Type of Field

B

beartooths

New member
im thinking of heading out by Holyoke this next Tuesday, looks to be a little cooler out there, maybe the mid 40's. i was curious what type of fields everyone is seeing the most concentration of birds in? i know last year they really favored the corners from the circle crops. This will be my first trip out this year, im curious to see how things are doing...ive heard about a lot of trash in the WIA fields, as well as the bird numbers being down a bit.
ive been hunting out by holyoke for years and i hope the quality of birds and fields continues, without being abused by those who dont respect the land and the land owners. the WIA fields are a priveledge, and can be taken away if abused.
 
As PBuster said. I also noticed more Milo fields than years past, plenty of birds in those and plenty of sandburrs too! CRP is usually a solid bet.
 
good to hear that there is some milo out in the fields, i know the birds love that stuff. never used to have much luck in the wheat stubble, ill have to give that a try. its hard to remember but it looks as though there are a lot less WIA areas around Holyoke than years past. hopefully my GSP and i can get locked in on some birds. maybe work some corners to use a natural block. just sounds like the birds are scattered.
 
With this warm weather, I found large numbers of birds in the wheat on opener. I have found hunting the wheat to be very rewarding in the past two years. It seems many of the farmers in the area are using the "shaker heads" to harvest the wheat leaving taller stalks than in previous years.

I notice this year a large increase in wheat WIAs up near Julesburge. I was not able to make it up that way on opener. Has anyone tried these new fields this year? Results? (PMs welcome!)
 
I like the fields that have birds in them! :D Sorry, I couldn't resist.

I think you'll find birds where you typically do. They're spread out right now as we've had no weather to force them into thick cover. In general, bird numbers seem consistent with past years, with declines in local areas due to hail. Anywhere east of Sterling should be decent.

P.S. I just saw a hen off of hwy 52 near Erie. Go figure.

Good Luck!
 
thats pretty awesome that you saw a hen near Erie!
ive always had descent luck around Holyoke, usually on the fields just north of town. i have never really tried further east from town...and i hit one good field by Fleming once.
its tough walking those huge CRP fields with just you and your dog...without snow and cold weather it seems the birds can just slip past you without you even thinking there was a bird in the field. i usually try to stick to the edges, seems like i find a good deal of birds within 50 yards of the road, instead of the dead center of a CRP field.
sure wish there was a snow storm ahead, but i just cant wait any longer to get after some birds!!
 
I found them today all over Phiilips county in thick, waist-high CRP near (but not actually inside) shelter belts. As you said, beartooth, many (mostly hens, but a couple of cagey roosters) very close to the road. Food (naturally) was always right across the road (both corn and wheat).

More birds than I've seen in several years. I hunted one half-section from two different start/stop points from 11:30-1:00 and don't think I ever went more than 5-10 minutes without a bird in the air. To the 'birds by the road' comment, I d**n near ran over 2 hens that were 6 inches from where I pulled off the road. Almost hit the bumper...scared the crap out of me :)

Sadly, I had to quit early when I lost my 'limit bird' in the thick stuff. Just saw him drop aleg and land, but dog and I searched hard and never found him (putting up 4 more hens in the process), so that was it for me today. I hate that feeling, but outside of that it was one of the best CO days I've ever had.
 
i keep hearing about people seeing good numbers of birds out east, im chomping at the bit to get out! tuesday will not come soon enough. from what everyone has said, it simply sounds like the birds are all over. also sounds like the majority of the corn is now cut, so that should help put some more birds in the grass.
ill probably hit a few of the WIA fields near fleming and work my way to the holyoke area. ive always just driven straight through to Holyoke, does anyone have any first hand experience with the fields by fleming...any good? ive just heard that the further west you go, the less the birds.
also, anyone ever hunt down towards Last chance? ive heard a few honey holes exist down in that area.
 
It is interesting to hear reports of pheasants around Erie. I have seen ~10 pheasant between Erie and Longmont over the past few years. One rooster south of 119 across from the sugar mill, a couple of hens just north of Old Town Erie, two roosters between HWY 287 and 95th/Hover, and a hen followed by a rooster on Oxford Road between 287 and East County Line.



chadsbritt said:
P.S. I just saw a hen off of hwy 52 near Erie. Go figure.

Good Luck!
Click to expand...
 
i love to hear about pheasants and wildlife expanding. i live down in Sedalia off of hwy 105, which if anyone has been that way, its a beautiful creek bed/valley that holds lots of deer and elk and looks perfect for pheasant and quail. i havent seen birds in 10 years down there but lately ive had a few friends spot an occassional rooster and one neighbor had some bobwhites in their backyard this fall. its so great to hear that.
numbers out east over the past 10 years have really expanded and grown as well!
 
Almost forgot, about 5 years ago, I came across a pheasant when running with my first Weimaraner along Big Dry Creek behind Front Range Community College in Westminster. It was spring time and a rooster was out calling and strutting his stuff. It really got my dog's attention. :) Haven't seen another one out there since.

It is good to see that there might be some expansion of range in Colorado.
 
Just saw 2 roosters flying out of corn south of HWY 119 and east of HWY 287 in Longmont. Had to get away from work and took a little drive during my lunch break.
 
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