A Guide to Greater Prairie-Chicken Hunting in Kansas

Discover ways to find better prairie-chickens in Kansas’ legendary Flint Hills, Smoky Hills, and Excessive Plains.

Not too long ago, the states of Nebraska and South Dakota have been getting many of the consideration from hunters looking for to pursue better prairie-chickens. This makes a number of sense, given the great inhabitants of birds in these states and the abundance of publicly accessible land obtainable to hunt. Nevertheless, Kansas has lengthy been a pacesetter in better prairie-chicken harvest and continues to offer glorious looking. With an extended season and the flexibility to reap different species whereas chasing chickens, it’s best to contemplate Kansas in your subsequent prairie-chicken hunt.

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The Flint Hills

Higher prairie-chickens in Kansas exist in three most important ecoregions of the state: the Flint Hills, the Smoky Hills, and the Excessive Plains. The Flint Hills have historically been seen as the center of the prairie-chicken vary, and the city of Cassoday, within the southern Flint Hills, payments itself because the “Prairie-chicken Capital of the World.” Whereas this has been traditionally true because of the massive quantities of native tallgrass prairies within the Flint Hills, populations there have declined markedly over the past 20 years as a consequence of ranching practices. 

Whereas prescribed burning and grazing are helpful for better prairie-chickens, the generally used vary administration strategies as of late within the Flint Hills make the most of prescribed burning over huge landscapes moderately than smaller patches. This method reduces the quantity of nesting cowl obtainable to hens and populations have suffered.

Moreover, the Flint Hills has little or no publicly accessible state-owned land or Stroll-in-Looking-Entry (WIHA) lands, so discovering a spot to hunt will be tough. That mentioned, I’ve had some superb early-season hunts within the Flint Hills by knocking on doorways and having access to massive tracts of grasslands. Nevertheless, discovering the landowner is usually a problem, as a lot of the Flint Hills is owned by absentee landowners. The ranch supervisor would possibly grant entry when you can not observe down the landowner.

An alternative choice for looking within the Flint Hills is concentrating on prairie chickens within the winter once they feed in harvested crop fields. The Flint Hills have a number of rivers and creeks that reduce by means of them, and many of the adjoining bottomland is planted for crops, normally soybeans. Prairie-chickens roost and spend their day within the grasslands above the rivers, however they fly down to pick out fields to feed each morning and night. Scouting for flying birds or glassing fields simply after dawn and within the late afternoon is a superb technique to establish which fields birds are utilizing. It’s usually simpler to get permission to hunt these fields because the land is normally owned by native farmers who reside close by.  

As soon as entry is secured, merely watch the fields and establish the flight path these flocks use to enter the sector and arrange in that precise flight path.  The taking pictures will be quick however very tough because the birds descend from the encircling ridges and have a great deal of steam. Whereas your pointing canine is ineffective in such conditions, it’s nonetheless a tremendous hunt and one of many few alternatives to go shoot upland recreation birds.

The Smoky Hills

The most effective ecoregion within the state to hunt better prairie-chickens is the Smoky Hills. An attractive panorama that may be a combine of huge tracts of native prairies and crop fields of wheat, soybeans, and corn, the Smoky Hills have seen a steady to growing inhabitants of prairie-chickens over the previous twenty years. 

Personal lands right here are usually owned by the locals, so monitoring down somebody to ask permission to hunt is comparatively simpler than within the Flint Hills. There may be additionally significantly extra WIHA land within the Smoky Hills, together with some massive tracts of native grasslands with good hen populations. I bear in mind one opening morning on a WIHA within the Smoky Hills, the place my canine pointed a pair of birds simply after daylight. That was the quickest hunt I’ve ever skilled for prairie-chickens, and I spent the remainder of the day scouting and taking pictures doves. 

The Smoky Hills even have massive Corp of Engineer reservoirs whose surrounding land is managed by the Kansas Division of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism for the advantage of wildlife.  Hunt these wildlife areas’ thinner, upland grasslands when in search of prairie-chickens.  

The most effective locations to hunt within the Smoky Hills are grassland tracts close to some sort of crop subject, even within the early season. Whereas birds don’t want crops to outlive, they readily feed in them for considerable meals or in disturbed patches between cropland and grassland, that are incessantly stuffed with weed seeds and bugs. I’ve had nice success in these spots through the early season looking behind pointing canine. Additionally, don’t overlook to hunt the tops of ridges or different identified lek websites, as birds can almost all the time be discovered close to them at any time. 

An alternative choice for glorious prairie-chicken looking within the Smoky Hills is to observe my recommendation on finding birds feeding in crop fields through the winter. This selection will be simpler within the Smoky Hills as a consequence of a stronger inhabitants of birds and flock sizes that are likely to common bigger than these within the Flint Hills.

The Northern Excessive Plains

The Northern Excessive Plains area is the ultimate ecoregion for locating prairie-chicken success in Kansas. This space is characterised by massive quantities of cropland interspersed with CRP fields and a few tracts of mixed-grass prairie. Birds right here will be hunted within the early season and winter utilizing the strategies beforehand described. Nevertheless, many chickens on this area are taken by the way to bobwhite quail and pheasant looking. 

Prairie-chickens and pheasants can usually be present in comparable grassland habitats so long as the grass shouldn’t be too thick. Prairie-chickens like grass they will see out of, and lots of Kansas CRP fields are stuffed with tall grasses that chickens principally keep away from. Search for them in grazed CRP fields or native rangeland. 

As with the Smoky Hills, WIHA floor is considerable within the Northern Excessive Plains ecoregion. Not all of them will likely be appropriate for chickens, however you’ll discover some with the proper habitat to carry birds. Additionally, knocking on doorways would possibly achieve you some entry, significantly on native vary lands away from extra conventional pheasant and quail floor. 

As I famous above, Kansas is a spot the place hunters have the possibility at a number of species of upland recreation birds in the identical stroll. That is very true within the Northern Excessive Plains and Smoky Hills, so be looking out for chickens even when pursuing a special species. 

Issues to Keep in mind when Prairie-Hen Looking

One large word of warning when looking better prairie-chickens in Kansas is to keep in mind that the lesser prairie-chicken, a federally threatened species, additionally exists within the state, and their inhabitants overlaps that of the better simply south of Hays. In consequence, most of south-central and southwestern Kansas is closed to prairie-chicken looking. The closed area is clearly marked by freeway boundaries, however concentrate on the place you’re looking. Even when you flush a better prairie-chicken within the closed zone, it’s nonetheless off-limits to reap.

The better prairie-chicken is actually a exceptional species, and a hunt for them needs to be on everybody’s bucket record. As an alternative of heading to the well-known and sometimes crowded public grasslands of Nebraska and South Dakota, I counsel giving Kansas a attempt. You discover loads of birds with good entry in sure areas. Plus, I’ve discovered landowners there to be particularly good about granting me entry to non-public lands when you’re there for chickens solely. The birds are current in good numbers; give it a shot.                                                                                          

Learn Extra

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Higher Prairie Hen Meat: Vitamin, Cooking Suggestions, and Dealing with

E-Scouting for Prairie Chickens

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