Birds seem to be down in this part of the state (north). Up at my dad's place there's usually a rooster for each hedge-row cackling away each spring/summer as they mark their territory. He hasn't heard a single rooster all season. Last winter did a number on some of our birds. I think within his area they really took a hit.
I haven't seen any broods but have heard a few cackling this past spring. Not as many cackling roosters as I would normally hear but a few.
Nesting conditions were not in the favor of pheasants this past spring and summer. I'm not sure how it was down state, but it sure seemed like it rained nearly every 24 hours or so for months. Too much rain. A lot of nesting cover was under water or just too wet for nesting pheasants.
Things have finally dried out up here. I'm hoping for some late nesting birds to pull through. We'll see. There's still enough birds out there to get it done.
Late last winter a client called to inform me that he had a dozen flushes within his food plots. That was just west of McHenry County.