Almanac: Pheasant reports paint gloomy picture

Dismal.

That's what initial reports from Minnesota's annual August roadside pheasant survey look like.

Pheasant reproduction in the west and southwest -- the state's traditional pheasant hot spots -- appears to have fallen dramatically because of a cold, wet spring. Which could mean noticeably fewer birds for hunters this fall.

"I think it's going to be a tough hunting season," said Curt Vacek, Department of Natural Resources area wildlife manager at Lac qui Parle in western Minnesota.

Vacek conducted several of the 25-mile road surveys in Big Stone County this month and was surprised at how few birds he counted.

"I did a route today and saw one rooster [pheasant]," he said last week. "We're seeing broods [of newly hatched birds], but it's way, way down."

On three other survey routes, Vacek counted a total of three or four broods; normally he would count more than a dozen.

Enough birds survived the tough winter to provide a decent fall population, Vacek said. But the rainy, wet June apparently dealt a knockout punch, just as the pheasant hatch was peaking. Newly hatched chicks can't thermoregulate their bodies, so they die if they get cold and wet. And rains can flood nests, killing birds.

"We were seeing enough adults in late winter and spring, and we thought it [pheasant population] would be good if we had a decent nesting season," he said. "But the peak hatch got hit hard."

Results from the roadside survey will be released in early September.

Duck hunter numbers The number of Minnesota duck hunters continues to freefall. Last year, the DNR estimated there were 72,772 adult hunters -- a 6 percent drop from 2009 but a 40 percent decline over the past 12 years and the lowest number in at least 35 years. That's a loss of 49,000 duck hunters since 1999. Those numbers come from the DNR's 2010 small-game hunter survey, which shows duck hunters bagged about 620,000 ducks -- a 7.4 percent increase over 2009. (Federal numbers showed a harvest of 524,000 ducks, a 33 percent increase over 2009.)

Pheasant harvest down Meanwhile, the survey showed the pheasant harvest dropped to 359,000 birds last year -- the lowest in eight years. Also, the number of pheasant hunters dropped 10.6 percent to 89,000 -- likely a reflection of a declining pheasant population.

• Small game license sales increased by almost 18,000 or 6 percent to 300,624.

• Ruffed grouse hunter numbers increased nearly 5,000 or 5.6 percent to 92,490 -- the highest in seven years. Harvest increased 30 percent to 466,000.

• The number of Canada goose hunters fell by 2,200 or 4 percent to 53,426, but harvest increased by 12 percent to 257,532.

Did you know? • Talk about a bummer fishing trip: A guy was backing his truck and trailer into a lake near Long Prairie when his brakes failed. He was able to get out of the truck before it was fully submerged. "Thanks to good neighbors, the truck and trailer were removed in a reasonably short amount of time," reported officer Rhonda Friese.

• And some waterskiers at Big Marine Lake recently had an even worse boating experience: They powered up to pull a skier and the motor ripped most of the boat's transom off, then fell into the lake. The boat quickly sank. All three were wearing life jackets and were rescued without injuries, reported conservation officer Alex Gutierrez of Forest Lake.

• Wheat and barley fields are being harvested in the Fergus Falls area, which should provide a scouting opportunity for dove hunters, reports conservation officer Troy Richards.