Seeing many birds

K

kevinj

New member
I understand the winter in NE South Dakota was tough. How was nesting this spring? Seeing many birds?
 
very few and far between. it rains hard every week and our family/farmer/friends in that area fed birds all throughout the winter and said it might be ok, but after the cold wet spring and even wetter summer, its not looking good. water is everywhere.
 
if we could dry out in august the birds nesting now would have chicks that would make it. There is sooo much cover and when you drive around the area you can't imagine how green it is. hilly pasture land has thick green grass so cover isn't the problem, its the water!!! far ne sd and se sd is probably the wettest part of the state. gravel roads are underwater in some area's and even hwy 12 is down to 1 lane in a couple of area's. i've driven thru the area 3 times now heading west for fishing and vacation and its amazing how wet it is.
 
miller area looked good and so did gettysburg and mobridge. we saw more birds west of aberdeen than east. in the britton and hecla area, we saw very few and coming across thru sisseton we've seen hardly any birds. we have family in the far ne part of the state and when we've been drawn for sd waterfowl licences we hunt that area quite and bit and in the past we've seen birds. according to my sources its not looking good in that area. cross your fingers for a drought in august.
 
that area looked good. redfield and south looked pretty good. watertown area has been hit pretty good too but not as bad as farther north. everything north of hwy 12 is unbelievalbly wet. its mother nature and its going to be a crap shoot this year due to the weather, both last winter and now this spring and summer. like i said in another post its going to be a great year for waterfowl, both ndakota and in sdakota. even far western mn looks good for waterfowl. we flew in a small cessna from buffalo, mn to pierre sd last month and i really wish i would have taken some pictures. water, water and more water all the way across. we need a draught in august and a warm september for these new birds. hens are always renesting. best of luck to you this fall.
 
Finally saw some young birds about 1.5 miles from my house. Actually the roosters were already showing some color and they were good sized. Must have been one early nest. Saw 5-6, possibly more in ditch.
 
I have a Rooster on my driveway everyday and two chicks? The hen must have been killed and the chicks are just following the adult bird? They have been with him now for 2 weeks. :confused:
 
Lee, Maybe he's not really a rooster....ya know what I'm sayin...:laugh::laugh:
 
Guys, just a Southern boy new to the forum and making my first pheasant hunt to SD. Have been hunting the Texas Panhandle the past few years and the pickings have been pretty slim. I have a hunt booked in the Ipswich area for the first week.Can you give me any idea what the bird situation looks like given the wet weather. Was this area impacted?
Thanks:)
 
onpoint said:
Lee, Maybe he's not really a rooster....ya know what I'm sayin...:laugh::laugh:
Click to expand...

I was thinking. Get them young and raise them like you want them.:D
 
cajun1024 said:
Guys, just a Southern boy new to the forum and making my first pheasant hunt to SD. Have been hunting the Texas Panhandle the past few years and the pickings have been pretty slim. I have a hunt booked in the Ipswich area for the first week.Can you give me any idea what the bird situation looks like given the wet weather. Was this area impacted?
Thanks:)
Click to expand...

I live near Ipswich and things appear to be fine. There is so much cover that there is no way to tell for sure. We will know when we go hunting. As I cut hay and do what else I do I see birds. My guess at this point is that it probably won't be a record setter, but I believe it will be a very good year. It will depend alot on harvest progress. Who are you hunting with in Ipswich?
 
Haymaker and Fourtrax, Thanks for the response. Will be hunting with Bob Olson @ Homestead Hunting. I have heard good things about his operation and
he seems like a really nice guy when speaking with him. Any thoughts?
As I told him, I just want to see some birds and have the opportunity to miss.
As I stated, things were really poor the last two years in Texas. Given the drought they are having this year, I don't think things will be any better.
Thanks:)
Richard
 
Cajun
Bob lives on the other side of Ipswich so I don't personally know his operation.
I believe you will do fine over there. There are a couple of other operations in that area so I think you will be in good shape. The big unknown is how much if any corn will be harvested when you hunt. You are hunting early so that will be a plus. Dumb birds the first day or two, they learn quickly. Good luck.
 
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