Boise, ID – Idaho’s Department of Fish and Game has grounded helicopter surveys for chukar and gray partridge this year. The surveys have taken place in August and September since the 1980’s. Jeff Knetter is the upland game biologist for the Department. “The number one reason that this particular flight was curtailed was because we had a fatal helicopter crash last year where we lost two biologists and pilot,” says Knetter. “This was a survey that was eliminated after the review looked at the risk and the cost in relation to the value of the biological information that we were collecting and it didn’t make the cut.”
Without the flight surveys, biologists won’t be able to provide forecasts for upland bird seasons in future years. Instead, says Knetter, they’ll collect wings from hunters who harvest the birds.
“By knowing the date that bird was harvested, we can measure the wing and determine how old the bird was and back calculate to get a hatch date.” Knetter says once they approximate a hatch date, biologists will go back and take a look at the weather. “So we’re trying to build a predictive model and then in future years help create a forecast or prediction based on weather conditions.”
Chukar and gray partridge are not native to Idaho. They are gallinaceous upland game birds from Eurasia. They are related to turkeys, pheasants and grouse.