Bad

Thanks to those who are posting about the fires. You’re giving information that I seem to have a hard time accessing. I’m sure the chukar hunters that travel from afar appreciate it also.

Good news is that I am getting good reports about the hatch and I have personally received some great information about the huns. I’ve been seeing lots of pairs with 10 to 12 half grown chicks with them. Not so much with the chukar,s but that’s because of my lack of hiking due to the extremely hot weather. But I’m sure they are doing just as well in areas where the fires haven’t gotten to.

Bad news is really bad. If you’re an eastern Oregon hunter it’s looking pretty dismal. The high winds have taken over and I fear in the next month we will lose most of the Brownlee chukar hunting. Lightening has also started several fires around Owyhee reservoir and we are losing valuable chukar ground there also. Mark said he talked to a fire fighter on one of the fires and he said he had seen young chukars become dissoriented and fly back into the fire.

It’s a sad story for this year, but chukars will quickly bounce back with the fresh green stuff that will be sprouting next year. But we will have to put up with the lack of being able to get close to the chukars due to the lack of cover. But eventually that will come back also. The big game loss will be different. Because they have only one or two little ones a year it takes longer to get back to normal.

It’s not going to be the banner year we all hoped for but there still will be plenty of birds and chasing grounds out there. We might have to walk a little more than usual and cover some new ground, but in the end getting those beautiful birds will be that much more gratifying.

I’ll keep you informed the best I can and appreciate any comments from others to help keep the chukar community in the know.