Biologists from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife have compiled region-by-region previews for various hunting seasons, including upland bird hunting, which began Oct. 1. Here’s their assessment:
Down East region
With a wet early spring and summer, and higher water levels into July, expectations for birds are fair to moderate for Down East.
“It wasn’t a washout, but it certainly wasn’t the best nesting season that we’ve seen,” said wildlife biologist Tom Schaeffer.
If you are looking to go turkey hunting this fall, there are some new opportunities in the Down East region. Check out wildlife management districts 19 and 28.
“Along the coastal plain in Hancock and Washington counties, the spring numbers seemed down. However, that is not the case as you move more into the interior where the numbers look pretty favorable,” said Schaeffer.
During spring waterfowl brood counts, Schaeffer noted decent waterfowl broods, and he expects hunters to have a good season.
A check of area tagging stations has the bear numbers below last year, even with hunter numbers looking pretty good. Looks like hunters had success early, but with what seems to be a low volume of natural foods, bears have denned up early.
Schaeffer noted that a few hunters have had success with the resident goose season, as some hunters have enjoyed decent numbers on a few local fields.
Moosehead region
DIF&W regional wildlife biologist Doug Kane has seen a good number of birds in his travels this summer, and hunters should be happy with what he’s seen.
“I always look at clutch sizes for an indicator of what we’ll see in the fall, because once these chicks start flying, mortality goes way down,” said Kane.
Most of the clutches he saw at flight stage this year numbered between three and six chicks.
“When we have had the great grouse years, I see clutch sizes that are more than five,” said Kane. “This year, I saw a lot of clutches that were four to five.”
With the cooler weather settling in last week, Kane started seeing more birds.
“It was like someone flipped a switch, they just started showing up on the roads, both the bigger birds and the younger birds,” said Kane. “It should be a pretty good year.”
Turkey hunters are getting ready in the southern part of the region, and even though the numbers for this spring might have been down, things look good for the fall.
“Both turkeys and grouse seemed to nest well. There was plenty of rain, but it was not extended, and it was usually followed by warmer weather so the chicks and poults could handle the cold,” said Kane.
Bear season is slowing down in the Moosehead region, as Kane said, for when they are getting ready to den, they are traveling less.
“Most of the natural foods are gone, bears are heavy, and they seem to be ready to den earlier in this nonbeech nut year,” said Kane.
And if you are excited about deer season, Kane said the number of deer he has seen is very good, boding well for the upcoming season.
Penobscot region
If you are looking to go grouse hunting in the Penobscot region, it looks to be a good season, not great. According to DIF&W wildlife biologist Mark Caron, sightings have been consistent through the summer.
“It can be hard to predict. I have heard from Patten and north of there from people training dogs that there are good broods. It was not a great hatch in our area,” said Caron. “One thing is for sure, once the leaves come off, things get better.”
Page Farm, with its improved network of roads, is a popular destination for grouse and woodcock. It provides steady hunting right through October.
If you are looking to go turkey hunting, you can hunt the fall in wildlife management districts 10, 11 and 19. There is one bird limit for those areas. Caron says turkey habitat is a little better in 11 than in 19.
How waterfowl hunters will fare can be more difficult to assess, as there are so many different waters in the region for hunters to hunt.
“There’s plenty of beaver bogs and backwaters, and usually early on the hunting can be pretty good,” said Caron. He added that it can be busy on the first day, but it usually quiets down after that.
Aroostook region
If you are looking to go bird hunting, you may want to head north.
“All indications in our area is that the grouse season should be good to excellent,” said Rich Hoppe, DIF&W wildlife biologist. “I’ve been talking with sportsman, and most people have been seeing a lot of birds.”
Hoppe said that with the great spring and summer, survivorship has been high, there have been good numbers of broods, and by all indications, there is not as much mortality as years past.
Northern Maine is increasingly becoming a destination for bird hunters from throughout the northeast and beyond. Sporting camps are becoming increasingly filled during the month of October.
As far as waterfowl, Hoppe added that he’s seen more ducks than normal for this time of year, and it has been great weather. While there aren’t a lot of waterfowl hunters in the region, it is a great destination for waterfowl hunters, for those who do come north find a lot of success.