Motorists traveling through eastern Colorado in recent days were treated to a blissful sight — a bumper wheat harvest and lots of little pheasant chicks bounding around the countryside.
For pheasant hunters anticipating what is shaping up as a banner season, the two go together like peaches and cream.
“It looks as if we have excellent conditions,” enthused Ed Gorman, Division of Wildlife small-game manager, whose lone concern is an occasional hail episode.
An almost-perfect moisture bounty on the heels of a mild winter and a solid carryover crop of nesting adults have combined to produce a situation that finally gives the biologist something to crow about.
“On average, counts in the northeast are as high as they’ve been since the 1970s,” Gorman said of a bench mark that has eluded pheasant enthusiasts for three decades. “Brood habitat is phenomenal right now. It’s as good as it gets in Colorado.”
The chicks have hatched. The success of the hunt now depends exclusively on weather conditions.
“It’s all about chick survival at this point. The next couple of months will write the story,” Gorman said.
While the most dramatic aspect of weather is the impact caused by hail that tracks with severe thunderstorms across the Eastern Plains, there is another element of these storms that brings worry. While heavy rainfall proved key to bountiful habitat, it brings a separate concern.
“Rain carries a double- edged sword,” Gorman noted. “If it comes along with cool weather, young birds have trouble regulating body temperature. That sort of exposure isn’t good for 1- and 2-day-old chicks.”
Thus far, the biologist finds no evidence of severe problems, particularly in traditional hot spots such as Yuma, Kit Carson and Phillips counties. Plagued by drought a year ago, southeast Colorado has been slower to recover because of a reduced breeding population. Area biologist Trent Verquer reports seeing several good-sized broods.
Although the area has been hit by hail, damage is not widespread, Verquer said.
“By and large, things are looking very good,” Verquer said. “We had close to ideal breeding conditions most places.”
Which is where the wonderful impact of a bumper wheat crop comes into play.
As Gorman points out, nothing benefits pheasant reproduction quite so much as boundless acres of tall, green wheat.
“Green wheat produces better nesting cover than CRP, particularly this year with such a good crop,” he said. “With these large blocks of wheat, predators have much greater difficulty locating the nests.”
Quail also appear on the road to at least partial recovery, particularly in the southeast.
“I’ve seen a few good quail broods with 12 to 14 chicks big enough to fly,” Verquer said. “Where there was a breeding population, they should recover well.”
Charlie Meyers: 303-954-1609 or cmeyers@denverpost.com
Fewer birds bagged last season
Colorado pheasant hunters bagged approximately 2,000 fewer birds during a 2008-09 season marked by drought and a decline in participation.
The Division of Wildlife estimated last season’s bag at 41,000, compared with 43,000 the previous year and 37,000 in 2006-07.
State small-game chief Ed Gorman said hunter success actually grew to about three birds per hunter for the season.
“The average has been 2.25 to 2.8 in recent seasons, but we’ve had a three-bird total in two of the last three,” he said.
Gorman rates Yuma, Kit Carson and Phillips counties in the top tier of pheasant success, followed by a bracket of Sedgwick, Logan, Morgan, Weld, Prowers and Baca counties.
More time to hunt
What: The Colorado Wildlife Commission voted at its Thursday meeting in Fort Collins to extend the eastern Colorado pheasant season through Jan. 31, bringing this most productive region into line with neighboring states.
When: The upcoming season will be Nov. 14 to Jan. 31.
Details: The same extension holds true for quail in the southeastern part of the state, marked by a boundary east of Interstate 25, south of Interstate 70 to Byers, then south of U.S. 36. The commission also extended the season in those parts of Pueblo, Fremont, Huerfano and Las Animas counties west of I-25.
