Winter Kill

Are you sure. I don't think the western half of the state received all that much snow did it? especially the SW.

Phez can withstand the cold much more so than too much snow.

Either way we will find out something this spring when NDG&F does their annual spring crow counts to determine how the birds came thru the winter.
 
The Eastern third of ND had a brutal Winter. Heavy snow cover for long time, record cold, couple blizzards. Pheasants took a hit.
As you go West the snow cover was less and less and there were some melting days even in Jan. Although some severe Arctic Blasts probably wiped out many of the late hatch pheasants. The mature birds without the snow cover did just fine, no problems.
We need good nesting conditions in May and June. There will be plenty of birds. :cheers:
 
I was up icefishing last week. Did not see the resident small flocks in the cattails that are usually around every slough. the friends I was staying with have 3 places that have winter cover and PF gives them bales of MIlo to suppliment feeding. In good years each place holds several hindred at the end of winter. Bird sightings last week in the evenings were from 30-100 birds on the individual farms. The 2 farms with tree rows and avian predators were lowest in number and they say that's pretty typical. I stayed below the hwy and east of the river in my travels. Never hunted cannonball area even when I lived there, worse than SC south Dakota for access. Every year there seams to be fewer birds overall, But I did see some good looking CRP that is still in contract. Also saw WPA's that are being farmed in row crops. (how's that happen)? Anybody ever heard how.
 
I think they let the WPA's get farmed for a couple years as a free way to kill noxious weeds. Farmer rents it for three years and in turn kills the weeds and is then planted to a native prairie mix.
 
I know of a large public area out by Crystal Springs. Has been grass for years, last Summer it was Soy Beans farmed as close to the Cattails as possible. Then after harvest it was tillid black.
Didn't make sense to me.
Kill the Knapweed and reseed to native grass does make sense. :thumbsup:
 
~

burning and grazing WPAs would make far more sense.

Hopefully the USFWS is charging farmers the going rate. Everyone knows the National Grasslands are typically grazed for next to nothing. :rolleyes:
 
Grazing doesn't work at controlling Knapweed. Cattle anyway, won't touch the stuff.
Maybe goats?
Burning is not effective either, roots and lots of seeds.
When it is planted with RR crops it can be sprayed several times during the growing season. Tilled in the Fall and resprayed with RR the next Spring.
Knapweed in the grasslands is bad stuff. They are experimenting, hope they get it figured out.
Native grasses don't compete well at all with Knapweed.
 
Winter Kill!!!
it's called HUNTING!
That's why we use dogs to hunt.... last year was not a shoot fest like the years before but my dogs hunted finally.
Not a lot of hunters either it was good
No matter what go pheasant hunting!
 
Hi all, pheasant hunting here is far from gone. We had a very cold winter, but not many storms or much snow here in the central and western of the state. The east got hit pretty hard with snow, but the pheasant population is not that great, never was in this part of the state, so it will take longer for a comeback. As to the birds, they did fair well, there were still a lot of standing corn left for food and shelter. The biggest problem we have is habitat. Lots of CRP gone, the PLOTS program not so hot. If you find good cover you'll find birds. I live in a small farm town and travel to work everyday, been seeing a lot of birds on the road, the roosters are strutting around and I've been seeing a lot of hens, so that time of year is just around the corner. IF the spring holds we should have a good hatch and a much better year than the last couple. So keep your fingers crossed!

The Game and Fish here have in creased the license fees for both residents and non-residents. The reason is habitat. But, one thing that really bugs the hell out of me is we have a billion, yes a billion dollar surplus. Yet the state does not want to spend any of it (or darn little) on habitat. They want to save it. Go figure. They don't want to institute any new programs, to induce farmers/ranchers to put some of their land into CRP or something similar. I hope they will, but it looks bleak for any new programs. Time will tell.

But, all in all, I think it will be a good year, not great, but good.

Best!

Greg
 
Greg, great post it is hard to imagine all that money and not wanting to invest in some habitat. It is always sad to drive by an old plots field and see it now planted to row crops.
 
While driving out through ND I notice all the ethanol plants.
Corn is KING! 75 day maturity and drought resistant hybrids.
 
MNMT, when you going on your spring trip, might have an area I need you to look at if you are passing through. Got an invite to hunt Nodak this fall.
 
Headin west said:
MNMT, when you going on your spring trip, might have an area I need you to look at if you are passing through. Got an invite to hunt Nodak this fall.
Click to expand...

I'm going to head out the first week in June. :)
ND, MT and maybe SD.
 
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