’t remember this much moisture in early September. Using good judgement on the temperatures and the effect on my dogs, I’m pretty likely going to be on a chukar mountain with my dogs come opening day. I’ll let you know what I see and hopefully that first shotgun shell loaded with ashes from my past canine partners will hit it’s mark and I’ll bring one of those beautiful chukars home for some table fare.

Good luck and be safe.