MN Pheasant Map 2023

It's always fun to see that map each year and what the prospects look like in each area of the state. Overall, considering the winter we had in a lot of parts of the state, this is really encouraging. Just shows what good nesting conditions will do for pheasants. Can't wait for the season!
 
MNhunter4ever said:
It's always fun to see that map each year and what the prospects look like in each area of the state. Overall, considering the winter we had in a lot of parts of the state, this is really encouraging. Just shows what good nesting conditions will do for pheasants. Can't wait for the season!
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Does anyone know what the 2022 forecast map looked like? Would be an interesting comparison
 
Up 10% from last year? That's surprising given the winter and drought we've had.

That area in the north by Todd County is concerning. Massive drop there near Alexandria.
 
gimruis said:
Up 10% from last year? That's surprising given the winter and drought we've had.

That area in the north by Todd County is concerning. Massive drop there near Alexandria.
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It's up 10% statewide but the core pheasant areas saw a 40-100% increase
 
gimruis said:
All it does is send everyone to the southwest corner of the state, like usual.
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One would have to guess that every small town mayor is doing everything they can to get their town in those brown areas. Doing so would certainly boost the economics of your restaurants, hotels, bars and gas stations. Being successful means n doing that is a certain method for reelection. Now only if they knew who is doing the roadside counts in their area and if they could convince them to bump those numbers up a little……
 
I’m in SE MN looks like we got worse this year then last. And honestly looking at that map, it looks like most areas the counts went down, so it must be up considerably in some areas to offset the difference?
 
Does anyone know if the data can be accessed by county? It’s probably somewhere, I just may have missed it. The latest issue of Outdoor News lists a few of the top counties in their article, so I am wondering where they got that info.
 
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MNhunter4ever said:
Does anyone know if the data can be accessed by county? It’s probably somewhere, I just may have missed it. The latest issue of Outdoor News lists a few of the top counties in their article, so I am wondering where they got that info.
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Not to my knowledge. The article may have just been saying what they believe to be the best counties or historically. I could probably guess 4 of their top 5 they listed without looking at any data.
 
Bear in mind that you are dealing with percentages. In other words if there was 1 bird per mile last year there now may be 1.4-2 per mile in that area. Even a 100% increase doesn't mean there will be an abundant number of birds in SW Minnesota this year. However, it is nice to see that the bird population has at least increased in some areas.
 
MNhunter4ever said:
Does anyone know if the data can be accessed by county? It’s probably somewhere, I just may have missed it. The latest issue of Outdoor News lists a few of the top counties in their article, so I am wondering where they got that info.
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I was wondering the same thing. They quoted specific numbers by county so I'd guess they have it. I searched the DNR site and didn't find it.

For reference, this is from the Outdoor News article...
Pheasants counted in Chippewa County totaled 184 per 100 miles (two routes). The 10-year average is 85 per 100 miles. But that count was trumped by two other counties: The Lyon County count was 214 per 100 miles, and the Lincoln County count was 190. Others topping 100 counted per 100 miles of survey routes included Murray County, at 183 per 100 miles; Yellow Medicine, at 171; Watonwan, at 167; Rock, at 162; Brown, at 149; Cottonwood, at 116; and Nobles, at 101.
 
TGM said:
I was wondering the same thing. They quoted specific numbers by county so I'd guess they have it. I searched the DNR site and didn't find it.

For reference, this is from the Outdoor News article...
Pheasants counted in Chippewa County totaled 184 per 100 miles (two routes). The 10-year average is 85 per 100 miles. But that count was trumped by two other counties: The Lyon County count was 214 per 100 miles, and the Lincoln County count was 190. Others topping 100 counted per 100 miles of survey routes included Murray County, at 183 per 100 miles; Yellow Medicine, at 171; Watonwan, at 167; Rock, at 162; Brown, at 149; Cottonwood, at 116; and Nobles, at 101.
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Those numbers must be extrapolated. They definitely didn't drive 100 miles in each county. So like Zeb said, it's an increase but I'm still taking the numbers with a grain of salt until I get my boots on the ground out there.
 
TGM said:
I was wondering the same thing. They quoted specific numbers by county so I'd guess they have it. I searched the DNR site and didn't find it.

For reference, this is from the Outdoor News article...
Pheasants counted in Chippewa County totaled 184 per 100 miles (two routes). The 10-year average is 85 per 100 miles. But that count was trumped by two other counties: The Lyon County count was 214 per 100 miles, and the Lincoln County count was 190. Others topping 100 counted per 100 miles of survey routes included Murray County, at 183 per 100 miles; Yellow Medicine, at 171; Watonwan, at 167; Rock, at 162; Brown, at 149; Cottonwood, at 116; and Nobles, at 101.
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Yes, that is what I was referring to - thanks for posting
 
Munster927 said:
Those numbers must be extrapolated. They definitely didn't drive 100 miles in each county. So like Zeb said, it's an increase but I'm still taking the numbers with a grain of salt until I get my boots on the ground out there.
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First-hand accounts from the field will tell the true story - excited to hear those stories and insights throughout the season. But the roadside counts in SW MN are encouraging and certainly a positive.
 
I went for a drive on Saturday for about 5 hours scouting and asking for permission. Holy hannah is it dry out there. The corn looks terrible in many locations. Beans don't look too bad though.

I was able to gain permission at 14 spots. Every single person I talked to and asked said I could hunt, and they all said they have seen or heard at least some pheasants. I saw one nice covey of about a dozen birds. The chicks were not very big either. I also saw a nice group of about 10 wild turkeys.
 
Count me as not getting too excited about year over year percentage changes. 2 pheasants is a 100% increase over 1.
 
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