(State) Two key ingredients for a pheasant population increase have been reached. Hunters will soon get a feel for what the upcoming hunting season has in store.
Low snowfall totals over the winter and a fairly dry spring were both beneficial to survival. Now it’s time to see what the numbers show. The Iowa DNR will be conducting roadside counts over the next couple of weeks. Bryan Hayes with the DNR Office in Lewis says, “We’ve had conditions to produce a really good pheasant crop. We had a mild winter followed up by relatively dry nesting conditions in the spring. I’m looking forward to seeing the numbers.”
The annual roadside surveys to be a tried and true method. They’ve been in use for nearly 60 years. “It’s something that’s been going on since 1962, so developing a good database on these routes. It really is a good tool to track the pheasant population and make predictions on what the upcoming season is going to look like.”
Heavy dew conditions provide best results. “That’s what brings the pheasants out of the cover to dry off early in the morning. It brings them out so they can be counted. If we don’t get those dew conditions it makes the count really difficult and less reliable.”
218 routes spanning 30 miles each will be conducted before the Iowa DNR comes out with a projection for the pheasant population.
