By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Duck hunting season began as early as Saturday in some portions of Kansas. Given the drought conditions around the state, waterfowl numbers are expected to be down this season. But it's not all doom and gloom for bird hunters. Upland game numbers have also taken a hit in some parts of Kansas, but are seeing a rebound around Cheyenne Bottoms.
"We do a series of surveys every year to try to see what we can expect for the upcoming season," said Bottoms Wildlife Area Manager Jason Wagner. "As expected, with the lingering drought, especially west of here, it's not looking real great."
Each year, the managers tour all 105 Kansas counties as part of those surveys to provide an outlook on bird numbers. Pheasant counts are down about 19 percent across the state from a year ago, but up 49 percent in the Smoky Hill region that includes Barton County.
"Some of the factors that led to that, we had consistent temperatures," Wagner said. "It was dry. Yes, it was hot later in the summer, but during that hatching period, it was really consistent. The other thing we had this summer was lots of grasshoppers."
Similar trends follow for quail and turkey. Quail figures are down just one percent statewide, but up 27 percent in the Smoky Hill region. Turkeys are up across the board, from 33 percent around Kansas to a 132-percent increase in the Smoky Hill region.
Wagner said quail can often rebound quickly, but pheasants and turkeys take a while longer. The 2011-12 drought at the Bottoms ultimately helped quail populations. The nesting conditions this year are now helping pheasant populations.
"We generally go off 2-3 good years of proper nesting conditions to build those numbers back up," Wagner said. "That's what we're seeing at the Bottoms. In 2019, we had that huge flood, and that pretty much displaced all the pheasants off the property. The last couple of years we've seen a few pheasants, but not a lot. This year, it's not going to be great, but there are definitely more than there have been the last couple of years."
The youth pheasant and quail season begins Nov. 5 in Kansas, and the regular season runs from Nov. 12 through Jan. 31, 2023. Fall turkey season opened Oct. 1 and runs through Nov. 10.