2010 South Dakota Pheasant Hunting Season Outlook Forecast Report-Summer
June 29, 2010 by Chris Hitzeman
From mid-May until now we have seen warmer temps across the state vs. 2008 or 2009. However, a dry May gave way to an above average wet June. Anytime snowfall amounts or rainfall amounts go up, bird numbers typically decline.
I am still encouraged however after my recent visit to the farm the last week of June. I witnessed 4 different sized broods with the largest being about 4 weeks old and the smallest being about 1-2 days old. Some suspect that the few days of heavy rainfalls did the chicks in but these rains weren't as cold as previous years. If in fact broods did parish, there is plenty of time for hens to renest and the conditions are now excellent; warm and dry for the next 10 days and the abundance of cover and insects is outstanding.
Another indicator of nesting quality is the cover in a pasture with cattle in it. Usually cattle graze down pretty low and hens will not nest there but cattle cannot keep up with growth of grass and there is CRP like quality cover in most pastures resulting in excellent nesting habitat in areas that typically don't produce broods. As usual it is difficult to assess nest and brood success until the GFP roadside survey in late August, but I like the fact that conditions are much warmer this season than the last two.
Cropping conditions are also dramatically different this year. Stats would report that most of the corn crop got planted on schedule but beans and everything else was behind. In the north, many acres will go into prevent plant (meaning nothing is getting planted this year due to it being too wet to get into the field). This is the same across much of the area of the state east of the Missouri River. Another interesting deviation from years past is that surface moisture and subsoil moisture is in a surplus status across 40-50% of the state.
You may not be into all this stuff but it has a direct impact on pheasant hunting come fall. Here's some good news. HDD or Heating degree days are above average this year. This means the crop advances on pace to maturity which is necessary to get it out of the field earlier. More crops out means better hunting. HDD's are also needed for broods to survive and flourish. Chicks need it hot during the days and warm at night. If the June rains were not too much of a setback we may see some decent results.
My next report will be around Labor Day when the roadside surveys are done.
