pheasant forecast for SW Kansas

Bird Man, you have many good points and I respect your years of hunting experience across the prairie. I too have been chasing birds since the late 70's....mostly in Nebraska and Kansas. The oil boom does concern.....even Pheasants Forever's the Flush did a recent episode on Watford City ND and their concerns about potential loss of habitat in those areas....

The drought is giving way as much of the Prairie received good moisture this summer.....(see us drought monitor) to see weekly updates.

Lets not forget that just 3 years ago......Kansas had their best pheasant numbers in recent memory and harvested 900,000+ birds.....

Unfortunately the damn drought, high grain prices and much habitat going back into crops has contributed to very (record) low numbers heading into this fall season....

I am hopeful that if we can get a couple of decent years of mild winters and good nesting the numbers can rebound well.

The current situation does look a bit bleak and is time for concern. But there is some good to consider......

Quail restoration / habitat programs like NBCI and tall timbers, along with several state programs in MO, NE, KY are really doing good things at local level and it's paying off....

The CREP program in KY has been very good for our quail numbers and last season we moved on avg 4-6 coveys per day..
Of course it's not the 10/15 covey days of my youth.....but still hunt able numbers and enough for good dog work.
 
HighBrass,

Thank you for your reply. I have been deciding where to spend my time this coming season. I hunt Nebraska and Kansas a lot, and I also go to South Dakota, and have hunted North Dakota a few times in recent years.

Last year was one of the worst I have experienced in the last 20. I have never seen it so dry. Driving a couple roads the dust cloud thrown up by my truck was absolutely unbelievable. I tried taking a picture in my side view mirror to document it. And it was my least productive as far as available points for my dog. We walked many, many fields and draws that in previous years have always held numbers of birds. And we were lucky to put up half a dozen.

In looking at my options for this year everything I read recently has been pretty dismal. So, my attitude may have been less optimistic than it should be.

I know there are signs of hope. There has been much needed moisture. And given a couple more years of good rain and mild winters and the pheasant and quail populations could rebound.

We can only hope. For those of us that hunt birds with dogs, there is not much other than family and perhaps faith that occupies a place so dear to our hearts.

So, let's all hope for the best, and be sure to do what we can for the future.

Good hunting.
 
I was in the KDWPT office in Dodge picking up my HIP stamp and a game warden said so far this year he had seen one pheasant on the road. Biologist saying about the same thing. I travel the back roads every day and have a spot I go by almost daily that has a hatch of quail, a hatch of pheasant, a mangy coyote, a road runner and an occasional rattlesnake. Other than that, I don't see a thing. It is pretty discouraging. I have yet to see a lesser prairie chicken hatch at the ranch, but keep hoping. It is going to take some time. I really think the quail are fairing better than the pheasant, which is okay with me.
 
BrownDogsCan2 said:
There is a thread in the Kansas section called drought ends at the pondarosa
Should gjve you all the information you need. I genarally hunt Seward county a few times a year but have left the gun at home the last three
I think right now you would be fortunate to shoot a bird a weekend.
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I left Seward County in search of greener pastures too. However, I saw ONE rooster in the Liberal city limits during my scouting trip as I was passing and he was under heavy police protection. In fact, I think he was in the Witness Protection Program dressed up as a rooster.
 
Bilbo Baggins said:
I left Seward County in search of greener pastures too. However, I saw ONE rooster in the Liberal city limits during my scouting trip as I was passing and he was under heavy police protection. In fact, I think he was in the Witness Protection Program dressed up as a rooster.
Click to expand...

HAHAHA!! That one made me laugh. It is so very discouraging. And, although I really don't like pheasant farm hunts, I may actually pay for a few if I don't find many birds. Dog work is 90% of the hunt, and watching Murphy work his a$$ off in dust dry short grass leaves us both wanting.

Thanks for the laugh. I needed it.
 
Bird-man said:
I think we may be heading into the final decline of pheasant hunting in this country. If you research all areas you will discover some disturbing trends that I don't think will get resolved soon, if ever. Corn is still priced far above what can be earned by land in CRP. It is no longer economically beneficial to the farmer to keep his land in CRP. Most won't.

This drought forced emergency measures that allowed farmers to utilize land that was in CRP and who knows how long that will go on. Loss of that habitat crippled an already declining population.

The continued drought causes hatch failure. Pheasant eggs require a certain amount of humidity in the air to keep egg shells from drying out and becoming too brittle to sustain the growing chicks. Ask any commercial pheasant operator and he will tell you the one thing he watches most closely in the incubator sheds is the humidity.

This oil thing going on in ND, SD and eastern Montana is going to have far reaching impact.

I am 61 and I have watched the pheasant population in Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska decline steadily for the past 20 years. Oh, there have been minor upswings, but the numbers don't lie.

And, now even South Dakota, the last fortress of our little ditch parrots is seeing a precipitous decline.

It just don't look good, my friends.
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Are you related to Mr. Safari?
 
Bilbo Baggins said:
I left Seward County in search of greener pastures too. However, I saw ONE rooster in the Liberal city limits during my scouting trip as I was passing and he was under heavy police protection. In fact, I think he was in the Witness Protection Program dressed up as a rooster.
Click to expand...

For various reasons we only made it once in 11 and nonce in 2012. I did hear one every morning for a week the summer of 2012. I never went back for him, figured you already had him killed. If you're not looking for him, I might have to go back for him! :)

Actually the plan is to meet up with some fellas from Se colorado whos only hunt is this one. I think we'll meet up out there the first of dec. and chase ducks.
 
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