Early Field Reports from Bird Country

0:00This episode of The Flush Podcast is brought to you by Onyx Hunt, Waltons, North Dakota Tourism, All Clear Hearing Protection, Game Virtual Shooting Simulators, Lucky Duck Kennels, Black Gold Dog Food, and by Federal Ammunition. Today, we're going to take a tour through bird country with a handful of friends to get an early glimpse at brood reports and bird numbers. We're talking to people that I trust with eyes on the landscape to get their field reports in North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Wyoming, Montana, and Minnesota. Hunting season will be

0:32here before we know it, and these first-hand reports can help you get an idea of what to expect. The Flush. So fast, it hardly seems real. So vivid, the moment freezes in time before erupting in a blur of spurs and feathers. It's why we change the way upland loads are built with Prairie Storm. Exclusive flight control flex-wad technology and a mix of copper-plated lead and flight stopper pellets combine to create dense, deadly shot strains through any choke. Longer shots, more power, fewer missed birds. Only from Federal.

1:06Welcome to another episode of the Flush Podcast. I am your host, Travis Frank. Big Al is our producer, and you can actually see Alex today. He turned the camera around. I don't know how I feel about this, but... You should have shaved. I should have shaved. I like the hat. It's a nice-looking cap there.

1:38You know, when I got dressed today, I was like, well, maybe I'll try out the camera today. And so I figured I'd wear... It was either this or the Chief Upland hat, so I went with this one. Yep. Yep. Tyler Webster, welcome back to the Roost. A surprise visit. Surprise. Yeah. And he tried to kiss Scott Franzen's butt by bringing donuts in this morning, and little did he know that Scott is not here. I actually heard him say, where's the big guy? Yep. You know what? So, I mean, if you flipped a coin, given any day, the chance of Scott being

2:08here is not very big. It's not. Can you guess where he is? I can, yes. But I figured that, I mean, you were going to be here, and Alex... Well, of course, because we are the mules. We keep this ship on track. We're always here. I figured I would be nice and bring in donuts for the rest of you. And it also just happens that it's Katie's birthday, and we didn't know that until recently. We'll put a candle in one of those, and then we'll all go up and sing to her in a little while. But today we have a whole lot to get into, so no more foreplay. We're just going

2:39to get right into it. I do have to say, though, before we start, that we lost a listener yesterday, and this is a heartbreaking one, because my mom, who watches or listens to, I think, every podcast that I've ever recorded, she sends me a text almost every single week with a comment about the show. So she listens to almost all of our episodes, and I love her for that. I know she does it because she wants to know what I'm up to.

3:09And I tell stories on here that she likes to hear about because I don't always call. I'm not the greatest at calling people and just talking, and I'm sorry about that, mom. But she's been listening for years, and sometimes she listens out at my grandma's house on the farm because she's been taking care and helping take care of my grandma. And yesterday my grandma passed away at 89 years. Sorry about that, bud. Yep. And so I know that my grandma listened to some of the episodes because she would

3:40talk about it when she was out there at the farm too. And my grandma had so much sass and just, she was so quick-witted and spry. And we went out to visit her last week and she still had that. And her wit and fun, just joy for life has passed down to her kids and her grandkids. And I think a little bit. And her sass a little bit. Her sass, yes. Has definitely passed down to you. Grandma Stinker was her nickname to all of us grandkids. And we could tell stories for days

4:16about grandma and we will for sure miss her. And I know my mom's heart is broken right now too. And so I just- I'm thinking of you, Mama Frank. Yeah. We love you, Mom. And we will miss grandma too. And so we're bummed that we lost a listener. I'm sad that I lost my grandma. For sure. Yep. We have quite a bit that I want to dive into today, but I'm going to start by just asking for our community, the Upland community, to make your voice heard to protect

4:51our wetlands. Currently, there's a petition going on. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing a setback rule that dictates how close agricultural drain tiles can be placed to protected federal wetland easements. A lot of conservation groups like Ducks Unlimited are urging the public to sign the petition to defend the setback requirements that prevent the drain tiles from drying out the prairie pothole region. This is areas in Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Montana.

5:25It is currently August 4th, the day that we're recording this podcast. August 6th is the date that this episode will go live. August 7th, the comment period ends. So I checked this morning. There are currently 25,153 comments. I didn't look at all of them to find out what the comments said, but I assume it's hunters that care about our wetlands, asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

5:55to not remove that setback rule to allow the drain tiles to get rid of those wetlands. And we all know as upland bird hunters that we have less than 1% of our prairie left. And I don't know what the number is on the wetlands, but it's dang close to the same. It is. It is pathetic. And the thought of losing even one more acre is just, I just can't even. Well, and on top of that, it's not like everybody looks at this and they think it's just duck habitat, right? It's not. Yeah. There are

6:28actually units in North Dakota, this for the last two years that have zero deer tags because of there's no habitat left. And like deer are going to use those wetlands for dropping fawns. Pheasants use it. Partridge use it. Ducks, obviously. Geese. I mean, it's everything. So before you continue listening to the rest of this show, which I think you're going to want to, please just do a quick search. If you search U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service public comment on draining wetlands, you will

7:01get the top link. We'll say federalregister.gov. And there you will see the request for information. And they are asking the public. This is your opportunity to say what you... To make your voice heard. To make your voice heard. Very simple. It took me about a minute when I filled it out. You can say whatever you'd like. I would recommend being polite and just asking at the very top. I just told you there's 25,000 comments. Maybe your first sentence should say,

7:31please protect our wetlands. Yeah. That's it. Don't remove this easement that is currently in place. These are the duck stamp dollars at work. And Pittman-Robertson dollars. Yes. And we want to continue to keep them at work. So that petition will expire August 7th, which means please do it right now. Yep. Absolutely. Very important. All right. News and notes continue. Let's go to some notes. Some viewer mail. Al? Sorry. Listen to him over there. We need a ticker tape. He's actually got a

8:06camera on him now. So he feels like he's got a really... There's a lot of pressure on me right now. Hopefully I can read this. He's nervous. You can see he's nervous over there. Look, my hand isn't even shaking. He's shaking. Okay. Hi, Travis. Oh, this is from Richard, by the way. Okay. Hi, Richard. Hi, Travis. I'm going to assume he said, and Big L too. I just finished podcast number 324. I have one comment. Pheasants Forever wants to increase upland bird hunters. And that encouragement comes from people starting to get new puppies and training them. I'm not sure if it was on purpose or you just neglected to discuss the

8:37opportunities in every state to find and join the local NAVDA chapter. Sonny and George talked at length about the lack of land. People can work with their dogs, pigeons, and other upland birds. He says, NAVDA is a great, effective, and economical way to increase participation in one of our favorite spots, sports, upland bird hunting. See, I got nervous and read sports as spots. He missed a letter there. That was not by... Okay. So Richard, thanks for listening. And I appreciate the comment on that. Sometimes when I'm trying to think in my head how to continue

9:08a conversation with a guest... In real time. In real time. I forget very logical things like this. So I respond to that by saying it was not intentional that we left that out. If you can find a local NAVDA chapter... Please do. Please do. Because yes, there are opportunities to bring a puppy or any season of life dog out there and work with birds. And that's a great, great nugget right there. And I'll just leave it at that. Search for a local NAVDA chapter. Heck, even search your local

9:39Pheasants Forever chapter. Most likely there's somebody in that chapter that's going to have access to birds or an idea for you in your area that might get you some time in the field with birds and your dog that you want to train. And we have done other podcasts with NAVDA members. So please, if you... NAVDA is a great organization. If you can join it, please join it. Yep. Okay. What's next? All right. This is a little bit of a longer one. This one comes from Craig. Travis. Okay. Just so you know, Tyler, that the subject for this is it's your fault. You at

10:09least owe me an explanation. Perfect. So Craig, I'm excited to read this. Travis. Okay. Maybe 5% is my fault due to this. I walked Douglas through public land last year with the intention of shooting a pheasant last year, kicked one up and shot my first after over 45 years of hunting other species. I was jacked. However, after listening to the Flush podcast and TV shows, the other 95%, I believe is your fault. It has sent me down the fiscal hole of the following. A Brittany from a breeder who breeds specifically for bird hunting. A new shotgun. Actually, two, but not sure if I

10:42purchased the first prior to learning of the Flush. Two remote bird launchers and accessories. Scheduled class in August with Sunny P and Jordan Wells. The method. Smith's books and DVDs. Dog trip pathfinder compass. So good. Countless bumpers, leads, wonder leads, starter pistols, et cetera, et cetera. On X subscription. Hours of time explaining what I'm doing and buying to the missus and why I need it. Oh, better not forget open trap nights now and boxes and boxes of shells. Just to be clear, I will let you socialize your 95% of the fault with Scott and Big Al.

11:15No, he won't. But no more than 30% and 5% respectively, which still leaves you with the bulk of the responsibility. I like that, Craig. So I feel you owe me at least a deeper description of what Pheasants Forever and Quill Forever project lands are on Onyx. So I can at least double my pheasant feast in 2026 with the hopes my wife doesn't divorce me and take the Brittany. Craig. Craig, I really hope your wife doesn't divorce you. And if she does, I really hope she doesn't take the Brittany. Do not let her take the dog. Oh my gosh. Bring her hunting, Craig. Bring her out there with you.

11:46Bring her to the Hank. Well, the Hank hunt's probably full, but. Well, I do not accept 95% of the fault. Well, I'm not accepting any of it. I'll take like 50-50 because there's somebody else on the other side of these conversations at all times. I was going to say Tyler is also a member of the Flush. Now you can blame some on him. I'm going to put a little on Tyler. I'm going to put a little on Al. I'm going to put a little on Scott. Maybe Ben Brett again, since he works with Onyx and he's a participant. Yeah. So I think, what's the explanation that he wants about the Pheasants Forever?

12:16A deeper description of what Pheasants Forever and Quill Forever project lands are on Onyx. So I can at least double my pheasant feast. And hopefully his wife doesn't divorce him. I really hope your wife does not divorce you, Craig. I hope she finds joy in your newfound passion. And I'm glad that you have invested so heavily in all of it. It's a beautiful, would you say addictive, Tyler? I would say it's definitely addictive. And I really would, I'm sure that a lot of the sponsors of the show and podcast would really appreciate if you forwarded that email to them. Because advertising works.

12:49That's a great, that's a great marketing plan. It's a, yeah. Um, you should probably give it to ladies marketing really. Absolutely. But, um, so I, I know on Onyx, it's a little bit different state to state when you're looking at, you know, the, the, the path program or, uh, the path programs now moved into North Dakota as well. Um, so if you go on the app, uh, Craig, sorry, Craig, if you go on the app, you're going to see layers in the bottom left corner, punt layers. There's, uh, a PF and QF

13:21layer in there. And what that does is it shows you a project or a property that has been purchased by quail forever and pheasants forever, a particular chapter that, that property is potentially being rehabbed. And then it's going to get turned back over to the state. So in Minnesota, it'd be like a WMA wildlife management area. A lot of those have been purchased by dollars that have been raised at pheasants forever chapters, quail forever chapters. There's grants that might be available within the state so they can double or triple their, their money. And then when those properties

13:57are purchased, they're purchased in the name of PF. So you might see for a little while that pheasants forever, if you click on the name of ownership, it might say pheasants forever on a particular property before it gets transferred into the WMA. Those are areas that I think you should target. I mean, those are areas that have new seeds, new habitat. And a lot of times this week on the flush, you're focusing on a guy that built 50 of these things. Yeah. Right. A chapter. And so

14:27if you're, if you see the flush, uh, television show on the outdoor channel this week, Travis is literally, uh, filming with one of the guys that's responsible for a lot of these properties. Scott Rall. He, what a great character. He's amazing. So back in 1986, he purchased the very first property through pheasants forever. And the first land acquisition was from his Nobles County chapter. And we've had him on the podcast. We've talked about it. He's, he's now since purchased 50 and, and actually to this day, it could be more than that now. Cause it's been over a year since we had him on the show. I don't

15:00know. Right. But, um, other chapters around the country are doing the same type of thing. And so to answer Craig's question, those are our properties under rehab. A lot of times that have been purchased by the organization and then turned over to the state. They're open to the public. Yeah. I highly recommend you seek them out. I think you might double or maybe more your bird count this year. Just based on that Brittany, instead of walking by yourself, but way to get after it, Craig, that is so awesome. What an awesome email. I, I think sharing the milestones

15:35and the stories with our listeners really helped keep this community connected. So we appreciate all of the mail. If there's any story that you want us to share from your own personal journey, we received quite a few over the last several weeks that we continue to read on the show. But also if you have any particular guests that you want us to have on the show or topics you want us to cover, um, we want to know what you want to hear and we want to share what you're doing out there. So please keep them coming. Um, unless it's that guy that sent in the, the email a couple

16:07weeks ago and you had George and Sonny on, uh, saying where, where is the pheasant content? Uh, we don't need any more pheasant content. We, we do this every week. Tyler, I've been doing this podcast for six years. You've been doing yours for eight or nine now. Okay. Just past nine. Um, every week and I try to keep it interesting. I try to keep the content, some, something unique that you want to listen to that we want to talk about. And that, that can be a challenge. Different parts of the season. It comes easy. Yeah. During, during season, it's super easy. And then right

16:42after season, then we can talk, wrap it up. Like May, June, and July, pretty rough. Yeah. Yep. Totally. So people are excited though, because hunting season is coming up and I'm excited. I can feel it this morning. It was in the low fifties to tomorrow morning. See me in the low fifties. I've been swimming Daisy because it's been hot. Not as hot as you guys have been in North Dakota, but here in central Minnesota, it has been hot and, um, we just haven't been able to run dogs. Yeah. We're getting to a point now where I'm going to start conditioning Daisy

17:14and working her in different places, but the lake has been the best place to be and swimming her and just getting that exercise and cardio. And, um, I need it myself too. I've been, I've been biking. I've been working out with the boys. We still have not gone mountain biking yet though. Come over. I've got a route. It's miles and miles. I have been putting on the miles and it's, it's actually really fun. Unfortunately, I have a car now, not a truck because I was a dumb kid and bought a car. And now I have to take the tire. Yeah. Put one of those racks on top and just drive it out.

17:46Those are expensive. You know what? Actually, I have a bike you can ride. My wife's. Come on, my own bike. I'll bring my bike. All right. All right. I'll ratchet traffic. Stop talking about it and do it because I've been out every day now and I feel great. I've actually been, I've been walking the golf course. I got back into golfing this, this summer because there was nothing else to do because it was literally too hot. So I've been walking the golf course in Stanley, North Dakota, like four days a week. How's your golf game? Not bad. Actually. I hadn't swung a club in five years or four years before this summer. And I shot a 42 the other day. I was pretty happy about that.

18:17On nine holes? Yeah. Good for you, bud. That's awesome. I swung a golf club once. Anyways. What are you seeing on the landscape in Northwest, North Dakota? Yeah. And then you obviously drove to Minnesota here. I did. Not a lot of birds off 94 though. But in Northwest, North Dakota. So we were talking, or you were talking a little bit about, uh, getting ready to get out and run your dog a little bit. Um, this is the time of the year that I start doing that, even though it's legal July 15th, in my opinion, that's just a little bit too early. Um, July, right around the 15th of July,

18:51I was seeing baby birds that were, you know, golf balls with wings. And those are, you know, they got one flight in them and it's probably about 30 yards. In my opinion, it's a little bit too early to be running. And also it's really, really hot. Um, with that said, now that we're into August, I'm seeing good numbers of broods and I'm seeing nice sized broods. Um, I've actually been running the mail route quite a bit this summer, given, given my girls that work for me some time off, uh, before the hunting season gets here and I

19:22disappear for six months, which happens pretty much every year. Uh, you got to keep them happy. So, um, you know, the average size of the brood of huns that I've been seeing way better than it was last year. Um, we had a lot of rain in June, but then we haven't had a drop of rain and no severe storms in the month of July. Um, so like we're past that point now where they're really vulnerable. So I think that we're, we're going to be in pretty good shape. I would say that the average hun covey has been 14, 15 birds, which is right where they should be for a, for a super successful

19:58nesting. Same thing with pheasants. I've been seeing a lot of little pheasants around, um, that are, you know, a little bit bigger than the quail here on, on the table and they're flying really well. And, you know, 10, 12, 13 is a, is a, you know, that's a very good successful nest. Now with sharp tails, sharp tails run a little bit different just because you don't typically see them on the roads quite as much as you do the other two. Yep. You got to get out in the grass, um, preferably with dogs. Um, otherwise you're just kind of, you know, doing what poor Craig was doing. You're out

20:32there just kind of stumbling around and hoping to run into some. So I'll have a lot better report on, on sharp tails after I get back to North Dakota and start running. What does your gut say though, based on what you've been living throughout there the last couple of months? So if the pheasants and the huns did well, the sharp tails should have done well. Um, now the difference in sharp tails and the other two is that they don't have quite the same size nest. Like in my, in my estimation, like a good average healthy nest, uh, I'd say six to eight. If you see six to eight, it was good.

21:05If you see fours, four to five, it was okay. And if you see twos and threes, you had something bad go on. Um, I'm guessing just, I mean, the prairie looks fantastic. The cover's good. Um, there's tons of bugs cause we had a ton of rain in June. And so the bugs really, really hatched. Well, I think that the sharp tails are going to be good. Um, we've had kind of tough numbers the last two years, uh, especially last year. Um, I last year feels like probably the lowest in what I can remember.

21:36For sure. I ended up shooting more huns and in Nevada in a week last year than I shot in North Dakota total. And it wasn't because I didn't see them. It was because I wasn't shooting at those four and five bird coveys. And, uh, I don't think we're going to see a lot of that this year. So like, it's not going to be what it was three or four years ago out on the prairie. But I think that when our brood surveys come out from the North Dakota game and fish, the first week of September, I'm guessing we're going to see a 35 or ish percent bump in population and brood size. Yeah. So in the middle of June, they put out North Dakota puts out their crowing count survey,

22:11which doesn't mean anything. I know. And I, I, so here's what it means though. And this is something where the drumming count Scott and I talked about this a little bit, a couple of weeks ago too. And I don't base much off of it other than this, you know, how many birds survived winter, right? It gives you a good idea there. So the 2026 spring pheasant crowing count survey was 23.2 crows per stop, which is up 9% statewide last year. So then the biologist RJ Gross, who we've had on the show before, he does a good job explaining it, but he said over winter survival

22:46of adult pheasants has been outstanding. Typically we lose up to 75% of our pheasant population each winter, but that has not been the case as of late. By region observers heard 32.7 crows per stop in the Southwest part of North Dakota, which is up 5% from last year, 22.2 crows per stop in the Northwest, which is up 4% from last year and 23.1 crows per stop in the Southeast, which is up 24% from last year. The count in the Northeast, which is not a primary region for pheasants, excuse me, was up

23:199.3 crows per stop, uh, was 9.3 crows count crows per stop, man. I can't talk today, which is up 43% right from last year. Now, when you think about a hen that puts a dozen little ones on the ground, right? That's where you really see the explosion. That's the number that matters. Exactly. And so we haven't had a North Dakota winter in almost a decade now at this point. So our, our overwintering

23:50birds, and there's not a lot of mortality in huns in the winter. They handle a winter pretty well. Which is amazing. I'll go ahead and bring Darwin in when he logs in and we'll, we'll just have him join the conversation. But it's amazing that those tiny little birds, we have listeners around, let's say maybe Texas right now that, uh, that can't probably fathom how cold and windy it really gets up there. And those, those little birds just have a way of powering through. As long as there's

24:20enough birds in a covey. And that's why I, when I was saying earlier, I wasn't shooting into those four and five bird coveys. That's when it starts to reach critical status, right? I mean, if there's, if there's six, eight, 10 there, they can handle 25 below zero with a wind. They just, they'll get right out on top of right over the top of a little hill in the middle of an ag field. And they'll just, they're in a little ball size of a basketball. Yeah. And, but pheasants on the other hand, they can get crushed in a bad winter. So, uh, listen to her. I'm going to look really quick. I don't know if I'm going to be able to find him to get properly, give him a recognition

24:55for sending this in, but he, let's see if I can find it. While you're looking for that, Jacob Beyer commented last week and said, thanks for including my birthday. Maybe the Brittany pup will come soon. Oh, man. So many Brittany pups. I know. I know. That would be sweet. Did Jacob, hopefully he sent, uh, that to his parents to listen to. Since you're Googling stuff live on the podcast here, also look up the Lex surveys that the game and fish did for sharptails. Alex, please look. How do you spell lek? L-E-K. L-E-K. So that's another one of those really good.

25:30That's actually a good metric. Um, the Lex survey is more important to me than the, than the, the crow counts. Um, the, the Lex survey is they have these established Lex all over the state of North Dakota. The game and fish go out there and observe how many, how many sharptails come there year over year. And, uh, last year I know our broods or our sharptail population was down something like 35, 36%. And so the Lex surveys, um, like seeing how many birds are actually showing up to these different Lex around the state and you know, that's going to be a good marker.

26:02Okay. Grouse surveys. The sharptail grouse counts were mixed across the state this spring, which resulted in unchanged statewide count compared to 2025 said Jesse Kohler. Uh, this result was better than expected following poor reproduction and decreases in adults, sharptail densities. And last summer's roadside surveys and the 24% decrease in hunter harvest last fall. Thus we expected to see poor numbers for let counts of spring, but we unchanged just great that our mild winter led to minimal mortality and helped minimize loss after the cool and

26:34wet summer of 2025. I do have the numbers by district observer saw 4.9 males per square mile in the Southwest down 8% from 2025, five males per square mile in the prairie potholes up 2% and 2.9 males per square mile in the drift prairie up to 10% from last year. The only remaining survey block in Red River Valley is Grand Fork County, which yada, yada, yada. And this was from, uh, 25th. Gotcha. Yeah. The North Dakota game and fish does a pretty phenomenal job of putting numbers out. They really do. And it's, it's really nice to know

27:06what's going on there to track it. Also for us as conservationists to understand what's happening there. If we don't talk about those numbers, then we, we don't know what's happening. Even if you're not out there hunting, there's listeners right now in Kansas that have no clue, probably what's going on up in your neck of the woods. Um, hunting season is coming right up. And if you still have wild game in your freezer, then now is a great time to pull it out and cook it. If you need recipes, Walton's has you covered. If you need the tools and ingredients,

27:38Walton's also has you covered. For the past 40 years, they've been supplying America's hunters, anglers, butchers, and families with everything needed to process and prepare their meat. It's their motto, everything, but the meat. If you're looking to make sausage, jerky, snack sticks, roast burgers, broad steaks, you name it. Walton's can help you prepare it like a pro. Take your meat processing and grilling game to the next level at waltons.com. Congrats on 40 years in business, Walton's. You've earned our trust.

28:09Your most devoted friend doesn't put on a seatbelt or stand on two legs. You're his keeper and you'll do anything to protect that bond. Protect them with the Lucky Duck kennel. Lucky Ducks are five-star crash-tested from the center to keep your hunting partner safe. The patented one-piece roto-molded kennel is durable yet lightweight, so anyone in the family can move it. Lucky Duck kennels feature stainless steel hardware, powder-coated tie-downs, and are proudly made in the USA. So go to luckyduck.com today and see the full line of kennels and accessories. Keep your dog safe from the unpredictable with the Lucky Duck,

28:42because loyalty goes both ways. It won't be long and we'll be walking golden fields, forests, and mountains in search of wild birds. Now is a great time to e-scout new places to hunt and get familiar with all the new features that Onyx Hunt has released in their app. If you're going into a really wild place and want safety insurance, there's a new SOS feature on the app. There's also a location sharing feature that allows you to see where your hunting buddies are at in real time. You can also find out which crops are in fields when timber harvests and fires have moved through a forest, and you can even see the

29:15weather that will impact the birds and your hunt. There's always something new at Onyx Hunt, but what hasn't changed is their commitment to helping us become better hunters. Know where you stand with Onyx Hunt.

29:29All right, Darwin Wheeldryer, who is no stranger to this program. Darwin, I believe, did you guys win Upland Feud? No, we didn't win Upland. Did you win, Tyler? We did. You did? Okay. All right. All right. So, um, no, we felt a little short, but it was a heck of a lot of fun. That was great. Yeah. We're working on something new and exciting for this Pheasant Fest, which we can't wait to reveal, but it's too early to talk about that yet. Hey, Darwin, you want to tell your camera so you're not cutting your beautiful face off for

30:01the people at home? Yeah, it is a beautiful Pheasant's Forever shirt. There we go. Your shirt was nice, though. Yep. Okay. So, Darwin, I'll let you chime in on this, and Tyler and I will, too. We're reading some listener messages. We're talking about what we're seeing on the ground right now. This one comes from Jacob. Good morning, Travis. Another day closer to opener. This year, I'm planning my first trip with my dad to North Dakota. I've been out to Hoven, South Dakota multiple times and Worthington multiple times a year, but would like to try Dickey County area in North Dakota. With it being near

30:37Aberdeen, but just over the border, I'm thinking it should be great for birds with less people due to it being in North Dakota. My biggest concern after listening to your podcast weekly is that early June, the area had seen three decent hailstorms. Would you avoid this area this year due to hail right during the hatch? As well as, will there be a good possibility of running into some Sharpies as well? Thank you very much. Stay safe this season. So, Darwin, you're in Wessington Springs. Kind of explain where that is in South Dakota, which

31:12part of the state, which region? Yep, yep. So, we are just south and west of Huron. So, I would kind of call it east central part of the state, Travis. So, yeah, we're just, my property or Wessington Springs is just, what did I say? I goofed up. I'm south and west of Huron about 25 miles. Okay. Tyler, based on what you've seen in that part of the state, what's your advice to Jacob? And Darwin, based on the hail that came through in the Aberdeen area, what you know from

31:47that particular storm, I remember it. I actually reached out to a friend that lives in Aberdeen and he said it missed Aberdeen, but there were some substantial hailstones that fell during that time period. Darwin, you go first. What do you remember from that particular storm and how did that affect your birds and other birds in the area that you're aware of? Sure. So, where we're at, Travis, we've had very little hail. We haven't had any major hail storms. South of Springs a little bit. It was peppered a little bit, I would say, is probably the best way to define it.

32:22The Aberdeen thing, it seems like if I remember, it's the right storm you're talking about. I think that went east of Aberdeen a little way. Yep. I know they got a lot of rain out of it and I know they recently got a lot of rain just last week again. So, I know it's fairly wet up around there. But, you know, as well as I do, you know, them hail storms are really spotty. So, you know, it may wipe out a quarter mile or something, stretch or something for a little ways. But I'm not aware of anything from just watching social media or knowing some of the PF guys up there where

32:59I've seen anything. It's like, wow, this has just been really, really bad. So, you know, I don't really believe it'll be a major factor in outcomes. But, you know, those spotty areas, you never know. Right. Yeah. My advice too to Jacob would be to do the hunt. Yeah, definitely. The one thing that he did mention sharptails in there as well. If you're looking for sharptails, I would recommend going west of Bismarck instead of east. Yeah. I would also say further north as well. I know there are some in

33:34that area, but I think you're going to find more birds the further north you go and the further west you go. Yeah. Like if you were anywhere down along the border, the South Dakota border, but west of Bismarck, almost every storm that we end up getting, same thing down there with Darwin, they all build in the west and move east. And there was a lot of those storms that didn't really hit critical mass until Bismarck. And then as they went farther east, they just kind of kept on getting worse and worse. So like if you just move your line about 70 miles straight to the west, you're going

34:06to have a lot better chance of running into sharptails, better hunt populations, and the pheasant numbers are going to be better. And the biggest thing when you get east of Bismarck is there just isn't the same habitat. And like Darwin can really attest to it. A lot of black dirt. There's a lot of dirt down there. And there's been a lot of tree rows that have been removed. There's a lot of slough bottoms that are not there anymore. If you get west, you just run into more habitat and habitat makes birds. Yep. Darwin, are you seeing more sharptail grouse lately out in your neck of the woods in that part of South Dakota, or has it been pretty stable?

34:38No, it's kind of in my area, which is kind of the anomaly. You know, we're about as far east my property as Travis, what I would call, you know, prairie grouse region in South Dakota. But we've been growing that population for the last few years, you know, and you and I have talked about it. I'm just a firm believer in improved grazing management practices that a lot of ranchers are forced to do just because of the environment. The weather has changed. The winters have changed. You know,

35:09moisture levels have changed that, you know, there's just been a lot more concentrated effort on grazing practices and grass management. And I think that's, that's, you know, I always say, Travis, I'm not a biologist, but my eye tells me a lot. And that's just where I come back to every time. So yeah, it's, you know, it's encouraging for sure. What is your eye telling you going into this current hunting season? I've been enjoying all of the Saturday morning sunrise videos from your property with all the birds. So I can

35:44confirm that you still have pheasants on your property, but is it up? Is it stable? Is it down compared to the, like, let's say the 10-year trend? You know, if you put it in a 10-year trend, Travis, these last few years have got to be, you know, if you put it on a graph, you know, it's just arcing up. You know, our numbers have been really good the last few winters. You know, we haven't had any serious winter conditions for probably three years now, which is playing into a lot of our drought conditions too, obviously.

36:18But our bird numbers are just really strong. And, you know, we've had some variables this year, you know, in June, we had kind of a cold stretch. But thankfully, you know, we really didn't get the cold rain that accompanied it. It was just cold overnight. But, you know, I always say habitat fixes a lot of things, you know. So if there was good areas where there's good habitat, our numbers are going to be good. You know, it's been dry. July was really hot here in South Dakota. Last week,

36:48though, we did get some really nice rains. And I'm kind of hoping we'll recharge things. And it's cooler this week. So, you know, days getting a little shorter and stuff. Even with the drought conditions, you know, I think we're going to be in pretty good shape in a lot of areas. You know, I always say, you know, the James River, you know, you go from Aberdeen South along the James River up in Edel County, spank around here in Redfield, down in our areas and down towards Mitchell and through there. You're just going to have, you know, a really good opportunity. And I know even out here

37:21by pier, the Chamberlain area received some decent rains last week. So I think overall, it's going to be pretty solid again. I don't see any reason why it won't be. You travel quite a bit throughout the state. Are there certain areas that are hit hardest by the drought that people might want to just keep an eye out for? Yeah, I would say you get west of Pier to Rapid. That landscape changed dramatically the last weeks. So that prairie grouse area out there, you know, south here, Fort Pier, you know,

37:56the grasslands are holding pretty good. You know, I drive down by there frequently. It's hanging on, but you get west up by Buffalo Gap. You get west out there by Myrtle and some of those areas. It's pretty darn tough. The conditions are not going to be probably real good out that way for just hunting. I think there's going to be some fire hazard early on and stuff unless this weather just changes. How about haying? Is there any haying going on, emergency haying? Yep, yep. USDA opened up

38:31emergency grazing and haying a few weeks ago. So I've seen some of that on the landscape, you know, and, you know, you're going to see half of it wiped out in areas. But, you know, with the numbers, you know, I think, you know, it's just going to congregate a little bit. Your early season might be a little, you might reward for it here because of the numbers. You know, on a year where you didn't have the numbers, I would say, you know, it's, you know, going to be kind of tough. But crops are stressing some. I could see a lot of corn coming out early. Just, you know, cattle producers

39:08and stuff using it for forage, but cutting it for silage or whatever. But a lot of wheat has come out the last month. So the landscape's changing quite a bit. But like I said, last week, we got some rain. You know, things can recharge pretty quickly if we could get another rain here in August, September early on and get some cooler temperatures. Days get a little shorter. I think the habitat will be in pretty good shape. But the numbers are going to be solid. Have you guys been having a good heavy dew in the morning down there, Darwin?

39:42Yeah, we have, Tyler. We have too. You know, heck, what was it? Last Friday morning, I was out on the place and I mean, it was wet. I mean, you walk into grass, your boots were soaked water. Yeah. So that's been, yeah, Travis, we've had some humidity or Tyler, we've had some humidity that has certainly, you know, mended well with providing, you know, some of those dewy mornings. So I'm in some of these cooler evenings now to

40:13kind of help because the ground is well heated. So we're going to find those conditions. So thankfully, yes. Are you seeing the broods out and about and how big are they size-wise? How big are the birds? I'm seeing the brood sizes that I see, Travis, are good. The size of the birds, they were early hatch. I would say probably even before the primary nesting of, you know, you'd look at June 8th, 9th, 10th. I would say into the end of May, we were probably seeing broods underground. I'm seeing some

40:45broods that, you know, are the size of a, of a, of a hen almost already, you know. So I think our early hatch was really strong. I saw some birds here this last week that are probably in that four-week range. I haven't seen any little itty-bitties. So the month of July, if there was some re-nesting with that heat, I'd be curious, you know, if that had a little bit of impact on that. But I think just overall, our carryover numbers and the number of hens that

41:17came through last winter, guys, that, you know, I think a lot of them nested early and I think a lot of them got broods that are in pretty good shape. And the grasshoppers have showed. I walked into some of my grass last week and there's definitely a grasshopper population. So we're bugging. My wildflowers look good. I think overall, you know, we're in pretty good shape. You know, it's such a, such a volatile weather element more across the country. It's just, you know, you just,

41:51and that's, you know, me, just got to have some habitat out there and they can get through a lot in areas where you don't, that there might be, you know, that heat might've, might've played a part. Yeah. Well, I think the thing that you guys touched on, but Darwin, you know, just the fact that we could have crops come out earlier. We are trying to play scientists or predictors here. There's no way for us to know that there could be a two back-to-back eight inch rainfalls that just knock

42:23the, the fields back and tractors can't get out there. We don't, we don't need a couple eight inches. I know what I'm saying. These are the things that happen in the real world. We can talk all day long about, I think this might happen. I think this might happen. And then all of a sudden on Friday, we had six inches of rain fall 30 minutes west of my house and my buddy's basement, his, um, I was in a tent when that happened, by the way, that was not fun to wake up to, you know, it, it was, they said we could get a potential for flash flooding. I looked the night

42:53before and it missed us. We got two and a half inches at my house, but it, it changes so quickly. You just don't know. And Darwin, you said it, you you've been saying it for years and we try to tell people all the time, if you have the habitat, the birds and the wild creatures can escape those dramatic events. If you don't, the marginal stuff, they might not survive it. And you have a beautiful property out there, but you, you clearly are investing the time and the resources you have into making it what it has become, but it's, it's giving you some of the finest wild pheasant

43:28hunting in North America. Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's, it's, it's, it's a pretty sweet spot, Travis. And like I say, the most, most fun I see anymore is, you know, I've, I've got probably a good covey of 30 to 40 sharpies hanging around and in equal size of a prairie chicken. So, uh, we're doing our best in our area to, um, you know, uh, see if we can continue to grow that into our part of this state. Do you think you'll, you'll take a shot at one of those birds if they get up in range?

44:01Yeah, for sure. I don't know if you wanted to just see if maybe you could be kind of the feeder for all your neighbors and grow a larger population just in, in your neck of the woods. And those barbellies get up. It's hard to pass. Right. Right. That's awesome. Well, we appreciate your time, Darwin. I'm excited. I was talking to Bob St. Pierre. He said he's filming opening day at your place this year. Elms is, is truly a magical place. And I'm glad that he's going to be sharing opening day with you out

44:32there. Can't wait to watch that. You've, uh, got some early plans, been working with, uh, with a chapter and stuff too, with Bob in town. We're going to take every opportunity we can to maximize this, um, treat that we're going to be, you know, given through PF. So pretty excited. Oh, very cool. Thank you for all the work you do, Darwin. Yep. Yep. All right. Thanks. We're going to let you go. We've got our next guest on the line.

45:01All right. Our next guest is Josh Tappman. Josh, you're in your vehicle right now. Which state are you currently in? And do you have any storms to chase today? I'm in Northern Wyoming and we're, uh, we're in the dry season. There haven't really been any storms lately, which, you know, a little rain would be nice, but it is what it is. What's been the biggest, um, storm or tornado that you've been able to chase this past calendar year? None. It's been, uh, it's been a pretty slow season out this far West for severe weather. I know you've

45:38had more, uh, further East and Tyler, I think of your way there's, there's been some weather, but, uh, the, probably the biggest storm. We've had a few, but not many compared to last year. Yeah. Northwest South Dakota had a nice storm, maybe three or four weeks back. Um, but even that one didn't do too much. So it's been pretty quiet, but that's right. It's just more time to run the dogs and do a little summer training. So you've been out and about, so you're in Wyoming, but

46:08you've been in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota. Where should we begin with kind of what you're seeing out there? Let's, maybe let's start in Wyoming. Um, I know drought is a big deal right now in the West. You were texting me yesterday, just about kind of how your fall is going to play out this year, just based on certain areas that are going to have a little bit better moisture, um, better expectations going into hunting season. Can you kind of give us an overview over what you shared with me? Sure. Yeah. So between doing a few, um, late spring

46:43storm chases and just family trips, um, yeah, I've been, I've been across a decent chunk of the Western high plains and, um, Northern plains and bottom line that I've seen on the ground and this jives with the drought monitor map. If you pull that up and look at it, um, is further South is really dry. Uh, here in Northern Wyoming, we're kind of on the cusp of it where it's maybe not quite so bad, um, but localized, okay conditions. But even where I'm at, um, you

47:17drive an hour East to here and it's bony. It looks, it looks like not much, very short grass, very Brown, um, poor, uh, habitat conditions for sure. Um, but right where I'm at, um, it, it's okay. There's a little bit of green to the grass. Uh, still it's got a little bit of height to it. Um, and that's true both on the mountain and, uh, kind of more prairie stuff. So, um, but going North, um, Southern Montana is dry as bone. Um, again, probably localized spots that aren't

47:55quite so bad. And, but Northern Montana looks great, um, from what I've seen anyway. Um, so it seems like habit, habitat conditions definitely improve with Northern extent. And just this last week, it drove all the way across all of South Dakota and, um, conditions are okay. Actually, anywhere kind of East of the Black Hills. I mean, it's obviously a little bit droughty, but some green to the grass and there should still be some bugs for roots to be picking at. And I would imagine that

48:28it's not going to be a terrible season through that stretch of the country.

48:33Which bird species do you think are going to be most affected by the severity of the drought? Here in, in Northern Wyoming, um, I think, unfortunately, because most people probably traveled to Wyoming to hunt sage grouse, sage grouse numbers are going to be down this year. That's, that's pretty well expected across the board. I've had conversations with our state wildlife biologists and, um, looking at lack counts this spring, they're seeing 10 to 25% droughts.

49:03In attendance on average across much of Wyoming. Um, so there's still going to be birds out there. Um, but their numbers are going to be down probably the same for sharptails in Eastern Wyoming and, and spilling over into the surrounding States as well. Um, I think that if any birds are going to be able to capitalize on kind of our later shot of moisture that we got in, um, mid to late June, it's going to be the Huns because they've got a bit later hatch and, uh, probably the, the mountain

49:38grouse, if you will, some blue grouse, rough grouse where they occur. Um, it seems like they're, they're going to be able to take advantage of that, that green wave, um, where those young broods are going to be able to get more forbs and, um, and bugs.

49:57Didn't you guys have a snow storm right out there, like right on the Montana border, right around July 4th up in the mountains? Was that up by Red Lodge maybe? Yeah, no, you're right. You're right on with that. Um, there were some late cold snaps for sure. And even just yesterday, actually, I was up on the mountain running dogs cause it was 50 degrees up there yesterday. Um, which you gotta take advantage of that this time of year. Um, but yeah, despite the cooler temperatures overall drought, which I'm sure is what you guys have already been chatting

50:32about.

50:34Yeah. Well, I'm curious, Josh, you know, you're able to get up into those higher elevations where it's cooler and run some dogs. We hunted together, you and I and Dan two years ago. And last year you were, you were telling me that the bird numbers were quite a bit down compared to what we experienced. Can you explain why that is? I mean, what, what changed? And then do you think it's going to come back as far as we're talking mountain grouse? Mm-hmm. Yeah, sure. I mean, this is, this is speculation because one, I'm not a biologist and

51:07two, uh, Wyoming's biologists don't even track mountain grouse populations. So it's, it's anybody's guess essentially, but from, from what I've seen two seasons ago when you were out here hunting was probably sort of the, the peak of the, uh, natural population cycle. Um, and you know, just like any other birds, pheasants or cartridge or whatever, they tend to fluctuate anyway. And that was just a really good season. Um, last year I would say it's closer to average, maybe a little bit better than

51:42average for blue grouse and roughs. Um, in this year I would expect numbers to be down a little more, um, anecdotal, uh, accounts. And from what I've seen, brood sizes vary a lot. Um, seeing everything from one or two chicks to a hen to eight or nine, which is actually really good for blue grouse. Um, but it seems super spotty and localized. And, um, I would say we're, we're probably going to have average or

52:14maybe slightly less than average, uh, in this particular area. Now, again, as you go south, you get into mountain ranges that are more Southern Wyoming down into Colorado or New Mexico, man, I think their mountain grouse season is not going to be that great. Um, I mean, Western Colorado has had the driest year in recorded history and same with Southern Wyoming. Um, I mean, these are, these are birds that are able to adapt to droughty conditions. And sometimes you go from a few average

52:47seasons into a drought and they do really well. Um, I think we lost them there, but looking at, at Colorado right now, Josh, sorry, if you're able to hear us, but, uh, right dead center of Colorado, it is dark brown, which means exceptional drought. Most of the rest of the mountain ranges throughout Colorado are extreme drought. Yeah. And then there's some severe drought throughout the state, but basically Colorado, even Wyoming, um, Nebraska. Well, yeah, I, I, I don't know. I mean,

53:28it's, but, but then also what changes elevation wise when you go up a mountain and you might find that at 12,000 feet, things are completely different than at 6,000 feet. A lot of the reason why a lot of those mountain ranges are in drought is because like Josh said, there, there was no snow, you know, like I had a, uh, I got a friend that, uh, has, that goes to Vail every year for skiing. And he said it was their worst ski season that they've ever had. Well, Josh, you're, you're, you're on the slopes all winter long too. I mean,

53:59did you guys even have a chance to get out? Did you have any snow in the mountains this year? It was bony. There was barely enough snow to ski in our little ski areas. And I didn't, um, back country skier or ski tour a single day last season. Dang. Well, uh, connection, sorry about losing you there for a second, but I'll last question here before we hang up with you. What are you looking forward to this hunting season? Are there any particular bird hunts that you're excited about or species that you're like, you know,

54:29I think this, this is going to be kind of the year of maybe it's, it's a quail or something out west. Oh, did we lose them? I'll take halfway through your question. Tyler, you take that one. Uh, so last year, um, and I'm still just absolutely kicking myself for not getting to New Mexico to chase scale quail. Yeah. They had abnormally good winter rains last year. Um, uh, like basically all the way across the state, there was a 15 inch wet snowfall that

55:03happened in, in New Mexico. Um, and then they've been getting good, good amounts of summer moisture as well. The scale quail in New Mexico, which New Mexico is coming with you on that one, by the way, because it's been on my list for the last several years. I know. And I, and I hunted it, I've only hunted New Mexico once and it was a decade ago and I had no idea what I was doing and I still found some success. Perfect. But, uh, this last year was, was the year of the scale quail. And I just, I'm positive. I mean, just looking at all the, all the, uh, you know, the weather patterns and

55:37everything else, it's going to be at least as good as last year. All right. So we lost Josh's connection up in the mountains. I think it was dry, dry, dry. And then maybe got him. Yeah. I think maybe big foot. I did see this black thing just appear on his screen. So maybe, maybe it was big foot. But when we lost Josh, we gained Nate. Nate Scott, welcome back to the podcast. It's been about nine months or something like that since we had you on. Cause we got the opportunity to

56:09hunt quail down in Kansas with you. And I thought we've been talking about North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, Montana. Let's find out what's happening with the Bob white quail in Kansas. You've sent me a couple of beautiful videos lately. They're singing. They're standing on posts. I mean, they're just, they know that there's nobody hunting them right now, except for Hawks and not as many on Nate's property because he's gotten rid of places for Hawks to ambush them. Nate, what are the, I thought

56:39you were going to say he shot them. I was going to say you shouldn't say no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Uh, so, um, go ahead. Yeah, go ahead. I was, uh, going to let you just answer what things look like in Kansas right now. Currently much better than what they did to start the year. We've had some rain now. The cover's coming in well. Um, we're seeing some broods now, but it really got delayed. Uh, basically coming out of winter, we had tremendous, uh, carryover of birds. I mean,

57:10we didn't have bad winter at all from South of us. So Southern tier counties, long Oklahoma did get hit with that really bad ice storm. I don't know how bad Oklahoma is doing this year based upon that, but they got hammered with ice storm. Then we came into a drought and January, we got an inch of total precipitation from February to May 5th. We only got four tenths of an inch of rain. So think about three months saying you've been out there, Travis, Sandy, dry, hot. It was looking really bad. And we, we did our burns in April, like we normally do in disking. So we burned almost 300 acres. We

57:46disc almost 200, which is about half of our CRP. Nothing. Even the weeds were dying in our outbreaks. It was not good. Um, finally starting in May, around May 5th, we started getting rain. We've been getting pretty good rain. So it's gotten really dry again now. So we went from exceptional drought to dry. What it did was, it was really interesting. Um, we did see a lot more, anecdotally, a lot more CRP in our area was either disc or burn this year. Um, the FSA director, I think really got on some

58:17guys about doing their maintenance projects for CRP because there was a pretty high rate of people wanting to renew their CRP this year in our area, which is tremendous. There was more burned in disc this year than I've ever seen. Downside to that is no rain, no cover is going back up in those areas. So we start getting rain in May and it delayed everything about two to three weeks. So what we saw was we started seeing the sunflowers pop, the weeds come up, insects showing up, but everything got pushed about two to three weeks and interrupt me here anytime. So you know me, I will ramble.

58:52And so what we did, let me do that then. Um, what does that do when things get delayed? Do you see the birds change anything? I mean, their, their nests are going to happen by the calendar, not necessarily by what the weather says. Right. Okay. Well, I thought the same things. I called Dr. Martin, Georgia, who's, you know, we're seeing this quail study. I guess it's been extremely dry down there too. And he, they were seeing two to three week delay on nesting, which we, which my concern

59:23was I called him because in early June, normally that's when you hear a phenomenal amount of whistling. Most of the hens are on nest. The male quail are still trying to find somebody to mate with. You'll see, you know, you'll hear a tremendous number of whistling. Plus you'll see one fin hen whale being chased by two, three, four, five, even little males trying to chase her down. This year, we saw the tons of pairs that time of year. And he said, it actually pushed things two to three weeks, which was a good thing that allowed the cover to start coming back. So they actually did.

59:54I guess it wasn't just based on calendar. Interesting. So what are the biologists that are working on this study on your properties? What have they been telling you lately? Cause they're out there regularly, right? Yeah. I get reports from them. You know, they'll text me, email me. Um, I also get a monthly report on what's going on for the whole study and then also for artery, which is pretty cool. That tells us what's going on, what they're seeing. Anecdotally, I think we had higher nest predation when they did start nesting, just based on what they're showing me on

1:00:27mortality. Give you an example, they radio tagged 54 quail in our area. By now, 30 of them have already been killed. So over 50% have already perished. And that was mainly from the hogs. But anecdotally, what it did was the cover was not as tall in these areas. Plus we also think about all the raccoons, possums, skunks are coming out of hibernation. The little ones, there's no food on the landscape. The water's all dried up. There's no frogs. The bugs are minimal. We don't have sandhill plums with any

1:00:57fruit on them. It hit the nest pretty hard, unfortunately. However, with the delay, it did improve things. So that's where we're at. Is that a normal spring process that those birds have to endure in your area? Or was it abnormal this year because of more of the drought? I mean, do you have enough data to say that we're going to lose 50% of them every spring and then we gain back through the nesting? It was a little bit more abnormal this year. It was a little bit higher. Just looking back

1:01:28on her last, you know, when she's been doing this for three years now, the previous two years, nest success, like last year was 58%, which was phenomenal. We're at 40% this year, but there's still five nests. They're still nesting. And if those get added into it, just let's say two of those five make it, we'll be over 50%. That's success on the ones that are collared. So here's an interesting... We're looking last year at, I think it was, we were at 76% juvenile birds, right? That's what you had

1:01:59as of when we hunted with you. Correct. What are your expectations this year then knowing the carryover and then how the nesting has been so far? Can you, can you guess or try to predict it? I guess. I think it's going to be very similar to last year. Give you an example. Our county last year was up on the brood count, 450% compared to the year prior in 2024. Well, that's not so bad. That's not too bad. I like those percentage. A 450% increase from 2024 to 2025, which you got to reap those rewards, Travis, when you were down here.

1:02:32Yeah. So the number of birds we saw. So we just, so we had tremendous carryover and what we're seeing, if let's say two of those four nests, five nests make it, we're going to be back up around that 60% nesting success. What I'm seeing is we're just seeing lighter broods. Andrew saw our first brood like in probably about June 10th, which mean that, that quail actually laid, started initiating a nest late in May, or excuse me, late in April, early May, which is really early. But we're, we're seeing some pretty decent sized broods right now. And insect population is, looks really good. Anecdotally, the quail or pheasant side

1:03:09of things, we had really good carryover. We're seeing a lot of broods and pheasants. The drought did two things for us. One, it made, you know, covered not very good, but it also caused a 20% abandonment in wheat. And about 50% of our pheasants nest in wheat. And so they had early harvest, however, with that abandonment. So in our county, that's 100,000 acres. So 20,000 acres were abandoned. Normally it's about 5,000. So that provided some additional nesting cover for the pheasants. So we're seeing a lot of pheasant broods too. So, and you know, just to talk a little bit about the pheasants, they, they look to be doing very static, do

1:03:41a little better than last year. Whale-wise, based on what I've seen when I got there 10 days ago, I think we're going to be, we're going to be good. Maybe not quite as good as last year, but very close, which last year was one of the best years we'd had in 20 years. Yeah. So people listening right now, if you're contemplating a hunt in Kansas, Nate, what would you tell them? Do it? Just talk to the biologists, talk to KWTP and find out where those hailed, there was a few hailstorms. We've had very few. So you take the Western two thirds of Kansas,

1:04:13I would say it's going to be very good. I don't know Southern Tier County, right? That severe hailstorm. It appears like it's going to be a really good year again this year. I'll hedge my bet. I'm not like Tim Brown. It's going to say it's an A plus all the time. Right. Okay. So my last question before we get our next guest to jump on here, looking at the way that the drought has affected the landscape, you are very intensive managing the property down to the details that I've never seen anybody else work and record in

1:04:44your books. Do you look at it and say, we're not going to burn right now, or we're not going to disc, or we're not going to do anything right now because it's going to risk something because of how extreme the drought can be? We just had no idea coming in, it's going to be that dry. We burned early April. It's going to start raining here. Yeah. Had it do over again, I would have reduced the amount of burns I did. I would reduce how heavy we disc the ground. The one property across the road from us, we actually didn't hunt. We weren't able to burn because of a burn ban. They did kick in a burn ban

1:05:18later in April. And I'm glad we didn't because it looked really good. And we got really good development. I think even the ones where we had heavy burning, we're seeing a lot of birds on there. So I think we're okay. The cover looks good right now. A lot of optimism there. We will let you continue your travels. I appreciate you logging in from the airport. We've never had anybody from a major tarmac. This is the hard part about doing these shows with people around bird country. Like we just had Josh. He was at probably 8,000 feet. You know,

1:05:50he was up in the mountains. And last year we had people following their dogs on the field, walking. While they were in the field hunting. And those are the best reports you could possibly get. But Nate is currently on a flight. Ready to get on a plane. Ready to get on another flight. At least he wasn't joining from the plane. That would have been interesting. That would have been cool. That would have been very cool. Well, next time you fly, we'll log you in. Yeah, a four-hour layover. I could have come to the studio with you. Yeah, no doubt. Yeah, I'm sure he is here in Minneapolis, too.

1:06:21Yeah, I'm sitting in Minneapolis. Just down the road. All right. I'll see you on Thursday. You bet. Sounds great. We'll go grab dinner. When the hunt is on, your dog's performance matters. Every step, every sprint, every retrieve. It takes stamina, strength, and focus. And that starts with what's in their bowl. Black Gold Dog Food is crafted for active dogs, delivering the balanced nutrition they need to power through the season and beyond. Because a good diet isn't just fuel for today's hunt.

1:06:53It's the foundation for all-season performance. Visit blackgoldpet.com to learn more and find a retailer near you. Black Gold. Unleash adventure. If you're looking to sharpen your upland shooting skills, or maybe your kids are starting to get into the sport like mine are, then you need to check out GAME. That's G-A-I-M. Our friends over there are changing the way we approach training. Their cutting-edge virtual reality hunting and shooting scenarios immerse you in the field without actually leaving your home. Whether it's game birds or clays, the game system allows you to practice your shotgun mechanics, giving

1:07:28you real-time shot feedback that allows for instant adjustments. And it's been incredibly fun for my kids. It allows them to safely build confidence, which I know translates to success in the field. Virtual training, real results. Click the show description below to learn more, or visit their website at game.com to try for yourself. That's G-A-I-M.com. Welcome to a hunter's paradise in North Dakota. HelloND.com. Let's talk pheasant hunting. The 2026

1:08:00spring pheasant crowing count survey was up 9% statewide from last year. Ample spring precip has created near ideal nesting and brood rearing habitat, setting the stage for another strong hunting season. If you're a waterfowl hunter, North Dakota's 2026 spring breeding duck survey estimated approximately 2.4 million breeding ducks, reinforcing the state's reputation as the duck factory. A premier destination for waterfowl hunting, North Dakota offers about 880,000 acres of private land, open to public walk-in hunting through the PLOTS program. For the latest information on public hunting lands

1:08:32and PLOTS access, visit the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. Start planning your fall hunt in North Dakota at LOND.com. You don't know what you have until it's gone. You've probably heard that before, but I'm telling you again because when it comes to your hearing, you really don't know what you have until you lose it. I can tell you this because I've lost quite a bit of my hearing and it affects everything I do in life. Every single shotgun blast takes its toll on your hearing and you will live with those effects for the rest of your life. But here's the thing. If you protect your hearing today,

1:09:02you can keep it. AllClear makes hearing protection for active hunters like us. Their in-ear monitors enhance the sounds of the wild world to help you hear every part of the hunt while also cutting out the loud blast from the shot. I wear their EXP Pros and they become a standard tool on all of my hunts, just like a good pair of boots and a shotgun. These are custom fit to your ear. They feature high definition sound shaping, wind noise rejection, and impact defense protection. Trust me when I say this is not something you want to wait on because there will be a day when

1:09:35it's too late to get your hearing back. Learn more at AllClear.com.

1:09:42From the Minneapolis airport to the farm fields of Iowa, Steve Hall joins us in Tyler's truck. My old truck. The white lightning. Yes. Beards looking great today. Alex wore a center hat just for you. Just for you. Subconsciously this morning when I was getting dressed, I put it on. Subconsciously. I knew you were a good dude. And Alex is also trying to grow his beard today in honor of you, Steve. Yeah. He says he can, he thinks he can get there by pheasant fest and we're doubtful.

1:10:15How many years have you been growing that thing? This is five years. I'm like, this December will be six, but I've had some... What is the weirdest thing you've ever found in that beard? I was going to say, what's the largest item you've ever lost in it? Small children. No. The worst thing that ever happened is I lit a deep fat fryer and it caught on fire. That was kind of, that was startling. Burnt hair is such a terrible smell. How long before it was gone? Oh, like a year and a half. I mean, it blew a hole right through my beard.

1:10:47I called the barbershop. I was like, I'm in trouble. And I walked in and everybody turned their head. She's like, yep, I told them you're, you're the guy with the burnt beard. And so deer smell hair, because if you notice, if like, let's say you're like by my wife, I don't have hair on my head. But after we sit by a bonfire days, if she doesn't, I mean, really get a good wash, you can smell the bonfire in here. So I was talking to one of the manufacturers of one of the scent eliminating gels, you know,

1:11:19years ago. I forget if it was scent shield or scent block or whatever. I don't know what, but they said hair is the hardest thing to hide from a deer's nose. Is that why? Yeah. Like he's such a pro level deer hunter that his hair just fell out. I don't have hair, so I can just, I'm stealth mode. I'm a white tail. Yeah. Steve, I imagine don't, you probably don't harvest a lot of mature white tail bucks. I've kind of stopped chasing those guys a while ago. Yeah. No, I don't. There it is. Five years.

1:11:49Yeah. That probably is about right, last Buckeye shot. Yeah.

1:11:57Well, you sent me a video yesterday of some cute little teeny tiny chicks running around that had to been a late hatch on pheasants. What do you see in Iowa? Which part of Iowa are you in for our listeners that don't know where you're at? And what are you seeing on the landscape? Yep. So I'm in West Central Iowa over in Crawford County. And right where we're at, it's actually raining right now, but we've been pretty dry with adequate moisture, but not anything that has been detrimental to the hatch.

1:12:31And locally, the buddies and I, we've all been seeing quite a few. And I was talking to my friend Jared last night, and he's even saw a couple of cubbies of quail. So that's, that's pretty good. Um, I haven't seen any quail, but the pheasant numbers seem to be really good, but it seems like if you get a little more like central, I was talking to, um, Jace Elliott last night, he's the Iowa deer biologist. And, um, they did a route around Ames and they only saw six and 25 miles, but they had really heavy rains and he didn't see any chicks.

1:13:01So maybe they're a little bit affected, but I think it'll be pretty localized where there will be, you know, a negative impact. Uh, I know I texted you this too, but last year was Iowa's 100th pheasant season and they were, the DNR was saying it was our best season in 20 years. And I think they were off the mark just a hair, maybe last, the year before was maybe just a touch better. And I think that this year is looking better than two years ago, but really, yeah, 21 years.

1:13:33Yeah, I think so. Um, but like I said, locally, uh, you get to those wet spots and they're probably going to have an impact. It's not so favorable, but right now it's looking good. The one thing that is not looking so good is there's a lot of farms that are coming up for, uh, their CRP renewal. And I, I lost an 80 last night, you know, they're going to pull it on October 1st. So that's such a shame because it feels like we've been going the right way and now the habitat's going to slip. And I think it's going to come up and tank.

1:14:04So, so as a farmer and a bird hunter, you're, you've got this constant battle that you're in, right? You want the habitat cause you know, you need it for birds, but you also need to farm. And so trying to figure out what the balance is, um, you know, what's the reason for people that don't live where you live that want to travel to your area to pheasant hunt, but then they see this, now this 80 is gone. This CRP is gone. Explain why this is happening. Well, the, the, the payment has come down.

1:14:35So back when these guys put it in, I know for a fact, there was a local guy, um, that he put it in and he says, I don't have to farm it anymore. This payment is enough. It'll cover my payment. And he didn't, you know, it was one less thing to worry about. It was simple, took care of it. And now, uh, prices of land has come up even more, uh, inputs are crazy high. So with a decrease in the payment, guys are going to try to farm it out of it. I think the number that I'm kind of hearing consistently is like 30 bucks less an acre.

1:15:08Well, it doesn't sound much like much if you only have, you know, 10, 15, 20 acres, but there's guys that have hundreds of acres, you know, 30 bucks an acre. All of a sudden they're like, well, I think I can farm it out or maybe even rent it out of it. So I don't know. It, it's disheartening to see, like I said, with the numbers looking so positive and then to know that we're going to lose this habitat. But I mean, what do you do? I'd say it's really, it's a rock and a hard spot situation. Do you think there's any hope though, with the new farm bill that it could offset the,

1:15:41the difference that is causing farmers to take it out? And would you tell them, please just wait? I mean, do you already know the answer to it? I don't know. I mean, I, I'm not, I'm not up with all that stuff very well, but I think that the, the, the, the government or the, the governor race, one of the hot topics in Iowa is all the nitrates in the water and the cancer rate. And both parties, like Rob Sand has said, wetlands are the best. And I listened to Prairie Farm podcast and Zach Lon or Lane, however you pronounce it.

1:16:14He, you know, he, he's trying to address it too. And I think that, you know, this might not be a popular opinion, but I think that all of us farmers that have a land that borders the creek, it'd just be mandated, man, you've got to have a 1500, I don't know, a bumper because that will do more good than I think is even realized. Just take it out at the source. Don't even let it get in. Um, and then on top of that, then, then you get the added benefit of the habitat that's

1:16:44alongside the wetlands as well. So it's a double, it's a double whammy. So yes, in theory though, guys, that's great. Minnesota has the same exact law in place and it came in about 10 years ago now. Um, and the reality is that the thousands and thousands and thousands of miles of drain tile take the water out of the center of that field and shoot it very quickly into the, into the ditch. So underneath all that beautiful grass buffer that you have, the water is flying into that

1:17:18ditch without any filter. Sure. And then that water goes into the creek and the creek goes into the stream and the stream goes into the river and pretty soon you have what we continue to have. The missing piece is the ability for that rain to hit the landscape and naturally funnel to a low spot where it can sit and filter in grass the way that it was intended to do. Even putting that 50 foot buffer. Yeah, it's great. Right. But the problem is most of that water is, is already running underground underneath the soil in drain tile and shooting right into the ditch.

1:17:52No filtration at all. So I would be at four, the 50 foot strip, if it meant that the water couldn't just run directly underneath it. I just don't know that there's ever any way that they're not going to be drain tiling fields when they're selling land and farm country in Iowa for $18,000, $20,000 an acre. You know, I mean like it's, it's a real problem. It's a problem, but also I think it's a problem that there's the highest cancer rates in America going on at the exact same time too. So what do you want?

1:18:23Right. I know what I want. I know what I want. Yeah. But how do we get there? We know what Steve wants. We know what Steve wants. Yeah. Yep. Yeah. I don't know the answer to it. Like you said, it would be better than nothing, right? But it's not the, and it's not the silver bowl. It's not the end all beat all. But I think that some things like that could help change some of the, I have to be positive to think that if, if we gave an inch, it might give us a centimeter of gain, right? And it's not a lot to ask to say, Hey, put a 50 foot strip in and, and try to lower cancer

1:18:56rates. But that's a whole nother, that's a whole nother topic, man. I'm just a simple bird hunter, I guess.

1:19:05And, uh, and according to Steve, we're looking at one of the best pheasant hunting seasons in Iowa in the last 20 years. Is that a Tim Brown grade or is that an actual? Tim would give it an A plus plus. But, you know, at the same time, Iowa has been a sleeper and it, I mean, not really a sleeper, but it's kind of been a sleeper for about the last five years. I mean, it just continues to get better and better in Iowa. And I don't think that a lot of people come here because there's not a lot of public, right?

1:19:35The land is so valuable that it's owned privately and, uh, the CRP that's there, us local guys are hunting that we have the connection and, and, you know, the relationship. So it's a difficult state to come to and hunt because of that. The, the public stuff that is available gets pounded. I mean, I, I might hit it the first week or two and then maybe mid season just to go challenge myself, go do something different. But we basically ignore it because it gets hit every other day, if not every day. Sure. Right. Yeah.

1:20:06I mean, you're talking 97% of the land in Iowa is privately owned. So if you don't know somebody, the habitat though is, is some of the best. I've ever walked in because the soil is some of the most fertile soil in, in our country, which gets us to where we're at today, obviously, you know, so what somebody can make on that land. Ah, that's a, that's a whole nother conversation. I was going to say that's a whole podcast. It's several podcasts. Yeah. Yeah. There was a record set in, uh, Illinois this week.

1:20:38I think the most valuable farmland in the country, I think it just sold for like 26 or $27,000 an acre. Where was it at? In, in, uh, Illinois. Illinois. Yeah. Yeah. Also probably has, probably has something to do with the fact that there's not a lot of really good bird hunting in Illinois anymore. Well, it's, it's, uh, uh, we're looking, I'm looking at the drought monitor here, which this whole conversation, let's, we'll keep Steve, as long as you've got a couple of minutes, we're going to wrap it up. We, we went across Minnesota, the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming, and Kansas.

1:21:12And now we're in Iowa, but I'm looking at the drought map here, Missouri. Um, I personally think based on what I'm seeing and just guessing the amount of quail in Iowa and Missouri, I think that could be another sort of little destination for us bird hunters. We're going to learn more in the coming weeks. It's fun to start seeing these birds out there on the landscape. I know Steve, when you're out there in the tractor and you're seeing the birds, I get cool videos from your perspective too, every once in a while.

1:21:43And, and, uh, we're going to get a lot more of these reports, state agencies that are conducting their own official surveys today was unofficial. These are friends looking at what they see in their own backyards and places that they like to walk, which is, is fun because we get excited. You know, it's that time of the year where that, like we, we can see the finish line. And so every day we get up and it starts getting a little cooler in the mornings. They start getting a little bit shorter. I mean, it gets a little harder to sleep at night, you know, and so, and then you get

1:22:15out in the mornings when you get that heavy dew in the morning in August and you go out and you start seeing birds on the ground and it's, it's easy to get excited. Yep, absolutely. Uh, one, one little nugget that we missed from the conversation with Nate was that his biologists that are doing this study mentioned that 20%, was it 20% of the nests have males currently sitting on them, sitting on the nest, which means double clutching, double clutching. Let's go. Yeah. It's so cool. Yeah. Double clutch.