understanding the survey

B

benelli-banger

Well-known member
The GFP drives the same 110 (or so) 30 mile routes annually and does the counting...if habitat drops a bunch along that route, so, too will bird #'s...they don't adjust the route to make sure they're driving by crp or wma's or dirty farmground...so, the statewide average of 1.5 birds per mile means that they saw an average of about 45 birds per route driven...some stretches yielded no birds, and some yielded many...and it averaged out to 1.5 per mile. Undoubtedly there has never been less crp in SD in the past 20 or 25 years as is the case t oday...where there is decent cover we will have some decent bird #'s....not like lots of years past, but very huntable numbers....if you have to have the waves and waves like we got to see in the past 20 years, then you will be disappointed...if you can keep it in perspective, and view it like ruffed grouse or sharpie hunting as far as typical numbers seen/heard, then I think it will be just fine...hate to see the habitat disappear, of course...oh well.
 
I was out there on 6/21-6/22 and took some walks on gravel roads and saw very decent #'s of birds, and that was pre-hatch for the most part, so lots of hens were sitting and out of sight...
 
Here in Eastern MN the last two days are first dewy mornings I have seen do to the very hot weather that continues. Pretty sure they need the dewy conditions for a proper survey. I'm hoping this is the case. We have a pretty big trip with all of us coming from a long ways and two by airplane.
 
Hi Banger..hope all is well.

As you know I/we have seen this coming for almost 10 years. I started ringing the alarm bells probably back about 2005 on the old Pheasant Country website as you remember. I am truly sorry for what has taken place. I can only imagine the scope of habitat loss you have seen in your area especially...I would guess 80% loss in Sanborn County since 2007? It is indeed even worse than I expected..hope all of you out there fighting for habitat have a respectable season.

I am headed to Regent, ND again this year..I call it "The Last Best Place" where you can still get a glimpse of pre 2007 bird numbers.
 
yeah keep pumping ND in a down SD pheasant yr & ND will be the next hot spot safari... i assume ur hunting private lands??? if i was hunting public i wouldnt name towns???

i hunt prairie grouse here in MN as i have much much more fun doing so i see way way more birds when i prairie grouse hunt then when i pheasant hunt id assume SD is better then MN prairie grouse numbers wise???

that being said i can scratch out a few pheasants here in MN we never see waves of birds but have plenty to chase so if its the same situation in SD now days not loads & loads of birds but huntable numbers ill just save the $$$ & hunt MN for 5 days???

man thats sad that SD pheasants are wasting away each year its worse!!!
 
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small munsterlander owner said:
yeah keep pumping ND in a down SD pheasant yr & ND will be the next hot spot safari... i assume ur hunting private lands???
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I am not pumping ND IN GENERAL..90% of ND pheasant habitat/bird numbers is in the same shape as SD..dismal.

Yes I am hunting on Private/Pay/Well managed (Wild Bird) property in about the LAST County in the United States that remotely resembles habitat/bird numbers that were common throughout both ND and SD prior to 2008.
 
thats better safari narrow down the options by 90% its helps guys know wear to go hunt this season...

u missed the point man wear u will be hunting is no secret but needs no more publicity by no means...

if u have a spot already locked up & payed for on private lands i guess who would care if the public land near by gets beaten to hell is the mentality u seem to have??? if its such a great area do me & you & anybody else that hunts the area & erase the town/county names lol

happy safe hunting to you this season if its still good lets try & keep it that way not brag it up???
 
small munsterlander owner said:
thats better safari narrow down the options by 90% its helps guys know wear to go hunt this season...

u missed the point man wear u will be hunting is no secret but needs no more publicity by no means...

if u have a spot already locked up & payed for on private lands i guess who would care if the public land near by gets beaten to hell is the mentality u seem to have??? if its such a great area do me & you & anybody else that hunts the area & erase the town/county names lol

happy safe hunting to you this season if its still good lets try & keep it that way not brag it up???
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Hettinger County, ND..no secret. Public land hard to find, residents only the 1st week. Even here CRP/habitat on the decline but not to the extent elsewhere in ND & SD.
 
Howdy Safari...yeah, too bad, ... but, as I have been saying all along, I don't hunt the whole state...I hunt somewhere between 2-3 counties, and within those I hunt a dozen or so spots within each, of varying sizes, some public, some private...learn some new ones annually...some of the public pieces are several sections, some are just 40 acres...the private stuff varies as well, but none of that is several sections any more...wish it were like 20 years ago, but frankly, I am no less pumped for the season this year than any other...also, I have been saying that when the #'s fall so too will the hunters...that changes certain things as well. Like my ruffed grouse hunting here in Mn, which is in the down part of the cycle, I am pumped for the season...fewer flushes, sure, but my God...the beauty of the fall days, the terrific dog work, the petite little 28 gauge s x s that I will be carrying...what's not to like???

Back to SD....I have started doing slightly smaller groups to reflect the smaller cover we hunt...frankly, not being the field general of 8-10 guys doesn't bother me a bit...a group of 4-6 is a better experience in many ways...

My ND sharptail hunting has become a staple in my fall that I love...will be spending 8 full days hunting there in Sept., then heading to the UP to hunt ruffs there later in the month...

My hunting partner took his life on 8/18, so this fall will be different for me...as will all of them going forward. I am blessed to have lots of good friends that I hunt with. Not seeking sympathy, just not that worried about the farming vs. habitat debate right now...not much I can do about it other than what I have done already anyway. Enjoy the fall, all, and be safe.
 
benelli-banger said:
Howdy Safari...yeah, too bad, ... but, as I have been saying all along, I don't hunt the whole state...I hunt somewhere between 2-3 counties, and within those I hunt a dozen or so spots within each, of varying sizes, some public, some private...learn some new ones annually...some of the public pieces are several sections, some are just 40 acres...the private stuff varies as well, but none of that is several sections any more...wish it were like 20 years ago, but frankly, I am no less pumped for the season this year than any other...also, I have been saying that when the #'s fall so too will the hunters...that changes certain things as well. Like my ruffed grouse hunting here in Mn, which is in the down part of the cycle, I am pumped for the season...fewer flushes, sure, but my God...the beauty of the fall days, the terrific dog work, the petite little 28 gauge s x s that I will be carrying...what's not to like???

Back to SD....I have started doing slightly smaller groups to reflect the smaller cover we hunt...frankly, not being the field general of 8-10 guys doesn't bother me a bit...a group of 4-6 is a better experience in many ways...

My ND sharptail hunting has become a staple in my fall that I love...will be spending 8 full days hunting there in Sept., then heading to the UP to hunt ruffs there later in the month...

My hunting partner took his life on 8/18, so this fall will be different for me...as will all of them going forward. I am blessed to have lots of good friends that I hunt with. Not seeking sympathy, just not that worried about the farming vs. habitat debate right now...not much I can do about it other than what I have done already anyway. Enjoy the fall, all, and be safe.
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So sorry to hear about your hunting partner...take care
 
BB, good post and sorry to hear about your hunting partner.

After reading the report I find the things "Missing" to be the most interesting.

1. There was no mention made of the extreme amounts of cover that were hayed last year. 50% of All CRP, Unknown % of public lands (very interesting) and we all know the amount hayed in the road ditches and other marginal areas.

2. CRP is down from 1.5 million acres to 1 million acres. I don't see a correlating PPM. It is much greater than that. Public acres would have stayed the Same. ??
3. GFP makes some mention of change in crops planted but no mention of wholesale change of farming practices such as increased use of the "Cides" like pesticide and insectide as well as fungicides.
4. Looks like the long term history of bird numbers in the state was replaced by a colorful drought monitor map at end of report that has never been part of the report. This is not correlating either because my farm was in one of worst areas, according to map last year, and my birds were up as was my hunting retention rate. Where as our Timberlake camp was not reflected as being in as severe a drought (on the map) but in realty were and their numbers were down about 80%.

The radio collar bird deaths is very interesting and more dat like that could shed the best light on when mortality normally hits birds and when it is extreme. Pheasants only live 2 years anyways so when do they normally kick the bucket???
 
UGUIDE said:
BB, good post and sorry to hear about your hunting partner.

After reading the report I find the things "Missing" to be the most interesting.

1. There was no mention made of the extreme amounts of cover that were hayed last year. 50% of All CRP, Unknown % of public lands (very interesting) and we all know the amount hayed in the road ditches and other marginal areas.

2. CRP is down from 1.5 million acres to 1 million acres. I don't see a correlating PPM. It is much greater than that. Public acres would have stayed the Same. ??
3. GFP makes some mention of change in crops planted but no mention of wholesale change of farming practices such as increased use of the "Cides" like pesticide and insectide as well as fungicides.
4. Looks like the long term history of bird numbers in the state was replaced by a colorful drought monitor map at end of report that has never been part of the report. This is not correlating either because my farm was in one of worst areas, according to map last year, and my birds were up as was my hunting retention rate. Where as our Timberlake camp was not reflected as being in as severe a drought (on the map) but in realty were and their numbers were down about 80%.

The radio collar bird deaths is very interesting and more dat like that could shed the best light on when mortality normally hits birds and when it is extreme. Pheasants only live 2 years anyways so when do they normally kick the bucket???
Click to expand...

Hey Chris, Is this report on the SDFG website? I thought I read the report but I didn't see any drought maps?
 
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