When it comes to spending time in the Maine woods, October can be the month of months. Frosty mornings, crisp clear skies, a warming afternoon sun and a backdrop of bright fall colors are October’s trademark, and part of the attraction for the fall bird gunner. For the sportsmen who is blessed with a well-trained bird dog, an October afternoon in good bird cover can be the next thing to heaven on earth.

What’s the word on the game bird prospects this fall? Pretty good, according to state game bird biologist Brad Allen and Millinocket guide Jay Robinson.

Their  words:  Brad Allen says, “The mild winter and early spring weather conditions set us up for an excellent bird nesting year for Maine. For game birds, the spring started off with excellent numbers of grouse (mild winter) average numbers of woodcock (from the singing ground survey), earliest (April 16) woodcock egg hatch I’ve ever heard of and excellent numbers of spring wild turkeys.  Unfortunately, conditions went downhill from there. I saw my first turkey poults on July 10th , 10 partridge-sized young, accompanied by three hens.  I’ve seen a few more broods since.  Thankfully there are bird supermoms that are good at raising chicks and ducklings under these environmental conditions.  Because weather patterns across this vast state vary by location, some areas may not have been as wet as the conditions we experienced in midcoast Maine.  Some offspring will survive.  Good friends (Tom and Bailey) of the Maine Warden Service indicated to me that pretty good numbers of partridge in northern and eastern Maine apparently survived the floods.  Sporting camp owners have relayed similar positive remarks about partridge in the north.  My advice: go north again this year for grouse and woodcock!

I was  surprised to learn from Brad that “renesting” is quite common when eggs don’t hatch or chicks are wiped out by poor nesting conditions. This explains reports I’ve received from folks who saw turkey poults that were still little, freshly- hatched puffballs in early August!

Jay Robinson is also hopeful:  “All signs point to a very good season this year for both species. After two previous wet springs, Maine experienced a fairly dry spring season, helping the critical nesting period. In my own experiences tramping through the woods to remote ponds this past spring and summer I saw a good deal of grouse, especially large broods in mid summer.”

Biologist Allen’s advice to go north for grouse, or partridge( if you shoot ’em on the ground), is supported  from last year’s hunt. Although I didn’t get into much bird cover last fall with my aging setter Sally, acquaintances indicated that grouse were plentiful in the north woods last fall. It looks like this fall could be equally productive.

Maine’s grouse season opens October 1st and runs until December 31st. The daily bag limit is four and the possession limit is eight birds. The daily limit on woodcock is three. And don’t forget, if you are hunting in a legal moose hunting zone, you must wear at least one piece of hunter orange (vest or hat).

Don’t underestimate the challenge of a fall turkey hunt, either. You can kill one bird of either sex. Check out your zone in the lawbook. In Zone One the season runs from October 8th to October 22.  In Zone Two (southern Maine) you may hunt from September 29th to October 28th. In most hunt areas, it’s bow and arrow only, although shotguns can be used in some areas of Zone Two. Of course, in the fall it’s tougher to find the big birds because the mating season is over. If you can locate the flock and disperse them, your chances of a shot are better.

Mainly, enjoy October, Maine’s farewell song before the cold rains and all that follows.

 One of my favorite Maine outdoor writers, Tom Hanrahan, himself an impassioned grouse hunter and October disciple, really nailed it:  “But I remember not only the birds I have downed but the quality of the experience. The sun dappled woods, the great companions, the waning of the day. I come home tired and happy.”

                          
The author is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. He is also a Maine Guide, co-host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network (WVOM-FM 103.9, WQVM-FM  101.3) and former information officer for the Maine Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. His e-mail address is [email protected] and his new book is “A Maine Deer Hunter’s Logbook.”