Rusty Trigger
Member
Amen
Yep, that is coming from an outof stater. However, I was not always an out of stater.
KPWD Bird Forcast Spin
- Thread starter Rusty Trigger
- Start date
Amen
Yep, that is coming from an outof stater. However, I was not always an out of stater.
Bilbo Baggins
Active member
The Doctor of Spin, I mean Randy, was out on vacation when the report was written. Heck, it sounds like an honest forecast this year. In my recent travels I would have thought it might read like it does. I actually saw one rooster in the Oklahoma panhandle and one hen with just one helf grown chick around sunset east of Liberal, Kansas. During normal scouting activities I would have seen plenty of birds. Good luck to all. Probably visit SD for starters with KB (Chad).
M. R. Byrd
Well-known member
Randy is a good man, but I did get him riled when I was working on habitat plans for the Ponderosa back in 1986. Had plans in place to help the pheasant, quail and lesser prairie chicken and the deer, but when I asked about a marsh to attract waterfowl, he told me, "Mr. Byrd, you can't have it all!"
Prairie Drifter
Well-known member
Thanks Maynard! You're right, he is a very good man!!!
I think what is interesting about this year is that all major pheasant states are down this year. SD is 45% down, ND is 35% or so down, Iowa is at all time lows, NE is down, MT is down...
This is the year that will separate the men from the boys. Good dogs will make a big difference this year.
Kansas
p.s. I agree, Randy is a great guy and did some great work.
This is the year that will separate the men from the boys. Good dogs will make a big difference this year.
Kansas
p.s. I agree, Randy is a great guy and did some great work.
I don't think there is "spin". I think that the numbers are extremely hard to pin down a lot of years. Recently the numbers have been off the charts in areas of Kansas. Human nature being what it is, there is a tendency to give a postive report when your feeling upbeat about prospects in general. This year we can look at the drought monitor and recognize it's going to be a tough year, in parts of south central and southwest Kansas. As fruity as the weather was, there are going to be townships, (32 sections), that got moisture, and have birds, surrounded by townships which don't have cover or birds. Probably nobody on here was a first hand witness, but I remember being told by my dad, that there were a lot of quail and pheasants during the drought stricken dirty 30's. Wildlife adapts, faster and easier than we do. So the casual and lazy will complain, sell their dogs, go elsewhere, or shoot at ducks. If it were easy afterall, everybody would do it, which is where we have been lately. Driving around hoping for incidental contact won't tell us much, only boots on the ground and dogs in cover will tell the tale.
i don't think lazy is an accurate description for most people who have dogs and normally expect to cover a lot of ground, which is what you do even in a good year, especially if you hunt primarily walk-in ground in Kansas.
the real problem this year, in certain areas, will be finding adequate cover that might hold pheasants or quail. there is a lot of walk-in ground that is nowhere near irrigated crop ground and dryland planting was a virtual failure in some areas. these areas will be virtually devoid of birds, period.
the next problem will then be too many hunters over running a limited mount of huntable cover, wth a decent huntable bird population. as someone mentioned in an earlier post, footpaths will be evident in the better habitat in the NW and NC part of the state. the isolated areas of good cover in the SW and SC will be obvious as well, attracting far too much pressure to provide a season of predictable hunting.
i think the reality of the drought will be very obvious as soon as many hunters lay eyes on their favorite spots, way before boots and dogs hit the ground.
don't misunderstand me, i love hunting Kansas and prefer it over most other states, but i have seen these conditions before, the drought coupled with temps well over 100 for most of the summer leaves moonscape for cover.
it is going to be more disappointing out there than most folks think. bird populations are down all over the midwest, but i'll wager Kansas will sustain the most negative impact of them all.
good luck to those that give it there all.....i am headed for SD and ND this season. there is rumor of a late hatch up north, which may help.
the real problem this year, in certain areas, will be finding adequate cover that might hold pheasants or quail. there is a lot of walk-in ground that is nowhere near irrigated crop ground and dryland planting was a virtual failure in some areas. these areas will be virtually devoid of birds, period.
the next problem will then be too many hunters over running a limited mount of huntable cover, wth a decent huntable bird population. as someone mentioned in an earlier post, footpaths will be evident in the better habitat in the NW and NC part of the state. the isolated areas of good cover in the SW and SC will be obvious as well, attracting far too much pressure to provide a season of predictable hunting.
i think the reality of the drought will be very obvious as soon as many hunters lay eyes on their favorite spots, way before boots and dogs hit the ground.
don't misunderstand me, i love hunting Kansas and prefer it over most other states, but i have seen these conditions before, the drought coupled with temps well over 100 for most of the summer leaves moonscape for cover.
it is going to be more disappointing out there than most folks think. bird populations are down all over the midwest, but i'll wager Kansas will sustain the most negative impact of them all.
good luck to those that give it there all.....i am headed for SD and ND this season. there is rumor of a late hatch up north, which may help.
Bilbo Baggins
Active member
I agree, we give Randy a hard time but he is one of the good guys.
kansasbrittany
Banned
I've never met the guy, but ended up having one of my exploratory calls tranferred to him. I was trying to get some last minute information before youth pheasant hunt. His effort was sincere; it even paid off. Some people I see working for tips and/or commission act like I (the "customer") am not worth the time of day. I appreciate folks like Randy.
The yearly forecast is what it is. O&N's proposition about it being human nature to want to report good news is accurate IMO. I suppose if anything, KDWP's delivery method is what bothers people. SD gives folks raw data. KDWP could dodge some of the "drama" by providing the report in a format similar to their spring crow count. They've spent more time thinking about it than I have. I'm sure they have a good reason for not giving raw data (dispersing revenue, getting votes
, dispersing hunter pressure, etc.). When I look at SD's raw data for this season, there are a couple isolated areas that are of particular interest. I have a feeling every other NR in my "shoes" is thinking the same thing
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I've never met the guy, but ended up having one of my exploratory calls tranferred to him. I was trying to get some last minute information before youth pheasant hunt. His effort was sincere; it even paid off. Some people I see working for tips and/or commission act like I (the "customer") am not worth the time of day. I appreciate folks like Randy.
The yearly forecast is what it is. O&N's proposition about it being human nature to want to report good news is accurate IMO. I suppose if anything, KDWP's delivery method is what bothers people. SD gives folks raw data. KDWP could dodge some of the "drama" by providing the report in a format similar to their spring crow count. They've spent more time thinking about it than I have. I'm sure they have a good reason for not giving raw data (dispersing revenue, getting votes
When I look at SD's raw data for this season, there are a couple isolated areas that are of particular interest. I have a feeling every other NR in my "shoes" is thinking the same thing
agree, a report that shows down 75% has a much greater impact, than minced words.