Outside Looking In

Bird watching
On my weekly drives to Minneota, I come in on County Road 10. In the last few weeks, I have been greeted by large flocks of pheasants. Not just a few either. In at least five areas along the 15-mile stretch I spot a group of anywhere from five to 15 pheasants on the side of the road foraging for food.
In all the years that I have made trips along County Road 10 in previous winters, I haven't seen more than three or four at any one time in these areas along County Road 10.
I called the Department of Natural Resources to inquire about the large number of birds I've been seeing and was told that while there was an 18 percent increase in pheasants in the state over the previous year, southwest Minnesota actually saw an eight percent decrease. The DNR conducted a roadside survey this past August and the average for southwestern Minnesota was 25-49 pheasants per 100 miles.
According to the DNR website, monitoring pheasant population trends has been part of the DNR’s annual roadside wildlife survey since 1955. Wildlife managers and conservation officers in the farmland regions conduct the survey during the first half of August. The 2022 survey consisted of 166 routes that were 25 miles in length, with 147 routes located in the pheasant range.
Observers drive each route early in the morning and record the number of farmland wildlife game species they see. The data provide an index of species abundance and are used to monitor annual fluctuations and long-term population trends of pheasants, as well as partridge, cottontail rabbits, white-tailed jackrabbits, mourning doves, Sandhill cranes, and white-tailed deer.
The pheasant numbers, according to the survey, are also above the 10-year average. The explanation was that the spring weather cooperated in terms of producing favorable nesting conditions for the pheasants.
The severe storms that hit the Minneota area this summer did not seem to affect the pheasant nesting in this area.
Obviously, the DNR has never driven on County Road 10 or those numbers would be significantly higher. Weather causes annual fluctuations in pheasant numbers, while habitat drives long-term population trends.
I've never been a pheasant hunter, but I can imagine these numbers make members of Pheasants Forever smile.

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The Minneota Mascot
Address: 201 N. Jefferson
Minneota, MN 56264

Phone:(507) 872-6492