Unofficial Pheasant numbers.

[Jack's My dog]

I get a fair amount of windshield time with my occupation. As a pheasant hunter, I tend to pay attention to how many birds I see while driving, and right now I am not seeing many. I am well aware that this is the time of year when one is least likely to see a bird, but even this winter on sunny days when you would expect to see a bunch up birds out together sunning themselves, I saw very few birds. I also think having a second wet spring in a row probably didn't help the numbers either.

I am not asking you to give up the location of your hunting spots, but I am curious if you guys are noticing fewer birds?

[grousemaster]

I get a fair amount of windshield time with my occupation. As a pheasant hunter, I tend to pay attention to how many birds I see while driving, and right now I am not seeing many. I am well aware that this is the time of year when one is least likely to see a bird, but even this winter on sunny days when you would expect to see a bunch up birds out together sunning themselves, I saw very few birds. I also think having a second wet spring in a row probably didn't help the numbers either.

I am not asking you to give up the location of your hunting spots, but I am curious if you guys are noticing fewer birds?

I'm seeing a fair amount right around the metro. Reports from my family in North Dakota are not good.

[sgruenhagen44]

I get a fair amount of windshield time with my occupation. As a pheasant hunter, I tend to pay attention to how many birds I see while driving, and right now I am not seeing many. I am well aware that this is the time of year when one is least likely to see a bird, but even this winter on sunny days when you would expect to see a bunch up birds out together sunning themselves, I saw very few birds. I also think having a second wet spring in a row probably didn't help the numbers either.

I am not asking you to give up the location of your hunting spots, but I am curious if you guys are noticing fewer birds?

Minnesota sucks. Have not wasted my time here in quite a while. Sodak!!!! DNR does not do a lot here anymore to manage them. There is no more cover and more and more farmers are mowing road ditches. Bottom line is they just don't have the habitat to survive here. Housing developments are not helping either. I am seeing more and more in urban areas like still water but regardless I think the numbers will keep dropping. I'm not using at stats here but lets face it, roosters are dumb. They need a lot of cover to survive, corn fields don't cut it. I wish it was the opposite. I have not hunted in MN since probably 2004 but finding CRP was getting harder and harder...

[Thunder71]

In SE Minnesota I've seen about 5 in 2 years, at this rate I'd feel guilty taking one so I don't even bother with a license.

[Jack's My dog]

I get a fair amount of windshield time with my occupation. As a pheasant hunter, I tend to pay attention to how many birds I see while driving, and right now I am not seeing many. I am well aware that this is the time of year when one is least likely to see a bird, but even this winter on sunny days when you would expect to see a bunch up birds out together sunning themselves, I saw very few birds. I also think having a second wet spring in a row probably didn't help the numbers either.

I am not asking you to give up the location of your hunting spots, but I am curious if you guys are noticing fewer birds?

Minnesota sucks. Have not wasted my time here in quite a while. Sodak!!!! DNR does not do a lot here anymore to manage them. There is no more cover and more and more farmers are mowing road ditches. Bottom line is they just don't have the habitat to survive here. Housing developments are not helping either. I am seeing more and more in urban areas like still water but regardless I think the numbers will keep dropping. I'm not using at stats here but lets face it, roosters are dumb. They need a lot of cover to survive, corn fields don't cut it. I wish it was the opposite. I have not hunted in MN since probably 2004 but finding CRP was getting harder and harder...

I myself have never hunted in South Dakota, but where I hunt in MN...it's almost South Dakota. I heard that a few guys were really bummed out with their trips to SD last year. Your right about the CRP in short supply. I also saw a lot of groves being cleared for farming this year as well....hard to blame the farmers with the prices they were getting for corn. As far as the dumb roosters, the were all gone by the second or third weekend of last season. Birds were popping at the sound of car doors opening at the beginning of November...that is late December type behavior...after they have been shot at a couple of times. Left me thinking only the few Wiley and smarter ones were left. We are gonna need a couple good winters for the birds to come back.

[smurfman]

Informally, bird numbers are at least the same if not up slightly over last year for me. I have at least 4 broods using my training grounds and have run into at least one brood in other areas I hunt. Chick numbers are below what I have seen as average but they are more numerous.

There were plenty of roosters crowing this spring and one still hears them first thing in the morning and late in the evening. I expect a better year this year than last if for no other reason than having my main dog back in the hunt after a season ending injury to him the second weekend of the grouse season. Of my other dogs one has some health issues which prevent him from hunting all day and the other was in his first season and I had other objectives more important than shooting birds. Still, 15 MN roosters were shot over my dogs which is a bit less than usual but not all that much.

ND was pretty poor in overall bird numbers but I still did well. Two 5 hunts had me a bird short of possession on the one and filled out on the other. The up side was a greater number of sharptails and Huns in the area though they were pretty wild. Downside is last season was the last year at those farms as the CRP has been planted to corn this year.

I don't need a lot of birds as a single hunter can have a good season with only two roosters found if he shoots well. Hunting in groups makes it much harder as it can seem a poor hunt if everyone does not get at least one opportunity.