Tiny Little Poults

[Pygmy]

I went up to the property today to mow my clover plot for the final time this year and I flushed a hen and 5 poults...

The hen was a BIG old girl, looked to be perhaps 14-15 pounds...The poults, however, were QUAIL size....They could fly, but just barely...They looked about half the size of grouse....I have never seen poults so small this late in the year..They wont be more than 4-5 pounds when the season opens...They are less than a month old....Probably they were the result of a renest..Older hens are more likely to renest when their original nest is disturbed than young hens..

 

On the same property, I saw a hen in June that had poults that were already pheasant size at that time...

They have nothing to worry about from me...I am taking a sabbatical from fall hunting in this area until the flocks rebound a little...

[wolc123]

Thats odd, I just almost the same thing around the corner from our place in WMU 9F yesterday.   The poults were about the size of a fat robbin.  There were about a dozen of them with a hen on the shoulder of the road pecking at bugs or gravel. 

[Pygmy]

The field I flushed them out of was ALIVE with grasshoppers....Those little peeps are getting lots of protein ...<<smile>>....

[Uncle Nicky]

Makes sense, it rained a LOT in May this year, they were probably late hatches. At least some are here now, so that's a good sign.

Off topic, but was up at camp today setting up the stands for deer season. Caught movement trotting along the ground, thought it was a tiny turkey poult at first, until it turned it's head- woodcock! Less than 20 feet from me (on an ATV), very surprised it didn't fly off, unless it was injured?

Edited September 2, 2017 by Uncle Nicky

[Pygmy]

I don't think that is unusual, Nick...

They are not real spooky..A couple of years ago there was one that I saw up on The Mermaid's property several times when I was mowing....It let me get quite to it several times  with the mower before it went back into the brush...I think it may have been a hen with a nest nearby..

[rachunter]

I just saw a jumbo flock here on long island with little poults of all sizes.

[growalot]

As long as any significant snows hold off those young poults should be fine...but if we get dumped on early and often no...A bit concerned on that point....

Edited September 2, 2017 by growalot

[land 1]

they should put some size on quick late nesting this year

[Pygmy]

I was back on the hill to check my oat planting today and saw a flock of 8-9 birds....The poults were hard to tell from their mother...It was probably the brood I saw in late June when the poults were pheasant size....I also saw the hen with the small poults again...