Who's going pheasant hunting this weekend?
- Thread starter pigphd
- Start date
Good Luck! I read the DNR report (http://www.iowadnr.gov/wildlife/pdfs/arsrpt10.pdf) and the populations this year are at or near all time lows everywhere but in NW IA.
I will NOT be buying a license. I hope that the DNR does something to lower the bag limits or shorten the season so that the populations can start to rebound. I know when I started hunting 15yrs ago it was a lot more fun because you saw more birds.
I will NOT be buying a license. I hope that the DNR does something to lower the bag limits or shorten the season so that the populations can start to rebound. I know when I started hunting 15yrs ago it was a lot more fun because you saw more birds.
Hunting Pheasant in Iowa these days is kinda like watching paint dry. At least you'll be getting some exercise.
I hope the population rebounds too but I don't think shortening the season or lowering the bag limit would have much effect on it. All about habitat and weather, not very much the DNR can do about those.
Shortening the season and bag limits would do nothing.
There isn't any CRP. There aren't any water ways. There aren't any buffer strips.
Until there is habitat, there will be no pheasants. Pretty simple.
I haven't been for several years but would like to get a dog a some point and start up again. Anyone hear that the ARL is concerned that hunters may abandon more dogs this year due to the decrease in pheasant population? Can't believe someone could have the heart to actually do that!
There is plenty of habitiat where I grew up, which is where I do almost all of my hunting. Plenty of CRP, waterways and large grassy terraces. Problem is that we have had multiple crappy winters/springs. I know that weather is the biggest reason with habitat closely following but I watched the bird poplulation fall dramatically on land that I have hunted for years and it had nothing to do with habitat. its all in the same ratio of CRP and cropland as before.
Sad to see IA losing so much $$ to places like ND, and SD in hunting licenses and tourism from hunters
I think the predator populations have something to do with the low numbers as well. Since raccoons became worthless and people stopped trapping them their population is out of control and they will raid nests. The hawk population seems like it's gone way up in the last 5 years I would think that's got to hurt some along with all the damn feral cats.
You Pheasant hunters do realize that these birds aren't native to the American continent, right? They were brought in from the far east, China specifically. So, yes habitat plays a huge role.:yes:
It's a combo of everything. The CRP is disappearing as land is more valuable, the hard winters have killed many birds cause they can't find food, and coyotes/feral cats are up. Not to mention wet springs washing out road ditches that birds like to lay eggs in.
the hawk population hasn't gone up. what you are seeing is probably a concentration of hawks around some remaining islands of cover. the lack of habitat concentrates birds into those habitat islands, which concentrate hawks there too.
Low numbers of pheasants wouldn't mean an increase in predators - it would be just the opposite.
back in '95 there were plenty of predators. probably more than now. the pheasant harvest was 1.5MM. What's the difference between now and then??
No, not this weekend. No Pheasants here in New Mexico. Not going to watch the KU/ISU game on TV either, JP choose to exclude the out of state alum/fans. It just Sucks..............oh the weather here is Great!
Regarding the shortening of season/lower bag limits. That might actually hurt the population. With the winters being as harsh as they have been, the fewer birds to fight for food, the better. Remove the roosters so the hens can live until spring and try and raise some young. The more females make it through winter, the better. Males can mate almost endlessly, so the females will get bred. So you might actually be helping the population to get out and take one or two home for some cream of mushroom pheasant breasts:yes:.