Montana never fails to disappoint. Fall of 2026 showed us a dry and dusty state when we arrived. Then, it rained for three days straight! After the annual game of "keep it out of the ditch" for three days, it dried out in a few hours, and we could get on with finding a few birds. The first thing we noticed was the lack of grasshoppers. They are critical to brood survival, and there were none. With other factors involved, the bird population was low, in the eastern part of the state at least. The thing we noticed was that where we found birds in the past, we still found some- but far fewer and mostly mature birds
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Randy and Blue in Wyoming
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| Moonrise Wyoming |
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| JD and Sharptail Grouse Montana |
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| Blue and Sharptail Grouse Montana |
Wyoming was in similar straits, but it seemed there were more birds. In one day, we found Huns, Sharptails, Chukar, and Sage Grouse. The next day, we found some Dusky Grouse in the mountains. Let me add this: Wyoming is not a hunting destination like Kansas. Public land is enormous, and there are no people. That means no car coming by, no help nearby, and no cell service. Wyoming may seem like a great place to bird hunt, and some years it is. But it can hurt you. My suggestion: Hire a guide for a day or two to get the lay of the land and let him give you some tips and pointers. Many people I know spent three or four days driving around not realizing they were looking right at perfect habitat. Then they left. I've been hunting Wyoming for 10+ years, and I left the state hurt more than once. Take a satellite comm device with you, and a hunting partner.
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JD and Sharptail Grouse
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| Thank you Beavers! Montana. |
