(Radio Iowa) – Better weather this spring could bring pheasant numbers back up this year after a dip brought on by last year’s flooding. Iowa D-N-R wildlife biologist Todd Bogenschutz says spring weather determines how many of the new birds survive. “Overall, the spring has kind of seemed like it’s going to come in around average. So I’m cautiously optimistic that we’re going to have a good hatch,” he says. Bogenschutz says early June is generally the main time for the hatch, and anything earlier is a good sign. “I actually had four broods reported to me before the Memorial Day weekend, and usually it’s the last week of May that I get the first report of broods,” he says. “So to get four reports of broods prior to the last week of May, you know that kind of tells me that winter was good, that spring has been good,” Bogenschutz says. He says it’s usually a 50-50 proposition on how many chicks survive the hatch.

“Usually, first nests are in the neighborhood of about 11 to 12 eggs on average, the first nest that the hen produces, and about half the nest hatch, and on average, about half the chicks survive,” he says. “So, if it’s a little bit better spring weather wise then we might do a little bit better than that.” He says hens are determined nesters and if they lose a nest, they will continue to re-nest into July, but the data shows that each attempt has fewer eggs than the previous nests. Bogenschutz says a slight improvement in the hatch can make a big difference in the number of birds. “We get to 60 percent of nests hatch and 60 percent of chicks survive, that’s a huge difference over the 50 and 50. So, you don’t have to move the needle a lot to make a big change in the fall,” he says.

Bogenschutz says his gut feeling right now is the hatch will be good, but they won’t be able to confirm that until they run their August roadside survey.