Pheasant Reports

[Jmnhunter]

I heard it was bad and experienced it myself, was in Lyon county plenty of hunters, put up 5 birds all weekend; we ended up with 2 on saturday. all the beans were out and most of the corn was too, but some areas with standing corn around...

[muc33]

rundave, you are correct, I should have stated that the 500 is not at all figuring a lodge or pay to hunt property. The license for outstate, and fuel, gas and lodging of some sort will likely run a person close to 500 at minimum. I too have had great public land hunts in SD, but for an outstater, it's not what I would call inexpensive it does cost some money. Glad to hear you had a good hunt, wishing you many more!

[LandDr]

OK...we all know the numbers are down.

We also all know that we don't shoot hens.

So where do all of the hens go when 50% every nest are female on average. With that average, there should be exponential growth in the hen population. But we have less and less each year.

If you ever get a chance, read the book "The Ring-necked Pheasant in Iowa". It is a staudy of pheasant populations and land use change thru the 1940s to 1970s in Winnebago Co IA and Martin Co MN. It is a real eye opener if you start putting the variables together and can recognize the limiting factors.

Mortality out of our control - accidents, disease, etc

Haying - up to 25% of the hens can be killed with early haying

Predation - biggest is nest predation

Winter Mortality - This can be 33% to 75% depending on several variables

What can be done...

1. Encourage later cutting of hay or later maturity hay crops. This can be a tough sell because farmers are trying to make a living. This might be a mortality out of our control and it is what it is.

2. Trap down an area during nesting season. Many studies with waterfowl have shown great increases with nesting success in areas where predators are reduced during the nesting and brooding season. This is also a tough sell since the fur isn't worth anything at that time of the year. It would require each of us to make a personal effort to reduce predators during the nesting and brooding season. It is a labor intensive and expensive effort because it has to be started and it has to be maintained thru the entire nesting and brooding season to see any success. As predators are removed...others move in.

3. Decrease winter mortality. To me, this is the big one...getting more hens thru the winter. We have a saying..."Dead Hens Don't Lay Eggs"...meaning if you don't get the hen thru the winter, then all of that CRP, WRP, CREP, RIM and other grass land is for nothing since there are no hens to use it. How do you get more hens thru the winter? By identifying thick woody cover areas consisting of shrubs and conifers and fill these areas up with food. Ideally these areas are able to withstand drifting snow and provide thermal cover. Cattails are nice but they can also be death traps if it is a bad winter. Thick shrub and conifer plantings can often withstand the drifting snow and windchill a lot better. Each one of us needs to put several feeders in these areas and fill them in late October or early November when the birds are starting to locate their winter areas. It is important to place the feeders "into" the cover to reduce avian and ground predators...don't put the feeders under tall trees or open fields for example where predators can pick them off. I own three farms and I have 10 feeders are each farm...it is the guaranteed food source no matter how tough the winter gets.

There are many other variables as well...cold wet weather during nesting for example...but if we get more hens thru the winter so we have a higher reproducting population, pheasants can make a fast come back with exponential growth. But it takes each and every one of us to located this thick "winter core areas" on state, federal and private lands, and then build them up with food. I have yet to have a DNR or USFW Service office tell me "no" to putting a few feeders out on public land so don't rule that out. Even if you don't own the private land, you can ask to help out by putting feeders on someone else's land that has prime winter cover.

I just always hate hearing discussion about how poor the pheasants or ducks are without some good discussion on what can be done to make it better...so that's my $1.50.

Land Dr

[BirdWhisperer]

I'm a SW MN native, but haven't been back yet this fall or much during the summer so I can't say much for bird numbers back home. However, I'm working out in central SD where our pheasant routes resulted in 100 broods/route which is actually down compared to recent years. With that said, hunters out here are STILL complaining that there are too few birds around! What does this mean to me? This all tells me that we hunters are a bunch of complainers, but we love each opportunity we get to be out with friends and family enjoying whatever wildlife we may see. Whether I see 100 birds or zero birds while hunting, it doesn't mean much to me because I'll always have my GSP to watch tear thru the grass and enjoy his time as well. As many people already said, it's not really about seeing birds (always a perk) but we should all do our part to help wildlife however we can. There are going to be tough years like this, but populations will bounce back eventually and then people will complain that there are too many birds! We should all get out there and do what we really enjoy and remember it's not always about getting birds. Stay safe this hunting season everyone!

[harvey lee]

You know what they say when you assume.....

Guys, if you haven't been out, how do you really know. I chuckle everytime I read posts of people and all they say is... "I heard its real bad". If you listened to everything you heard, half the world would commit suicide. Because coffee talk is always the extreme. Either it's about someone who has it soooooo good, or the opposite and somebody did it sooooooo bad. Don't ASSUME, get out and try or consider yourself uninformed.

Hunting is a choice, if you chose not to, it's your choice, but doesn't mean you aren't hunting because you know it's bad. As I stated, I can get you 20 people around the Worthington area that shot birds this weekend, heck they posted pics all over facebook and such. I talked with many who hunted other areas as well. Are the numbers spectacular, NOPE, did anyone expect they would be, NOPE. But there are birds, if you feel that you should be able to shoot 20 a day, there is a place for that, it's called South Dakota. And for a minimum you can spend about 500.00 to get that.

Chad, I do not have to purchase a license and go hunting to know what is up.

I spend many hours throughout the spring, summer and fall on the country gravels. My friends who farm and work at the co-op tell me what they have seen or not seen also.

Yes, I love to hunt birds but do I care to walk all day to an average maybe flush a bird or two, no thank you.

[harvey lee]

I spent the entire day Saturday hunting, didnt even see a pheasant. I hunted smarter Sunday, and we ended up with 5. Very few shots, and very few hunters.

Thats a great morning Scott. I personally have not even seen 5 birds all spring, summer and fall.

I have coffee with 5 farmers or hard hunters and not one of them is going out bird hunting this fall.

[Brocster]

SW Minnesota for the opener. 4 guys.

We had to work a little harder and a little smarter, but we were able to get birds up. We flushed about 20 on Saturday, about 15 on Sunday. They held really tight, especially with the wind. Had to figure out where they were, usually in cover next to recently cut corn.

Ended up with 6 roosters and missed about 5 more.

All on public land. Bird count was down of course, but still it was awesome just to get out. Threw in a duck hunt Sunday morning for the first two hours on the same WMA we decided to hunt that morning and had a ton of action. Can't complain about that!

Saw a lot of young birds, which makes me think the late hatch theory is real.

Good luck all

[Snag]

Hey Lama, How About A Little Something, You Know, For The Effort?

Got out Saturday for 2 hours, then had to go to a wedding. Who schedules their wedding on my hunting Holiday.

Got up one rooster on public land near Willmar. Saw more trumpeter swans, deer, ducks and geese. Took a day off tomorrow and will see if more birds are around.

[ducksnbucks]

I know the numbers are down and that many of us are going to shoot a lot less birds this year than in the past. However, to me going out pheasant hunting is a lot more than just coming home with my limit.

I enjoy getting up, gettting together with friends, drinking coffee, watching the sunrise, and walking outside for the day way too much to not go becuase the numbers are down. Surely shooting birds adds to the excitment and makes it more worth while, but to not spend the $7 on a stamp and to not go out with friends is to important to me to miss. Lets see.......go hunting or watch the Vikes on a beautiful 55 degree sunny day?????

Just my 2 cents.

[CrappiesNCats]

Took me 6 shots to get my 4 birds. Dog was on fire saw ~40 birds hunting all day Sat and 1/2 day Sunday. As a group we took home 8. Should have had more in the group but they weren't havent good shooting days.

My main concern is the WIA traffic. We hunt next to one and throughout the day had all kinds of folks unfamiliar with the land. Pushing closely towards the road and we got rained pellets in the yard by some clowns coming over the hill that got one up without knowing where they were. So close that our dog ran out from the yard and came back with their......hen. probably should have called it in but brought it out and asked them to be aware of their surroundings and scout areas before hunting them. (and to not shoot hens)

[CrappiesNCats]

also the numbers used to do these counts have to be looked at with a grain of salt. areas in the last four years or so have had an increase of 100-250% increase in birds. so if they say a 50% reduction in birds, its a the last several years increase should be factored in, but people don't think about that. sure the tough winter and bad nesting has em down, but we've had lower numbers than now, and not that long ago.

[creepworm]

We had to work a little harder and a little smarter, but we were able to get birds up.

That seems to be the story with everyone I talked to in Minnesota and SD. Birds are there, it just is not as easy as it was the last few years. In a way, I like the numbers being way down, many hunters went out just because of the high numbers the past few years and are staying home instead of going out this year. Pheasant opener in SD I was duck hunting and walking around on public land scouting for ducks and saw no one pheasant hunting these public parcels. Amazing. Just walking around without a dog, I kicked up 2 roosters. Headin home this weekend to grab my dog and hunt some of the roosters that supposedly aren't there.

[creepworm]

Chad, I do not have to purchase a license and go hunting to know what is up.

I spend many hours throughout the spring, summer and fall on the country gravels. My friends who farm and work at the co-op tell me what they have seen or not seen also.

Yes, I love to SHOOT birds but do I care to walk all day to an average maybe flush a bird or two, no thank you.

Fixed it for you. If you actually loved to hunt birds you would be out there anyway.

[CaptainMusky]

Fixed it for you. If you actually loved to hunt birds you would be out there anyway.

Agreed. It is more about watching my dog work than shooting anything for me. I do agree though, it is frustrating to walk all day and not flush a bird, have those days, still enjoyable, but the dog needs a little reward for the efforts as well and for them getting the bird to flush is the icing on the cake.

I havent been out yet, but did a "driveby" on some local areas I have hunted to check things out. Lots of corn yet and did see 3 VERY young birds. 2 were roosters, but you could barely tell.

I talked with a farmer who was combining beans and he said he hasnt seen a bird. Normally that doesnt bother me, but if they get in the corn and dont flush anything out there is cause for serious concern.

Like others have mentioned he said there is a ton of deer this year, which surprises me I guess.

[22x]

Quote:

Yes, I love to hunt birds but do I care to walk all day to an average maybe flush a bird or two, no thank you.

Couldn't agree more.

[ItsaCrappieLife]

Ended up with 3 birds for 3 guys after a lot of walking. Actually saw a suprisingly high number of hens and immature birds the first spot we went to. Luckily we did not miss when we finally found a few roosters later in the day. Probably helped that most of the corn is out. I will personally guarantee no snow this winter because I bought a new snowblower.

[CodyDawg]

So how many you you that are complaining about the pheasant numbers are members of Pheasants Forever or actually do something to help the birds? The areas that have good habitat have birds this year. The areas that do not have good habitat have very little in the way of birds. That is not a coincidence folks. Go to a banquet, plant a shelterbelt, build a feeder, plant a food plot, plant nesting cover...do something.

I am reminded of the time that I asked a farmer for permission on a pretty good looking little piece. He said he hadnt see a bird in years, but go ahead. 150 yards from his barn I had put up over 50 birds and had my limit. Since then, I dont trust what anyone says about bird numbers unless they have personally been out hunting them.

[Arago]

I completely agree about people who go rooster hunting support PF. Just as I also support DU. Now more than ever, you have to be willing to put some money into these organizations. It's all about habitat. After this weekend I'll be able to submit a report. Still deciding where the heck to go.

It's very refreshing to read these posts and reports. Iknow there is a common bond between upland bird hunters. Watching the dog work is probably my greatest joy. Gunther is close to 12 and for a lab, birds or not, I'll take him out this season. When he sees the orange vest going into the truck he's 4 again.

[srfishin15]

Seen more birds this year than the past two. Way more roosters this year where we've hunted.

[grab the net]

My 2cents, have been out once, saw 4 roosters, 3 hens. Bagged one rooster, and figure I am 10% on my way to my expectations of a 10 bird season. Do I hope for more, of course. My dog is 11 this year and feel fortunate that we hunted the "good years", ( 01-09), when he was in his prime. He can still go, the desire is still there but he pays the price if we go to long and hard.

Pockets of birds around good cover is what I have found and heard. When those birds are thinned out and I believe they will be in short order, particularly on public ground, especially since the corn will be completly harvested by the first week in November, then hunting will get tough. When the snow comes and drives them into the cattails, then there will be another weekend or so of good hunting. After that, you better enjoy the collateral issues associated with pheasant hunting and truly treasure those late season trophies you can scratch out on public grounds. I know Duey and I will.

[harvey lee]

So how many you you that are complaining about the pheasant numbers are members of Pheasants Forever or actually do something to help the birds? The areas that have good habitat have birds this year. The areas that do not have good habitat have very little in the way of birds. That is not a coincidence folks. Go to a banquet, plant a shelterbelt, build a feeder, plant a food plot, plant nesting cover...do something.

I am reminded of the time that I asked a farmer for permission on a pretty good looking little piece. He said he hadnt see a bird in years, but go ahead. 150 yards from his barn I had put up over 50 birds and had my limit. Since then, I dont trust what anyone says about bird numbers unless they have personally been out hunting them.

I guess I am one of the so called whiners CodyDawg.

First, so you know that I have tried all I can, 24 years ago I called PF and talked to Joe Duggan and we got together and he explained to me how to start a chapter.

I was a President and Habitat director once upon a time. I did all that you have asked of others who you believe are whiners.

Sibley county has done alot in regards to feeders and the purchase of habitat land. I have picked corn, built bird feeders and kept them full for the winter. I have planted native grasses and all of the above that you have mentioned. It takes more than a few habitat projects to rebound the bird population. The farm programs can do more than PF but everything helps. Hard for a pheasant to live through the winter in a black plowed desert.

This year, due to the last hard winter and wet springs, the bird count has dropped big time. I spend alot of time on the area gravel roads and have seen next to no birds.

When farm land goes for up to $7,500 an acre, it is very hard for a local chapter to purchase land for habitat but in conjunction with other wildlife groups, we have done some larger projects in the county.

Yes, if one goes to those areas, one can find a few birds the first weeks or maybe two but after that, the birds are gone.

The rest of the ares are almost birdless.

I am glad that you may have helped with some projects or that you have suggested for others to do so but it does not help that much for the dollars spent each year.

Those are the facts I have found in the past almost 25 years while whining about the bird population.

I do not know what the bird hunting is like in other areas of the state but in my area, it is as bad as it has been for as long as I remember.

One can hunt some state land or others wildlife projects but that only lasts for a few days as they get about run right into the ground from traffic. Some areas in the state has lots of pulbic hunting to take the pressure off the birds a bit but not here locally. We have alot of metro hunters due to the fact that iuyr area is close to the metro and that also adds pressure.

I enjoy going out with a group of others chasing the ringnecks but when the birds are down so bad, I see no need to whack the few that are left.

Let's all hope for a soft winter and less spring rain and maybe in a few years the bird population will rebound.

I have seen next to no difference in the bird populations in the past 25 years and all counties around my area have PF chapters. Weather and farm programs will do more than any PF chapter for the birds. At least that is what I have seen in the past years.

[401TE]

Pretty clear to me the biggest problem for the pheasant numbers this year was the amount of snow last winter and rain this spring/early summer. When Mother Nature deals those kinds of blows, you're going to get these kinds of years regardless of the quality and quantity of habitat.

I remember 10 years ago the pheasant numbers where I deer hunt on the MN/SD border were very low...then for the past 5 or 6 years they've been really high...this year I've been told they're way down again. It's all about weather in my opinion.

[CaptainMusky]

Harvey,

As someone who is involved with a PF chapter I think that message is deplorable to hear. Honestly. Im sorry, but to basically tell someone not to hunt is the completely wrong message and to couple that with basically saying that contributing to PF doesnt do much good (Im paraphrasing, not exactly your words, but that is the message I took from it).

This is the message I would like to hear. YES, the birds are down, but get out there and hunt. If enough people take the message sent like I interpreted it and quite hunting what does that mean? Less dollars to go toward habitat restoration.

We will not hunt pheasants to extinction and they can rebound quite nicely. For every bird you flush, there is probably a half dozen you walk right past and not even know are there.

We dont want popularity to drop too much (look at duck hunting, its plummeted in MN) because then less money is brought in to help improve things.

I am going to hunt this year, as much if not more than I did when the populations were high. I do it for exercise, camerderie with friends, enjoyment watching my dog and if we bag some birds great, if not, it is still great to be out there.

I had an eerily similar conversation with a gentleman at the local watering hole one winter about the local snowmobile trails. I gave him suggestions to help improve the trails and he said "why ride around here, I go to the Iron Range and dont even ride here". This was a guy who was once the President of the club! That is ridiculous to say stuff like that if you represent some organization.

Get out there and hunt. There are birds to be had, not as many, but there will be pockets of lots of birds.

I enjoy talking to the farmers and see if I can get permission to hunt, but 95% of my hunting is public land.

[TylerS]

We dont want popularity to drop too much (look at duck hunting, its plummeted in MN) because then less money is brought in to help improve things.

I am going to hunt this year, as much if not more than I did when the populations were high. I do it for exercise, camerderie with friends, enjoyment watching my dog and if we bag some birds great, if not, it is still great to be out there.

While you make a valid point (true outdoorsmen hunt for the passion of the sport, not necessarily bagging game) you cannot deny that popularity of hunting fluctuates the most with game populations. You compare it to waterfowl. Well, the reason people in Minnesota are hunting less ducks in recent years than years past is because there are LESS ducks. Oh you can throw in the public land argument, too, but the bottom line is that if a person goes out enough times with no success, he's less likely to do it again in the future.

Why do so many people go to Canada or the Dakotas for birds? Because they are there in vastly superior numbers than other states.

You can't just say "we have to keep pheasant hunting to keep the popularity of the sport up." That's like saying the Vikings should garner the same fan base regardless of their dismal record and game performance.

In reality, hunting is a sort of Catch 22. If the bird numbers drop (either because of nature or the loss of habitat) then their pursuit also will dissipate. With the loss of participation, you see the loss of dollars to benefit the birds and, ultimately, increase their numbers.

Just like down years with ruffed grouse. When you hear about the poor drumming counts in the spring, that typically translates to less hunters come fall simply because they know they're less likely to bag a bird and, sadly, our generation likes immediate reward for any energy expelled.

I don't think "rallying the troops" to get out and hunt pheasants if they're not seeing any will do much good. Someone on the fringe is less likely to buy a license if they think they have little chance at harvesting birds.

[harvey lee]

Harvey,

As someone who is involved with a PF chapter I think that message is deplorable to hear. Honestly. Im sorry, but to basically tell someone not to hunt is the completely wrong message and to couple that with basically saying that contributing to PF doesnt do much good (Im paraphrasing, not exactly your words, but that is the message I took from it).

This is the message I would like to hear. YES, the birds are down, but get out there and hunt. If enough people take the message sent like I interpreted it and quite hunting what does that mean? Less dollars to go toward habitat restoration.

We will not hunt pheasants to extinction and they can rebound quite nicely. For every bird you flush, there is probably a half dozen you walk right past and not even know are there.

We dont want popularity to drop too much (look at duck hunting, its plummeted in MN) because then less money is brought in to help improve things.

I am going to hunt this year, as much if not more than I did when the populations were high. I do it for exercise, camerderie with friends, enjoyment watching my dog and if we bag some birds great, if not, it is still great to be out there.

I had an eerily similar conversation with a gentleman at the local watering hole one winter about the local snowmobile trails. I gave him suggestions to help improve the trails and he said "why ride around here, I go to the Iron Range and dont even ride here". This was a guy who was once the President of the club! That is ridiculous to say stuff like that if you represent some organization.

Get out there and hunt. There are birds to be had, not as many, but there will be pockets of lots of birds.

I enjoy talking to the farmers and see if I can get permission to hunt, but 95% of my hunting is public land.

Where did I say others should not hunt? I stated I was not going to. I did say I did not want to whack the last few around but that's what I want and not what others have to do my any means.

I was only speaking the truth in regards to the bird numbers. Sorry you did not care for that.

I am glad you enjoy your time in the field. I enjoy it also but I do like to see more than 1 or two birds. I choose to not hunt due to the low bird population.

In regards to PF, yes they are a great group but I can honestly say I have not seen any real increase in the bird population due to their efforts. I am sure you do not like what I am saying but sometimes one needs to be honest.

[brittman]

Like so many other threads. Hijacked !!

Would have been nice to keep this thread on pheasant reports. Yea or Nay.

The bantor on why we pheasant hunt, why we may not hunt pheasants or hunt less this fall, and PF promotions could have all run on other threads.

Winter was harsh and summer tough on pheasants and pheasant reproduction. Population down, but of course spotty. If license sales run 15% - 20% below prior years - well those are the people that probably get invited to tag along anyways. Not necessarily every pheasant hunter is a dog owning, hardcore pheasant hunter.

[brittman]

Well since we are already hijacked.

In regards to PF, yes they are a great group but I can honestly say I have not seen any real increase in the bird population due to their efforts. I am sure you do not like what I am saying but sometimes one needs to be honest.

PF is a nice model. Plenty of nice projects on a county by county basis. If you missed their work, you probably do not live or hunt in their more successfully run counties. Much of the local money stays loca.

One of the first hunter based conservation organizations to lobby Congress heavily. DU and others now follow their lead to protect CRP and CREP. Total acres lost, but one wonders where it would be without them.

One or two PF guys lobbying Congress vs all the ag companies (ADM, Cargill, Deere, Pioneer, Monsanto, etc...)and their deeper pocket books. Ag companies benefit more by more acres planted than acres in CRP.

Regarding increases ... well weather is the deciding factor and BOOM. Tough winter and rough summer has resulted in low populations. Nothing can prevent that. Habitat needs to be in-place so that when favorable weather patterns return, the habitat is there for them to nest more successfully.

CRP is a benefit to deer too.

[muc33]

brittman, spot on. on all accounts.

[CaptainMusky]

Like so many other threads. Hijacked !!

Would have been nice to keep this thread on pheasant reports. Yea or Nay.

The bantor on why we pheasant hunt, why we may not hunt pheasants or hunt less this fall, and PF promotions could have all run on other threads.

Winter was harsh and summer tough on pheasants and pheasant reproduction. Population down, but of course spotty. If license sales run 15% - 20% below prior years - well those are the people that probably get invited to tag along anyways. Not necessarily every pheasant hunter is a dog owning, hardcore pheasant hunter.

Complaining about hijacking and then piling on more hijacking? LOL

[CaptainMusky]

PF is a model organization that returns like 80 cents of every dollar back to habitat. How can that not be good? Though not all of these efforts lead to "public" hunting opportunities they work with landowners to improve their land as well.

Tyler S - you made my exact same point with this comment "With the loss of participation, you see the loss of dollars to benefit the birds and, ultimately, increase their numbers."

If people do not buy pheasant stamps (down 13% this year) the birds in the end will suffer.

I used the example of ducks as a prime example. People quit going because the flyway appeared to shift West. This lead to a tremendous drop in dollars.

Maybe there are so many "fair" weather hunters out there I guess.

Dont get me wrong, I dont mind not competing over public land with others, but it can be a snowball affect. We are losing hunters (overall) every year. Some people who leave now, will never come back. Kids do not get into the sport at the same percentage as they did when I was their age.

There are birds out there, just like other years, just fewer in number when compared to last year.

Kind of reminds of the the Fall of 92 (remember Halloween Blizzard 1991) when the population was way down.

Maybe the MN DNR should stock pheasants like they do walleyes then we can have all the fair weather hunters back? This practice works for SD where they release 1 million birds annually. Insert tremendous sarcasm here.