SD Crowing Counts?

UGUIDE

UGUIDE

Active member
Anybody know anything about crowing counts? I was just outside the lodge here and it is first light, very foggy, humid and calm. I hear a lot of roosters crowing and so I started to see how long I could count in between pheasant crows. The highest number I got to was 3 seconds in between crows and they were from roosters spreadout over the area. This is the most roosters crowing I have heard in a long time. Not sure what it means but sure seems like there is alot more roosters out there than what I am seeing.

Any body have any scientific conclusions behind this method. I know ND counts numbers of roosters heard in 2 minute interval but I do not know if they are separating unique pheasant roosters which I don't know how you could.

So lets see.......60 seconds in a minute.....120 seconds in 2. rooster heard every 3 seconds (at least)....that's about 40 roosters heard in 2 minutes.

What does that tell me?
 
UGUIDE said:
Anybody know anything about crowing counts? I was just outside the lodge here and it is first light, very foggy, humid and calm. I hear a lot of roosters crowing and so I started to see how long I could count in between pheasant crows. The highest number I got to was 3 seconds in between crows and they were from roosters spreadout over the area. This is the most roosters crowing I have heard in a long time. Not sure what it means but sure seems like there is alot more roosters out there than what I am seeing.

Any body have any scientific conclusions behind this method. I know ND counts numbers of roosters heard in 2 minute interval but I do not know if they are separating unique pheasant roosters which I don't know how you could.

So lets see.......60 seconds in a minute.....120 seconds in 2. rooster heard every 3 seconds (at least)....that's about 40 roosters heard in 2 minutes.

What does that tell me?
Click to expand...

It tells me you have a pretty rough life:D
 
Exactly Carp!!! The only crowing I hear sounds more like NAG, NAG, NAG!!! Wonder what is making that sound????:D:D:D Chris you are living a dream!!!!:cheers:
 
Former wildlife biologist here, used to do a lot of pheasant crowing routes every spring.

First of all, like almost all wildlife population surveys, crowing routes are used to come up with a relative index of population trends. They are not, nor are they intended to be, a "count" of birds.

Ring-necked pheasants consistently crow in the spring at a rate of about once every 3 minutes. Research shows that maximum crowing rates occur at about 9 minutes after sunrise. To maximize the viability of your routes you should run them at the same time each spring, from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunrise. You design a route through pheasant habitat with stops one mile apart, and stop and listen at each stop for 4 minutes, timed by stopwatch. You count the number of crows you hear during that time frame.

Weather mostly has no impact on crowing rates, but does impact our ability to hear, so ice mornings are best. Routes used to be run for about two minutes but research shows that four is probably better.

You utilize the number to compare one year to the next or to previous years to see trends. You can't necessarily come up with population numbers, but the trends, assuming the routes are run consistently, are very accurate, I.e. 20% increase in number of crows heard on a route correlates strongly to a similar increase in number of crowing roosters.
 
marshrat said:
Former wildlife biologist here, used to do a lot of pheasant crowing routes every spring.

First of all, like almost all wildlife population surveys, crowing routes are used to come up with a relative index of population trends. They are not, nor are they intended to be, a "count" of birds.

Ring-necked pheasants consistently crow in the spring at a rate of about once every 3 minutes. Research shows that maximum crowing rates occur at about 9 minutes after sunrise. To maximize the viability of your routes you should run them at the same time each spring, from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunrise. You design a route through pheasant habitat with stops one mile apart, and stop and listen at each stop for 4 minutes, timed by stopwatch. You count the number of crows you hear during that time frame.

Weather mostly has no impact on crowing rates, but does impact our ability to hear, so ice mornings are best. Routes used to be run for about two minutes but research shows that four is probably better.

You utilize the number to compare one year to the next or to previous years to see trends. You can't necessarily come up with population numbers, but the trends, assuming the routes are run consistently, are very accurate, I.e. 20% increase in number of crows heard on a route correlates strongly to a similar increase in number of crowing roosters.
Click to expand...

Excellent post and information marshrat. Thank you!!
 
Marshrat,

Excellent description,thank you!:thumbsup:
 
i was out west river just outside of the major pheasant range shown on maps in early-mid may & i was worried about the pheasants out there? it was really dry even after the winter snows all the locals or ranchers we talked to said we need moister & the bird numbers are way down??? & i maybe herd 15-20 different rooster on the entire 3-4 day turkey hunting trip i was out B4 sunrise & out listening for gobbles at dusk each evening & all i can say is western MN has way more pheasants then wear i was in SD!!!???

like i said i was not in OCOMA/CHAMBERLIN MOBRIDGE or any other pheasant capital in SD but i did drive on I-90 same i route i have for 7-8 yrs now each spring & i did see the fewest pheasants from chamberlain to belvidere i have ever seen in all them yrs of spring driving & hunting turkeys... i remember seeing hundreds of pheasants on the short drive if we seen 35-50 pheasants both on the drive west & back east on I-90 that is on the high side of my guess... i remember seeing 20 in 1 flock in yrs past!!!

all the pheasants we seen while driveing to & from our hunting spots were the same birds each day at the same areas you could guess when you were going to see pheasants bet i see em by that pond again bet i see them by that house again ETC... it was not what i expected in SD i only kicked up 1 pheasant while out walking around turkey hunting out of scrub oak tree? seen way way more prairie grouse...

EAD must of hit the area really hard also i we never even came close to hit n a deer while driving 50+ mph on them dry dusty dirt roads B4 sunrise or at nite it was crazy??? only herd a few coyotes the hole trip so i wonder whats up in that region of the state i seemed like a dead zone for wildlife except wild turkeys we did manage 3 turkeys on our short trip even in 94-96 temps

hope every bodys pheasants are doing better then wear i was turkey hunting or the low harvest rates/numbers will continue i afraid???
 
UGUIDE said:
Anybody know anything about crowing counts? I was just outside the lodge here and it is first light, very foggy, humid and calm.

So lets see.......60 seconds in a minute.....120 seconds in 2. rooster heard every 3 seconds (at least)....that's about 40 roosters heard in 2 minutes.

What does that tell me?
Click to expand...

The fog removed visual territorial markers. Each Rooster established an area/territory within the habitat you heard them rapidly cackling. In a way, they're using their voices/cackle to let other roosters know "this is my area, stay away" and talking to the hen's "here I am and here's the nesting cover you liked earlier".:)

Kinda along these lines, this past spring my dad witnessed roosters cackling simultaneously everything they heard thunder in the distance.

At times young birds, in the early season will cackle simultaneously when they hear a shotgun blast or a car door shut.:cheers:
 
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