An official with the South Dakota Game Fish and Parks Department says while not many hunters shot their pheasant limit this weekend, they reported seeing more birds than last year.
Travis Runia is the Senior Upland Game Biologist with the Department of Game Fish and Parks. He says on average, hunters harvested 1.5 to 2.5 birds per person. He says large fields of standing corn created difficult conditions, allowing pheasants to stay hidden. Runia says morale among hunters seems to be higher than last year.
“Going into last year with a brood count from our road side survey that was about the lowest in 30 years, hunters were down a little bit last year, their morale was a little bit low,” Runia says. “And this year there seems to be a little bit more excitement. Folks are seeing a lot of birds. They know conditions are a little bit challenging out there. But it seems like morale is good and hunters are having a great time.”
Runia says temperatures could reach into the 70s in some places this week. He says hunters need to stay aware and keep their dogs cool to avoid heat exhaustion.