St. Paul, Minn. - September 7, 2004 - For much of the pheasant range, hunters should expect to see a decline in bird numbers compared to last year's banner season. Late-May rains hurt the nesting success of a pheasant population that was at 40-year highs in some states (South Dakota). Those spring rains caused re-nesting for many hens. Hens on the nest may have also led to the drop in many state's summer roadside surveys as less birds were out and about. As a result, younger than normal juveniles will be coming into this fall's hunting season. Despite the decline in overall populations from 2003, bird numbers should be higher than average across much of the range. In fact, some states will even have a better year than 2003. Nebraska was the biggest gainer with a 28% increase in population; reaching its highest mark since 1995.

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