64% Drop in Pheasant Counts for SD

[windswept]

Looks like it's going to be a tough year!
http://articles.aberdeennews.com/2013-0 ... ia-cochran

[Legband]

Was mainly weather or lack of it ?

[Vision]

Loss of CRP is the main cause of the drop in population.

[DoubleBarrel GunDogs]

Looks like it's going to be a tough year!
http://articles.aberdeennews.com/2013-0 ... ia-cochran

I never realized until this season how significant the number of bugs is to the young birds diet and health. Here in Colorado the blue grouse are thriving on the high number of grasshoppers. The juvenile birds are the same size as the mature hens, and the broods are larger than usual.

A perfect storm of problems has accumulated to lower pheasant numbers in SD.
Good article, thanks for posting it.

Nate

[Wyobio]

I have a friend who has lived and owned farm land in SD his entire life (he's in his 60's). He told us last year that bird numbers were way down from a series of wheather related factors. The long, cold, wet winter of 2010-11, floods in 2011, wet, cold spring in both 2012 and again in 2013, and a drought in 2012.

On top of that and most worrying is not only the loss of CRP, but the fact that every piece of potentially tillable land is being plowed under. He said that marginal areas (the best pheasant habitat) that have never been farmed in his 60 years in SD were being plowed under because of the high prices for corn and other crops........

[birddog1968]

Don't look now, corn and wheat prices are dropping.....

[windswept]

I have a friend who has lived and owned farm land in SD his entire life (he's in his 60's). He told us last year that bird numbers were way down from a series of wheather related factors. The long, cold, wet winter of 2010-11, floods in 2011, wet, cold spring in both 2012 and again in 2013, and a drought in 2012.

On top of that and most worrying is not only the loss of CRP, but the fact that every piece of potentially tillable land is being plowed under. He said that marginal areas (the best pheasant habitat) that have never been farmed in his 60 years in SD were being plowed under because of the high prices for corn and other crops........

I've lived here (SD) most of my life and I would agree with your friend's opinion. I'm not sure if I ever saw a spring as wet and cold as this one. Couple that with all of the factors mentioned above and the numbers were bound to plummet. Those who own their own hunting ground and don't have to share it with the general public will probably be alright but I wouldn't want to have to depend on public hunting lands. I guess this is why it's called hunting!

[Vision]

I just read this article and thought I would share it on here.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20131112/DAA11OTG2.html

[Herve]

I came back from SD. I hunted only on CREPs and WIAs.
If there was a 64% drop, how it was before ! Becasause we have seen a lot of birds...
But birds were very difficult. I think that there are a lot of "old" birds which have spend a year and a winter with coyotes and foxes and with blizzards. And as reproduction was very poor, there are very few yong and "kind" birds.
This trip in SD was really amazing !