In speaking with the nephew again he said he doesnt think he saw even twenty pheasants, probably less. Most troubling is the virtual lack of hens. Normally one sees a fairly equal ratio of roosters/hens when hunting wild birds. And, again, he is hunting all private ground with excellent habitat that is not hunted by anyone else. Yes, the quail numbers are a lot better. But we prefer them anyway!
You do sometimes find them segregating by sex this time of year. My last hunt in Iowa, we hunted two small patches of CRP divided by a creek. The first patch held several roosters and only 2 or 3 hens. The patch on the other side of the creek: My little Brittany stuck 6 hens in a row, and I was beginning to think I'd found the ladies' powder room! But the last one she nailed was a rooster.
