(Radio Iowa) - The pheasant season opens this Saturday and D-N-R Wildlife Biologist Todd Bogenshutz says hunters will likely not duplicate last year.
It was one of the better years in the last two decades with just shy of 600-thousand roosters tkaen. The roadside survey shows the wet spring did have some impact on bird numbers, but Bogenshutz there could be close to 400-thousand birds taken.
Most of the soybeans have been harvested and large portion of corn as well, which Bogenshutz says will help hunters as they have better success when there are less standing crops for the birds to utilize for cover. The pheasant season runs through January 10th.