The Northeast and parts of the Lake States were hit with the aforementioned major storm this spring, so the woodcock breeding population will likely be similar to 2017. In Maine, nearly two feet [...]
The pheasant picture is one of long-term (CRP decline) and short-term (weather) storylines. The shrinking CRP footprint has been well-documented, perhaps to the point of exhaustion, but the [...]
The buzz in the upland gamebird world is coming out of one of the Lake States, and it has to do with a buzzing insect. Turns out the much-anticipated increase in the ruffed grouse cycle didn’t [...]
by Dave Smith This update to our 2018 Upland Gamebird Hunting Forecast incorporates the results of late summer upland bird population surveys. This final piece of data measures recruitment of [...]
The Texas quail explosion is underway! Habitat plus rain equals quail. Four years ago, at the peak of a horrendous drought, Texas hunters experienced the worst quail hunting imaginable and [...]
The 2015 desert quail boom materialized, as projected, as a spectacular year for quail hunters in New Mexico. As such, anticipation was high for back-to-back bumper crops of Gambel’s, scaled, and [...]
The sleepers may be the destinations for prairie grouse and Huns in 2016. That prognosis stems from continued dismal sharp-tailed grouse production in North Dakota, the premier sharptail [...]
RUFFED GROUSE POPULATIONS IN THE LAKE STATES APPEAR TO BE ON THE LONG-ANTICIPATED RISE IN THEIR 10-YEAR CYCLE. MINNESOTA’S RUFFED GROUSE SPRING DRUMMING COUNTS WERE UP 18 PERCENT STATEWIDE THIS [...]
The 2016 chukar hunting story in a single word: Nevada! Once a decade or so, things turn just right with a combination of a mild winter, nice winter green-up, and good moisture throughout the [...]