Is this normal?

jtm307

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Apr 4, 2016
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Wyoming
Experienced sharp-tailed grouse hunters, what do you think? I've been hunting deer and antelope in an area I've never hunted and I have been running into insane numbers of sharptails. They're always in exactly the same spots and exactly the same habitat. Is it normal for some areas to be like this (where sharptails seem as plentiful as grasshoppers) or has drought caused them to be concentrated near water/wet soil.
 
It could be an artifact of a lot of factors.

Yes, sharptails are often patchily distributed on the landscape. You can cover miles and not see anything, but then when you find them you really find them.

Yes, drought will sometimes have them more concentrated. Not necessarily just around water, but around lusher vegetation with more/better food items available.

The time of year also makes a difference. As the fall goes on, they will start to group up into larger and larger flocks. By winter, they can be in huge flocks of 50 or more. I usually notice the flocks getting larger sometime in late Oct/early November, with max flock sizes once winter really sets in.
 
I think there are just some areas that hold a lot of sharptails. I hunt an area where they are all over the place, but go 10 miles down the road they are few and far between. Same general habitat, but always find them in numbers in the one area.
 

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