Iowa pheasant hunters harvested more than 460,000 roosters in 2024, marking the second-highest total in nearly two decades and trailing only 2023’s 590,000 harvest. It’s the best two-year stretch since 2007, with only South Dakota recording a higher pheasant harvest in 2024. Despite a 14 percent decline in bird numbers from the previous year, largely attributed to widespread spring flooding, Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) upland wildlife biologist Todd Bogenschutz is pleased with the figures. He says, “Overall, we had a really good fall and are looking forward to this year’s August roadside survey to see where the bird numbers are ahead of the 2025 season.” An estimated 77,400 hunters pursued pheasants last fall, down from 83,600 in 2023. The August roadside survey, conducted by Iowa DNR staff, tracks bird populations along 225 gravel routes at dawn. For other game, quail hunters harvested 27,500 birds, down 2,700 than last year. Rabbit harvests were up 13 percent to an estimated 77,000. Squirrel harvests jumped 32 percent to 124,300 in 2024, while dove harvests fell to 143,000, down more than 50,000.
