Ptarmigans in Colorado
- Thread starter GreenmtnSage
- Start date
Maybe some of it is me being too much of a novice. Plus, my dog has only ever hunted pheasant and chukar (limited experience with geese and ducks), so duskys and ptarmigan are totally new to him. Granted, once he knows what we're after, I'm sure he'll be set to go, but the first bird surprised both of us and I only caught a glimpse of it flying off, so I wasn't even completely sure it was a grouse, but the heaviness of the wings flapping and the size of it coming off the ground made me pretty confident it was a dusky. I can't imagine any other bird matching those qualities, which was ~9K ft.
@TheGreek I'm not sure but maybe 10 posts is the number. And I think this might be 10, so perhaps try again?
Especially this time of year - males will generally be 'nearly' solitary (often there'll be a handful of them nearby as @Birdbander points out). Based on a quick scout the other week, Females and young of the year should be starting to push uphill shortly.Grouse aren't solitary creatures, although the mature males may be a bit away from the groups. If you found one there's others in the area. Glad you're having some success.
I'd note that those elevation bands (for Dusky's) are 'relative' to the specific mountain range you're in. I've seen them right at treeline over the years, but it's pretty rare, IME.
For example, the Zirkel's top out just over 12k. Treeline is mostly down at like 11,000. If you don't start until 10,500 there you won't be hunting much. Versus some spots we hunt in southern CO where 11,500' is still a creek bottom in the timber.
