There’s one positive that may come out of Iowa’s stretch of dry weather. Iowa D-N-R wildlife biologist, Todd Bogenschutz (Boyg-en-shuts), says it will likely lead to good pheasant numbers.
Bogenschutz says the good spring weather follows a winter where most of the state saw average snowfall, making it easier for the birds to survive. The spring weather is probably most important as that’s when the new birds hatch.
Bogenschutz says the more birds that survive after the hatch, the more birds there are out there for the fall season.
A glitch in collecting the survey numbers has delayed the count for last year’s pheasant hunt. Bogenschutz says it will likely be in the same range as recent years.
The D-N-R will conduct its annual roadside survey of pheasants in August, and Bogenschutz says the weather charts show they are likely to see good numbers once again.
