More rain! Widespread!

B

benelli-banger

Well-known member
Very nice system moved across SD through the nite…not torrential rains, but it all helps…Mitchell got 1.25”…further north in the state has gotten lots in the last month, maybe it will start getting distributed further central and south…I’m heading there thur am, I will report back.
 
Not a f'n drop here. When it heads east, it peters out. When it gets here, it goes south. When it develops over head, it misses and moves east. I hate these weather terrorists. All they do is get paid to lie on a daily basis. Reminds me of a politician. These rainless summers are getting so old.
 
Got showers here and there through the night. Grass is wet, but the ground is still dry. We need a lot more rain in central Minn.
 
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In NW Iowa, we have been getting a rain (under an inch) every 4 days or so it seems now for the last 2 weeks, was terrible dry prior to this. Last night's rain was a bit wider spread, most have been small cells, hit & miss stuff. Nebraska & Kansas still look to have a larger dry areas, but the drought monitor maps are looking a bit better...we are locally out of the "red" area now.
 
I just discovered this Forum. I hunt public land around 20-30 miles east of Aberdeen. Anyone know how dry this area is and are there many Pheasants in the area. Thanks.
 
I've been watching the area from the Missouri east and south of I-90 pretty closely and they have been getting some nice consistent rains. Hopefully it'll start showing up on the drought map. I keep my phone weather location set for my stomping grounds and haven't seen any major alerts. I also look at the past 24 hour radar on weather underground if I miss it live. Seems like the stars might be aligning for a good season! Looking forward to your report BB
 
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Ummmmm...pheasants are not row crops. Getting some rain at this point doesn't mean a new crop of "pheasant sprouts". The rain was needed over a month ago for nesting birds. The rain will help the farmers...not necessarily the bird hatch/production. I've seen some very wet October's...the pheasant didn't just "sprout up" because of it.
 
nastymcnarf said:
Ummmmm...pheasants are not row crops. Getting some rain at this point doesn't mean a new crop of "pheasant sprouts".
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You serious Clark??

Seems like the point of the thread is hoping for some of this extreme drouhgt to get better. Would be good for all Gods creatures. As for phez specifically what do you think them little ones eat/drink all summer long. Bugs & grass dew. Lots more of both of them when theirs good moisture around.

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Pretty sure no one was suggesting there were gonna be a new sprout of pheasants. Gotta think big picture. Additional rain keeps areas out of drought conditions which also increases hay production and thus less CRP needing to be cut and bailed which is good overall for the birds. Also think crop production and what the rain does for that. Positive for the farmers and also for the birds long term.
 
I’m in SD now, driving around observing lots of birds, including many broods…looking good. There’s water in some fields and ditches…lightly raining…my farmer buddy who stopped over last night said that June and July got flip-flopped this year…my food plots got planted 6/2, it rained a week after that, and we’re getting about an inch per week, give or take. Decent insect #’s. This is my 3rd trip here since early May. I watch the weather on the computer daily, talk to about 5-6 locals here regularly, not just farmers. I’ll have seen better years in my 30+ years than this year, but it’ll be really good. Bird carryover was great. Winter not too harsh here, vs other parts of the state. Sitting typing, drinking coffee…birds crowing…cover is green and lush…hopefully CRP doesn’t get opened for haying/grazing. Substantial acres put into conservation programs, things are looking up. Last year it didn’t rain after 7/4 around here until Sept…tough on every living thing. Saw about 15 adults and 6 broods, all big (more chicks in each brood I couldn’t see), on my 8 mile drive to get to my land. Grass wasn’t wet or dewy this am, it is getting there now. Cool breezes blowing….most chicks could fly, some couldn’t..,I see no weather-related reason why initial hatches weren’t successful, unlike many other years when torrents of rain fell around 6/10 followed by cold weather…my concerns would only have been not enough insects, but my contact who drives gravel daily to work assuaged those concerns, she’s been seeing lots of young ones this summer in her 12 mile drive in to her job at the vet clinic. Bringing her her favorite dish from a Chinese place a mile away from my home in Duluth, she used to live an hour away and loved their Lo Mein…well-spent $25 a few times per year, they take great care of my dogs. Overall, not perfect out here, but looking good, dare I say great! The amount of crowing around the farmhouse 8 miles away when I awoke was ridiculous, lots of great habitat close by. ???
 
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At this point in life, my bigger concerns out here are for the farmers, if they’re doing well, they can afford to think about habitat…the birds will be here in some #’s…I spent 34 years in the financial advice biz…my markets were nothing like the commodity markets…talk about big swings on a regular basis! I couldn’t deal with it….????????
 
Started driving slowly, see object on road 80 yards up…moved a bit, creeping up in my van…see wings flutter…one chick, then 4-5 scurrying…look another 75 yards further up the road, 3-4 more adults…ditches are tall with grass, narrowing the road…just looked up from typing, 4 more chicks, pigeon sized! Now 4/5 more! Yup, please keep me healthy dear god! ???
 
nastymcnarf said:
Ummmmm...pheasants are not row crops. Getting some rain at this point doesn't mean a new crop of "pheasant sprouts". The rain was needed over a month ago for nesting birds. The rain will help the farmers...not necessarily the bird hatch/production. I've seen some very wet October's...the pheasant didn't just "sprout up" because of it.
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It’s still early July though, and there are a few birds still hatching or that just hatched within the last couple weeks. They say the first 10-14 days after hatch is critical with thermal regulation, so rain today was still beneficial for birds that hit the ground at the end of June. Peak hatch may have been around 6-10, but there were still nests hatching all though June.

For the hatch, I agree that it is less important after mid July. But I agree with the posters above that it’s still extremely important for bugs and food, and of course for grass cover going into the fall. And when that haying is released early for emergency drought, some of those broods don’t make it through the cutting since they may not be able to fly. There’s a reason the state tries not to release roadside ditch haying until the middle of July. Any good rain we get this month moves those haying dates back farther and farther, which helps the birds develop their flight muscles.

Enough rain to help put more bugs on the land, keep the grass growing, help regulate chicks temperature, and help the farmers is a good thing. Even if it’s coming in July and August. September and October, maybe not so much.
 
benelli-banger said:
Started driving slowly, see object on road 80 yards up…moved a bit, creeping up in my van…see wings flutter…one chick, then 4-5 scurrying…look another 75 yards further up the road, 3-4 more adults…ditches are tall with grass, narrowing the road…just looked up from typing, 4 more chicks, pigeon sized! Now 4/5 more! Yup, please keep me healthy dear god! ???
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My dugout on my land has been bone dry for a few years…love for that to have some water in it for sake of all critters, including dogs…
 
We have pretty good hatch numbers in the NE part of the state, We only received a half inch of rain from 1 May to 20 Jun, so most farmers first cutting of alfalfa was half the bales of a normal year. The second cutting did get some rain but bale count was still down. This means Hay guys will be going after the CRP. But since we are not in a drought up here just abnormally dry, Farmers will only be able to cut 1/3 of the CRP. Some of the small grains were baled early so i hope this ground was put right back into Silage millet or sorghum or cover crop that may give animals another source of part time habitat.
 
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