Forecast: Ohio hunters can expect pheasant hunting much like last year’s, with a significant number of young birds from late broods, says Mark Wiley, wildlife biologist at the Olentangy Wildlife Research Station.
The late broods were the result of re-nesting after heavy rains and flooding destroyed early nests. That, too, is reminiscent of last year. “We saw some very young pheasant broods in August and September 2015, presumably produced by hens that re-nested after the heavy rains and flooding in June of that year,” says Wiley. “We also had some relatively young roosters reported in November with partial adult plumage.”
No formal late-summer surveys are conducted in Ohio. ODNR Division of Wildlife staff conduct roadside crow counts during April.
Hunters will have the best chance of finding wild pheasants in areas solidly within the state’s pheasant range with suitable grassland cover. These areas usually take the form of state wildlife areas and private lands with large tracts of CRP. Without these conditions, hunters probably won’t find much, says Wiley.
Spring indices in recent years have been below the 10-year average. In fact, pheasant numbers have been on a long slide, dropping an average of about 4.5 percent a year. Says Wiley, “The influence of weather conditions on Ohio’s pheasant population is minor compared to the impact of changes in habitat availability within the state. Loss of acres enrolled in CRP is of considerable concern.”
Field Notes: Nearly 20,000 acres of Pheasant State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) have been enrolled in Ohio, with approximately 24,000 acres still available to qualifying landowners, according to Wiley.
Season Dates: November 4, 2016 through January 8, 2017 (closed during the seven-day deer gun season, November 28 through December 4, 2016)
Daily Bag Limit: 2
Possession Limit: N/A
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