Saturday’s October 19th pheasant opener was my 60th as a South Dakotan. Never have I seen fewer pheasants. We didn’t see enough birds to fill our limit, and by day’s end, I had no desire to kill a bird that had survived what must have been brutal conditions. At least in the Wagner area, numbers are way down. I would attribute it to a tough late winter and heavy rains that washed out nests. Hopefully there is enough “seed” to bring the birds back when we receive improved weather conditions.

When we drove up to Harding County to hunt antelope a few weeks ago, I saw good pheasant numbers along Highway 34/73 northwest of Pierre. The same for Highway 20 through the Bison-Prairie City area. Even though those ranchers are now successfully growing corn and milo, and the area was flooded like ours, there must be differences in practice that enhance pheasant production.

I personally feel that weather, along with changes in farming practices, namely the use of pesticides and herbicides, relate to the decline in pheasant numbers. Predators including feral cats are also a part of the equation. Read on!

I do not wish to alienate cat lovers, but we do have a problem. The Noah Strycker article, “Cat vs. Bird: The Battle Lines,” in the October 2019 issue of National Geographic, certainly calls the issue to our attention.

In speaking of his own beloved cat, Bernstein, Strycker had this to say. “But no nature or nurture can override the feline instinct, as I was sadly reminded last spring.” Strycker had let Bernstein out on the patio. A few minutes later Bernstein proudly returned to the house with a Swainson’s thrush in his mouth. He goes on to say that he couldn’t blame the cat as he was just putting his instincts into practice.

To further quote the article, “Domestic cats pounce on from one billion to four billion birds a year in the lower 48….. In the U.S., about 90 million cats live with their human caretakers; another 30 million to 80 million roam wild, from back alleys to remote deserts.” This feral cat problem is not a North American thing. We’re talking about all seven continents.

The article states that the overwhelming majority of cat owners doubt that cats adversely affect the wild bird population, but goes on to say that the world’s bird population is deteriorating. In general, most people agree that the feral cat population is too large. But the argument stops here as there are no good solutions. The only partial solution offered by Strycker, the author, is to vigilantly keep one’s cat pets indoors.

If the statistics are correct…..that is 30 to 80 million cats roaming wild in our lower 48, our own South Dakota could be home to at least a million wild or feral cats. I have more than once come upon a cat that has just killed a pheasant. Blaming coons, skunks, opossum, foxes, coyotes, and raptors for our pheasant crisis is one thing, but we seem to be letting feral cats off the predator list as most wildlife people are afraid to point at cats. Obviously I’m not.

It seems to me that most every farm/ranch yard has a cat population. These cats kill birds, but they also kill mice, rats, and gophers. I must leave this cat decision in the hands of these farm/ranch owners, but I’ll say this. When you are out hunting, or just driving down a country road, and you see a feral cat in the ditch that is not adjacent to a human populated yard, you have a decision to make.

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In last week’s column, I mentioned that I would hand-load my .223 turkey loads down to 2000 fps so I wouldn’t ruin any meat. When I wrote that, I thought that my .22 Hornet rifle was illegal for turkeys. A loyal reader and .22 Hornet fan promptly informed me that the .22 Hornet is legal as it produces the necessary 700 ft. lbs. of energy required by our SDGF&P people. My .22 Hornet is the sweetest shooting rifle I own, and I am grateful to that reader for the information.

See you next week.