September hunting and fishing calendar packed

A month in which there is something for almost everyone, September's additional opportunities include special two-day youth bird hunts, a five-day pheasant gambit reserved for seniors and the start-up of seven-month seasons for rabbit, coyote, raccoon, red fox and bobcat.

All this, without setting foot outside your own state or mentioning the great opportunities that abound farther afield such as early bow hunts in Oregon, high mountain forays for elk in Wyoming later this month, steelheading in Idaho and fall Kamloops trout fishing in British Columbia's Cariboo.

With time being the dearest resource we have, here's a quick rundown of September's, in some cases time-sensitive, hunting options.

FOREST GROUSE (RUFFED, BLUES AND SPRUCE):

Focus on higher elevation (above 3,000 feet) national forest clear-cuts and sub-alpine locales for blue grouse. On fair days, early mornings just after daylight or late evenings just before dusk are the best times. Also any time of the day after a rain shower is good. The first snows in late October will send blues shuffling off to find a high winter perch. From then on there's plenty of time for bottom land hunts especially after the some of the westside leaf cover drops, so ruffed grouse can wait. Grouse hunting is postponeable in favor of more time sensitive hunts, since the forest grouse season closes Wednesday, Dec. 31.

FOR MOURNING DOVE:

With a 15-day extension tacked on to this season, mourning dove gunners won't have to be in such a hurry. While the occasional resident sharpie can be found west of the Cascades, your best bet is the Central Washington corridor from the Okanogan Valley and Bridgeport south through the Othello area to the lower Yakima Valley for a big migratory population. Move further south through this now 30-day long season. Hunt the early morning hours between grain fields or orchards and water. Scout in the afternoon for the next day's shooting venue. Take a light shotgun and plenty of non-toxic shot ammo for these swift fliers. Ten birds are the daily limit; mourning dove closes Tuesday, Sept. 30.

FOR BAND-TAILED PIGEON:

Despite the fact, their numbers have not increased significantly in the past few years, these native wild pigeons are again fair game this fall.

Given their small numbers plus the sparse elder- and blueberry crops in the high country and a Monday, Sept. 15, opener that's close to band-tailed Baja flight departure time, shots at these wild pigeons are likely to be few and far between.

If there are any of these fleet slate-gray chargers skying about after berries they're likely to be at lower elevations (around 2,500 feet) in clear-cut units on Sumas, Stewart, Anderson or Wickersham (Lyman Hill) mountains.

Interior locales such as the Racehorse, Canyon (North Fork) drainages as well as the Baker River and Finney block areas on the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest may be lower percentage spots this year. Be sure to have your authorization permit with you for the opener Monday, Sept. 15. Remember there's a two bird a day limit and you must record and later report your harvest.

FOR RESIDENT CANADA GEESE:

Local aggregations of these troublesome honkers can be found starting Saturday, Sept. 6, anywhere from just east of Birch Bay to along the North Fork Nooksack near Kendall.

Much of the opportunity will be on private land, so scout your quarry and get permission before venturing onto farm fields. Also be mindful of county shooting safety laws and no-shooting zones.

Arrive at your intended farm field under a honker flight-line before daylight, get decoys set and yourself hidden before first light. The daily take is five Canadas in this six-day early waterfowl hunt, which ends Thursday, Sept. 11.

BOWHUNTS FOR DEER OR ELK:

Archers took to the field across the state in a broad selection of game management units Monday, Sept. 1, for their dry-time or early chance to bag a specimen of any of three deer species Washington has to offer.

In most cases archers may shoot either bucks or does.

Elk in a much smaller sampling of GMUs statewide join deer Monday, Sept. 8, in being fair-game for early archers.

For local bow hunters now success hinges on getting away from the human crowd, seeking feeding areas or travel corridors used by black-tails ensconced along streams or in the high country just below the timberline. Browse is again especially good in sub-alpine areas this year.

There also is plenty of deer sign in valley bottom areas of the North and South forks of the Nooksack now. Here you may find a tree stand is the best platform.

Home early elk archery options are sparse. There aren't very many wapiti in GMU 407, the only one open for archers here at present.

Early archery deer closes Tuesday, Sept. 30. Early archery elk shuts down Sunday, Sept. 21. Archer deer tags are good anywhere in Washington, but archers after elk must buy either an eastside only or a westside only tag.

THE HIGH BUCK HUNT:

Modern rifle hunters could wind up their deer season early, freeing up a lot of October time, if they partake of the high buck hunt in designated North Cascade wilderness GMUs outside the park.

It starts Monday, Sept. 15 and is open to modern rifle deer tag holders, who may hunt with any legal weapon.

The closest access to Bellingham is up the Suiattle River or Cascade River roads. But by far the best strategy is to pack in by horse on a trail system and set up a base camp. Buff day hunters can sprint in on the South Fork Cascade, Green Mountain or Slate Creek trails.

This season closes Thursday, Sept. 25.

Doug Huddle, the Herald's outdoors correspondent, works for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's Wildlife Program and has written a weekly hunting and fishing column for the Bellingham Herald since 1983 that appears Fridays. E-mail him at doug.huddle@bellinghamherald.com.