Hatchlings face chilly conditions

LAKE COUNTY - Vacationers in the Mission Valley aren't the only ones hoping for warmer, drier, weather. Area pheasant and grouse populations are also in need of friendlier temperatures.

According to Rick Northrup, the Game Bird Coordinator for the Department of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, pheasants are set to reach peak hatch time next week and grouse populations are in peak now. However, the unusual wet and cold weather has put the younglings' survival on shaky ground.

"If the spigot were to turn off, we'd be in pretty good shape," Northrup said. "It's better than drought, though, because the birds that do come through are going to be making hay."

While the wetter conditions mean a greener summer, the combined cold causes a lot of problems for both types of birds as the chicks don't have their feathers developed yet and can't regulate their body temperature. The cold weather also means less activity from insects, which are the chick's main food source.

"When it dips below 52 degrees, you can start expecting to lose chicks," said Northrup.

While lows at nighttime aren't as important, unless it dips below freezing, it's the daytime temperatures that are vital to the survival of the chicks.

"The chicks are not out feeding [at night], they're hunkered down below their mom," Northrup said. "They can't do that all the time, They've got to get out and feed otherwise they'll starve."

Events such as snow or freezing temperatures can have a disastrous effect on the bird population. John Grant, the Wildlife Area Manager for the Ninepipe Wildlife Refuge, said that a very healthy pheasant population in the mid-1990s was hit hard by just two days of below-freezing temperatures.

"It was valley-wide down in the teens," said Grant. "It froze them solid enough that it killed the embryo in the egg."

The problem with the eggs freezing before they hatch is that the natural instinct of the pheasant to start over with the reproduction process doesn't kick in. They'll just sit on the bad eggs and wait for them to hatch.

While temperatures aren't expected to get that extreme in the valley this year, Grant did say there was room for improvement.

"It would be better if it were warmer and dryer," he said.

A rough hatching period can mean diminished numbers for hunters in the area. According to Grant, there are roughly 12,000 acres of habitat for pheasants in the Mission Valley area, including 4,000 acres which are open to hunting in Ninepipe.

Grant said that the effect on the pheasant numbers due to the freezing hatching days in the mid-1990s caused people to call in and claim that a disease had struck the bird population.

"They'll notice right on the first day," he said, adding that people will go out and not see a single bird.

According to Northrup, the difference between harvest reports by hunters can vary greatly from year-to-year depending on the hatching. For example, in 2001, there were 98,000 birds reported harvested state-wide compared to 2003 when 163,000 birds were harvested.

One thing that will not have an effect on the population is the hunting itself, Grant said. Since hunters are only allowed to shoot roosters, their polygamist nature allows the hens to just move on to a different male if one is shot.

"Hunting has a negotiable impact on the population," Grant said. "The hens are still going to find the roosters."

Along with possibility of producing a greener summer, this cold and wet weather does have a blessing in disguise. Because farmers aren't harvesting yet due to conditions, it takes away the possibility of pheasants and nests being disturbed by farm equipment.

So while it's a crucial time for pheasants and grouse and the wet and cold weather causes concern, an excellent hatching time can double or even triple bird numbers. That in itself brings enough hope for those crossing their fingers for plentiful harvests come hunting season.

"It's the wet season, they put up with it every year," Northrup said.