North Dakota upland game bird harvests increase in 2023, according to Game and Fish
May 14—BISMARCK — Hunters in North Dakota shot more pheasants, sharp-tailed grouse and gray partridges in 2023 than they did in 2022, the Game and Fish Department said Monday, May 13.
The overall harvest was likely a result of more hunters, more trips and more birds in the population, according to RJ Gross, upland biologist for Game and Fish in Bismarck.
"Despite enduring one of the highest snowfall totals in history (winter 2022-23), we anticipated an increase in upland bird harvests based on increases in all our metrics (number of birds, broods, brood size and age ratio) during our late summer roadside counts," Gross said in a statement.
Last year, 53,819 pheasant hunters (up 5%) harvested 319,287 roosters (up 11%), compared with 51,270 hunters and 286,970 roosters in 2022.
Counties with the highest percentage of pheasants taken were Hettinger, Divide, Burleigh, Williams and Stark.
A total of 21,512 grouse hunters (up 5%) shot 67,710 sharp-tailed grouse (up 8%), compared with 20,461 hunters and 62,640 sharptails in 2022.
Counties with the highest percentage of sharptails taken were Divide, Hettinger, Williams, McLean and Bowman.
Last year, 20,313 hunters (up 6%) harvested 67,481 gray partridge (up 24%). In 2022, 19,125 hunters shot 54,553 partridges, Game and Fish said.
Counties with the highest percentage of gray partridges taken were Stark, McLean, Hettinger, Williams and Divide.
