Elk and deer hunters in Oregon will be surprised as hunting seasons start with the opening of buck deer hunting season. Goose and duck hunters will also be in for a surprise the following week according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Quail and chukar are bouncing back but the biologists are wondering why pheasants failed to respond to the better conditions as their population continues to go down. The later start of deer season on both sides of the Cascades means it will start and last until the last leaf drop of autumn.
Rain has made the land soft. Hunters of black-tailed deer in the west will have until early November to catch one.
Survival of mule deer was good last winter and their numbers is up overall. Blacktail numbers are still low but higher compared to their number last year. They are also above management target levels.
Winter has been easy on big game animals in Oregon and that includes the Elk. The late spring and early summer rains has given most animals enough forage and they will be entering winter in good to excellent condition.
Bear hunters in the northeast region of the state should stick on berries. The northeast huckleberry has been excellent according to the hunting outlook of the department. Old homestead fruit trees and orchards will also attract bears.
Goose and duck hunters will have their best season in recent years. Numbers of water fowl is up across North America and forecasts for ducks are better than last year. The severe drought in California will result to more ducks remaining or returning in the far north.
Due to a twist of the calendar, quail, chukar, and pheasant season will open at the same day of the deer season. Chukar will reappear in the sage and canyonlands this fall.
Photo by Clinton & Charles Robertson (Whitetail Buck, Brady TX Nov 06) [CC-BY-2.0], undefined
