With quail and pheasant-hunting season starting November 1, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) advises hunters that quail production appears higher than last year while pheasant production appears lower than last year.

Each August, conservation agents record the numbers of quail and pheasants they see while driving a 30-mile route. A total of 110 routes are completed around the state, including two routes in Atchison. These numbers are then tallied and grouped by eight geographic areas of production.

“It represents the best way we have to track quail and pheasant populations on a statewide basis,” said MDC Resource Scientist Beth Emmerich, who manages the August roadside survey. “The survey does a good job of tracking large-scale population changes and is a good barometer for how more localized populations may also be doing from year to year.”

According to MDC, this year’s statewide average roadside index of 2.4 quail per route is 33% higher than last year’s index of 1.8 quail per route. An average of 0.2 pheasants was recorded per route, down 33% from last year’s index of 0.3 pheasants per route.

“Overall mild winter conditions in early 2020 likely contributed to better overwinter survival for birds,” Emmerich said. “While spring began with cool, wet conditions, drier weather prevailed during the nesting season.”

She added that scouting areas for bird hunting is important and habitat is still the key for finding good numbers. “Quail tend to be in areas with diverse plantings such as native grasses and forbs with plenty of shrubby cover.”

For more information, contact Conservation Agent Kyle Dick at 816-383-0404 or kyle.dick@mdc.mo.gov.