Conditions update requested

Goatman

Goatman

New member
OK, another storm.. anyone out NE area have a report on the snow totals and county road conditions?
 
I was out hunting the Holyoke area yesterday. When we arrived in the AM, there was no snow; only a thin layer of ice on everything. As usual, the birds were not cooperating and flushing way out in front of us. As the day progressed, the snow picked up some and there was about an inch on the ground by dark. Not a lot, but the birds did seem to hold a little better in the afternoon. We ended up with two roosters and two quail. But we should have had about 6 roosters. Crappy shooting was the culprit...again! I don't think eastern CO was hit as hard as everyone thought it was going to be.
 
Thanks

Looking at that Yuma cam, it looks like a couple of inches... My folks live in the Brush area, and they got 8 inches.. forecast seems to be very windy still..
 
Not much snow here in the Otis-Yuma area. Maybe two inches. Dirt roads are fine. Hwy 34 extremely slick. Wind is a little calmer than predicted. That part makes me very happy.
 
Is It Bad Enough To Start Losing Birds This Time Around???

So glad to hear from faraway out-of-state for the Holidays that the snow situation in eastern CO for pheasants might not be quite as bad as initially predicted...I sure would HATE to see such a serious setback after such a banner ground-gaining year for these special birds that we all love so much!!! :(

In addition to the Yuma/Otis area which seems maybe to have fared pretty well according to EPM - does anyone know how much snow they got more up north around Holyoke & Sterling, and also down at the southern end of things around Stratton & Burlington???

Also, sure am hoping that even in the absence of deep snow - the combination of extended week-long below-freezing temps, high-winds, & God forbid more freezing-rain (the worst-case scenario of all) won't do too much lasting damage to the population either!

I hear that the world-famed SD bird population could be decimated (with a recovery that may take several good years to bounce back to it's current/recent levels) & that parts of KS and NE may be hammered pretty bad too (especially for the quail in addition to pheasants)... :eek:

Here's hoping for a far-better-than-expected final report for all states involved & that eastern CO has somehow escaped the brunt of it all! :cheers:
 
The wind has been terrible here all day. Power lines bouncing about 2 ft at a time off the poles. Electricity has been flickering a little. South of Yuma lost theirs last night from midnight to about 6 this morning. Some people longer. Still not much snow but its moving at a high rate of speed. If it doesnt look better by morning I would hope fellow bird chasers would leave em be till Sunday. Supposed to be 25 mph winds again tommorrow with gusts to 40. Sunday a better day.
 
Thx EPM, would never want to do anything to put next year's brood stock in jeopardy...Sure hope the bulk of the birds manage to make it thru this little stretch & at least a few more good times are yet in store for Jan when I get back! Y'all leave one or two for me now, ya hear... ;)
 
Holyoke didn't get hit very hard with snow. There was only an inch when I left there Wed night. You can also take a look at the CDOT website. There is now a Holyoke camera. It looks like they got about 2 or 3 inches.

I'm not too worried about the birds. They are tough and the cover out there is amazing this year. I remember being out there a few years ago when there was at least a foot of snow on the ground for an extended period of time. It was 20 below and freakin cold. All the cover was blanketed in snow and the birds were just sitting in the middle of the fields on top of the snow. No way you could hunt them though; they would see you coming from a mile away. If they can get through that, they can get through a little snow and wind.
 
Chad, Sure is a good thing to know it doesnt bother you that the birds have been holed up for basically 2.5 days with no food. Than on top of that kick em out of shelter just to run lead into em. Sometimes people should have a little compassion for the sport. I dont care how much cover there is they are still fighting their way through basically a major blizzard. The story you are referencing to their was breaks between storms for them to go feed.
 
engpointerman said:
Chad, Sure is a good thing to know it doesnt bother you that the birds have been holed up for basically 2.5 days with no food. Than on top of that kick em out of shelter just to run lead into em. Sometimes people should have a little compassion for the sport. I dont care how much cover there is they are still fighting their way through basically a major blizzard. The story you are referencing to their was breaks between storms for them to go feed.
Click to expand...

I didn't say it doesn't bother me. I'm just saying I think they are an amzingly tough and resilant bird, and was sighting past experience as an example. And I'm not sure where you got the idea that I was busting them out of shelter over the past couple of days? I was out on Wednesday, and conditions were mild compared to many other times I've hunted. Temps never dipped below 20, and the wind was a gentle breeze. If you want to get on someone, talk to the guys that hunted the birds when there was six inches of fresh snow and it was 20 below.

Also, you don't need to tell me about compassion for the sport. I dedicate more time and money to conservation efforts than probably 90 percent of the hunters out there. Could I do more? Sure, but who couldn't?

I don't want to turn this into a ten round brawl; that's what women would do. I just didn't understand the apparent attack on your part. If I said something you didn't like, I apologize. I guess I didn't realize how bad conditions were out east. When I checked the cameras out yesterday, they didn't seem to bad. And I wish you would have taken past posts of mine into consideration. If you read through them you'll see I am on the birds' side (most of the time :)). And based on past posts of yours, it sounds like we're on the same side to. :cheers:
 
Only thing to point out to your previous post is that there is plenty of cover so the birds will be fine. I posted above yours for everyone that wanted to go out today give it one more day for this storm to roll through. Its not a women bashing. I live in the yuma area and believe that I know a little more than whats going on through a camera. I agree to your point the cover is good. Also have to admit I know you werent out here hunting. Just in my opinion felt as though the last couple of days birds needed left alone. We have been kinda stuck in the house the last 2.5 days cuz its so brutal outside. I would like to see the same compassion for the birds. Roosters dont bother me cuz we dont need that many to reproduce but hen survival is critical to our populations.
 
Thanks for the clarification. I understand completely about letting the birds rest during these storms. Oh, I don't doubt you know way more than I do about the conditions and eastern CO in general. Take care and have a great new years.

Happy hunting!
 
Kudos To All True Pheasant-Lovers!

Thx everyone, you are ALL a great bunch of top-notch guys on here!!!...I have posed my questions about weather-related pheasant survival to a bunch of you "well-seasoned old birds" (Ha-Ha), because as a relative newcomer to the pheasant scene I honestly did not know the answer & would never want to inadvertently do anything to hurt the overall-population/brood-stock due to my ignorance while out getting my kicks...

After a thumbs-up/"Go-for-it" during the last storm several weeks ago, I don't think we really jeopardized any birds - because that storm though harsh was rather short-lived, we waited until the first sunny day after the storm (with weather predictions for it to begin warming up substantially just a day or two later), & I also happened to notice that the birds were out in full force everywhere by mid-day all by themselves without any pushing or kicking by us!

I am not physically present in CO at the moment (thus, why I asked for the update), but according to all of the weather reports that I am able to access from afar - this current storm seemed quite a bit different - especially with it's LONG-LASTING nature! I still don't know exactly how cold, for how long, with how much wind, even apart from how much snow before it begins really taking a toll on the birds??? Nor do I know whether at certain times under certain circumstances maybe birds should be harvested that are probably just going to die under the harshness of the elements anyway - and/or when to totally back-off & leave them all alone so at least some brood stock for next year has a fighting chance to survive??? :confused: And yes, you are all most-definitely correct - these birds are much tougher & hardier than they sometimes get credit for - but neither are they supernatural 9-life invincible magicians! I'm just trying to do-right-by-em' in the midst of my newcomer's "pheasant fever" zeal!!!

Thank God, it at least sounds like maybe the deep-snow part of the puzzle is not nearly as bad in eastern CO as it is across SD and parts of KS & NE...Hopefully, the combined effects of bitter cold & high winds will soon come to a close now & not last too dangerously long-term. It looks like mother nature & a closed interstate for-a-time may have pretty much taken care of culling the too-many-hunters numbers during the worst of critical mass!...Long-Live those psychedelic cacklers & their brood-hen mommies!!! I know we all want them to fare well into the faraway future & beyond for our children & great-grandchildren!!! :cheers:
 
I'm the newby here, but thank you guys that live out east for the weather report. Taking the family out today (Sunday) for some quality time afield. Hope to do well and get my wife her first bird and hooked on the sport
 
Extreme weather & pheasants

We need the same tools they use in South Dakota. Now, this is after the season is over, but in South Dakota they start a feeding program for the birds because of course the weather and they have been chased since Oct. The one interesting thing they told me was, that if there are too many roosters out there they will not let the hens feed. They obviously want their birds in top physical condition heading into the nesting season. Seems we should be able to adopt these same tools.
 
Kit Carson county had very littlw snow today, more was closer to Limon. Birds seemed to be doing just fine, especially getting up 60 yards out in front of me all afternoon. Still got one with a "Hail Mary" shot when I got frustrated LOL!
 
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