2011 Outlook

[FCSpringer]

Man has it been a weird year. Coming off a winter from hell, with about 90" of snow. And now this wet spring. Despite that I am seeing lots of birds out there. Not sure about other parts of the state, but wst central looks like yet another great season on the horizon.:thumbsup:

[esetter1]

I'm over on the north end of Washington county and seem to be seeing more pheasants than normal for this area. It has me feeling a little optimistic. If i'm seeing them on a regular basis here then maybe the high population areas are doing just as well.

[mnjimmer]

I wish I was as optimistic as you guys. The turkey harvest was down 30% this spring which is an indication of the carryover from winter. If the turkeys took a hit this winter I suspect the pheasants did also. On my golf course this spring I have never seen fewer pheasants. I would say the numbers are down 70-80% from the normal spring numbers I see & hear. I know this a very small sample but it does concern me. This terrible spring & early summer weather can't be good for the nesting either.

[goldeneye]

The turkeys by me took a beating this winter.
I have seen a good number of roosters and a few hens. I have not seen any chicks yet? Must still be hidding in the grass.
We have lots of water the cattle may need a life jacket soon when out in the meadows.

[onpoint]

I seen no hens or at least very few in my travel's across the state. Seen a few roosters though.

[Kal]

In a square area made up of Blue Earth, Mankato, Springfield and Jackson at the corners is where I spend 95% of my time hunting and scouting and I can't tell you how excited I am about this fall's harvest. I have never seen the numbers of birds that I have this year in my spring scouting drives and even here on the farm I can't step foot outside in the morning or evening without being serenaded by a cavalcade of cackling. I SEE more hens than roosters but the roosters sure let me know they're doing fine with their squawking. It is going to be a great season!

[mnmthunting]

I hear roosters crowing, haven't seen any broods yet. With all the cover it's not surprising.
I may have to spend a little more time hunting MN roosters this Fall. Doesn't sound good at all in Montana.:(

[Kal]

:10sign::10sign::thumbsup::D:):cheers: Exact same thing I have seen, and a good portion in your area as well. I'm from BE so I saw what you saw. Man, nth wst of you I never in 30 years seen so many birds, worked in F mont for 9 weeks. Some got hit but others will be booming. Might have to hook up for a hunt Kal. I have some nice little spots to go down there. Fmont Gukeen etc. area. Then from there toward Rake. I think it will be fun this fall.

i'm down... we'll chat as the season gets closer.

[jeffstally]

http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/124536549.html

This report doesn't sound good for pheasants. Looks like I might have to get in the woods a little more.

[Dakotazeb]

:10sign::10sign::thumbsup::D:):cheers: Exact same thing I have seen, and a good portion in your area as well. I'm from BE so I saw what you saw. Man, nth wst of you I never in 30 years seen so many birds, worked in F mont for 9 weeks. Some got hit but others will be booming. Might have to hook up for a hunt Kal. I have some nice little spots to go down there. Fmont Gukeen etc. area. Then from there toward Rake. I think it will be fun this fall.

FC, make sure you let me know if you get down to the southern part of MN for some pheasant hunting this fall. If you have room I might drive over and hunt with you. I'm sure I'll be in the canby area a few times. Looks more and more like we will be moving to Watertown, SD before hunting season which will put me closer to MN.

[mnmthunting]

I see turkeys every day while I'm working in the hay fields. Tom's, Hen's and Jakes. Real odd that I haven't seen any broods.:confused:
One lone half grown pheasant Chick.:(

[birdshooter]

Ken the DNR's article in the Outdoor news recently didn't paint a very good picture for the hatch this year because of cooler wet conditions this spring and early summer. I think their being cautiously optimistic about whether the hatch will turn out even reasonably well.

Still there is nothing like eyewitnesses to what is actually happening first hand in the fields. Roadside counts should lend a little better clue later this summer.

[birdshooter]

I don't ever hold water on road side counts either. Personally I think it is a waste of tax payer funds, except volunteers. There is an awful bunch of crops, grass and area a bird or chicks will be that they will never see. They can put on thousands of miles driving around right past them and not see a one. It is an un useful tool in my little mind.:D

Yeah I suppose your right, although the only one they have in place unfortunately.

[Tbear]

Ive been seeing a few birds around. Im with FSCspringer there is so much cover that you cant know how the season is going to be until you get out there.

[waterdog09]

I know where tbear and i live we saw a ton of birds this winter around our place and saw a good amount of hens this spring so if that is any indication of how they survived the winter things are looking up, i also agree that roadside counts aren't a great indicator of what the season will be like way to much cover that they can't see which means alot of birds that don't get accounted for

[mnjimmer]

Early reports from the DNR are pretty bleak as I suspected. It is going to be tough year!

[mnbirdchaser]

I'm pretty sure that the birds were hit hard, but there will be pockets of with good numbers, you just need to find them.

[JFan02]

No, you guys have it all wrong. Minnesota pheasant hunting is terrible and always will be. No one should ever travel here to pheasant hunt. There are no pockets of birds and the hospitality in the SW part of the state is terrible. I can't even believe we have a season sometimes. So everyone from out of state can stop reading this and just stay home.:laugh:

(Tongue planted firmly in cheek!!)

[southdakotawannabe]

i'm sure there are pockets with birds, but overall the numbers are down. anyone who drives our highways and gravel roads towards sunset or early in the am can attest to this. sure there will be some pockets here and there but those pockets will be small, real small. we were out last weekend scouting for geese and the numbers were way down from last year to this year. WAY DOWN!!!! out near canby,madison to ortonville we saw less then 10 broods saturday am and maybe 4 - 5 sunday. Last year during the same drive we saw 3 times that amount and we thought that was down from years past. It was a rough winter, followed by a really bad spring and wet summer. the deer numbers look very strong in that area, lots of does with fawns and we even saw a couple of nice bucks running together. The goose numbers look strong too and most of the wheat was out. Not many birds flying though. still too young. ducklings varied from looking like they are ready to fly to some broods that looked like they were born in july. strange year.

[southdakotawannabe]

i talked to some farmers nw of madison that said thier birds made it through the winter just fine, but they kept them fed all winter with food plots and they have great cover with several 8 year old pine tree rows that they put in for the wild life. they said that on nice evenings you would sometimes see over 100 deer feeding on thier hay. that would have been a cool picture. they also said that during sunny days you could see hundreds of birds up with thier cattle feeding on whatever was available. As the winter progressed they said the phez numbers did decrease some. That might be one of those pockets you are talking about. One area out of millions of acres but these guys definately have the cover and with that came the birds. The deer herds are growing in these areas and thats good to see.

[mnmthunting]

DNR insists that artificial feeding of wildlife during Winter does little or no good.:rolleyes:
Tell you what! ohhhh well.:(

[mnbirdchaser]

DNR numbers and map will be out tomorrow.

[mnjimmer]

Not good news as some of us expected. Down 64% state wide. I would guess 70-80% in my area.

[birdshooter]

I saw the report and it does look pretty bleak. What was really eye opening was the count per 100 miles in the SW. In 2010 they counted 104/100 mi. and this year it was 19/100 mi., an 82% drop :eek:

Another interesting thing from the report was the East Central portion, which remained the same if not slightly above last year. I think you could surmise that the hardest hit areas were also the areas that received the most severe weather last winter, especially snow depth.

[Tbear]

So here is the question then.......
With the phez numbers down and the grouse population way up. What do you think people are going to do? I for one will still hunt every day I can for phez but do you think the presure will be less?

[JFan02]

I would guess the pressure would be a little less. Hopefully we have a little nicer winter this year and we can get a rebound for next year.

It won't stop me from getting out as much as possible this year.

[birdshooter]

I think you have to take this report with a grain of salt. There undoubtedly will be local pockets of good bird numbers, provided there was ample food and winter cover nearby. That being said, you may have to log more miles this year for your birds than your accustomed to.

My guess is you'll see a little drop off in hunting pressure, but the die hards will still be out there and the rest will go grouse hunting. :)

[mnjimmer]

Should be interesting. Lowest numbers since 2001. The DNR will sell less stamps but the late season guys will still be out there if there's anything to hunt. Look what has happened in Iowa the last few years with there numbers crashing, wouldn't surprise me if we see the same thing here.

[Lazlo]

DNR insists that artificial feeding of wildlife during Winter does little or no good.:rolleyes:
Tell you what! ohhhh well.:(


Where did you read, here, or see that quote?

Lazlo

[omsrud]

Counting birds is hardly a science and very often leads to imprecise figures. That said, the method hasn't changed. There will always be variables, but driving the same routes using the same methodology will give a good idea of what is out there. Pheasants are not carp, and lower populations do not mean that the hen will double her productions. In years like this, where the hens really struggled through the winter, their bodies were in a depleted state, with less whitherall to pull off a big clutch. The wet spring and less than ideal conditions likely meant lost nests, and the hens will try again, but usually with fewer eggs. Once a single egg hatches, the nest won't try to nest again.

The DNR has nothing to gain by being purposefully pessimistic. In these budget times, they know a bleak forecast will have a dramatic effect on license sales. I can see the DNR puffing high counts, or minimizing loss in a bad year to protect license sales (look at SD's GFP). If the imperfect method of roadside counts shows fewer birds, it means something. Does it mean it will be dismal all over? No. The great thing about pheasant hunting is that success has nothing to do with the next country, state, county or even township. You have a pocket of good habitat, you'll find birds. In my county, the three routes run along very good pheasant habitat. The counts revealed birds, but fewer than in past years. That doesn't mean the more marginal areas will produce success however.

In speaking with a habitat contractor based out of Montevideo, he informed me that he saw more birds in a project area he was working on in my county than anywhere else he'd worked this summer, which was somewhat bittersweet news. Don't let the counts keep you home. Rather, keep at the birds, at your elected officials to support farmland conservation initiatives, and at the keep at the prayers for an easy winter on the birds and a dry, warm spring 2012.

[BRITTMAN]

The counts (% declines) match counties in neighboring states. Tough winter and wet spring/summer could not be a worse combo. Late July and early August stayed wet, late hatched doomed too ?

Agree - just have to get out and hunt. Years of depressed numbers usually means far fewer hunters :thumbsup:

[jeffstally]

http://news.dnr.state.mn.us/2011/09/06/minnesota’s-pheasant-index-falls-64-percent-from-2010/

[jeffstally]

There really doesn't appear to be a great number of pheasants anywhere in the pheasant range this year- in any state. It doesn't mean that I won't be out there though.

Last year I started grouse hunting a little and found it to be just as much fun. I guess I could be heading north a little more often this year.

[birdshooter]

Where did you read, here, or see that quote?

Lazlo

The DNR's stance on winter feeding of pheasants has always been that if your going to feed in winter you need to be smart on where you do it. You need to place the feed alongside or very near good wintering cover. Far more Pheasants die from exposure during severe winters than starvation. Pheasants that have to travel far or are left to feed along side of roadways are the most vulnerable.

[mnbirdchaser]

The numbers are pretty bad. I don't need to see a ton of birds. I usually see 5-15 birds on the public areas I hunt. That would mean 1-5 birds per trip this year if the numbers are correct.

Looks like more grouse hunting and less pheasant hunting for me.

[BRITTMAN]

Lowest count since '86 and second lowest count ever. The count is probably even worse because it is inflated by the numbers north of the Twin Cities were hunting pressure is relatively low.

Interesting that the December limit will remain at 3. Few will achieve this and it probably makes do difference biologically, but from a political perspective it probably makes more sense to return to 2.

[southdakotawannabe]

i knew it was going to be down but i never thought it was going to be this bad. we saw birds this spring before nesting season and they've disappeared. we still hear some roosters but the amazing thing is we aren't seeing any little guys out on the gravel in the morning. the mornings have been great for scouting, very heavy wet grass and still no birds. i predicted that the birds would be down but i never thought that it would be this bad. WOW!!! i'm really glad that i didn't sell my decoys. other than swestern north dakota is there an area in the upper midwest that saw an increase? has anyone seen the numbers from montana? do they do counts out there? best of luck boys!! and girls!!

[Tbear]

All i know is that im going to hit it just as hard as I did last year. If there are more guys that go grouse hunting all the better for me. Like FSCSpringer said there are a lot of crops up and a lot of tall grass for them to hide in. Will just have to wait and see what its realy like. I might have to go shoot some game farm birds before the seasons starts just to help with the itch I have.:cheers:

[BRITTMAN]

I don't believe a word of it.:D I see more birds dead on the road then their numbers. No BS. So how can they claim they are the All knowing human that can magically count birds in cover they can not see. I have seen again plenty of pheasants guy's in rural MN. No need to panic. The numbers I would say are much higher then they claim. I think this count is ridiculous. Count the number of acres of corn compared to those old days as well. Might just find some of those missing birds in there.:thumbsup:

So where do you live again ;)

The far west and southwest are down. There are certainly pockets of higher bird counts. Always will be.

[gcoach]

There is no doubt that the hard winter had a major effect but along with that is the over riding factor of the decline of habitat in southwest Minnesota. I believe I read somewhere that ten of thousands or hundreds of thousands of acres of CRP have been lost in the last two years. Pheasants are in deep trouble until this turns around, if it ever does.

[birdshooter]

So where do you live again ;)


I think Douglas county will get an influx of new hunters this fall. :cheers:

[mnjimmer]

Apparently there's never been corn and heavy cover before and the dnr hired new people with poor eyesight to count pheasants this year:rolleyes:

[FCSpringer]

I think Douglas county will get an influx of new hunters this fall. :cheers:
Don't know where you have been, but I am having no trouble finding birds here.:thumbsup: flushed 13 today all but 2 hens. got this one and wiffed the other one:(. Still a great time. Every time out so far I am flushing birds. Plenty of birds in wst cen MN. Today was about a 40 min walk.

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae196/FCSpringer/DSCN0497JPGodiehunt.jpg

[mnmthunting]

Cooool Pic:) Bet it's a great time hunting with that pup!:thumbsup:

What a Winter so far! Good chance all those hens will go into Spring fat and ready to multiply.:cheers:

[koja48]

Great photo, FC . . . I want a Springer. A pointer & flusher ought to both be in my life & house. Pointer in the early season, flusher in the late-season shitz-cover.

[FCSpringer]

LOL. sure. and yes this winter is sweet. The birds are super strong and look great. It was nice to see hens. They all jumped first too. They have a continued winter and spring like this, its back to 60-100 birds again in this spot. I agree it's down, but not lost by any means. I remember the days where U never shot a bird in 3 years straight in sth MN and IA. So getting a couple or one, and flushing some get aways and hens, I'll take.:thumbsup: Other spots I walked and saw tracks in the fresh dusting, but no birds. So they must have been in the field. But there there.