Will there be many Partridges this year ??

scruffy · #1 08-27-2008, 08:23 AM

Yo ! With our cold wet spring here in Southern Alberta .. does anyone out there know if we had a good hatch of Huns ???

Versatile · #2 08-27-2008, 09:57 PM

Scruffy I went out scoutting for birds before I left for Grande Prairie and there is a crap load of partridge around you just got to know where to look.

It wasnt unusual for Diego to find 12 coveys in a few hours.

puphood1 · #3 08-28-2008, 05:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scruffy

Yo ! With our cold wet spring here in Southern Alberta .. does anyone out there know if we had a good hatch of Huns ???

The covey sizes are down by 1/2 on the ones I have been running on....puphood1

scruffy · #4 08-28-2008, 06:41 AM

I was out in the countryside yesterday ... on a very windy day ... and did find a bunch on the road at High Noon ??? The two chicks that were visual were tiny dudes ... not much bigger than sparrows . Obviously a second hatch. It proves nothing but at 6:40 a.m. ... can't think of much else to say.

Vindalbakken · #5 08-28-2008, 06:57 AM

Have not seen a large brood of huns yet. 3 young with one adult is the largest I have come across so far. Hope the Sharptail fared better.

Winch101 · #6 08-28-2008, 07:08 AM

I have seen more broods but all small . Lots of birds between taber and vauxhall ...

Just as a point of interest is there not a time when you can not run your dog due to nesting birds ... like April to labor day ... or is that a myth...

Rackmastr · #7 08-28-2008, 07:57 AM

I have been seeing a couple good groups of em on the way to and from work daily....groups of 8-10 actually.....and a few smaller groups of 3-4....

Havent really been out enough to notice much of a difference from last year...

theduke · #8 08-28-2008, 11:37 AM

tons around the calgary area, im in the bridgeland area in the city beside the zoo and there are loads of them id say about 150-200 birds, the gret thing is they are in an off leash area and my dog loves the work flushing them, wish they'd open up a season here in the city LOL

Versatile · #9 08-28-2008, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winch101

I have seen more broods but all small . Lots of birds between taber and vauxhall ...

Just as a point of interest is there not a time when you can not run your dog due to nesting birds ... like April to labor day ... or is that a myth...

Around here you can run your dogs year round on them if you wish. I believe there is a couple zones more south with Sage Grouse that are restricted. I know what your getting at too. Nice try there Winch. Go ahead and make that phone call ill be happy to give ya the info on where I will be on what day you can tell F&W yourself.

Winch101 · #10 08-28-2008, 02:55 PM

I think most of Calgarys open areas are designated nature reserves
and harassing the wildlife with your dog is probably frowned on ....

I am almost sure that there is a time when you cannot run your dog on Game birds ..Can anyone who is familiar with provincial statutes comment on that ...Is there two A's in paranoia

Two years ago ,our good board friend Ryan invited us down to Taber ....for a pheasant/hun
hunt . I aint ever seen anything like it , short on pheasants but I swear a herd of huns
out of evry brier patch ... Thats gotta be a hot area ... Several board members and myself plan on being
down in the Taber area on the opener for a combo fish and birdin trip....Should be a blast ..

Vindalbakken · #11 08-28-2008, 06:51 PM

To my knowledge there are no restrictions on private trainers in Alberta and no restrictions on commercial trainers on private lands. Most people limit their activities during the hatch. All trialers I know of do.

Versatile · #12 08-28-2008, 07:03 PM

Winch go ahead shoot the hell out of Taber just rember what I told you when I was down there. These spots are good but I am not showing you my honey holes. This is exactly why.

Hard to show a guy around with only 1 dog who half the time is being harrassed by a Gay Brittany or a puppy that wont quit retrieving cow ****. For a dog's 1st season and all those distractions he still managed to come through and find all the birds of the day. Maybe if he had a little back up from some dogs worth hunting over we would have had a half decent day on the ditch parrots.

Of all the guys I have shown around you are the only guy to get a chip on your shoulder and I have had guys from Alaska to Arizona over my dog and with me. They have had nothing but nice things to say.

cohod · #13 08-28-2008, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RyanGSP

Winch go ahead shoot the hell out of Taber just rember what I told you when I was down there. These spots are good but I am not showing you my honey holes. This is exactly why.

Hard to show a guy around with only 1 dog who half the time is being harrassed by a Gay Brittany or a puppy that wont quit retrieving cow ****. For a dog's 1st season and all those distractions he still managed to come through and find all the birds of the day. Maybe if he had a little back up from some dogs worth hunting over we would have had a half decent day on the ditch parrots.

Of all the guys I have shown around you are the only guy to get a chip on your shoulder and I have had guys from Alaska to Arizona over my dog and with me. They have had nothing but nice things to say.

Well aint you... special!

Versatile · #14 08-28-2008, 07:51 PM

Glad you think so

Ricardo · #15 08-28-2008, 08:06 PM

Hi Guys, i got a question.

What kind of birds do you have up there?

In the region of the country where I live there are three species of quails, most of them are common quails, there are zones where you can find scaled quails and if you are a lucky guy you probably could find some moctezumas (i am not that lucky yet)

Your mexican friend Ricardo

By the way unfortunately we dont have any specie of wild partridge.

Versatile · #16 08-28-2008, 08:08 PM

Pheasants, Sharptail Grouse, Hungarian Partridge, Sage Grouse, Ruffed Grouse, Spruce Grouse, Blue Grouse, Ptarmigan, some say there are Chukar in the South West Corner too.

Reeves1 · #17 08-28-2008, 08:15 PM

IMHO it is immoral and unethical to run dogs on birds during breeding ,nesting and brooding season.
If not illegal, it should be.

Versatile · #18 08-28-2008, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reeves

IMHO it is immoral and unethical to run dogs on birds during breeding ,nesting and brooding season.
If not illegal, it should be.

I agree but this late in the season an experienced dog is ok. The young birds can fly good enough to get away.

Ricardo · #19 08-28-2008, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RyanGSP

Pheasants, Sharptail Grouse, Hungarian Partridge, Sage Grouse, Ruffed Grouse, Spruce Grouse, Blue Grouse, Ptarmigan, some say there are Chukar in the South West Corner too.

That is amazing¡¡¡

I would like to learn more about these birds...

All of them are allowed to be hunted?

is it hard to find them?

are good for pointer dogs?

Thanks.

Versatile · #20 08-28-2008, 09:11 PM

I hunt them all with my German Shorthair. Not hard to find them with a good dog and you know where to look. Too many people hunt over an inexperienced dog and have no idea where to look or are looking in the wrong places. You put in the time and the results will always be good.

Vindalbakken · #21 08-28-2008, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reeves

If not illegal, it should be.

The last thing we need is more laws trying to fix a problem that doesn't exist and creating problems for honest folk.

Reeves1 · #22 08-28-2008, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vindalbakken

The last thing we need is more laws trying to fix a problem that doesn't exist and creating problems for honest folk.

How in the heck would it cause a problem for "honest" folk ?

Vindalbakken · #23 08-28-2008, 09:42 PM

Why would you want to have every dog in the province chained, fenced or caged for 3 months of the year? It is ludicrous to say that I cannot go out my back door and enjoy an hour walk with my dog from Mid May to Mid August.

Vindalbakken · #24 08-28-2008, 10:10 PM

Ricardo the Sage Grouse are a very large member of the grouse species weighing 5 - 8 lbs. They are on the endangered species list in Alberta and have not had a hunting season on them in years. In the limited area of Alberta where they do exist there are severe restrictions on working dogs on them during much of the year. There is no hunting season in the province for Chukar Partridge. They are not even mentioned in the hunting regulations. For all intents and purposes in this province they are considered domestic poultry.

As to hunting the rest of the bird species listed, they do exist in the province but the habitat that they are found in varies widely and some species do not exist within hundreds of miles of each other (eg. Ptarmigan and Pheasant). None of the species enjoy a generalized distribution across the province. In the right areas of the province you can have good success hunting Pheasant, Sharptail, Ruffed and Spruce Grouse and Hungarian Partridge, but there is no place I know of that you could hunt a mixed bag of all these species in one day. The Blue Grouse and Ptarmigan inhabit very localized habitats and the population densities are such that unless you know the whereabouts of the "hotspots" your contacts will be very limited.

As for working with a pointing dog, all of these species can be "pointed". I think that the Sharptail are the most difficult for a pointing dog to work on, and if you are wanting to hunt in a traditional manner gunning birds flown in front of a staunch dog the Ptarmigan and Spruce Grouse would be very trying. Rocks and sticks are a reasonable second choice for killing these birds

shootermcgavin · #25 08-28-2008, 10:21 PM

It isn't illegal to take your dog for a walk any time of the year but if your dog is chasing wildlife it technically is illegal...

Even if its a hunting dog chasing game birds you cant harass or kill wildlife.

unless you have a license...

puphood1 · #26 08-29-2008, 05:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winch101

I have seen more broods but all small . Lots of birds between taber and vauxhall ...

Just as a point of interest is there not a time when you can not run your dog due to nesting birds ... like April to labor day ... or is that a myth...

Yes that is a myth. Why would you pick April till Labourday? Why not March till Thanksgiveing? Most of the game birds are not brooding till around the second week of May and chicks are flying well by the third week of July. Dog training is the least of these birds problems. Habitat is there number one requirement followed by a warm dry spring during the beginning of the hatch in June which we did not have this year and hunters continually going back to the same spots they seen birds and takeing more birds out of a limited amount in a covey till there are no seed birds left for the following spring.........puphood1

graham1 · #27 08-29-2008, 07:37 AM

Lot's of Huns down here around Pincher Creek. Hey RyanGSP a question about short hairs, are they okay in the real cold? My old lab died a couple of months ago and I'm wondering what breed would be best. I hunt alot of upland in the fall and then geese in November and December, but it can get ugly when the geese are flying. I won't get anything for this fall but I'll probably be looking next spring.

thanks

theduke · #28 08-29-2008, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by graham1

Lot's of Huns down here around Pincher Creek. Hey RyanGSP a question about short hairs, are they okay in the real cold? My old lab died a couple of months ago and I'm wondering what breed would be best. I hunt alot of upland in the fall and then geese in November and December, but it can get ugly when the geese are flying. I won't get anything for this fall but I'll probably be looking next spring.

thanks

get a chessie

geezer55 · #29 08-29-2008, 01:28 PM

My work takes me south of Highway#61 from Warner to Etizkom to the Montana border and I'ver seen quite a few coveys of partridge and there are about a dozen birds in each.

Versatile · #30 08-29-2008, 10:14 PM

Last year on the last day of season it was minus 25 and he hunted the river right along side my buddies lab. He had his neoprene vest on but he stayed nice and warm.

Anything colder than minus 20 I usually dont hunt myself. My rule is minus 10 for water unless he has a vest on, minus 20 for the field usually I hunt coffin blind so we share body heat. Upland as long as he keeps moving he is good until I get cold. I cna honestly say I have never had him want to stop because he was too cold. I didnt get him home one time and he was like a little ice cube I had to run him in a hot bath and he shivered all night.

If you do waterfowl buy yourself a lab. The GSP is one of those dogs that will never be the best at anything but they will always be the best for everything. They are not a specialist they are a versatile. If you hunt upland and waterfowl then buy yourself a GSP or a PudelPointer.

For your hunting look at a PudelPointer. You wont be disapointed. Ya alot of guys will say lab but you know what I dont like following my dogs around and having to talk that much. With my dogs I can walk where I want and the dogs cover the ground I dont need to guide them around.

PM me we can talk about this more.