2019 hunting prospects continued

This is the third of several columns containing 2019 hunting prospects.

Today we offer this condensed version of this year’s prospects for Grant and Adams counties, also known as District 5 by Fish and Wildlife.

Quail

Grant County was Washington’s second-highest-producing quail county in 2018, second to Yakima County, with 19,868 birds harvested, while Adams County had much lower harvest with 4,211 birds.

In Grant County, there are many opportunities to hunt quail on public lands. Adams County hunters should seek permission on private lands to improve the chances of finding birds. Hunters in both counties will improve their odds with a trained dog to find and retrieve birds.

Quail become difficult to find by mid-season. Riparian areas will offer the best hunting. As always, look for coveys away from the heavily hunted areas. Hunters willing to do more hiking will likely find more birds.

Quail hunting is expected to be good again this year with reports from the field being very positive with lots of quail broods frequently being observed.

Chukar and partridge

Hunters harvested 977 chukars in District 5 during the 2018 season, with 879 being taken in Grant County and 98 harvested in Adams County. Hunters harvested 598 gray partridges, also known as Hungarian partridges or Huns, in District 5 during the 2018 season, with 347 taken in Grant County and 251 in Adams County.

The harvest success rates for both species in both Grant and Adams counties fluctuate quite dramatically from year to year. However, hunters should not be overly concerned with these fluctuations because the populations of both species are widely dispersed.

Although District 5 is not a popular destination for chukar or gray partridge, birds can still be found throughout much of the district. Most chukar hunting in the district occurs in the Coulee Corridor areas around Banks and Lenore lakes and along the Columbia River breaks north of Vantage.

Gray partridges occur in low densities throughout the Columbia Basin, but are rarely targeted by hunters. They are instead taken incidentally while hunting chukars, quail or pheasants.

Most gray partridges occur in private agricultural fields, particularly in the dryland wheat portions of Adams County and, to a lesser degree, Grant County.

Chukars and gray partridge are resilient birds and likely fared well despite less than ideal later winter conditions. Reports from the field paint a very good picture for both chukars and gray partridge this year.

Youth pheasant hunt

Fish and Wildlife, along with Pheasants Forever, will co-host a youth hunt scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 21, coinciding with the youth only pheasant hunt. More details in Friday’s Outdoor Lifestyles.