2025-26 Eastern Plains Pheasant and Quail Forecast

Colorado's pheasant and quail seasons open statewide on November 8, 2025. Purchase your small-game license today.

2025-26 Eastern Plains Pheasant and Quail Forecast

Colorado's pheasant and quail seasons open statewide on November 8, 2025. Purchase your small-game license today.

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Video: 2025-26 Colorado Pheasant and Quail Forecast

2025-26 Pheasant and Quail Forecast

Pheasant populations across the eastern plains of Colorado will range from slightly better to significantly better than 2024, depending on local conditions. Generally, across the core range in Northeast Colorado, we are now three nesting seasons away from the lasting negative effects of the severe drought of 2020-23 and the severe winter of 2022-23, which severely decreased populations of pheasants. Further, weather conditions in 2025, being fairly dry in May and then wet in June, were most likely good for nesting conditions.

One of our best measures of pheasant populations are spring call counts. Every spring in May, CPW personnel conduct pheasant “crow counts” which provide CPW with trend information about male pheasant numbers. Unfortunately, crowing counts provide an index only and make no prediction about future populations because they make no inference about nest success and chick recruitment. However, they do serve as an indicator of abundance of male pheasants going into the nesting season. In 2025 in northeast Colorado, pheasant call count surveys increased to 31.2/station average, up from 20.6 in 2024 – a 51% increase. Bottom line, the breeding population was up in 2025. Combined with good weather condition during the nesting period, we should see a bump in overall population.

In SE Colorado, crowing counts are lower than the northeast, which is very typical for the area. Weather conditions in SE Colorado on average have been fair to decent for the area. At the minimum, we have not seen the severe droughts that the area is prone to for several seasons, however, the lack of widespread habitat is a continued concern for southeast Colorado. But it does appear that pheasants are up in southeast Colorado in 2025 as well.

Hunters harvested more than 26,000 pheasants in Colorado in 2024-25, which, although it represented a 62.5% increase from the previous, is the second lowest harvest on record and an indicator of the severity of the 2020-23 drought conditions prior to severe winter in northeast Colorado. While stripper- head harvested wheat stubble has helped pheasants, the lack of permanent grass cover of sufficient quality, lack of good brood habitat and the generally unfavorable weather has severely restricted bird numbers. Compounding matters further is the quality and amount of undisturbed Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands have drastically declined over the last decade. Many of the CRP fields that served as a great buffer against severe winter weather have expired from the federal CRP program and no longer offer habitat. This lack of undisturbed grassland cover will likely limit the upper end of pheasant populations at some point in the future.

Yuma, Phillips, Sedgwick, Logan, Washington, Morgan and SE Weld Counties

NE Colorado (Yuma, Phillips, Sedgwick, Logan, Washington, Morgan and SE Weld Counties)

Spotty is a continuing theme for the northeast portion of Colorado. Populations across the region will be slightly better than 2024. Some areas have increased beyond “slightly better”, but the degree is difficult to predict. It appears that Yuma county leads the pack in terms of degree of increase, while counties like Sedgwick and Phillips appear to be lagging a bit behind, in terms of recovery.

CPW receives several reports from landowners during wheat harvest, and the overwhelming reports from landowners in July were a moderate number of observations of good numbers of broods during wheat harvest. This trend has changed a bit as we entered the autumn period, with increased observations of pheasants in October. As the fall has progressed, it seems that pheasants are spotty, but better in 2025. As we move into future seasons, 2025 should go down as an important step in rebuilding the population.

2025 will also provide a bit of change for early season hunters – the amount of unharvested crops will likely be significant this opening weekend. The best hunting may occur later in the season when crops are harvested this year.

It is important to note that total CRP acres have greatly declined across the core pheasant range. While some new fields have been established, the relatively low numbers of new fields versus the loss of thousands of acres significantly tilt in the direction of lost acres.

Hunters Note: WIA sprinkler corners are closed to WIA hunting when the landowner is harvesting the associated crop. Harvest is just getting going and with dry weather will progress greatly in the next couple of weeks. This closure is in effect to allow harvesters to work efficiently, and to minimize safety concerns for hunters and harvesters. Corners are posted with closure signs in addition to WIA boundary signs. As of October 23, 2025, irrigated corn harvest is estimated to be 5% completed on average, although a lot could change in the next couple of weeks. Most non-irrigated fall crops also remain standing at this point, the result of an unusually wet August and September and a very late killing frost.

South Platte River (eastern Morgan, Washington, Logan, Sedgwick)

Bobwhite quail took the brunt of the severe winter the area experienced in 2022-23 as expected. However, with bobwhites, we can see a quick turn-around. Whistle counts returned from 16 in 2024 to ~ 30 in 2024, which is one of the higher counts over the life of the survey for the South Platte. It is important to note that increases in bobwhite are mostly due to significant increases in whistle counts upstream from Sterling. Routes along the eastern stretches of the South Platte did not show similar increases. Overall, the hunt should be decent, but difficult due to significant vegetation growth in the river corridor itself.

East Central Colorado (Southern Yuma, Kit Carson, Cheyenne, Kiowa Counties

East Central Colorado (Southern Yuma, Kit Carson, Cheyenne, Kiowa Counties)

Pheasant populations should be similar to 2024. In Kit Carson County, hunters will note a significant loss of CRP acres, which has impacted populations to some degree as well as the amount of land available to hunt. We have seen some new CRP fields in this area, although it is unknown if that trend will continue. Hunters should note that many areas in WIA in Kiowa County are enrolled primarily for their value for light goose hunting, including some fields that will offer little cover for pheasants and quail.

Baca & Prowers Counties

Extreme SE Colorado (Baca & Prowers Counties)

Pheasants continue to suffer from a general lack of good habitat but do appear to have increased this year in southeast Colorado. Some good habitat does exist in the general area around Walsh and Stonington; pheasant populations look to be significantly better than in 2024, in the good category for 2025. Weather across most of southeastern Colorado was fairly good in 2024. Expect to find moderate to good numbers of pheasants where good habitat exists.

Quail populations are expected to be much better than 2024. Bobwhite quail appear to have done very well in 2025. The southeast portion of Colorado has not experienced severe drought conditions for nearly a decade, although many localized areas were drier than optimal. Reports on scaled quail are highly variable but slowly improving in 2025. Expect scaled quail populations to be similar or somewhat better than 2024.

Hunter Notes

Obtain Permission

Hunting on private land requires permission. With the exception of land enrolled in Walk-In Access (Colorado Parks and Wildlife has leased WIA lands opening them to hunting), you must obtain permission to hunt private land, whether that land is posted or not.
Leave No Trace

Landowners are very perceptive of the actions of hunters, whether on their land, WIA properties, or their neighbor’s property. Trespassing, leaving trash, carcasses or damaging property leaves a poor image with landowners, while courteous and respectful hunting gives a good image.
Respect Landowners

Fall harvest is a very stressful period for landowners. Interrupting harvest or stopping a combine to ask for hunting permission is not a good idea. Standing at the end of the field waiting for the combine to flush birds is not recommended. Both are likely to draw the ire of the landowner, and are questionable activities at best when considering how important landowner relations are to gaining and maintaining access.
Respect Hunters

Be respectful of other hunters.

Video: Pheasant Hunting Colorado

Pheasant Hunting Colorado

Pheasant hunting strategies for public access lands in Colorado, including expert advice on identifying and analyzing each type of habitat, and predicting pheasant daily movements. In addition to exciting hunting scenes featuring a variety of hunting styles and hunting dogs, this video presents the viewer with stunning scenery of the High Plains of eastern Colorado.

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