Ring-necked pheasants stay a preferred upland sport species amongst Oklahoma hunters, with about 43,000 pheasants harvested in 2022.
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation screens the pheasant inhabitants by means of two surveys; spring crow counts and summer time brood surveys. The knowledge collected gives an index of the spring breeding inhabitants – crow counts – and recruitment success for that year – brood surveys.
Traditionally Alfalfa, Beaver, Cimarron, Grant, and Texas counties have had the very best pheasant numbers. These 5 counties have had spring crow surveys carried out since 1973, and brood surveys since 1980. In 1998, the surveys had been expanded to 13 counties to embrace Ellis, Garfield, Harper, Kay, Major, Noble, Woods, and Woodward.
The spring 2022 crow depend survey confirmed a decrease variety of calls heard per level than in 2021. Looking on the numbers from 1973 to 2022, there’s a optimistic development within the variety of calls heard throughout the spring crow name depend surveys. The August brood surveys confirmed a rise over the previous two years within the conventional counties, however was barely decrease statewide. The 5 conventional counties had been up from 0.005 in 2021 to 0.01 in 2022. However, the full variety of pheasants noticed was down from 36 in 2021 to 27 in 2022.
This previous winter once more noticed a number of chilly fronts and storms that introduced potential for detrimental impacts, which had been most definitely extra extreme in areas of marginal habitat high quality. The spring and summer time noticed flash drought throughout a lot of the state. Rainfall all through spring and summer time was sporadic, coming at instances in monsoon-type storms relatively than extra regular systemic rains. Current circumstances present that 99.7% of the state is experiencing not less than average drought as of Nov. 15, with 64% of the state in excessive or distinctive drought.
Figure 4 reveals a comparability of drought ranges in Oklahoma from March 8-Oct. 18. When this report was ready, all of the pheasant vary in Oklahoma was in not less than average drought, with over 99% in not less than extreme drought. Figure 5 reveals the departure from regular rainfall from May 26-Nov. 21, with areas up to 14 inches under regular rainfall. Too little rain can have simply as a lot of an influence as an excessive amount of rain. However, there have been nonetheless experiences coming in from folks seeing three-fourths-grown birds.
Pheasant numbers this season will once more most definitely be patchy. Properties or areas the place habitat is sweet for pheasants, bugs are plentiful, forbs are plentiful, and drought has not had a extreme influence ought to maintain a good variety of birds.
Pheasant looking season opens Dec. 1, and runs by means of Jan. 31, 2023. Hunters could harvest two cock pheasants each day. Open areas embrace Alfalfa, Beaver, Cimarron, Garfield, Grant, Harper, Kay, Major, Noble, Osage, Texas, Woods, and Woodward counties; and the parts of Blaine, Dewey, Ellis, Kingfisher, and Logan counties north of State Highway 51. Seasons on public lands could differ from the statewide season.
For full laws and extra information, seek the advice of the Oklahoma Fishing and Hunting Regulations on-line at http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/hunting/regs, the Go Outdoors Oklahoma cell app for Apple or Android, or in print wherever looking and fishing licenses are bought.
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