Pheasant count up, DNR says

Iowa’s estimated pheasant harvest continues its climb, and 2015 marked the fifth consecutive year in a row of increases.

In 2015, more than 56,000 hunters harvested nearly 270,000 rooster pheasants in Iowa, which is an increased harvest of 24 percent over 2014 and the highest pheasant harvest since 2009. Pheasant hunters were not the only ones who had better hunting, quail hunters enjoyed their best hunting since 2007. Hunters harvested an estimated 28,400 quail in 2015, which was a 165 percent increase over 2014.

The large increase in quail harvest was predicted by the August 2015 roadside survey which counted the highest number of quail in 21 years, according to Todd Bogenschutz, upland wildlife research biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Bogenschutz said the western third of the state had more rain and more snow this winter, so the potential looks slightly lower there than for other parts of the state. Pheasant broods reported in early May in these regions suggests a good nesting season.

“We expected to see more pheasants and quail harvested based on the August roadside survey and our current trend of mild winters,” Bogenschutz said. “We know, given certain snowfall and rainfall amounts, with a degree of certainty, how the upland populations are likely to react, based on 50 years of data. Given the mild winter and below normal rainfall, potential for upland birds looks good for the fall right now for the east central, southeast and south central regions.”

Bogenschutz uses a population model that considers total winter snowfall, and spring rainfall and temperature data to estimate winter survival and nesting success, plus the annual August roadside survey that counts actual pheasants, quail, cottontails, jackrabbits and partridges.

“Overall, our weather model is predicting a stable to increasing pheasant population statewide for the fall 2016 hunting season,” he said. “Anecdotally, staff and landowners have been reporting more roosters crowing and male bobwhite calling across the southern third of Iowa this spring, which is a sign of good over-winter survival. The best predictor of the pheasant population will be this August when we conduct our roadside survey but I like the direction the model is pointing.”

Weather and habitat are the two biggest factors that influence Iowa’s pheasant population, Bogenschutz said.

“Snowy winters are bad for the birds, as are wet and cold springs,” he said. “Mild winters and warm and dry springs are good for the birds. We had five catastrophic weather years from 2007 to 2011 (cold, wet winter followed by a wet, cold spring, which was unprecedented for Iowa).”

A 2007 roadside DNR survey showed 26 birds per survey route, but by 2012, this had fallen to 7.8 — a 70 percent decline.

For habitat, pheasants prefer grasslands like hay and small grains for nesting, brood rearing, and winter cover. In 2007, there were 3.55 million acres of these types of habitat in Iowa, but in 2012, that had fallen to 2.86 million acres — a 19 percent decline.   So we lost about 20 percent of “Thus, we’d expect our pheasant population to be 20 percent lower, too, but our counts were 70 percent lower,” Bogenschutz said. “Some of the decline was due to habitat loss the rest to unfavorable weather. We’ve had favorable weather since 2013 and our 2015 roadside survey showed 24 birds per route.”

The state’s current habitat is 2.72 million acres.

“The weather looks favorable this past winter and so far this spring, so we might see an increase in populations this fall,” Bogenschutz said. “Our habitat situation has not really improved — but our weather has.”

Contact Jason W. Brooks at
641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or
jbrooks@newtondailynews.com