Northwest Iowa — While numbers of pheasants taken on opening day aren’t in yet, the man who tracks pheasant numbers in the state is expecting a good season for pheasant hunters.
Iowa Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist Todd Bogenschutz says the roadside survey in August usually gives him a good idea of what to expect.
Not all areas of the state are equal.
Hunters are still dealing with a lot of standing corn and beans and Bogenschutz says that could make it tougher to find the birds.
But, he says, the conditions will change as the harvest progresses.
Bogenschutz suggests you make a second trip into areas where the crops were not out of the fields this weekend.
Bogenschutz expects hunters to take around 200-thousand pheasants. The August survey is nearly identical to 2008 when Iowa hunters harvested 400-thousand roosters, but Bogenschutz says hunter numbers are lower.
