Pheasant Numbers Better Than Predicted in Parts of Iowa

BOONE - Pheasant hunters in central, north central and northwest Iowa had better than predicted success over the opening weekend of pheasant season which prompted the Iowa DNR to raise population estimates for those regions.

Todd Bogenschutz, upland biologist with the DNR, said in central, north central and northwest regions, it appears the hens had an early hatch and a good number of chicks were on their own by the time the August Roadside Survey came around.

"We thought an early hatch was a possibility, and based on what I'm hearing from our officers and staff, I'm sure that we missed the peak of the count in those regions," he said. In 2005, pheasant counts were 63 birds per route for northwest Iowa, 43 in north central Iowa and 50 in central Iowa.

"I think our counts are right for northeast and west central Iowa," Bogenschutz said. There are still a lot of crops in the field in southern Iowa, he said, so it may be too early to tell if those counts were off.