Spring Report

gjw

Well-known member
Hey all, had a couple guys ask me about the conditions here this spring, so I thought I'd post my observations. The later part of the winter wasn't bad at all, we really didn't get much more snow or storms after Dec. Did see a lot of birds in the winter so I think they came thru okay, not great, but good. For the spring here, it was IMO a good nesting season (so far) no cold snaps, storms or winter weather. Earlier this spring, I did see quite a few paired up, but the down side was only one hen per rooster. Would have liked to seen more than one hen per, but didn't.

As of today, it's been very dry in the Central and western part of the state, no rain to speak of, close to drought conditions. Not good for the chicks. They need water and lots of insects, but all we've got so far are ticks! I haven't seen any grasshoppers which the chicks (and adults) need. If this weather stays as it has been (hot and dry), I fear the broods will suffer and chick survival will be tough go. So, please pray for rain for us here.

The eastern part of the state has had a lot more rain, so I think conditions there are better than here. Who knows what will happen in the next month, I hope we get those nice gentle rains.

Anyway, that's about all for now. Will keep you guys posted.

Take care all

Greg
 
Yes , thanks for the update! I was gonna call a couple of the landowners / friends we have made up there over the years and ask the questions you just answered. I know early winter the central part of the state got buried with snow. You think there will be a few around this coming season?
 
Yes , thanks for the update! I was gonna call a couple of the landowners / friends we have made up there over the years and ask the questions you just answered. I know early winter the central part of the state got buried with snow. You think there will be a few around this coming season?

Hi, the short answer is yes. While we did have a bit of a winter kill, most of the birds came thru ok. The mild late winter we had helped a lot and we were blessed with no more storms. The snow we got was easy for them to handle, just a couple inches at a time. In fact, today the kids and I were out shooting pasture clays and you could hear a few roosters crowing, so that's a good sign. Depending on how the broods make out, my guess is we will be down some from last year, but nothing major. Like in years past there will be pockets of good bird numbers and some that are poor, a lot depends on the winter cover they had and as I keep saying, how the broods fair.

Hope this helped.

Have a good one!

Greg
 
The eastern part of ND has not seen a lot of rain.

Actually most of ND is abnormally dry with the area largely hit by the blizzards ... Minot to Fort Yates now in an early stage drought. Most of North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota recorded between 20-40% of average rainfall with that average being between 2 and 3 inches.

In ND ... over 50% of the average rain for the growing season typically falls from late May to early July ...

SW ND is blessed with more working cattle yards than central ND. Central ND will be a big ?? for some time.
 
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spring report

we are located in Central ND, little south of 94. Between Jamestown and Bismarck

I was driving between our two farms, about a 7 mile drive at 7pm a week ago. I saw 5 roosters in the ditch no hens (I assume they were on their nests). I am worried with our tuff winter and lack of rain in spring what the season will be like. I am sure there will still be decent hunting but I was thinking we would be down 20-30% from last year. JMO. I hope I am wrong. I am usually more optimistic. On a positive note it hasn't been a wet and cold spring so that has been a small positive.

I did hear a lot of roosters Crowing when I was walking around. Just worried hens had a tuff winter and then a not very ideal nesting season. not sure if this helps just what I have observed.

Jim
 
We saw more young birds than we had seen in a few years last season. Hopefully some of those made it through. I assume what Brittman was referring to when he said SWND was ''blessed '' with more working cattle yards'' is the increase in winter feed? Glad to hear you are seeing a few around Jim!!
 
Hi all, just a couple of FYI's. On the way to work today I heard on the radio that the powers that be, may (more than likely will) authorize haying CRP. If this happens, it sure will effect how the hunting season will go. Less cover for the broods and also for hunting areas this fall. At this point it's a guessing game. The temp today at my place was 101. Farmers and ranchers are having a tough go, their selling off their herds, no hay or pasture. You can get more info on this at this link:

http://www.cattlenetwork.com/news/industry/north-dakota-drought-forcing-herd-reductions

Anyway, looks a bit grim, but we've had bad conditions in the past and still had decent seasons. Only time will tell on this one.

Best,

Greg
 
I think it was 3 years ago or so that every direction you looked you could see smoke from where CRP was being burned off. That following season was tough. Some of my usual spots were burned and plowed.I had to do some serious scouting and try some areas that I had never hunted.That was sorta fun , but I miss my old routes. Hopefully you guys get some rain soon.....
 
Where would the Dakotas be without CRP >>> if nothing else, as a safety net during these tough times.
 
Stutsman County leads in CRP acre loss 2016 over 2006 ... more than 100,000 acres lost. :eek:

About half of ND counties have lost 35K - 99K acres in the same time period.

Blame corn and beans.
 
Seems like 75k of the 100k lost in Stutsman are places I hunted! Like I always say , I don't blame those guys for maximizing the earning potential of their property. I just wish there was a way to enhance CRP payments to make it more attractive again.
 
Hi, we did get some rain last week, close to an inch and some Sat (not much). It did help, but still far from what we need. None really in sight for this week. Just a slight chance.

You can get a lot more detail if you go:

http://www.kfyrtv.com/

Search under drought for all the current stories.

Best,

Greg
 
ND G&F should release their rooster crow count any day now.

August brood survey is usually a better indicator ...
 
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