The survey is conducted during the month of August by wildlife biologists and conservation officers. The participants drive 210 different 30 mile, gravel only stretches of road in the early morning when small game is more active and count what they can see. It is far from scientific but it often correlates fairly well to the number of harvested birds during the upcoming season.
I had high hopes that this year would show a significant increase (Iowa has been suffering from record lows the past couple of years). The winter was mild and the spring was dry, these are usually indicators that lead to lower mortality rates. The report is not as promising as I had hoped. While there were increases, I think we will not see the benefit of this past season until next year. The number of hens with broods and the number of chicks seems to be the population that saw the largest increase, this naturally led to a decrease in the number of hens without broods as well.
The part that shocked me the most, was the section detailing the loses in habitat. Iowa has dropped from 4.9 million acres of habitat in 1990 to 3.6 million in 2010, a total of 2,615 square miles! - it is clear that this loss of habitat is a contributing factor to the lower pheasant populations, along with weather and an increase in predator numbers.
As I have mentioned before, Kenna, my lab is not exactly a champion upland bird dog, I think that if the populations were to return to their normal levels, I would happily start chasing ringnecks again, it is one of my fondest memories growing up, and watching a good bird dog work is a thing of beauty. Until that day, I will continue to seek alternate forms of bird hunting.
The full report can be found at the Iowa DNR website
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