PANHANDLE PHEASANT, 3: What pheasant hunters in the 
panhandle can expect this season…next on Passport to 
Texas.

This is Passport to Texas

Higher rainfall averages in the Panhandle bode well for 
pheasant hunters this season.

07—This year I had actually seen clutches in July and August. The past 
several years I hadn’t seen any babies at all. 

Todd Mon-TAN-don, a biologist based in Canyon, says the 
area’s seen successful hatches three years in a row.  Even 
so, pheasant continue to play a game of catch up after 
years of drought.

21—The drought really, really did a number to pheasants. 2011 through 
probably 2013, there just weren’t good nesting conditions at all. There 
wasn’t any cover. There wasn’t any water on the landscape. Very little 
insect production. So, those nests that were successful, the chicks just 
didn’t make it to adulthood, because they couldn’t find enough food.

Despite the lower numbers of the game bird, Mon-TAN-
don says there are enough adults on the ground for a 
successful hunt, if you know where to go.

14—Typically, we’re probably going to see the best numbers around the 
Dalhart, Perryton, Stratford, Gruver areas. The Herford area also holds 
quite a few birds, and I’ve seen some hatchlings over there this year. 
And then as you get down around Tulia and Plainview it starts tapering 
off.

Pheasant season runs December 3 through January first. 
Based on current surveys, the recommended bag limit is 
three per day. Find more information on the TPW website.

The Wildlife Restoration program supports our series.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti. 





Total sound bite time:		                 0:42.0
Maximum Script time:		                 0:43.0                     Suggested show time: 85.0 = 1:25