Ptarmigan hunting varies as season nears end

Ptarmigan hunting has been uneven across Iceland, with weather conditions affecting catches, Morgunblaðið reports.

Hunting has been mixed in the south and west, while catches have been better in the northeast and east. The season in the south and southwest ends on Tuesday, November 17, leaving five hunting days from Friday through Tuesday, inclusive.

“The hunting has been up and down. Conditions have been unusual for much of the season, with rain and bare ground in many places, and the ptarmigan staying high in the mountains,” Áki Ármann Jónsson, chair of SKOTVÍS, told Morgunblaðið. He said birds can also be widely dispersed when the ground is bare.

Hunters have had good catches above the snow line, he said, but most have caught only modest numbers. Still, hunters are reasonably satisfied and most have enough for the pot. Surveys indicate that ptarmigan numbers are high, particularly in the northeast and east, where the population is largest.

Jónsson said hunters had also had good results in the Westfjords and western Iceland. So far, there has been little news about hunting in the south.