(Area) Pheasant numbers have hunters optimistic for the upcoming season.
Youth Hunters will take to the field Saturday and Sunday. Chris Larson, with the Iowa DNR, indicates you can expect to see birds. “It’s going to be a good year. It’s going to be similar to 2020, especially in the southern portion of Iowa. How we get these numbers is the wildlife biologists and conservation officers go out and drive a 30 mile route in August when there is dew on the ground. Those birds come out to dry off and that’s how they get their counts. We are looking at 20-30 birds per 30 mile route which similar to what it was in 2020.”
North Central, Northwest, and West Central Iowa experienced increases in population. “Really high counts this spring. They are up 25-40% in numbers. The numbers get better as you go north. It’s not going to be bad around here, but if you really want to get into pheasant numbers Audubon County had really strong counts and so did Shelby County.”
The Youth Season is for hunters 16 years or younger with a licensed adult. “What’s really cool about it is traditionally pheasant season opener is a very busy weekend with big groups out there. There’s a lot of hunters around and a lot of pressure. This allows the child and the adult to go out and take it easy. You don’t have all the stress of all the other hunters around them.”
Youth Hunters are allowed to harvest one bird during the season.
