Westside pheasant season opens Saturday

More detailed information about the pheasant schedule and the numbers of birds allocated to each unit, as well as upland gamebird or waterfowl regulations, will be posted on the readerboard located at the boat ramp near the headquarters compound at Lake Terrell.

Bird hunters hankering for some sage brush stalking or alfalfa chases must wait until Saturday, Oct. 18, for the Eastern Washington pheasant season to open.

The 2008-09 general migratory waterfowl (ducks, geese (except brant and coot) season opens statewide on Oct. 11.

RULES TO HUNT BIRDS BY

It's wise to get into the mindset of following the regulations from the very start of a hunting season, especially one that is highly regulated like the Western Washington pheasant opportunity.

Here are some of the key rules that could cost you dearly in a moment of forgetfulness:

? Cars, pick-ups and RVs parked on all fish and wildlife department owned or controlled property must have a vehicle use permit conspicuously displayed. Hunters receive them at no extra charge when they buy a hunting or fishing license. There are provisions for transferring them to a second vehicle.

? Weekend morning access to the three designated pheasant release units for hunters between the ages of 17 and 64 is governed by the even/odd date rule. When you purchase a Western Washington Pheasant Permit, you will be asked to declare a choice. On weekend numeric calendar dates that match your even or odd designation, you may start hunting at 8 a.m. On weekend days that don't, you must wait until 10 a.m. to enter the field.

? All waterfowl hunting over decoys at Lake Terrell, Tennant Lake and Alcoa Intalco must be done from an established blind. Limiting effort to these widely separated locations reduces decoy competition and disturbance of one party by another.

? Hunters must use only steel- or other accepted non-toxic-shot charge ammunition to hunt both upland gamebirds and waterfowl on all Whatcom Wildlife Area units from Nooksack (Marietta Slater Road) and Tennant Lake to Alcoa Intalco, Lake Terrell and BP Cherry Point. Hunters would be well-advised to go through their ammo vests, hunting jackets and coveralls to make sure they don't have any stray lead shells in their possession when they venture into the WWA fields or lakes.

? Immediately after killing a pheasant, hunters must record it in ink on their pheasant permit card. Filled cards can be turned in and a new one purchased. There is no limit to the number of cards you may buy.

? Hunters should always heed posted safety zones (red and white diamond-shaped signs) around parking areas, along roads as well as buffer areas next to work sites. Safely hunting the private recreation lands provided by Alcoa Intalco and BP Cherry Point is a requisite to their continued use.

? The carrying of loaded shotguns in parking areas is not permitted anymore. When returning from the field, get into the habit of unloading all shells from firearms before entering parking lots, and at the start of your hunt do not load magazines or chamber rounds until you are into the fields away from parking areas.

? Upland gamebird hunters must wear visible hunter orange safety garb (at least 400 square inches of external clothing above the waist). In the thick brush and tall grasses here, a bright orange head cover is highly advised. Boot waterfowlers are exempted from this rule as long as they don't shoot at pheasants or have any in their possession. Shoreline duck jumpshooters would be advised to wear the bright safety clothing as a precaution.

? Don't take the rules for granted. Enough changes occur from year to year to make it worthwhile to read carefully, from cover to cover, the 2008-2009 Migratory Waterfowl and Upland Game Regulations pamphlet before venturing out. Do so in the comfort of an easy chair the evening before rather than feverishly after getting a ticket and trying to find its justification.

? Hunters on BP's land north of Grandview between Blaine and Jackson roads must abide by the wide safety zone there. All birds released in that area are let go north of the weather station.

UPLAND BIRDING PROFILES

The three units receiving birds during the season are similar in nature being largely retired farmlands in varying stages of reforestation.

Some fields are still worked and provide open areas, but there is a lot of field edge to work and large tracts of alder thicket and brush that make the hunting and shooting quite challenging.

? The Lake Terrell unit is accessed via off-road parking from Lake Terrell, Rainbow or North Star roads. All birds are released in field areas southwest or southeast of headquarters.

? The Alcoa-Intalco site is dominated by wetlands bordered by aldergroves. Two official entries (off-road parking) provide hunter access from Unick Road on the south and Lake Terrell Road at Douglas Road on the eastside.

? BP Cherry Point properties lie north of Grandview Road opposite the refinery. Entry is from several off-road parking areas along Grandview Road as well as two accesses on Blaine Road near Terrell Creek crossing. Additional acreage was added this year east of Blaine Road to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks north of Grandview Road. Hunters will remember it as ground where livestock were pastured in years past.

MORE PHEASANT PLACES

When the brushy confines of Terrell or Intalco become just a little too familiar, you can chase birds in other locales in Northwest Washington.

Second ring-neck options this weekend are as close as Samish Flats where WDFW lands on Samish Island Road will get birds for the opener. Leque Island west of Stanwood on the west side of the Mark Clark Bridge also will be stocked for opening day in lieu of the Skagit Headquarters area on Fir Island.

Construction on an estuary restoration project has delayed pheasant releases on Skagit Headquarters Unit one week.

On Saturday, Oct. 4, pheasants will again be loosed at the Fir Island designated release site that is accessed from Interstate 5 at Conway.

Also, don't pass up the chance to take a road trip to the four sites on Whidbey Island that receive birds.

If you are headed further afield west of the Cascades for other reasons and find yourself with an afternoon free, there is usually a pheasant site nearby of which you can partake.

For a listing of westside sites and maps, check out the WDFW Webpage at http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/game/water/wwapheas.pdf.

When the eastside season starts later in October, pheasant releases will take place in certain areas in southeast Washington that are detailed online at http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/game/water/ewapheas.pdf.

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.