(Des Moines) Bird counts are up significantly according to the latest Iowa Pheasant survey released today by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
Todd Bogenschutz, the upland wildlife biologist, tells KSOM/KS95 this is excellent news for hunters-statewide, Iowa averaged 20.2 birds per 30-mile route, up significantly from 2019, with six of the nine survey regions averaging more than 20 pheasants per route, the most since 2007. “This is not a surprise; we had a mild winter, so we thought our hen survival would be better than normal,” said Bogenschutz. “During April and May, during the peak nesting season, rainfall was below normal, which generally leads to good hatches, and the roadside survey is showing that.”
Bogenschutz credits the 2020 winter with its mild temperatures and little snowfall that led to higher hen survival and coupled with a dry spring to more successful nesting and an increase in the population. The southeast region led the way with a 163 percent increase, followed by the northeast region with a 115 percent increase and the east-central region with a 55 percent increase.“Northeastern and southeastern Iowa showed some of the best numbers they’ve seen in more than a decade,” said Bogenschutz.
Bogenschutz says while those numbers are outstanding, the statewide numbers would have likely been better if not for the drought conditions impacting much of the state.“In central and western Iowa, the count wasn’t as good, we even had some declines in a few regions,” explained Bogenschutz. “So much of that part of the state is experiencing drought, and I don’t think we received good survey conditions. Staff, landowners, and others we’ve been hearing from say it appears numbers are better than one year ago; however, the survey is calling those areas unchanged. I don’t believe we received a good count in those regions because of the dry conditions.”
He says given this year’s statewide index of 20 birds per route, Iowa pheasant hunters should harvest approximately 250,000 to 350,000 roosters this fall.
Iowa’s quail population was essentially unchanged from 2019, with the highest quail numbers coming from southwest Iowa. While the counts were unchanged, it is still double the number of quail counted from a decade ago. Hunters can expect to harvest more than 20,000 quail this year.
Bogenschutz says Iowa’s partridge population was up slightly over last year with higher counts coming from northcentral Iowa. Iowa’s rabbit population was nearly identical to 2019, with better populations across southern and east-central Iowa. Cottontail hunters can expect excellent hunting across most of the state this fall.
