Every year around this time I am joined on my radio show by Ed Gorman with Colorado Parks and Wildlife to update our listeners on the status of Colorado’s upland game population. Colorado Pheasant hunters have plenty to be excited about when the 2016-17 season opens statewide November 12th. Abundant spring rainfall throughout Colorado’s core pheasant range bolstered this year’s pheasant crop.
To give you a little background, 2010 and 2011 were banner years for Pheasants in Colorado possibly providing some of the best hunting opportunities in the state’s history. Then came the drought. The number of birds dropped off substantially in 2012 and 2013. In 2014-15 we saw the number of birds start to rebound around the state. While upland game populations can crash rather quickly they take time to rebound. Several factors have to come together. You need sufficient adult birds that hold over from the previous year and there has to be sufficient habitat available and the weather needs to cooperate.
We saw a good number of adult birds going into the spring of 2016. Parks and wildlife continues to work to provide habitat and mother nature came through. Gorman has been out surveying the bird population and reports “it looks better than good”. The pheasant population in northeast Colorado has really come on strong and should provide excellent hunting. What really excited Gorman was the quail population in the southeast part of the state. The numbers of bob white and scale quail this year provides a rare opportunity for hunters in Colorado.
Upland game hunting opportunities can be so volatile because it is so dependent on the spring hatch. The large majority of birds harvested are from that springs hatch. Not only are they the most abundant but the adult birds are wary and difficult to hunt.
If you have considered hunting upland game in Colorado, this is probably the year to start. Not only do we have great numbers of birds but very good access for hunters. There are a number of state wildlife areas and other lands like the Comanche Grasslands in the southeast. In addition, Colorado Parks and Wildlife is in the sixteenth year of its extremely successful “.”
Combine that with a season that is over 85 days long and there is plenty of opportunity for all. In fact I believe this may be one of the best times to introduce a youth or novice to hunting. While the pheasants will be very good, Quail can be a little easier to learn and to locate. Not to mention they are a bit further from the metro area and don’t get as much pressure. I will warn you though they can be difficult to hit.
Gorman suggests getting either a hard copy of the walk in access atlas or download the app to you mobile device and get out and drive the roads where you intend to hunt. This will not only help you locate birds, you can get a feel for how the habitat and adjoining fields set up. The atlas also contains a lot of information to help you enjoy a successful hunt. Both the atlas and the parks and wildlife website are loaded with tips and techniques on hunting upland game.
The birds are there. The information is available and the outdoors beckons. In Gorman’s words “the best time to hunt is anytime you can.”
You can find more information on pheasant hunting in Colorado on .
Listen to the full interview with Gorman below.
https://soundcloud.com/1043thefan/ed-gorman-terry-wickstrom-outdoors-102916
Join Terry every Saturday morning at 8:00 for all your outdoor information on Terry Wickstrom Outdoors 104.3 The Fan. You can also follow Wickstrom on Facebook at Terry Wickstrom Outdoors.
