Grouse find a niche virtually everywhere except in intensively settled or
cultivated areas. Sage grouse are the largest American grouse species,
living wherever there remains large areas of sagebrush in southern Idaho.
The Big Desert between Rupert and Arco, brushlands around Challis and Mackay
and most of Owyhee County provide sage grouse with the "sagebrush seas" they
need and offer a unique hunting experience in wide open spaces. Smaller
pockets of these birds are found in scattered brushy areas such as the South
Hills on the Utah-Nevada border. Idaho boasts the largest population of
Columbia sharptail grouse in the country. They are hunted only in southeast
Idaho but there in recent years Conservation Reserve Program lands have
brought back sharptail numbers enough to make them an important game bird
once again. Sharptails are being transplanted back into historic range in
southcentral Idaho from eastern Idaho stocks. Ruffed grouse, blue grouse and
spruce grouse are forest dwellers, often inhabiting slightly differing
habitats in the same areas. At least one of these species are likely to be
found wherever there are forests in Idaho, or roughly half the state.
Valley Quail are among the most abundant game birds in Idaho, even though their range is limited. The imported birds have taken advantage of the available habitat along the Snake River drainage from Hagerman to Lewiston. They are most common in the wetter riparian areas on agricultural and public lands in southwest Idaho but may be found as far north as Orofino.
Mountain quail are the native quail species in Idaho but have become rare
and off-limits to hunting. They are easily recognized by their long,
straight topknots and large size, almost as large as chukar.
Mourning Doves nest throughout Idaho in considerable numbers but the high
latitude means most begin packing their bags for the flight south around the
time the season open September 1. Migration starts as the length of days
becomes shorter but huntable numbers remain unless chilly fall winds begin
Pheasant were introduced to southern Idaho along with irrigated farming.
They prospered along with agriculture but the huge numbers which once
brought wingshooters from throughout the country are much reduced in the
southcentral portion of the state because changes in agricultural practices
took out most of their winter and nesting habitat. Numbers remain huntable
and competition for them much less in recent years as most travelling
pheasant enthusiasts choose midwestern states.
Chukar partridge challenge the stout of heart and leg in canyonlands of
southern and central Idaho. The rocky canyons of the Snake, Salmon and
Owyhees harbor huntable to excellent numbers, largely depending on spring
Gray partridge came along with pheasant from Europe, grew up with pheasant
and declined in most agricultural areas when the pheasant numbers dropped.
The bright side of the picture with these birds is that they can make it in
more wild areas than pheasant and can often be encountered in foothill and
canyon country, usually adjacent to agricultural lands.
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