Grouse & Ptarmigan - Sounds Wild
Brood Surveys with Dogs

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Brood Surveys with Dogs

On a summer morning a well-trained hunting dog is on point in a thicket of willows in the open country along the Denali Highway. He's pointing at a group of ptarmigan, but he's not hunting. He and his handler are volunteering to help fish and game biologists conduct brood surveys for grouse and ptarmigan. The dog helps locate and hold the birds so they can be counted.

In summer, state wildlife biologists look for hens and chicks to estimate the season's chick survival. This helps biologists better understand the productivity of a particular grouse or ptarmigan population, and gives hunters a better idea of what to expect for the fall hunting season. In a normal year juvenile birds make up the majority of the harvest, so if chick survival is low hunters can expect to see fewer birds when hunting.

In mid-July 2021, 40 volunteers with dogs laced up their boots and hit the field at Eagle Summit and along the Denali Highway. Rock and willow ptarmigan chick survival was documented. In some areas survival was poor. This is likely due to several snowstorms there in late May and June. Poor weather immediately post hatch in early summer has a significant impact on ptarmigan chicks. However, numbers were good in Eagle Summit. For sounds Wild..