Pheasant numbers drop again statewide.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources recently completed their pheasant roadside survey for the year. The DNR collects data on 30-mile routes throughout the state in the first two weeks of August on bright mornings with heavy dew.

The state average is down 13 percent and for Greene County’s region, west central Iowa, it is down 14 percent. Greene County Conservation Director Dan Towers says the usual factors didn’t impact the pheasant numbers, but he’s seen fewer birds this year.

“It goes along with what I’ve been seeing personally. I just haven’t seen many broods through the summer, either on the roads or when I’ve been mowing in our wildlife areas. It’s a little confusing because we thought we came through the winter in pretty good shape, we didn’t have a real bad and wet nesting year, no gully washing rains or no cold long spells. So we expected a really super hatch, but at least it appears it didn’t happen.”

Even on the two official DNR pheasant routes in Greene County, around Goose Lake and Dunbar Slough, yielded low numbers.

“And those were kind of dismal. On the Dunbar route, I think there’s one chick and one adult pheasant seen in 30-miles and that’s unusual to see that low number. Goose Lake was about like that.”

However, Towers notes that the DNR expects to see about the same pheasant harvest numbers as last year.