2010 Windy Hill Outfitters Pheasant forecast
August 25, 2010
 2010 South Dakota Pheasant Hunting Season Outlook Forecast Report-Fall
Posted: Aug. 23, 2010
Good Brood Numbers and Crops Ahead of Schedule Well this is ahead of the South Dakota Brood Reports but you can form your own opinions from thier data. Last week I was out at the farm and took this video from a 6 mile drive between farms in Charles mix County South Dakota. This is my first (and maybe last) informal roadside survey. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TppsITzN0oE All our camps are encouraged by the brood numbers they are seeing. We are also aware that a large number of acres went unplanted in South Dakota resulting in fallow acres and birds have been using this to nest. This will result in increased bird numbers and increased hunting acres. Not as much crop is planted and in some areas as little as 30% of corn crop was planted due to wet spring fields. Unlike the last 2 years the crops are all WELL ahead of the 5 year average according to the USDA. Ideal growing conditions have been experienced and th heat or growing degree days is way up from last 2 years. This is key to broods because they need the heat too for their early days out of the nest. Insect production has been high due to moisture and this is key to brood success. If this weather pattern continues we could see early harvest of beans and corn. When crops get out early the bird per hunter average goes up regardless of what the bird counts show. Many have speculated that the bird counts would be down from last year, considering the winter SD had, but don't count the resiliency of the birds and the vastly different summer weather patterns we have experienced in the state. I believe we will see bird counts across the state come in at or above last years counts. Conditions look ripe for a perfect South Dakota Pheasant Storm in 2010. | |
|
2010 WINDY HILL WATERFOWL MAP OF SOUTH DAKOTA
August 20, 2010
WATERFOWL POPULATION INDEX/HUNTING OPPORTUNITY THUNDERSTORM MAP
Game Fish and Parks field staff created the map below by rating areas of each county on a scale of 1-10 regarding the current quality of waterfowling opportunity. These maps will be updated on a weekly basis and should provide a good indicator of the waterfowl activity for the upcoming weekend. Just because an area appears in blue, it doesn't mean there aren't quality opportunities available. Rankings are based on daily observations of field staff and the availability of access and public land.
Last Update: August 19, 2010 10:30 AM . This map shows the current goose hunting opportunity.
Select the area number to view a detailed .pdf of that grid. These maps correspond with the same numbered maps in the 2010 Public Hunting Atlas.
- 08/19/2010: Hunters are reporting spotty success from the first weekend of the August goose take. As with most waterfowl hunting, hunters who had time to scout and not only see what field geese were utilizing, but where in that particular field the geese were sitting had the most success.
- Hunters that focused their efforts on low, wet spots in soybean fields generally reported very good success.
July 15, 2010
Looking for the Perfect Hunting Partner?
February 08, 2009
Are you looking for the perfect hunting partner with reliability, organization and readiness for the hunt? They're an excellent shot, never get bored, aren't full of complaints and are good traveling partners.
If all of these things sound good, you need to consider taking your DAUGHTER hunting.
On a recent hunt with Windy Hill Outfitters, I took my daughter, who is a freshman in college and Division 1 athlete, along with a team mate of hers, on a late season goose hunt. Both girls were taught to hunt at a young age, but with their busy schedules, neither of them had been afield for a while. I figured that going with Windy Hill Outfitters would be a good fit to put them on a good hunt... things couldn't have turned out better.
From the very first "Take em guys" or I should say, "Take em GALS", the ladies were deadly with their shooting on the first group of 6 geese. They killed 5 out of 6! The guide and I were pleasantly surprised and I think, a little shocked. As the day went on, the shooting continued to be just as crisp and on the mark with a number of singles, doubles and one large flock. In between the action, the girls sipped on coffee, swapped stories and were a pleasure to spend a cold January morning with in the goose pit.
I've hunted with many different people and personalities over the years and I must say that young ladies are relaxed, don't get bored and really amaze me with their smooth shooting abilities. I've seen a lot of young men who can't get out of bed, can't find their gear, then insist on trying to stick their heads out of the pit all day against the wishes of the guide... then they're so damn excited that they miss most of what they shoot at.
GET YOUR DAUGHTERS OUT THERE! .... and thanks Mike!
2010 South Dakota Pheasant Report - Windy Hill Outfitters
May 07, 2010
Spring Bird Reports from Landowners Encouraging
After a formidable winter across the 5 state region, circumstances did not look good for most wildlife on decent survival rates. However, after working fields and talking with other contacts and other pheasant camp owners the reports on bird sitings, carry over numbers and spring rooster crowing counts is very very encouraging considering this is the harshest winter I have seen in 9 years.
It should be noted that I visit with contacts across all the great pheasant regions in South Dakota and all areas are boasting encouraging survival news. The Christams blizzard was sure to have taken some birds but there is clearly sufficient roosters and hens around to have a go at a good hatch and then state will need a good hatch to get close to seasonal high bird numbers this fall. Each spring I mow food plots for planting and prep news areas for CRP and there was not 1 piece of cover that did not contain hens and roosters in it.
My next report will be around mid July when we will know what type of conditions and results we had for the hatch.
2009-2010 Winter Will Be Hard on Birds
I just got back from a week out at the farm getting equipment ready for spring planting and here is my take on the state of the pheasant union:
- Just driving around there was not a lot of visible signs of birds.
- My west farm and east farm are 6 miles apart and the west farm did not winter very many birds at all. The east farm had a large shelterbelt and good milo food plots on leeward side and reports of 300+ pheasant were wintered there. They had access to 5 - 1 acre milo plots and they picked them all clean which I have never seen before. That was what was above the snow line. Now that snow has melted they have access to a whole new batch of food from what was folded over and laying on the ground.
- My belief is that if birds did not have access to a large shelterbelt and close food source they stood a good chance of perishing and I assume many did. This is backed up by fact that most all other cover and food sources were filled in with snow and thereby eliminated all food/cover benefits.
- I was encouraged when driving around west farm and marking corners of new CRP that I did kick out a few roosters and several hens. I believe birds will begin to disperse and migrate back to good nesting areas and the roosters will stakeout new territory. March was nice and mild and all the snow is pretty much gone now so that is huge.
- Another benefit of the way snow filled in cover is that it did not pack it down and thereby the nice grasses that were standing in the fall were preserved and will create good nesting structure and cover.
- Surviving birds now have access to unlimited food sources and the cover is good now too.
- Not much crowing going on now but might be too early to tell but that will be another indicator of mortality rate. I suspect mortality could be between 50-75%. A good hatch could be the equalized though as these birds can really rebound.
Windy Hill Outfitters and the Prairie Pothole Region
May 04, 2010
Prairie Pothole Region
The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) is the core of what was once the largest expanse of grassland in the world, the Great Plains of North America. Its name comes from a geological phenomenon that left its mark beginning 10,000 years ago. When the glaciers from the last ice age receded, they left behind millions of shallow depressions that are now wetlands, known as prairie potholes. The potholes are rich in plant and aquatic life, and support globally significant populations of breeding waterfowl. Agricultural development caused considerable wetland drainage in the area. The Great Plains and Prairie Pothole Region are No. 1 on the 25 most important and threatened waterfowl habitats on the continent.
Importance to Waterfowl
Millions of ducks and geese pass through the PPR each spring, nesting in the grasslands.
Nest success and hen mortality during breeding are the most important factors responsible for change in mid-continent mallard populations.
The PPR provides important breeding habitat for pintails, mallards, gadwall, blue-winged teal, shovelers, canvasbacks and redheads.
The PPR is also important migrations habitat for waterfowl breeding in the Boreal Forest and Arctic such as lesser scaup, wigeon, green-winged teal, Canada geese and snow geese.
Habitat Issues
- Between 50 to 90 percent of the potholes in some regions have been lost or severely degraded – a trend that continues today.
- Since 1984, researchers estimate that nearly 194,000 acres of native grasslands have disappeared in the region.
- Shallow lakes in the eastern portion of the PPR are severely degraded by high water levels and rough fish populations caused by wetland drainage systems.
Spring Turkey Hunting & Walleye fishing in South Dakota, Windy Hill Outfitters
February 18, 2010
Where are the Ducks? Windy Hill Outfitters, South Dakota
September 13, 2009
Where Do Our Ducks Come From?
The Answer May Shock Many Hunters
BISMARCK, N.D.—Lost in the euphoria over the 2009 breeding-population survey was the sobering confirmation that prairie Canada is no longer the continent’s leading producer of ducks.
This spring, for the first time ever, more total ducks, more puddle ducks, twice as many pintails and even more redheads settled on the U.S. side of the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) than the Canadian side.
“Prairie Canada is no longer King of Continental Duck Production,” wrote President Rob Olson in the fall issue of Delta Waterfowl magazine, adding, “From a Canadian duck guy’s perspective, that stings me more than a little.”
While most of the continent’s duck hunters probably don’t care where their ducks come from—so long as they come—Canada’s sagging productivity bodes ill for the long-term future of ducks and duck hunting because it contains two-thirds of the PPR’s nesting habitat.
Wrote Olson: “In spite of the stunning losses of wetlands and shockingly low hatch rates due to unnaturally high levels of predation, Canada still possesses most of the breeding grounds for ducks and most of the remaining wetlands.”
This year’s dramatic shift in breeding-duck numbers seems to confirm what some scientists have long suspected: The U.S. is exporting surplus ducks to Canada, propping up Canada’s breeding population.
“Recent studies suggest there is a large-scale movement of birds from areas of high production, like northeastern North Dakota, to areas where duck production is reduced, like prairie Canada,” said Dr. Frank Rohwer of Louisiana State University in a related magazine article.
Mallards tend to return to areas where they were raised, and when Rohwer, Delta’s scientific director, noticed few juvenile ducks showing up in the U.S. population, he launched a research project to find out why. Young mallards were fitted with radio transmitters in late summer and tracked the following spring. “Most of the marked females returned to the U.S., where they had been raised,” Rohwer says, “but they quickly dispersed great distances.”
Wetland availability determines how many ducks settle in a given area, and this year, says Rohwer, an abundance of wetlands allowed birds that were hatched in the U.S. to nest there rather than being forced to disperse.
“There’s no question we (the U.S.) are a net exporter of ducks,” says Ron Reynolds, who heads up the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Habitat and Population Evaluation Team (HAPET) in Bismarck. “We’re producing surplus ducks that are redistributing to nest in other areas.”
Researchers have long known that productivity was higher on the U.S. side of the PPR than in Canada. Reynolds says the eastern Dakotas make up just 7 percent of the total survey area but produce more than 20 percent of the total ducks. “In the 1990s and early 2000s, the eastern Dakotas were as high as 27 percent,” Reynolds says.
An even more telling number is the percentage of puddle ducks that settle in the eastern Dakotas. This year 40 percent of the mallards, pintails, gadwalls, blue-winged teal and shovelers from the entire survey area, which includes everything from Alaska to the prairies, set up housekeeping in the eastern Dakotas. If the rest of the U.S. PPR is included, 46 percent of puddle ducks settled in the U.S.
Reynolds says the unprecedented buildup of ducks on the U.S. side of the breeding grounds was the result of a late-breaking winter and near-record wetland numbers in the Dakotas. “Ducks had a strong, pent-up demand to settle—the clock was ticking—and they settled in the Dakotas,” he says.
But the U.S. share of nesting puddle ducks has been climbing for two decades. Since 1986, through wet years and dry, the U.S. side of the region has attracted 4.06 ducks for every pond counted in the survey, 46 percent more than Canada’s 2.74 ducks-per-pond.
The year 1986 is significant because that’s the first year the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) began converting cropland to grass cover in the U.S.
CRP, Swampbuster and the federal duck stamp, which secured more than 90 percent of the permanently protected breeding habitat in the U.S., are three important reasons productivity in the U.S. has surpassed Canada.
Canada doesn’t have a CRP-like program, and scientists there confirm a 6.7 percent drop in productivity since the 1970s, most of it attributable to wetland losses ranging from 4.9 to 7.6 percent since 1971.
Reynolds says wetland losses in the U.S., which were once extremely high, slowed after CRP and Swampbuster, which denies crop subsidies to farmers who drain wetlands, were approved.
In addition to the 5 million acres of high-quality nesting cover provided by CRP, the program also protected almost 800,000 acres of wetlands. A Farm Service Agency (FSA) evaluation confirmed some 200,000 acres of “cropped wetlands” are embedded in CRP lands and another 592,000 acres of non-cropped wetlands exist in or adjacent to CRP fields.
Reynolds says the improved function of these CRP wetlands allow them to carry 20 percent more breeding ducks than other wetlands, and the productivity of surrounding landscapes increases as well.
CRP makes up 6 percent of the land area but attracts 30 percent of the nesting ducks. “That’s pretty amazing,” says Reynolds, who conducted research showing that CRP was responsible for an average of average of around 2 million incremental ducks between 1992 and 2004. “On the wet years, it was probably twice as many,” he says. “And that’s to say nothing of the future generations of ducks that accrue like interest earned on a savings account.”
“The shift in breeding numbers points to a need to protect CRP and the other programs responsible for ducks produced in the U.S., and find innovative ways to restore Canada’s declining duck production,” says Delta Senior Vice President John Devney.
Foremost among those programs, he says, are CRP, Swampbuster, the federal duck stamp and the Clean Water Restoration Act (CWRA) and legislation discouraging the breaking of native prairie.
Just as important, he says, is making Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) a national program in Canada. “If we lose some of the critical programs in the U.S. without shoring up production in Canada, duck numbers are going to decrease. That’s why it’s imperative that duck hunters get behind these programs.”
Windy Hill Outfitters Pheasant forecast
September 12, 2009
South Dakota
No question South Dakota will retain the title of "Pheasant Capital" this autumn, but the good news is mixed equally with the bad. First, the good: Last season, 176,000 hunters spent $219.6 million and took home more than 1.9 million birds, and this year's brood survey indicated the fourth highest statewide count in the past 45 years. But the 2009 survey reveals a 26 percent decrease from 2008, mainly attributed to the loss of 24 percent of the CRP land in South Dakota over the past three years. Northeastern South Dakota saw the greatest effect on CRP, losing 18 percent of its CRP acres, or 220,000 acres since 2007. Positive habitat news is that South Dakota leads the nation in CRP SAFE enrollment -nearly 50,000 acres – which includes the South Dakota Pheasants SAFE practice. Excellent pheasant hunting opportunities still abound in SoDak. Top spots will again be around the Chamberlin, Winner, Pierre, Mobridge, Aberdeen, Huron and Mitchell areas. Of note, West River showed a 96 percent increase in the number of birds per mile, from 1.96 in 2008 to 3.84 this year.
- Season Dates: Statewide youth season is October 3 thru October 7; Resident-only season on public land is October 10 thru October 12; Regular season is October 17 thru January 3, 2010
- Daily Bag / Possession Limits: 3 / 15
Windy Hill Outfitters Pheasant forecast
August 29, 2009
joanne posted on August 29, 2009 06:11
PIERRE, S.D. – GFP counted an average of 6.32 pheasants per mile in 2009, the fourth highest statewide count in the past 45 years. Although this year’s statewide index has decreased from last year, the 2009 statewide pheasant per mile count is 13 percent higher than the 10-year average.
In 2007 GFP reported the highest brood route survey count in over 40 years. The count went even higher in 2008 with a nine percent increase. Even though pheasant numbers remain strong, the 2009 survey reveals a 26 percent decrease from 2008.
“The pheasant brood route survey is the standard for gauging how the pheasant population is doing,” GFP Secretary Jeff Vonk said. “Our data represents a very good reflection of pheasant numbers in the areas we survey. While our pheasant population is down from 2008 record, the good news is there are still a lot of pheasants out there heading into the hunting season.”
“In the past 45 years only 2005, 2007 and 2008 have a higher pheasant per mile count then we found this year,” Vonk said
GFP surveys 110 routes of 30 miles each over a three week period from late July to mid August. Survey data is used to calculate a pheasants per mile index for these routes. GFP can then compare the number of pheasants within each local area on a year-to-year basis, and also against a 10-year average.
“Considering the tremendous pheasant populations we’ve had the past couple of years, I believe even with this decline South Dakota will continue to offer the premier pheasant hunting opportunity in the nation,” Vonk said. “For a historical perspective, we had a pheasant per mile count of 2.69 birds in 2002, yet hunters still harvested over 1.2 million roosters that year.”
According to Vonk, one key element that has sustained good pheasant populations over the past several years has been the quality habitat resulting from the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Federal cutbacks in the program have resulted in a loss of 24 percent of the CRP land in South Dakota over the past three years.
South Dakota’s regular pheasant season opens on Saturday, Oct. 17 and runs through January 3. The statewide youth season is Oct. 3 through Oct. 7, and the resident-only season on public land runs Oct. 10 through Oct. 12.
The detailed 2009 Pheasant Brood Survey Report, complete with a look at pheasant counts in the different local areas around the state, can be found on the GFP Web site at: www.sdgfp.info/Wildlife/Hunting/Pheasant/Outlook.htm.
All's Good in South Dakota Pheasant Country
August 09, 2009
By Ron Schara
Host of ESPN2's "Backroads with Ron & Raven"
Archive On a recent Monday, all the world suddenly felt right.
The lawn work was done. The bank didn't call about another overdraft. The truck was packed with a Lab and a shotgun — and I was heading west.
Indeed, little is better than a Monday when you're South Dakota bound to go pheasant hunting.
It's the stuff that makes October a memorable month. There's a ringneck-rich pheasant forecast in the wind. The cornstalks are dried and rattling. And the prairie grasses wave with a hint of autumn gold.
After five hours of riding, Raven, the Lab, whines in her car kennel. It's no potty call. She knows. She's in pheasant country.
It was October 1966 when I first experienced pheasant hunting, South Dakota style. My Lab's name was Pej. He was a big and tall male dog who'd run to North Dakota if there was a bird to retrieve. As I recall, I think Pej did, in fact, spend most of his hunting time at the opposite end of any field I walked.
At the noontime start of hunting (a South Dakota tradition), I joined a party of fellas from Missouri who themselves had a long tradition of South Dakota pheasant hunting.
By 3 p.m. someone counted the dead birds and announced we were done; we had limited out. Ten hunters, 30 birds. The Missouri boys were disappointed. The year before it only took 90 minutes to get their limits.
Me? I'd never seen so many pheasants in the air. The 1966 pheasant forecast was pretty bleak, state officials had warned. At that moment I learned a bleak pheasant forecast in South Dakota is apt to be utopian by any other standards.
That is still true today, although more of South Dakota's famed pheasant hunting no longer relies on a natural hatch of birds. Today, tens of thousands of hatchery-raised ringnecks are released every fall by the roughly 235 pheasant-hunting operations scattered around the state. Three decades ago, commercial pheasant-hunting business numbered only a few.
While I prefer to pursue wild birds, I must admit Raven doesn't make the same distinction. It's probably also true that most visiting hunters don't know or even care who hatched the rooster now cackling over the cornstalks.
Also recently, I walked a corn and milo strip with Scott Barton, a 17-year-old pheasant hunter from New York and a guest of Scattergun Lodge in Pierre, S.D.
Scott was toting his youth-model 20 gauge and anxiously awaiting the next flurry of pheasant wings. Wild wings or released wings, it didn't matter.
Four years ago, Scott was fighting a serious case of cancer that was attacking his young body. A youth organization, Hunt of a Lifetime, offered Scott a chance to fulfill a life's dream: South Dakota pheasant hunting.
Last week, Scott and his father, Jon, returned for one more memorable October where Octobers are best.
South Dakota Pheasant hunting outlook forecast report- Windy Hill Outfitters
August 06, 2009
South Dakota pheasant hunters may likely enjoy the best pheasant season this fall since the Soil Bank years of the 50s and early 60s. Recent brood counts conducted by Game, Fish and Parks biologists in late summer indicated a 23 percent statewide increase over last year, and 18 percent higher than the historic 2005 season.
The pheasant population index was at a 40-year high in 2005, and the upcoming fall index tops that mark. After the 1.8 million birds harvested last year, officials are optimistic that the harvest total could exceed 2 million birds this season, the first time that’s happened since the 3 million in 1963. For now, attribute the great population and hunting to CRP, which of course provides prime nesting habitat for, not only pheasants, but many other species of wildlife as well. But the heavy habitat this year, combined with ideal weather conditions during hatching last June, has resulted in the highest pheasant count in South Dakota on record since 1963.
Survey counts this year show that the number of broods observed on routes increased by 15 percent and the average number of pheasant chicks in those broods increased by 11 percent. The average brood size in 2007 was 6.71 chicks per brood.
The brood survey is conducted on 110 thirty-mile routes in South Dakota where pheasants are found in sufficient numbers to count, mostly in the eastern half of the state. The survey results in a pheasant-per-mile (PPM) index that can be used to forecast an area’s relative population density. In addition to being up over 2006, the 7.85 pheasants per mile average is 67 percent higher than the 10-year average of 4.71. For now, pheasants will plentiful in the main range of South Dakota this year. Hunters will, indeed, enjoy the prosperity as they walk through another great season.
2009 Duck Forecast From Delta Waterfowl
July 30, 2009
From Delta Waterfowl:
At first glance, the results of the 2009 duck breeding population and habitat survey are eye-popping: May ponds across the prairie breeding grounds increased 45 percent from a year ago, the total duck population was up 25 percent and mallard numbers climbed 10 percent.
Look closer, however, and some of the survey’s findings explode from the pages like a Fourth of July fireworks display.
"If you would have told me 10 years ago we’d have twice as many pintails nesting on the U.S. side of the breeding grounds as Canadian prairie, I would have laughed in your face," said Dr. Frank Rohwer, Delta’s scientific director.
Yet that's exactly what happened this year as 1.4 million pintails nested in the Dakotas and eastern Montana while only 664,000 set up housekeeping in prairie Canada. The U.S. side of the region also attracted 78 percent more blue-winged teal (4.5 million) than prairie Canada (2.5 million) and a higher percentage of mallards than any other year since the survey began in 1955.
The results of the breeding-population and habitat survey were released Thursday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Canadian Wildlife Service. The B-pop, as it’s called, is the most extensive wildlife inventory on the continent.
The total duck breeding population rose 13 percent from 37.3 million to 42 million, and for the first time ever more ducks (14 million) settled on the U.S. side of the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) than the Canadian side (12.7 million).
"That's sobering news for prairie Canada, which continues to experience sub-par duck production, but exciting news for the U.S., where nest success has been excellent because of an abundance of grass and a scarcity of red fox," says Dr. Rohwer,
"Ducks track ponds and the Dakotas and eastern Montana are wet," says Senior Vice President John Devney. "Not only that, but thanks to heavy rains in June, our grass cover is in excellent shape and we’ve maintained good wetlands, which bodes well for re-nesting and brood survival.
"We ought to be making a bunch of baby ducks this year," echoed John Solberg, the USFWS pilot-biologist who flies the eastern Dakotas survey each spring. "We're very wet, and the cover response to recent rains has been incredible."
A breakdown of the numbers shows the PPR had a 45-percent year-over-year increase in May ponds to 6.4 million. Prairie Canada was 17 percent wetter than a year ago and 5 percent wetter than the long-term average while the U.S. side had a whopping 108 percent increase in wetlands and was 87 percent wetter than the LTA.
The mallard population climbed from 7.7 million to 8.5 million. The U.S. attracted a 2.96 million mallards while 3.04 million settled in prairie Canada.
Among the other most popular species, gadwall numbers were up 12 percent to 3.1 million; green-winged teal rose to an all-time record of 3.4 million; blue-winged teal rose 11 percent to 7.4 million; northern shovelers climbed 25 percent to 4.4 million; northern pintails were up 23 percent to 3.2 million; canvasbacks were up 35 percent to 662,000, and scaup rose for the third straight year, up 12 percent to 4.2 million, the highest level since 1999.
The only species to show a drop in breeding numbers were redheads, which were down one percent to 1.0 million, and wigeon, down one percent to 2.5 million.
The PPR constitutes only 10 percent of North America's breeding habitat but annually attracts two-thirds or more of all nesting ducks. The surveyed portion of the region includes North and South Dakota and a sliver of eastern Montana in the U.S., and prairie Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba in Canada. About 75 percent of the PPR exists in Canada, which historically attracted 75 percent of the ducks that nest there.
During the wet cycle of the 1990s, duck production on the U.S. side of the border increased dramatically thanks to 5 million acres of grass nesting cover provided by the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).
"Things look great right now," Devney says, "but hunters need to remember we've lost more than a million acres of CRP just since 2007 and more contracts will expire this year. On top of that, we’ve been losing native prairie at an alarming rate and several million more acres are at risk. If we can’t find a way to preserve existing upland cover, we simply won’t enjoy this kind of production in the future."
Species | 2009 | 2008 | % Change
from '08 | % Change
from LTA |
Mallard | 8.512 | 7.724 | +10 | +13 |
Gadwall | 3.054 | 2.728 | +12 | +73 |
American Wigeon | 2.469 | 2.487 | -1 | -5 |
Green-winged Teal | 3.444 | 2.980 | +16 | +79 |
Blue-winged Teal | 7.384 | 6.640 | +11 | +60 |
Northern Shoveler | 4.376 | 3.508 | +25 | +92 |
Northern Pintail | 3.225 | 2.613 | +23 | -20 |
Redhead | 1.044 | 1.056 | -1 | +62 |
Canvasback | .662 | .489 | +35 | +16 |
Scaup | 4.172 | 3.738 | +12 | -18 |
|
Total Ducks | 42,005 | 37,276 | +13 | +25 |
All numbers in millions. LTA is long-term average. |
More Updates from Hunt The West ...
Don't want to miss the latest updates?
Sign-up for a free subscription and we'll bring the news to you ...
Check us out on Twitter: www.twitter.com/HuntTheWest
South Dakota Pheasant hunting outlook forecast report- Windy Hill Outfitters
July 29, 2009
South Dakota
Last year, approximately 78,000 residents and 103,000 non-residents hunters harvested just over 2.1 million pheasants. Simply put, hunters again should experience a very memorable fall season. Another mild winter and timely spring precipitation set the stage for widespread habitat conditions that were ideal for nesting, most notably in the central portion of the state where pheasant production was phenomenal. Results from the 2008 pheasant brood survey indicate the statewide Pheasants Per Mile (PPM) index increased by 9 percent (7.85 to 8.56) compared to the 2007 index and is the highest PPM recorded in the past 45 years! Unlike 2007 when pheasant numbers were up across the state, local survey results were mixed this year, with pheasant counts down in the eastern regions of the state while overall counts in east-central regions are largely unchanged from 2007. That said, excellent hunting opportunities should be available in all areas of the South Dakota pheasant range. Lost in all the excitement, however, is the fact that 300,000 CRP acres expired in 2007 - equivalent to a one mile wide strip of nesting habitat positioned from Sioux Falls to the Black Hills of South Dakota - and hundreds of thousands more are set to expire in the near future. Landowner interest in CRP remains, however, as South Dakota's SAFE program for pheasant habitat was fully subscribed within two weeks (20,200 acres) and a CREP proposal for the James River Watershed Basin will give landowners an opportunity to voluntarily enroll more acres by early 2009. The equation is simple - if pheasant numbers are to remain high, some of those lost acres need to come back. "The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has helped increase South Dakota's pheasant population to a level not seen in nearly 40 years," said Chad Switzer, the state's Sr. Upland Game Biologist.
- Season Opener: Multiple
- Daily Bag / Possession Limits: 3 / 15
South Dakota Nonresident waterfowl license application
June 09, 2009
May 27, 2009 License applications are now being accepted for Resident and Nonresident Tundra Swan, Resident Special Canada Goose, Nonresident Waterfowl, and Nonresident September Goose. The deadline for submitting applications online for Resident Special Canada Goose and Nonresident Waterfowl is 8 AM, July 14. Paper applications must be postmarked no later than July 10. For Resident and NonresidentTundra Swan, deadlines are 8 AM, August 18 online and postmarked August 14 by mail. There is no deadline for Nonresident September Goose. |
May 27, 2009
Experience a "Cast -n- Blast" that you'll never forget at Windy Hill Outfitters and Lodge in the Glacial lake region of South Dakota. Hunt spring Merriam turkeys in the morning and fish for giant Walleye and Northern Pike in the afternoon. There are so many Merriam turkeys that you can harvest both a tom and a hen in 2 different seasons and it happens right in the prime spring fishing bite. Walleye and pike that are driven to feed after the ice melts and the end of the spawn make it a very exciting time to fish. Hunting Merriam Turkeys in South Dakota is as easy as spotting their roost and getting out in front of them in the morning and doing some very easy calling out of a ground blind. There is very little hunting pressure on the turkeys so they're not very spooked by decoys and calls. It's almost too easy to call in a big gobbler and most people get their opportunity to harvest a big gobbler that anybody would be proud to mount on their wall. Windy Hill Outfitters has guaranteed turkey tags for both the early season (April 16- May 1) and the second season (May 1- 17) for $90.00 plus tax. South Dakota offers plenty of Merriam turkeys in remote, wide open plains country that is incredibly accessable . Fishing in the glacial lakes region of South Dakota has more lakes to catch fish out of than anyone could fish for a year straight. With more then 150 lakes within 20 miles, you can catch Walleye, Pike, Crappie, Bass, and Perch at any given time of the year. You're allowed 4 walleye per day with 1 being over 20 in...sometimes the hard part is catching a smaller fish to keep. You can get a 3 day non-resident license for just under $50.00. 
South Dakota Merriam Spring Turkey Hunting
May 01, 2009
South Dakota spring Merriam Turkey hunting has been a huge success this year considering it's Windy Hill Outfitters first official Turkey hunting season that he have been guaranteed 30 turkey tags and you can kill a hen and a tom. Thats right, I said a hen and a tom. Most serious turkey hunters would like to just kill strutting gobblers in the spring but because there are so many merriam turkeys in this region of South Dakota, the Sisseton- Wahpeton Sious Tripe needs to harvest more hens to control the population. In a average day turkey hunting you could encounter 100 turkeys and easily get your Tom and Hen all in the same day. The season is broken into 2 different times. The early season goes from April 11th. thru may 1st. and the late season goes from May 2nd. thru may 17th. The licenses are $90.00 each and Windy Hill Outfitters offers you guided or semi guided hunts from $975.00 to $1250.00 for a 3 day hunt. 
The New Kid On The Block
March 21, 2009
www.facebook.com/profile.php 
I'm very pleased to introduce Alexander The Great . Alex is a Drahthaar and is the new kid on the block at Windy Hill Outfitters . Drahthaars are a vary versatile , durable , hard working , loyal hunting companion . Alex Came from Tom Wilcox at Windswept Kennels out of Sioux Falls , South Dakota . Tom is a VDD Registered Kennel . We are very pleased and extremely excited to pick up our new puppy and start the bonding and obedience process .
March 20, 2009
Bill Hughes grew up in Pittsburgh, Pa. and was been an avid hunter all his life. Like several clients that come out to South Dakota, he had one particular goal or accomplishment that he was been dreaming about for some time. When Bill was a kid he hunted wild Pheasants in Pa., but since the depletion of food and cover, there are no more wild pheasants. So, like so many clients from Pa. they miss hunting the wild, elusive Ring Neck Pheasant. Bill mentioned several times prior to his trip that he has not shot a wild Pheasant in 40 years. I think I mentioned to Bill that I hit 3 that week in my truck on the way to work, or should I say they hit me. It is hard to believe that a wild Pheasant would fly from one field to another and smash into the side of my truck but It happens all the time. Bill got his wild Pheasant, and more important, a taste of hunting the hard nosed bird again in South Dakota. One of the first birds that flashed in front of Bill went down like a rock to his 12 gauge shot. Bill walked up to where it dropped and it was gone. It disappeared right in front of him and I could feel the disappointment in Bill's voice when he said, "It was right here." But, it wasn't much longer when Matt Miller jumped a beautiful Pheasant out of the standing corn, and it flew right to Bill Hughes...this time he got his 40 year prize.
Facebook LINK To Mike Bishop
February 14, 2009
Click here to view my Facebook page
Looking for the Perfect Hunting Partner?
February 08, 2009
Are you looking for the perfect hunting partner with reliability, organization and readiness for the hunt? They're an excellent shot, never get bored, aren't full of complaints and are good traveling partners.
If all of these things sound good, you need to consider taking your DAUGHTER hunting.
On a recent hunt with Windy Hill Outfitters, I took my daughter, who is a freshman in college and Division 1 athlete, along with a team mate of hers, on a late season goose hunt. Both girls were taught to hunt at a young age, but with their busy schedules, neither of them had been afield for a while. I figured that going with Windy Hill Outfitters would be a good fit to put them on a good hunt... things couldn't have turned out better.
From the very first "Take em guys" or I should say, "Take em GALS", the ladies were deadly with their shooting on the first group of 6 geese. They killed 5 out of 6! The guide and I were pleasantly surprised and I think, a little shocked. As the day went on, the shooting continued to be just as crisp and on the mark with a number of singles, doubles and one large flock. In between the action, the girls sipped on coffee, swapped stories and were a pleasure to spend a cold January morning with in the goose pit.
I've hunted with many different people and personalities over the years and I must say that young ladies are relaxed, don't get bored and really amaze me with their smooth shooting abilities. I've seen a lot of young men who can't get out of bed, can't find their gear, then insist on trying to stick their heads out of the pit all day against the wishes of the guide... then they're so damn excited that they miss most of what they shoot at.
GET YOUR DAUGHTERS OUT THERE! .... and thanks Mike!
Brian Brickley pheasant hunt in South Dakota
January 22, 2009
Windy Hill Outfitters gets hunters from all over the U.S.A. that come out to South Dakota for the world class pheasant hunting. One unique group that hunted with us was the Brian Brickley gang from Detroit, Michigan. They were a self guided group that truly worked hard for the pheasants that they shot. They consisted of 8 serious hunters that came with both trained dogs and puppies, all of which were focused on one thing... killing birds.
A big problem last year was the amount of rain we received, which made it difficult for the farmers to get their corn crops out of the fields. Usually the corn is off by Nov. 1 and the pheasants retreat to the switch and slew grasses for cover, but last year they were in the standing corn, which made them very difficult to hunt.
We have seen a consistent increase in the pheasant population for several years. The state of South Dakota kills almost 2 million pheasants per year. It looks like it's shaping up to be another great year for the pheasant hunters!
