KDSN RADIO News
Iowa Pheasant season opens Saturday
(10-24-25) - (Radio Iowa) – The 100th pheasant season in Iowa opens Saturday, and DNR wildlife biologist Todd Bogenshutz says it is setting up to be a good one. “This past year was the fourth mildest winter in state history, like 150 years of record. So, we probably had virtually all of our hens survive from last fall,” he says. Bogenshutz says having that type of survival rate is fantastic, and those numbers make up for some loss of young birds in wet weather after the hatch. “The roadside survey showed that our chick survival wasn’t as good as last year, but it was only down a little bit, so the number of hens that were nesting more than made up for not quite as many chicks surviving. And so our counts still were up 40 percent statewide. Some 77-thousand hunters head out to chase the ringnecks last year, and he says that number is likely to grow this season. Bogenschutz says the pheasant harvest could be in the 600 to 700-thousand range. The season runs through January 10th.
