October/November 2004 Now in our thirteenth year. www.Bdarn.com

Iowa
Pheasant Outlook: An Early Peek at the August Roadside Routes
Nearly cloaked from view, its head still poked out from a tuft of roadside grass. As we approached, the young bird ducked into the ditch. But its position was marked. Wading in after, conservation officer Steve Schutte got his results in a few moments. "One, two, three. There's four. Five. Six," tallied Schutte, as the awkward, half-grown pheasants fluttered out of the early morning dew in southern Cerro Gordo County.
In a couple months, those flushes will be full speed, with young roosters cackling as they rocket away from hunters. On a wet, August morning, though, their still-developing wings could barely lift them over the eight-foot cornrows to safety. Still, Schutte had what he needed. "Crow sized? Pigeon sized?" he debated, as he tallied them on his August roadside game survey sheet.
Wildlife workers and conservation officers with the Department of Natural Resources are wrapping up surveys on 220 routes across Iowa. When results are compiled, within a few weeks, hunters will have a pretty solid forecast of pheasant numbers for 2004; improved areas or 'down' regions and an idea of the impact from heavy rains that drenched Iowa late in the spring. Much of Iowa received four inches above normal rainfall during May; flooding many nests or killing just-hatched chicks during the peak of pheasant reproduction. "We saw birds that were small, indicating a late hatch," noted Schutte. "We had a tremendously late spring here and it hurt birds when they first nested. They get off a second nest, though, so we have young birds around now."
Closer to home, three routes near me showed just why hunters cannot read too much into any single survey. One area was up. One was about the same. And one was down. I have ridden that 'down' Cedar County circuit for most of 15 years now with wildlife technician Dennis Proctor. While not a pheasant-heavy route, we never ended with zero birds. Until this year. "Just about everywhere on the route, up to the last couple miles, it was corn and soybeans," explains Proctor. "There were some grass strips, but even those were mowed." Of course, that doesn't mean there are absolutely no pheasants in that 30-mile route. As we drove home, a mile from the start of the route, we saw three roosters within a couple hundred yards of each other. But a zero goes into the books and that will tug down the overall results.
Each route is to start at dawn, preferably with clear skies, calm winds and heavy dew. Those conditions push pheasants-and other wildlife species-out to the gravel roads in the early morning, to dry off. That gives surveyors the best chance of seeing birds; and logging details such as brood sizes, size of the chicks and number of roosters and hens. Hungarian partridge, quail and rabbits-cottontails and jack-are also listed, if seen.
It was cloudy and a little windy, as we set out; not ideal conditions. Re-running it the next day, under ideal conditions, he counted 42, almost identical to his '03 count. "I saw more birds, and they were bigger, nearly adult sized," relayed Schutte. That indicated even more pheasants, had the smaller, first-day birds been factored in. Only one survey counts, though. Schutte went with the second one. The sampling is designed to show trends, not complete numbers. By plugging in all route results, biologists build the annual upland game forecast, which a couple hundred thousand of us depend upon, as we make fall hunting plans.
Last season, upland hunters harvested 1.08 million pheasants, up slightly from 2002; both up from 2001, when one of the harshest winters on record slashed pheasant populations and drove the season harvest to an all time low. Biologists will weigh a wet spring against a relatively mild winter, before gauging prospects for this fall.
Besides fewer pheasants on his route, Schutte pointed to a lack of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) fields, in fields now supporting corn and soybeans. From 1991-98, with hundreds of CRP acres on his route, he twice tallied more than 120 pheasants, with counts of 50-plus birds six times. "We saw birds where we had some cover," said Schutte. "My route has changed over the last few years. Where we had a lot of CRP before, there is little now. That's reflected in the bird numbers."
WET, COOL SPRING REDUCES IOWA PHEASANT NUMBERS
After an abnormally long, cool, and soggy spring nesting season, the results of this year's summer roadside [pheasant] counts were somewhat predictable. Pheasant hunters knew that bird numbers would be down statewide, they just wondered how bad it would be. And while the final tally from this summer's survey is a long way from offering good news, things could be a whole lot worse.
According to DNR wildlife biologist, Todd Bogenschutz, statewide pheasant numbers have decreased 34 percent from last year. Although ringneck populations declined in most regions of the state this summer, the greatest reductions were reported from portions of northern and central Iowa.
The state's largest decline in pheasant numbers was reported from north central Iowa where bird numbers dropped by a full 49 percent from 2003. The second largest drop was reported from central Iowa where pheasant counts declined by 42 percent. "This year's statewide pheasant index is the third lowest that we've observed in the past ten years," said Bogenschutz.
"Early on, the conditions for this spring's nesting season looked very favorable. Our April weather was drier and warmer than normal which set the stage for some very good pheasant production."
Unfortunately, conditions took a turn for the worse as a series of torrential rainfalls began to pummel much of the state during late May. In many areas, single storm events dropped as much as 5 to 10 inches of rainfall in just three to four hours. In some regions, the downpours continued throughout the remainder of the summer.
"It was the peak of the nesting season, and as far as pheasants were concerned those rains just couldn't have come at a worse time," said Bogenschutz.
"It is likely that these rains destroyed all nests that were located in waterways, road ditches, and filter strips, and continued rainfall during June and July hampered any efforts to re-nest. The weather just prevented a large segment of hens from getting off a successful hatch this year. I don't think anyone should be surprised that our bird numbers are down from last season."
"I think it's good advice for hunters to keep a clear perspective," said Bogenschutz. "This year's overall index is almost identical to 2002. Last year, pheasant hunters encountered bird numbers that were the highest in ten years. This will season will be more of a return to normal. Pheasant numbers are down, but we're still going to be looking at some of the best hunting to be found anywhere in the country. South Dakota is the only state that will be able to top our [Iowa] harvest."
IN OTHER SURVEY RESULTS, the DNR reports that the number of gray partridge remains essentially unchanged from 2003. Partridge numbers are currently 52 percent below the long term average. Biologists note that warmer and drier nesting seasons are need for populations to recover.
The number of bobwhite quail improved slightly [six percent] in 2004. In spite of highest count in nine years, quail numbers remain 34 percent below the long-term average. Changes in land use have led to a long-term decline in bobwhite populations. The best populations will be found the southern two tiers of counties.
As always, this year's small game predictions have been based on the results gathered along 215 standardized, 30-mile rural survey routes.
For more information, contact Bogenschutz at 515-432-2823.