Pheasant Reports

[mnguy152]

Well i didn't get out but bought a stamp figure it should do good some where with the money i spent on it.

[Musky Buck]

Unfortunately poor must be the word. I'm in an area with alleged high numbers, I haven't seen more than 2 birds on any given morning this fall on the dirt road heading to work and most mornings 0. A year ago, if you didn't see at least a dozen you were surprised so I didn't go, but I can't imagine they're around like a year ago, my dads area was just starting to climb in numbers the past 10 years or so, he has heard a cackle here or there this fall and not seen any so I hope they can come back again soon. I hoped once the soybeans came out and they have, it still didn't help really as there isn't much standing corn in the area, but few birds around.

[muc33]

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.

[NELS-BELLS]

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.

Shhhhh - I like having the public land all to myself for a change.

Nels

[rundrave]

I heard the numbers were low in SD and thought it was going to be a tough year. I was pleasantly surprised to have had a great hunt just before sundown yesterday. Brought 2 birds home, if I would have shot better would have had my limit.

FYI you dont have to pay to hunt in SD to get birds. I shot all my birds with an hours drive of Sioux Falls on get this.... public land! I was far from prime pheasant hunting, sure I had to put some miles in on foot, but got some great dog work in on WILD birds.

Hope everyone has a great season! I will be looking forward to the crops coming out and some snow on the ground and then the fun will really begin.

[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.