Was driving around with my father in law yesterday who was looking at deer hunting properties and I couldn't believe the number of pheasants I saw. I'm trying to steer him towards a property that would be good for both deer and pheasant, but how do you tell if there's a huntable population in an area? Basically draw a triangle with Mille Lacs, St. Stephen, and Ogilvie at the points and this was the area we were in, it seemed like every piece of ag land had at least 1 bird sitting along the road or in the field.
How do you determine if there's a huntable population?
- Thread starter Dami0101
- Start date
birdshooter
Well-known member
I was just up in that area last Saturday. I'm a member at a hunting preserve just outside of Ogilvie. Generally when you see birds it means the population is doing well. However, it's possible due to the amount of snow they've had up there this winter that birds are more visible because the available cover has been reduced to such a degree that it's enviable. Depending on the time of day the birds are out scratching for food anyplace they can find it which means they are probably out longer thus more visible because there is less to choose from.
Last summer the DNR's roadside count results had the east central region as being down considerably from the year past when they were near the top as far as birds counted.
Last edited:
Downtown Bang!
Member
I used to run my dogs on public land up in that general area before the season started. We would get quite a few bird contacts but never hunted the parcels during the season because of the pressure and proximity to the metro.
Always seemed like the area had plenty of good escape cover & winter cover but was short on good nesting and brood rearing cover. Suspect if a landowner made it a priority to address this niche it would pay off. A consult with a PF biologist about a specific parcel would likely be more than worth the time and effort.
Always seemed like the area had plenty of good escape cover & winter cover but was short on good nesting and brood rearing cover. Suspect if a landowner made it a priority to address this niche it would pay off. A consult with a PF biologist about a specific parcel would likely be more than worth the time and effort.
gimruis
Well-known member
You might see a few birds here and there, but the hardest part now is obtaining permission to hunt them. There's very little in terms of vast, public hunting in that area because its not really traditional "prairie" habitat for pheasants. If you bought your own piece of land, that would help some but the carrying capacity of pheasants in that area is generally not going to be great in one little specific area.