(Area) The Iowa DNR’s Annual Roadside Pheasant Count is about to get underway.
August 1st marks the start of road side surveys. Bryan Hayes with the Iowa DNR says the counts will take place during periods of heavy dew. “The hen pheasants will bring the broods out to where they are visible. They come out to dry off and that gives us an opportunity to get a count on the pheasants and index it compared to past survey years. It really gives us our best indication of what the fall hunting season is going to be like.”
There are 218 routes that each span 30 miles. “About 6,000 miles we will be driving. These routes were established back in 1962 so really a long term data set and really a reliable way to index the pheasant population.”
A mild winter gave birds a good start towards a population increase. “We are coming off of a pretty good season last year. There is a lot of optimism out there that 2022 could be even better.”
375,000 pheasants were harvested in 2021 which was the highest tally since 2008.
