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The 2005 ring-necked pheasant spring crowing count survey revealed a 5 percent increase statewide in the number of pheasants heard crowing compared to last year, reports Stan Kohn, upland game biologist for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.
The survey indicated crowing counts are comparable or up in all areas of the state except the far west central and southwestern portion of the state. "Crow count numbers are down in those areas," Kohn said, "but nice increases were noted in the northwest, central and southeast."
Pheasant crowing counts are conducted each spring throughout North Dakota. The index does not measure an entire population density, Kohn said, but is an indicator of the pheasant population trend. Observers drive specified 20-mile routes, stopping at pre-determined intervals, and count the number of pheasant roosters heard crowing during the stop. The information recorded is compared to previous years' data, providing a population trend.
Even though the crowing count indicates an increase in numbers, the fall pheasant population largely depends on reproduction success in late May and early June. "We do not know what affect, if any, the heavy rains in May, June and July may have had on hatching success and brood mortality," Kohn said. "At this point the pheasant brood data is now beginning to come in, and this data will tell us more regarding the outlook for fall pheasant hunting."
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