Skip to content

Iowa’s Pheasant Roadside Index Fell 17% From 2025 but Stayed Above the 10-Year Trend

Male Common Pheasant in grass at Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, Iowa
Conservation · Population & status

Iowa’s annual August roadside survey recorded a statewide common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) index of 22.6 birds per comparable 30-mile route in 2026. That was a 17% decline from 27.4 birds per route in 2025, when the state reached its highest survey level in 20 years.

Despite the year-to-year decline, the 2026 statewide index remained 12% above the 10-year trend and was the second-highest average since 2015. Counts were at or above their 10-year means in eight of Iowa’s nine survey regions.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources points to lower overwinter hen survival as the most likely main reason for the decline. Fewer hens and chicks were counted than in 2025, while brood size and the number of chicks per adult hen were similar to the previous year. The report therefore interprets the change mainly as a result of fewer hens entering the nesting season, rather than poorer nesting or brood-rearing success.

The August survey is a standardized index of relative abundance, not a total population count. It uses roughly 225 fixed 30-mile routes during the first half of August, and year-to-year comparisons depend on comparable survey and weather conditions. Heavy dew was reported at the start of 88% of routes in 2026, while sunny starts were less common than in 2025.

Sources and image credit

  1. Bogenschutz, T. (2026). 2026 Iowa August roadside survey.Primary monitoring report for the 2026 Iowa August roadside survey. The statewide pheasant index was 22.6 birds per comparable 30-mile route, significantly down 17% from 27.4 in 2025 but still 12% above the 10-year trend. The report describes the survey as a relative-abundance index and points to lower overwinter hen survival as the likely main driver of the decline.
  2. Iowa Department of Natural Resources. (2026, September 1). Survey finds Iowa pheasant population second highest in a decade.Official release announcing the 2026 survey results on 1 September 2026 and reporting about 23 pheasants per route, the second-highest statewide average since 2015.

Image: Male common pheasant at Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, Iowa, 17 May 2016. Photo: Joanna Gilkeson / USFWS. Public Domain. Representative Iowa image; not from the 2026 roadside survey. · Public Domain · Source

About this content: This story was produced with AI assistance within an editorial workflow developed by Wildlife Vagabond. Editorial responsibility remains with Wildlife Vagabond.How AI is used

Population & status

SPECIES IN THIS STORY

Species in this story

Common Pheasant Phasianus colchicus Explore species

Independent research and conservation news archive

Did you find this information useful?

Wildlife Vagabond is independently built and maintained. Voluntary support helps cover source verification, hosting and continued work on research and conservation news.

Support Wildlife Vagabond

The news archive will remain freely available.