Ah, what might have been.
On the eve of another pheasant season in the lower Midwest, hunters are left to balance the reality of an average opportunity against the dream of what could have been the best hunt in a quarter-century.
As almost always is the case for an enterprise that hangs by such a delicate thread of weather variables, the difference almost everywhere turned on a couple of vanished rain events.
Thus, when the Nebraska season opens Saturday and Kansas and Colorado chime in on successive weekends, prospects will be for bird populations that are merely good, not great.
“It’s the story everywhere. We set ourselves up with good crowing counts, but the hatch doesn’t quite come through,” Ed Gorman, Colorado’s small game chief, said of a nagging spring drought across the midlands.
Biologists in three states sang the same refrain: a promising carryover of nesting adults that fizzled with a severe lack of moisture that wasn’t quenched until late July.
The hard fact of pheasant reproduction in dry country is that chick survival balances precariously on available rainfall and the resulting bloom of food and cover. This annual game of nesting roulette lands in the black just often enough to keep hunters, and wildlife managers, hanging on the brink of hope.
“We had a tremendous breeding population in the West,” said Kansas biologist Randy Rodgers, who hoped to expand on a banner 2005 season. “But we plunged into one of the driest springs anyone could remember. The drought shot a hole in my high hopes.”
So it goes for enthusiasts whose hopes for a return to ringneck heaven have been dashed, but not drowned.
“All in all, it’s not going to be bad by any means,” Gorman said of a Colorado hunt for which success will hinge in large part upon location.
The biologist recommends Kit Carson County for a rebound, along with those old reliables, Phillips and Yuma counties. He mentioned parts of Washington, along with Prowers and Baca in the far southeast, where widespread hail spoiled what might have been the best broods of all. Hail, intense enough to break windows, also wreaked havoc in the farmland south of Haxtun.
“Hunting success will be very area-specific,” Gorman said. “There always are places in Colorado with good numbers of pheasant and quail. You’ll find some amazing places out there every year. You just have to burn up some boot leather to find them.”
Gorman cautions hunters against the deception of weed cover that appears to be lush but might contain few birds. The cover sprouted from August rains that didn’t arrive in time to promote nesting success.
“There are places that look good, but probably won’t have the pheasant numbers if could.”
With a higher carryover population, hunters face the added challenge of deceiving birds wise to the ways of the hunt.
For those who can’t wait for the Nov. 11 Colorado opener, here’s a rundown of prospects in neighboring states.
Nebraska
“Very similar to last year,” said small-game guru Scott Taylor. “But since hunters reported above-average success in 2005, that suggests a pretty good upcoming season.”
Southwest counties favored by Coloradans – Dundy, Hays, Hitchcock, Chase, Perkins and Red Willow – again offer the most encouraging outlook.
A strong carryover population has been blunted by drought and the fact that many CRP plots were either grazed or hayed.
“Based on summer surveys, we have fairly good numbers of birds in the places you’d expect to see them.”
Kansas
Coloradans willing to drive a bit farther can find excellent pheasant populations in the north central part of the state along a band that includes Decatur, Norton, Phillips and Smith counties, generally east of the town of Oberlin.
“We’re pretty much living on carryover birds in most other areas,” Rodgers said.
The veteran biologist expressed particular chagrin over lost opportunity in the region that attracts the most attention from Colorado visitors.
“We had a tremendous breeding population in the western third of the state, but we didn’t even have average reproduction,” Rodgers said. “It was pretty much the same all the way down, but bear in mind that the southwest was exceptional last year.”
Staff writer Charlie Meyers can be reached at 303-954-1609 or cmeyers@denverpost.com.
Pheasant facts
COLORADO
Season: Nov. 11-Jan. 21 east of Interstate 25, Nov. 11-Jan. 7 west of Interstate 25.
Bag limit: Three daily, nine possession.
License cost: $21 for a season resident license, $11 daily.
Quail: Nov. 11-Jan. 7 in the northeast. Nov. 11-Jan. 21 in the southeast. Nov. 11-Jan. 7 in the west. Bag limit eight, possession 24 of each species.
KANSAS
Season: Nov. 4-Jan. 31, statewide.
Bag limit: Four daily, 16 possession.
License cost: $72.15 for a nonresident license. A nonresident youth license, 15 and under, costs $37.15.
Quail: Season dates have changed, Nov. 11-Jan. 21 statewide. Bag limit: Eight daily, 32 possession.
NEBRASKA
Season: Oct. 29-Jan. 31, statewide.
Bag limit: Three daily, 12 possession.
License cost: $81 for a nonresident license. A two-day permit is available Nov. 22-Dec. 31 for $49.
Quail: Season concurrent with pheasants. Bag limit: Six, possession 24.
HUNTER ACCESS
The Colorado Division of Wildlife and two eastern Colorado towns offer separate programs providing public places to hunt.
DOW has expanded its walk-in operation to include 200,000 acres, including the addition of scaled quail habitat in Pueblo, Crowley, Las Animas, Huerfano, Crowley, Baca and Crowley counties. A permit, which now will be based on the calendar year, expiring Dec. 31, costs $20. The following communities offer pheasant hospitality arrangements whereby hunters gain access to a quantity of land for a fixed fee:
Akron Flying Pheasants: In its seventh season under sponsorship by the Lions Club, this organization has altered its format to provide access for the entire season. The cost is $100, which includes one youth hunter 15 years or younger with each paying adult.
The package includes access to approximately 43,000 acres, with a breakfast and sack lunch opening day. Registration may be made to Akron Lions Club, Box 474, Akron 80720, phone 970-345-2915 or www.akronlionsclub.org. Walk-up registration begins at noon Nov. 10 at Davis Bros. Sinclair and continues at 5:30 a.m. Nov. 11. After opening weekend, a phone arrangement is required.
Burlington Rooster Roundup: The granddaddy of the hospitality operations launches its 25th year with approximately 55,000 acres of land and an altered price schedule. A $100 fee includes one youth hunter during the Nov. 11-Dec. 10 period when the program is operable.
The arrangement includes breakfast and sack lunch on opening day, with headquarters at Comfort Inn on Lincoln Avenue. For particulars, 719-346-5324 or www.roosterroundup.com.
