well

[myEspringr]

Is anyone fired up for the seasons to begin again. wife bought me a lab for my birthday this weekend . can't wait to start workin' with the pup. this time of year is tough when summer hits i start lookin' forward to fall.

[Nulle]

It will be here before you know it and looks like we should have a fantastic upland hatch this year
I am working with a GSP and an English Setter and should be ready come Fall with a little luck.

[rainydays]

Am always fired up waiting for seasons to arrive. Trying to keep the old lab in shape. Am concerned though about how our wet ,cold, spring will effect the upland bird hatch.

[myEspringr]

yeah we've had alot of moisture too. hopefully the weather dries out a little soon. i'm hopin' the weather sets up better for dove season this year too, last year was a little off with the hot , cool days back and forth. it's starting to look like it again.

[rainydays]

Our dove season was also a bust last year. I also hope it will be a little better this year. Last year pheasants were fair, but due to the extended drought many thousands of CRP acres were cut for hay, which also limited hunting possibilities last year. The hay crop looks tremendous this year, so cutting CRP shouldn't be an issue this year. Well, its another day closer to bird season. Take Care!

[Nulle]

Upland birds hatch very well in wet years with the only down side being floods where the nests are washed out. Young birds get the wather they need off the grasses ect. Moist high moisture mornings is the very best.
Dry years will show production will drop off in hatches and chicks.

[rainydays]

Nulle,
Does the coolness of the temperature, in conjuction with the wet weather have any effects on the survivability of the chicks? Have a good day!

[Tater]

I haven't got the slightest idea how our hatch will be but the weather has been real cool and wet, even now, so I'm hoping there will be plenty of birds. The pickins have been pretty slim the last couple years and I'm hoping this wet, cool spring will change that.

[Dutchboy]

Nulle, that's interesting, but it is against "common wisdom" (which is, I admit, often not very wise). It's been raining here like it is Seattle. As a matter of fact, we've had rain every day for two weeks straight.

Are you saying there is still hope for a good season? We had far more pairs at the beginning of the spring than I've seen in years (huns, pheasants, sharptail, all of them), but the rains put a damper on my hopes for a bumper year. Dutch.

[myEspringr]

now i've always heard that the drier the season the better the hatch. there are so many opinions on this subject , it's hard tellin' what the facts are.

[gspsonny03]

Well, I can't give you the truth of it because I'm not really sure. I did raise Pheasants for two years and my experience was the more moderate the year the better luck I had. But I raised my Pheasants in a pen, Now Nulle on the other hand has been doing this for a while and knows a whole lot more about it than I do, so I would have to bow to his knowledge. You are right, there are a lot of opinions and everyone has one, but what you need to do is find someone who has been there and done that. I know who I trust when he tells me something, because he hasn't steered me wrong yet. You have to pick someone you trust and go with their advice, afterall you did ask for it. No one willl hit it 100% of the time, to many variables, but if you can find someone who can hit a high percentage than go with them.

[Nulle]

I am going from the stats of the Biologists on brood counts ect.
Dry years are a disaster for chicks I can tell you that from the stats and first hand knowledge. Our wild turkey broods were starting to get hit real hard with the very dry conditions in the last few years.
As stated before: The chicks get moisture they need off the grasses in the AM. They do not go to the local pond and drink water ect. I am thinking humidity plays the bigger role in this rather then the temperature.

[myEspringr]

then there must be hope. my time on this site has been short lived but i like it already. it's nice bein' able to learn new info and facts, half the time someone wants to keep it themselves. i guess i can learn something new everyday.:D

[Nulle]

I must say most of the information given is right on target. Use what works for you in your case and trash the rest lol
Have fun

[drummer]

I hate to but in here,but I think hit on something.We always hear that wet springs are hard on uplan birds.That's a blanket statement that cannot be applicable for all situations,and as before stated,quite contrary to actual results.

Even if it were proven to be detrimental to,say bobwhites in the Ohio River Valley(and I don't think it has been).Spring rains tend to keep the haycutters out of the fields as the birds are nesting in May and June.Therefore,Iv'e seen more productive hatches and probably more fall birds in wet years.
Sorry for sticking my nose in.I wish everybody well this fall.I have an old Brittany that may be having his final go of it this year,and a young lab that surprised me last season!He'll be chomping at the bit to find more grousies.:D

[Nulle]

drummer: You are never "butting" in and guess you are not alone on the wet spring thing. Kind of wondering where this is coming from and in what content. Are they talking about nests being washed out with heavy rain and guess I am not sure on the bob whites just going by my area of pheasants/grouse.

[Bluegunner]

It's my understanding that the danger to young chicks from rain has more to do with what type conditions are associated with the rain. Ex. If the temperatures are cool the risk factor for chick loss increases, as chicks that get chilled have a poor survival rate. Even more important than temp. is how long the wet conditions last. If the chicks can get dried in a short time the risk for death is slight, but if the chicks remain wet the death factor increases as that time lengthens.
My understand on dry conditions is that dry conditions lead to a poor bug crop and for most young chicks the availability of bugs(protein) is their primary need - few bugs high death rate and visa versa.
Thus the ideal conditions would be short rains with warm moist conditions and periods of sunshine.
Would appreciate feedback!

[Nulle]

This could very well be true and from one State to the other our Springs are different. Humidity rate is high it is better then to have the actual rain.

[Bluegunner]

I don't think that rain or humity in and of it's self is bad. But when a chick becomes chilled their chance of survival drops. A chick that gets wet but gets dry quickly shouldn't have a problem. Also a warm rain should have less effect on the chick than a cold rain. A long period of constant slow cold rain with little sun shine would be harder on the chicks than short cloud bursts or slow warm rains with sun shine inbetween. lastly, humidity and warmth conditions would increases the bug population and that's a positive for young chicks.

[Dutchboy]

Here's another variable to think about. Birds like Bobwhite quail vs. something like a Blue Grouse. One's known to be "fragile", one's used to far more cool conditions.

I've seen Blue Grouse just about fresh from the egg. Lots of feathers there, not much fluff. They look to me far less susceptible to moisture and cold (which should be obvious, given that they will experience frost after hatching). FWIW, Dutch.

[drummer]

No doubt insects are vital to baby bobs.IMO the bush hog is still the greatest enemy quail have.If we could just convince farmers to spend half as much time with the chainsaw as they do with the mower...

[Nulle]

In dealing with the Bob White and pheasants I find it amazing there are any pheasants around lol.
The Bobs are out of the egg on a dead run !

[drummer]

The Bobs are out of the egg on a dead run !

And he'll be that way the rest of his life.The better he runs,the longer he'll live.;)