Outdoors Report: Biologists expect another hit-or-miss season for hunters

Reports from the field indicate an average number of birds available, and state biologists are expecting a season similar to last year's -- not great, but not terrible either.

Perhaps an appropriate illustration of the outlook can be taken from the Yakama Indian Reservation, where the tribe opened its pheasant season last Saturday, a week ahead of the state opener.

Tribal biologist Nathan Burkepile said the weekend success rate was about one rooster for every two hunters. That's a typical opener on the reservation, which is considered to have some of the best remaining upland bird habitat in Central Washington. Some might see an average success rate there as a bit of a relief, since surveys earlier this year showed a marked decline in pheasants.

Burkepile said the counts might not have accurately reflected the pheasant population, since spring rains resulted in high vegetation that made the surveys difficult.

"We think we didn't catch them all," he said. "Right after we did our brood counts, people were reporting pheasants all over the place."

State upland bird biologist Mick Cope said the spring rains produced mixed results in terms of the number of birds in various areas east of the Cascades. Cold rain during the hatch can reduce chick survival.

"In some areas the timing of that rain wasn't so good, but in other areas we ended up having a good insect crop for the chicks," Cope said.

Washington doesn't produce anywhere near the number of pheasants it did during the 1960s and '70s, say state biologists, because more intensive modern agricultural practices, such as center pivot irrigation and weed burning, leave no hedgerows and cover habitat for the birds.

Between 25,000 and 30,000 hunters pursue pheasant each year in Washington, Cope said, and last year took about 112,000 birds.

Those who scout ahead and find good habitat and then work it with their dogs during the season do find some good hunting, both on public and private lands.

The best habitat left is in southeast Washington and on the Yakama reservation, but the Columbia Basin still produces fair numbers of birds.

The bright side of upland bird hunting in Washington is the quail population, which may be at an all-time high. Hunters took a record 190,000 quail last year. That season opened Oct. 2, along with chukar and Hungarian partridge.

Okanogan, Douglas and Chelan counties produce some of the thickest quail numbers. Cope said chukar numbers are good in Chelan and Douglas counties and the counties along the Snake River.

In other hunting news:

Deer hunting success was mixed as usual across the state during the general buck opener last weekend. But good reports are coming from some of the better game management units, and snow in the mountains should improve hunting during the rest of the season. It would appear that Chelan County's mule deer have now completely recovered from the disastrous wildfires of 1994 and the harsh winter of 1996-97.

"The season started out well and it's just going to get better," said Bo Patterson, Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist in Wenatchee. "We've got a lot of snow on the high peaks."

Patterson said he checked 25 bucks taken over the weekend, the biggest with a 6-by-7 rack, and that local taxidermists are busy. "A lot of nice bucks are coming in. I've been hitting taxidermy shops to take samples, and the taxidermists are just cringing when the phone rings."

Douglas County also produced good hunting, but success in Okanogan County appeared to be down. State biologists checked only 26 bucks among 700 hunters at Okanogan check stations. But hunting should improve as the deer move down.

"The season goes later into the month than it has in several years, and that's going to be a big factor," said area biologist Scott Fitkin. "I think hunters are going to do well the last week of the season."

On this side of the hump, the Vail area south of Olympia was productive as usual, the hunt there perhaps boosted by rain. About 75 deer were checked at a state sampling station Saturday and 100 Sunday.

In the Puget Sound region, state biologists are asking successful hunters to call them so they can take brain samples from the deer to check for chronic wasting disease. That's the mysterious illness that has hit deer herds in other states. It has not been found here to date. Those who call 425-379-2319 and allow biologists to take samples become eligible for a drawing for a Ruger hunting rifle.

Waterfowl hunting also opened Saturday, and hunters reported good success in most places, probably because of the nasty weather, with at least one notable exception.

Columbia Basin hunters had some very good shooting. Ephrata-based biologist Ron Freisz checked 54 hunters on the Desert Wildlife Area with 208 ducks, mostly gadwalls, mallards and widgeons. At least fair hunting was reported on Willapa Bay, the Snohomish River estuary and other westside areas.

But hunting was slow on the Skagit Wildlife Area up north, at least on Saturday, reported area manager John Garrett.

P-I reporter Greg Johnston can be reached at 206-448-8014 or gregjohnston@seattlepi.com

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