Kansas Winter

D

Downeaster

New member
I was wondering if any board members who live in Kansas or have contacts in the state, would like to offer a general opinion as to the relative severity of this winter. I understand that of course with a large state like Kansas, conditions in different sections will vary but up here in Maine, I don't have much of a sense of what winter has been like in the heartland. Of course the point is, have game birds been under unusual pressure due to weather? Thank you, Dennis
 
Downeaster said:
I was wondering if any board members who live in Kansas or have contacts in the state, would like to offer a general opinion as to the relative severity of this winter. I understand that of course with a large state like Kansas, conditions in different sections will vary but up here in Maine, I don't have much of a sense of what winter has been like in the heartland. Of course the point is, have game birds been under unusual pressure due to weather? Thank you, Dennis
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winter has been cold and long but no crazy ice storms, but alas, its still not May yet so who knows what March and April will have for us.

There will be plenty of birds for next year. As with anything there are always good pockets - you will never know or get a sense of where they are until summer and hail season is over.
 
I've heard it called the coldest winter in 15 years. An area from Smith Center to Jewell county down to Beloit had snow around Thanksgiving that lasted well into January. That won't help the population next season. We'll have to wait and see what the spring and summer are like.
 
It was colder than normal and more snow than normal but IMO not enough snow to hurt the bird population at all. Sure there were stretches where there was snow on the ground for weeks at a time but nothing like SD or MN. There should be plenty of birds to repopulate for next season. From what I understand about Kansas birds in living here 15 years is that Spring is much more important. The winter wheat needs to get going in order to provide cover for the hatch.
 
It was almost to hard on the wheat according to my farmer buddy. We never ran into any dead birds and I don't think that the ice we got was bad enough to hurt the population, if anything the weather may have helped cull any sick birds.
 
I really depends on which area you're looking at and what you're hunting. The heavy snow and cold hurt the quail badly in many areas.

In one area I moved 10 coveys of quail in roughly 6 hours before the first storm. Hunted the area two more times (mostly to check on populations) and moved 3 coveys 4 days after the storm and 3 tiny groups the weekend before the close of the season.

In another area I found 18 coveys in a full day of hunting (best I ever had in KS). After Christmas in that same area, the best day I had was 6 coveys and three of those coveys weren't large enough to take birds from.

From a weather standpoint, the snow isn't the only thing that's hard on quail. Cold weather really takes it's toll. Quail have a very hard time getting enough calories in extreme cold. When it gets below zero even for a brief period of time, they simply can't take in as much as they need unless the habitat is absolutely perfect. Even temps as low as the teens start to hurt populations.

I think pheasants did OK except where the snow was deepest and the wind blew hardest during the storms.

Point!
 
please post your snow totals,if you will
in SEK,we range from 8-12 inches,hopefully,it won't last long,it should melt off by Wednesday.
 
Point! said:
I really depends on which area you're looking at and what you're hunting. The heavy snow and cold hurt the quail badly in many areas.

In one area I moved 10 coveys of quail in roughly 6 hours before the first storm. Hunted the area two more times (mostly to check on populations) and moved 3 coveys 4 days after the storm and 3 tiny groups the weekend before the close of the season.

In another area I found 18 coveys in a full day of hunting (best I ever had in KS). After Christmas in that same area, the best day I had was 6 coveys and three of those coveys weren't large enough to take birds from.

From a weather standpoint, the snow isn't the only thing that's hard on quail. Cold weather really takes it's toll. Quail have a very hard time getting enough calories in extreme cold. When it gets below zero even for a brief period of time, they simply can't take in as much as they need unless the habitat is absolutely perfect. Even temps as low as the teens start to hurt populations.

I think pheasants did OK except where the snow was deepest and the wind blew hardest during the storms.

Point!
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18 coveys wow can i go hunting with you!
 
gsh lover said:
please post your snow totals,if you will
in SEK,we range from 8-12 inches,hopefully,it won't last long,it should melt off by Wednesday.
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3 or 4 here in Wab. county. Some sleet/freezing rain was mixed in with it. Most of it was gone by Sunday and I'm sure the rest will be gone today.
 
I'm glad to see most of the state has dodged a bullet. Has your cover started greening up and does it appear that most of Kansas received sufficient moisture this winter? Dennis
 
Maybe an inch here in Dodge from the last snow. In the sixties today. Saw lots of wildlife today; herds of whitetails, packs of coyotes, coveys of quail, group of jakes, a good number of pheasants with one rooster herding a harem of nine hens. If I could have seen the elk and the lesser prairie chicken today, it would have been a complete day.
 
M. R. Byrd said:
If I could have seen the elk and the lesser prairie chicken today, it would have been a complete day.
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Im told by some locals that there is a few that moved in along the river near Dodge? Not sure if its east or west of town, Im thinking west though.

Have you seen them before?

Used to live in Holcomb never saw any then, saw a few antelope but thats it.

Hear rumors of them every now and again out west though. Id like to see them try and jump a fence.
 
The elk seem to hang out in an area for awhile, then move on. It has been a few months since I have seen any at my place and unfortunately my cow elk tag didn't get punched this year, but I will try again next year.

Here is a couple at my place-

 
That is too cool Maynard! Thanks for sharing the pic.

I've only seen Elk in KS once and that was W of Garden City. Thought I was looking at some giant mulies for a minute, but then it occurred to our group what we were actually seeing. There must have been at least 10 of them.
 
There are two animals that have never, at least in my lifetime, been taken on my place, turkey and elk. That is a goal of mine.
 
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