Something To Crow About? Fall Pheasant Forecast For North Dakota

The North Dakota Game and Fish have just released their annual summer roadside pheasant brood counts and it looks like some good news for the state.  North Dakota is up 9% statewide from last year's pheasant broods.

That's despite spring crowing counts being down this past spring.  The higher brood counts should be an indication of more pheasants in the field this fall.  Ample cover this spring from spring precipitation left ideal cover for nesting birds.  That along with a good bug hatch, left plenty of food for young pheasants, leading to better survival rates for young birds.

The total number of pheasants observed in the survey includes 49 pheasants per 100 miles.  That's up 9% from last year, and broods observed at 5.3 per 100 miles are up 8%.  The average brood size was 6.2 and that is up 7%.  The survey was based on 278 survey runs made along 100 brood routes across North Dakota.

If you are a fan of the delicious Hungarian Partridge.  More good news on the upland gamebird front.  Huns are also up 46% statewide.  The last time Hungarian Partridge count was this high was back in 2015.

The only bad news on the upland gamebird front in North Dakota?  Sharptail Grouse were down 30% per 100 miles.  However, according to State Game and Fish Department upland game supervisor Jesse Kolar, hunters should find more young grouse to hunt this year, which could lead to better hunting.

The grouse, partridge, and pheasant seasons in North Dakota run through January 1st, 2023.