Bird #'s

Was around the Pipestone, Luverne area last week and the birds seem to be doing alright. They are piled up in groves and plum thickets pretty good.
 
In the spot I exercise my dog, the numbers are way down. Last year I could easily run into 10 to 12 birds in a 1 to 2 hour run. This year I'm lucky to go out and see 1.
 
I have drove around quite abit and I see 1 here 1 there, I saw one group of 20 the other day. But they definatly are way down here. We were seeing flocks of 50 + all over before the rain. I have now about 7 I think feeding in the driveway, but there was over 20 before the rain.
 
I have actually seen birds this winter in places where I have never seen them before. (Pine, Kanabec, Mille Lacs counties.)
 
The reason you are seeing them in places you did not before is all that snow makes them easier to spot!!
I drove from Sioux Falls to Mitchell and back yesterday and saw a fair number of pheasants. Some bunches had excessive numbers of roosters--6 roosters 1 hen in one bunch. We did not shoot enough due to the late harvest and early snow. BL-- I think we have lost a lot of birds but if we can hang on to what's left and have a decent hatch, 2010 will not be too bad. After the 96-97 winter I was pessimistic but fall '97 was good in the area I hunted.
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Essential Vaaapp
 
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Long road trip the other day. I am sure we have lost some birds, futher north you go the worse it gets in SD I presume.
Nevertheless, I have seen fair to good numbers. I still think there is an over abundance of roosters. Birds in cattleyards are doing the best and the rest are getting a weather break. Some fields opened up a bit last week. I saw a dozen birds picking an open spot this morning.
I was all the way down to Springfield SD then north to Mitchell Weds. Snow not as deep down se central, but only saw a few birds. Not a traditionally good area. More up by Mitchell, even tho the snow is deep.
BL if March is not too bad and we get things opened up a bit in the next few days we should have decent chance of having enough stock and good hatching weather to provide good hunting next year. APU some areas better than others.
 
If we continue with current weather trends, things will look a lot more optimistic. Warm, dry and windy will dry up nesting grounds. A favorable spring can improve outlooks dramatically.
 
I have fed the birds all winter so they have done good around me. But I have noticed that I only see roosters? I ran the dogs the other day and found where a bird of prey had taken a couple pheasants. I think if we can have a good hatch this spring we should be OK. Being on the bottom of the food chain is not easy.
I took this picture last weekend. (pretty birds aren't they)

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:coolpics:

I have been noticing more birds with this nicer weather. They even seem to be doing alright in northern iowa where there was still snow on the ground this last weekend. There is also a lot of flooding, but that does not seem to be hurting them as bad as it did the truck I was in trying to go through the soft gravel roads.
 
I even seen two rooster by the gravel pit in apple valley wensday on my day off!lets hope there is more hens that we are just not seeing!
 
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