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.
That's really good and actually I had been thinking some of those same thoughts. Since I didn't have any luck finding duskys last season, all I know is from forum posts or web articles and I remembered reading things about females going lower into sage or aspens with their broods for the insects and more and males staying higher, so this fits even if they're not completely split or things aren't always this way for the different genders and groups.
And I wondered the same thing regarding the treeline idea, specifically because of that point you made about the Zirkels so thanks for that. I'm heading straight west this weekend to the region @Birdbander suggested to scout for ptarmigan and hopefully I'll see some duskys as I go up in elevation with my dog. I'm hoping I can camp closer to treeline too than the distance I was in the Zirkels, so we can spend more time cruising the high alpine terrain instead of simply hiking miles just to get there.
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Birdbander
Well-known member
Please verify if my understanding is correct:
All areas open 12 Sept for ptarmigan but the areas in season two close at a later date.
Correct?
All areas open 12 Sept for ptarmigan but the areas in season two close at a later date.
Correct?
TheGreek
Well-known member
That is how I understand it. It’s a shame that Sage grouse and ptarmigan open the same weekend. A fella only has so much time in September.
Correct, I'm reading the same as you and @TheGreek
I got out for another scouting trip this past weekend (skipping location names but went straight west of me as suggested in earlier posts) and saw zero birds - no ptarmigan or grouse. My dog and I scouted from 10.6K - 11.6K', with tree line at this area at around 10.9-11K'. While I remember earlier posts suggesting to not look for ptarmigan below 12K or even 12.5K', this ridge topped out at 11.8K or maybe a bit higher, and I figured going along the top of the ridge didn't make sense since it seemed too exposed and was further away from any grassy areas or the water sources where we looked. Granted, we've never seen or come across ptarmigan before, so who knows if the scent was nearby and he didn't pick it up because he's unfamiliar with them. And the only thing we heard were some loud marmots, maybe some pikas in the talus, and songbirds. I listened to what ptarmigan sound like on the web before going and looked at the ptarmigan sighting locations others noted in the past nearby, but nothing for us this time. My dog did find a large bull moose, biggest I've ever seen, with a huge rack - that was impressive. It was still great to be in the terrain, and good to see my dog handled the steep slopes pushing close to 12K' without any trouble. It was a nice workout but a bummer that we keep striking out. After these 2 recent scouting trips pushing into this alpine terrain, I'm decided that I'd love to hunt this bird during the season and I know my dog would love to as well. It's so nice up there.
Maybe I'm not getting out at the right time of day? This was mid to late morning for the bulk of the scouting. Or maybe I'm missing something else about their habits or the terrain? If anyone has any other ideas beyond what's already been posted in this thread, I'm all ears.
Maybe I'm not getting out at the right time of day? This was mid to late morning for the bulk of the scouting. Or maybe I'm missing something else about their habits or the terrain? If anyone has any other ideas beyond what's already been posted in this thread, I'm all ears.
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TheGreek
Well-known member
That certainly looks like where you would expect to find ptarmigan, not that I have ever found one so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
As for dusky grouse, i definitely kill/see more from say 8:30am to 10:30am than 6:30am to 8:30am in Sept.
more good tips I'll keep in mind
El Jason
Well-known member
This has absolutely been my experience as well.
