09-18-2004, 03:10 AM
[#ff0000][size 5]Pheasant forecast[/size][/#ff0000] [url "mailto:mmcfeely@forumcomm.com"]By Mike McFeely[/url],The Forum
Published Sunday, September 12, 2004
North Dakota’s pheasant population is down this year, but it doesn’t mean hunting will be poor. Although the official numbers won’t be released until later this week, North Dakota Game and Fish Department upland game biologist Stan Kohn said preliminary indications from statewide summer roadside counts are that pheasants took a hit from a tougher winter and a cool, wet spring.
North Dakota’s pheasant season opensOct. 9.
Kohn said pheasant numbers are down the most in the northwest part of the state. They’re down slightly in the southwest and south-central region.
The best news comes from the southeast corner of North Dakota -- south of Interstate 94 and east of Highway 281. There, Kohn said, the pheasant population remained the same -- and possibly rose slightly -- compared to a year ago. Despite the decrease in the pheasant population, Kohn said hunting should be good throughout the state. [url "javascript:popUp('/articles/full_photo.cfm?id=115469',500,500);"]![[Image: 20040912pheasant2.jpg]](http://www.in-forum.com/gfx/photos/stories/20040912pheasant2.jpg)
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[/url] [url "http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=69675§ion=Outdoors#"][/url]“We have to be careful talking about numbers being down because we’ve been spoiled,” Kohn said. “Comparing this year to last year might be a little misleading because last year we had a super-bumper crop of pheasants. This year will be more comparable to 2000 or 2001, and hunting was still pretty good those years.”
A string of mild winters and favorable spring weather combined to make 2003 a year to remember for pheasant hunters. Hunters harvested nearly 600,000 roosters in North Dakota last fall, shattering a 10-year high set in 2002.
Kohn said he would be surprised if hunters shot close to 600,000 pheasants this year. He wouldn’t rule it out because harvest totals are influenced by the number of hunters as well as the pheasant population. North Dakota had 88,809 pheasant hunters last year (63,711 residents, 25,098 nonresidents).
Kohn said pheasants in the northwest corner of North Dakota suffered with the return of a long, cold, snowy winter.
“They had a real winter up there again this year. That was a big factor,” Kohn said.
In the rest of the state, cool and rainy weather in June killed off many young pheasants born in the spring, Kohn said.
“We had rain right during the hatching period and that cost us some young birds,” he said.
The wet spring damaged Minnesota’s pheasant population, too, according to Department of Natural Resources wildlife research biologist John Giudice.
Statewide pheasants numbers are down 47 percent from a year ago. In the west-central portion of the state -- which includes Clay, Wilkin, Otter Tail, Norman and Grant counties -- the pheasant population is down 45 percent from 2003.
Giudice said the cool, rainy weather in late May and early June was particularly devastating to Minnesota’s pheasants. Rainfall during May was 81 percent above the state’s long-term average and the state’s mean temperature was about 4 degrees below normal in May and June.
“Much of the best nesting habitat in the state is found in roadside ditches or along the edges of wetlands,” Giudice said. “When you get as much rain as we did at that time of the year, the pheasant nests basically get flooded out.”
And even if a hen pheasant hatched her eggs, survival for the chicks was difficult, Giudice said. Many young birds died of exposure because of the cold weather. The chilly conditions also kept the insect hatch to a minimum, meaning young pheasants had a hard time finding enough to eat.
“You add it all up and the chick survival rate is a lot lower under those conditions,” Giudice said.
Minnesota was poised for a bumper crop of pheasants had the weather cooperated, Giudice said. Spring counts of hens were up 44 percent and rooster counts were up 15 percent compared to 2003.
The pheasant population is at its 10-year average, Giudice said, meaning hunters should still have fairly good hunting.
“They are going to have to work a little harder compared to last year and it’s going to be a little more spotty, but the season is not going to be a total washout,” Giudice said. “It’s just not going to be as good as last year.”
South Dakota’s pheasant numbers are down 9 percent, according to the Department of Game, Fish and Parks. The cool, wet spring is to blame for the slight dropoff.
Still, this year’s pheasant count is the second highest on record since 1963. In 2003, the state reported its pheasant population was at a 40-year high. Hunters killed 1.8 million roosters last year.
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Published Sunday, September 12, 2004
North Dakota’s pheasant population is down this year, but it doesn’t mean hunting will be poor. Although the official numbers won’t be released until later this week, North Dakota Game and Fish Department upland game biologist Stan Kohn said preliminary indications from statewide summer roadside counts are that pheasants took a hit from a tougher winter and a cool, wet spring.
North Dakota’s pheasant season opensOct. 9.
Kohn said pheasant numbers are down the most in the northwest part of the state. They’re down slightly in the southwest and south-central region.
The best news comes from the southeast corner of North Dakota -- south of Interstate 94 and east of Highway 281. There, Kohn said, the pheasant population remained the same -- and possibly rose slightly -- compared to a year ago. Despite the decrease in the pheasant population, Kohn said hunting should be good throughout the state. [url "javascript:popUp('/articles/full_photo.cfm?id=115469',500,500);"]
[/url] RELATED CONTENT [url "http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=69675§ion=Outdoors#"][/url] [url "http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=69675§ion=Outdoors#"][/url]“We have to be careful talking about numbers being down because we’ve been spoiled,” Kohn said. “Comparing this year to last year might be a little misleading because last year we had a super-bumper crop of pheasants. This year will be more comparable to 2000 or 2001, and hunting was still pretty good those years.” A string of mild winters and favorable spring weather combined to make 2003 a year to remember for pheasant hunters. Hunters harvested nearly 600,000 roosters in North Dakota last fall, shattering a 10-year high set in 2002.
Kohn said he would be surprised if hunters shot close to 600,000 pheasants this year. He wouldn’t rule it out because harvest totals are influenced by the number of hunters as well as the pheasant population. North Dakota had 88,809 pheasant hunters last year (63,711 residents, 25,098 nonresidents).
Kohn said pheasants in the northwest corner of North Dakota suffered with the return of a long, cold, snowy winter.
“They had a real winter up there again this year. That was a big factor,” Kohn said.
In the rest of the state, cool and rainy weather in June killed off many young pheasants born in the spring, Kohn said.
“We had rain right during the hatching period and that cost us some young birds,” he said.
The wet spring damaged Minnesota’s pheasant population, too, according to Department of Natural Resources wildlife research biologist John Giudice.
Statewide pheasants numbers are down 47 percent from a year ago. In the west-central portion of the state -- which includes Clay, Wilkin, Otter Tail, Norman and Grant counties -- the pheasant population is down 45 percent from 2003.
Giudice said the cool, rainy weather in late May and early June was particularly devastating to Minnesota’s pheasants. Rainfall during May was 81 percent above the state’s long-term average and the state’s mean temperature was about 4 degrees below normal in May and June.
“Much of the best nesting habitat in the state is found in roadside ditches or along the edges of wetlands,” Giudice said. “When you get as much rain as we did at that time of the year, the pheasant nests basically get flooded out.”
And even if a hen pheasant hatched her eggs, survival for the chicks was difficult, Giudice said. Many young birds died of exposure because of the cold weather. The chilly conditions also kept the insect hatch to a minimum, meaning young pheasants had a hard time finding enough to eat.
“You add it all up and the chick survival rate is a lot lower under those conditions,” Giudice said.
Minnesota was poised for a bumper crop of pheasants had the weather cooperated, Giudice said. Spring counts of hens were up 44 percent and rooster counts were up 15 percent compared to 2003.
The pheasant population is at its 10-year average, Giudice said, meaning hunters should still have fairly good hunting.
“They are going to have to work a little harder compared to last year and it’s going to be a little more spotty, but the season is not going to be a total washout,” Giudice said. “It’s just not going to be as good as last year.”
South Dakota’s pheasant numbers are down 9 percent, according to the Department of Game, Fish and Parks. The cool, wet spring is to blame for the slight dropoff.
Still, this year’s pheasant count is the second highest on record since 1963. In 2003, the state reported its pheasant population was at a 40-year high. Hunters killed 1.8 million roosters last year.
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