Getting back to CO pheasants (and quail)....

D

double trigger

Member
Have appreciated reading the threads about the elusive duskies. Phez and quail season is now rapidly approaching although the weather doesn't feel like it much yet. For those that have been out in pheasant and quail country in eastern CO, what are you seeing out there and what kind of season do you expect?

I've been out in NE CO a bit and the cover looks really good but I haven't been in the real good bird areas yet.

Thanks
 
The cover looks pretty good (much better than the last couple of years). As to whether the birds are there, only time will tell. Might take a couple of years of good weather to get back to healthy numbers.

Either way, I'm looking forward to getting out there and looking.

Hunting the southern panhandle in NE this weekend for the opener there. Not prime pheasant country, but I can usually scratch up a bird or two.

:cheers:
Dave
 
I may head out around Yuma on Monday and look around a bit. Gives me an excuse to visit family and get away for awhile.
 
Definitely better in the cover department. Cumulative effects of the drought have taken their toll, though, so don't expect a banner year for birds. I'm thinking it will take at least 3 more good years of good moisture and nesting cover before we start to see a legitimate come back, at least for pheasants. Quail, on the other hand, have gone berserk. We're seeing quail all over the place, lots of scalies and a few bobwhites in areas we haven't seen bobwhites in the past couple of years. They must have really been hunkering down! No matter how you cut it, this year will be better than the past several but don't expect huge gains just yet.
 
Farmers are just starting to cut corn. I was out Monday and 90% of the corn was still up. Cover definitely looks better and there was a lot of standing water in low spots in the fields. The conditions are right but it is going to take a couple of good breeding years to get back to where we should be. :cheers:
 
improvement

I have not been looking for pheasants in and around places like Yuma but have driven thru in numerous time since sept, including wray on my way to western Kansas, while I see some improvement, it's not what I call great, think the rains that did come came a little too late to make the grasses that we would like to see, not grow as much. better but still tough

cheers
 
There was more than ample moisture and some areas had a little too much. It was just a month or so late. One storm brought 4-6 inches in a short time. I have every rain event cataloged. I have seen some birds just coloring out 3 weeks ago. Should be spotty. I would wait for some cooler weather, because 70-75 with few birds is not going to be a good hunt. If you do hit the warm weather it is going to be a short window early morning and late eve for good scenting conditions. At least it can be a scouting trip until the weather cools a bit. Cutting corn around Greeley, Lasalle areas today, so with the warm weather forecast, guy's should be moving right along with the crops by opener.:cheers:
 
Great news on all fronts. I'm really excited about the quail. I just discovered how much fun they are last year. Get out and hunt antelope in the early AM and then walk the pup out for some quail in the afternoon. Now that's good living.
 
Newdale Pheasants said:
Definitely better in the cover department. Cumulative effects of the drought have taken their toll, though, so don't expect a banner year for birds. I'm thinking it will take at least 3 more good years of good moisture and nesting cover before we start to see a legitimate come back, at least for pheasants. Quail, on the other hand, have gone berserk. We're seeing quail all over the place, lots of scalies and a few bobwhites in areas we haven't seen bobwhites in the past couple of years. They must have really been hunkering down! No matter how you cut it, this year will be better than the past several but don't expect huge gains just yet.
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Thanks for the post - are you talkin southeast CO regarding the quail? That is good news as the Game and Fish did not seem to pick-up on those kind of gains for quail...

Regarding 3 more years of good moisture for a comeback of phez, you may be right but I'll tell you in eastern CO it seems hard enough to string 3 good months of moisture together let alone 3 years. After a pretty good spring and summer for moisture it seems drought is rearing its head again - been a very dry October.

As long as there is not severe drought it seems historically the pheasants do not need an abundance of moisture to do OK. It just seems their habitat has been so reduced that if dry conditions hit folks are allowed to cut the CRP and there goes their available cover. Not a good way to go for long-term sustainability of wild pheasants; there has to be a better solution. :eek:
 
I just got back from hunting SW Nebraska and the corn harvest is on full bore right now in both Nebraska and eastern Colorado. County roads are busy with combines moving field to field and lots of grain trucks. In Nebraska where we were hunting I would say by the end of today 30-40% of the corn had been harvested. Eastern Colorado looked a little farther behind on the amount of fields harvested but I did see plenty of combines rolling. I did not see any pheasants driving thru Colorado but cover looks fair to good in most areas and I'm sure there are birds in most of it. Good luck this coming weekend!
 
Frangler said:
I just got back from hunting SW Nebraska and the corn harvest is on full bore right now in both Nebraska and eastern Colorado. County roads are busy with combines moving field to field and lots of grain trucks. In Nebraska where we were hunting I would say by the end of today 30-40% of the corn had been harvested. Eastern Colorado looked a little farther behind on the amount of fields harvested but I did see plenty of combines rolling. I did not see any pheasants driving thru Colorado but cover looks fair to good in most areas and I'm sure there are birds in most of it. Good luck this coming weekend!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the report Frangler:thumbsup:
 
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