Upland bird forecast

Bought what I expected. I was gone, but NW had stupid amounts of rain this year after a total bust of a wheat crop.
 
akp said:
I feel "fair to good" after reading that.
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agree, but this report is not much help........the rains came back, but too late for the wheat crop and too much for better nesting success/cover?
can never win it seems......i am also betting the counts may be off due to huge expanse of cover, due to the summer rains.
we shall see.....
 
That's kind of what I was hinting at. I kind of got a laugh how every one was fair to good. That covers a lot and everyone has a different idea of how that will be. I'm sure spotty is the theme. Farmer where we are going has been seeing young birds. They had rain, but it was late and maybe too much. Also had localized hail.

I'd like to know how the densities today compare to say the late mid to late 2000s. I remember what those hunts were like. We killed birds last year and saw quite a few. I haven't seen any estimates on how the last couple of years would compare. Would they be around half? more? less? I have no idea. Maybe some of you guys could chime in if you have an educated guess....
 
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akp said:
I'd like to know how the densities today compare to say the late mid to late 2000s. I remember what those hunts were like. We killed birds last year and saw quite a few. I haven't seen any estimates on how the last couple of years would compare. Would they be around half? more? less? I have no idea. Maybe some of you guys could chime in if you have an educated guess....
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I have no idea about densities. I don’t know that Kansas publishes that. In the mid 2000s till 2010 they were harvesting 700K-900K pheasants. Last year (which was down very slightly from 2016) they took about 396K birds. Birds per hunter per day has remained pretty consistent thru the year, though one would suspect there was a lot more 2 hour limiting and seeing large flushes in the good years...

My feeling after reading the report is that if that’s the best spin the KDWPT can put on it, it must be pretty bleak. I have moments where I wonder if it’s worth investing any money or resources at all in preserving a non-native species that agricultural interests are hell-bent on starving and poisoning out of existence anyway. Maybe we should just lift the seasons and limits and allow hen shooting and see how long the last good time lasts.
 
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I like to read the actual brood survey report, rather than the forecast, which is marketing spin based on the brood survey from the summer and the call counts from the spring. The report is usually published here (but it's not up yet):

https://ksoutdoors.com/Services/Research-Publications

You can see the actual data from the brood survey with more geographic detail.
 
Not anywhere close to where we were from 2004-2010. More hail than normal in May and June. With all the rain, I saw farmers spray the cut wheat fields and milo stubble like never before. Won't be much growth in the wheat stubble. Some of those fields got sprayed 2 or 3 times.
 
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westksbowhunter said:
Not anywhere close to where we were from 2004-2010. More hail than normal in May and June. With all the rain, I saw farmers spray the cut wheat fields and milo stubble like never before. Won't be much growth in the wheat stubble. Some of those fields got sprayed 2 or 3 times.[/QUOT

maybe some good news.......my farmer friend says his milo is weed choked, even though he sprayed it........his neighbors are having the same problem......says many are talking about going back to tilling, the way it used to be...ever since no till the birds have declined.....tilling seems a more natural process that keeps chemicals out of the field.

he did say the heavy rains he got in May/June really knocked the broods way down....knowing where the rains were heavy would be helpful.....if you scout or pull up to your hunting spots and there are signs of heavy erosion, washouts or new culverts/road work you can bet a lot of birds got washed out in that area.
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The farmer where we are hunting said the pig weed has become resistant to almost everything they throw at it. Said it took about 20 years (his observation) for it to become Roundup resistant. Keep it up and many if not most weeds will eventually be resistant to herbicides.
 
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I've had farmers say the same thing in the last few years. After he said it, I've noticed more and more pig weed poking up above the beans and milo as I drive around.
 
akp said:
The farmer where we are hunting said the pig weed has become resistant to almost everything they throw at it. Said it took about 20 years (his observation) for it to become Roundup resistant. Keep it up and many if not most weeds will eventually be resistant to herbicides.
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the sad thing is the chemical companies will just make new herbicides more toxic to control the weeds.......insects too, they morph and become resistant to insecticides as well, new formulas needed for control.

we have come full circle in our pursuit of yields beyond reasonable goals........there will eventually be a price to pay for sure.
 
2nd in rooster harvest and 1st in quail harvest last year and they are predicting a little down. I'll take that! It wasn't that long a go I had a no quail on the rise rule in effect.
 
hunter94 said:
westksbowhunter said:
Not anywhere close to where we were from 2004-2010. More hail than normal in May and June. With all the rain, I saw farmers spray the cut wheat fields and milo stubble like never before. Won't be much growth in the wheat stubble. Some of those fields got sprayed 2 or 3 times.[/QUOT

maybe some good news.......my farmer friend says his milo is weed choked, even though he sprayed it........his neighbors are having the same problem......says many are talking about going back to tilling, the way it used to be...ever since no till the birds have declined.....tilling seems a more natural process that keeps chemicals out of the field.

he did say the heavy rains he got in May/June really knocked the broods way down....knowing where the rains were heavy would be helpful.....if you scout or pull up to your hunting spots and there are signs of heavy erosion, washouts or new culverts/road work you can bet a lot of birds got washed out in that area.
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I don't agree at all since notill the birds have declined. The milo stubble being left all winter, and the wheat stubble not being worked, even if there are no weeds is way better than worked bare ground. If the field is worked there is no where in the field for the birds like there is with stubble. I shoot lots of birds in wheat stubble that milo will be notilled in. If they weren't going to notill it would be worked dirt, no cover for anything.
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Don't know why you are replying to me, I never said anything about no till farming. But I do agree with your post.
 
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Thats not the quote I though I hit reply with quote on, it was the guy who said notill hurts the birds. I was on my phone dumping a corn truck, I am not sure what happened.
 
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