1. Ring-necked Pheasants
Open Area: Statewide
Opens: October 13
Delayed Opener: October 20
Regular Season Closes: January 6, 2013
Delayed Season Closes: January 6, 2013
Daily Limit: 3
Possession Limit: 12
Shooting Hours: 30 minutes before sunrise to sunset
Because habitat and weather play important roles in the number of pheasants hunters see each fall, last winter’s mild conditions were a welcome development, providing a jumpstart for spring breeding.
Winters of 2008-11 were hard on pheasants caught in poor cover. Those winters were followed by cool, wet conditions during brooding and fewer young birds were recruited into the fall population. Knowing this, Game and Fish biologists expected that this spring’s rooster crowing counts might be down, but instead the index was up 10 percent statewide from 2011.
In 2009-10, the number of pheasant hunters in North Dakota dropped below 100,000, with a harvest of about 500,000 or more roosters annually.
More hunting opportunities meant more pheasants taken during the 2011 season, as last fall’s pheasant harvest was 683,000, up from 552,000 in 2010. While the overall landscape probably didn’t have more birds, Mother Nature allowed for an increase in harvest due to mild weather and minimal snow cover in November, December and early January.
Since 2000, hunters have enjoyed fall pheasant numbers like most had never seen. Unfortunately, birds are losing nesting and brooding habitat with the continued decline of Conservation Reserve Program acres across much of the state, most notably in southeastern North Dakota.
Loss of this critical habitat will surely negatively influence the pheasant population. Combine this with long, snowy winters and cold, wet weather at hatching time, and pheasant numbers decline.
As this is written, it’s still too early to make any predictions about fall numbers and distribution of pheasants, but there are some positives, including last winter’s mild weather, which was good for pheasants, especially hens. Habitat conditions and weather during spring nesting and brooding were quite good across the state, which could mean better than normal production statewide.
Game and Fish Department roadside brood counts in late summer will provide a better estimate of production and a more definitive preview of this fall’s pheasant hunting season.
Open Area: Statewide
Opens: October 13
Delayed Opener: October 20
Regular Season Closes: January 6, 2013
Delayed Season Closes: January 6, 2013
Daily Limit: 3
Possession Limit: 12
Shooting Hours: 30 minutes before sunrise to sunset
Because habitat and weather play important roles in the number of pheasants hunters see each fall, last winter’s mild conditions were a welcome development, providing a jumpstart for spring breeding.
Winters of 2008-11 were hard on pheasants caught in poor cover. Those winters were followed by cool, wet conditions during brooding and fewer young birds were recruited into the fall population. Knowing this, Game and Fish biologists expected that this spring’s rooster crowing counts might be down, but instead the index was up 10 percent statewide from 2011.
In 2009-10, the number of pheasant hunters in North Dakota dropped below 100,000, with a harvest of about 500,000 or more roosters annually.
More hunting opportunities meant more pheasants taken during the 2011 season, as last fall’s pheasant harvest was 683,000, up from 552,000 in 2010. While the overall landscape probably didn’t have more birds, Mother Nature allowed for an increase in harvest due to mild weather and minimal snow cover in November, December and early January.
Since 2000, hunters have enjoyed fall pheasant numbers like most had never seen. Unfortunately, birds are losing nesting and brooding habitat with the continued decline of Conservation Reserve Program acres across much of the state, most notably in southeastern North Dakota.
Loss of this critical habitat will surely negatively influence the pheasant population. Combine this with long, snowy winters and cold, wet weather at hatching time, and pheasant numbers decline.
As this is written, it’s still too early to make any predictions about fall numbers and distribution of pheasants, but there are some positives, including last winter’s mild weather, which was good for pheasants, especially hens. Habitat conditions and weather during spring nesting and brooding were quite good across the state, which could mean better than normal production statewide.
Game and Fish Department roadside brood counts in late summer will provide a better estimate of production and a more definitive preview of this fall’s pheasant hunting season.