Conditions Setting Up for Another Good Pheasant Year in Iowa

(Radio Iowa) This year’s pheasant harvest hit its highest mark in 13 years and the man who tracks bird numbers says things are already setting up for another good year. DNR wildlife biologist, Todd Bogenschutz, says the weather has been good.

“We had a really good winter, not much snow statewide and the spring looked fairly okay, kind of close to average so you know — we are expecting numbers to be the same maybe even go up again — very similar to the weather we had a year ago,” Bogenschutz says. He says the spring nesting conditions were very good for the birds.

“My model basically looks at April and May it doesn’t put a lot of emphasis on June and so our rainfall and temperatures in April in May,” he says. “The rainfall was just below normal six-point-seven and normal is about seven-point-one. So, you know, pretty much average temperatures are a little bit cool.” He says it was not cool enough to cause major problems. Bogenschutz says rainy days in June don’t have as much impact because the temperatures are higher.

“As a chick, it’s better to be wet when it’s 90 out versus wet when it’s 50 out,” he says. Bogenschutz will find out more about pheasant numbers in August when the D-N-R conducts its roadside survey of birds. Those surveys usually give a good indication of what to expect during the hunting season.