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Upland game hunters take to the field Sept. 13 with the opening of sharp-tailed grouse, ruffed grouse and Hungarian partridge seasons.
While spring counts indicated a slight increase in sharptail numbers from last year, preliminary summer brood counts suggest poor reproductive success with fewer young birds. Counts showed Hungarian partridge numbers are down slightly from last year, and ruffed grouse are still toward the lower end of the cycle.
The sage grouse season is closed in 2008 due to low counts during the spring survey.
Aaron Robinson, upland game biologist for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, said untimely spring rain at the peak of the hatch for most upland game birds resulted in poor success. Drier than typical weather during late summer roadside counts may have contributed to low numbers observed.
“While hunters in some local areas may find good numbers of sharptails, most hunters will have to work a little harder this fall to find birds,” Robinson said.
Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset. Sharptails, ruffed grouse and Huns each have a daily limit of three and a possession limit of 12.
Hunters, regardless of age, must have a fishing, hunting and furbearer certificate and general game and habitat license. In addition, hunters ages 16 and older need a small game license.
For further season information and regulations, hunters should consult the North Dakota 2008-09 Small Game Hunting Guide.
