NDGF upland game hunting
North Dakota’s 2025 upland bird harvests were down for pheasant, sharp-tailed grouse and gray partridge compared to 2024.
“We were not surprised by a decrease in pheasant harvest in the fall of 2025 based on decreases of chicks in our late summer roadside counts. Chick production was negatively impacted by the cool, wet nesting season and these juvenile birds are often what make up a significant portion of a hunter’s bag. However, adult pheasant densities remain high due to good survival from the mild winter,” said RJ Gross, North Dakota Game and Fish Department upland game biologist.
Gross said given the number of roosters remaining on the landscape post-season, access was likely the most limiting factor for pheasant hunter success.
Last year, 53,008 pheasant hunters (down 4%) harvested 344,975 roosters (down 3%), compared to 55,401 hunters and 357,018 roosters in 2024.
Counties with the highest percentage of pheasants taken were Hettinger, Divide, Williams, Stark and McLean.
A total of 18,241 grouse hunters (down 16%) harvested 55,539 sharp-tailed grouse (down 24%), compared to 21,660 hunters and 73,010 sharptails in 2024.
Counties with the highest percentage of sharptails taken were Divide, Hettinger, Mountrail, Adams and Bowman.
Sharp-tailed grouse were down 38% in last year’s summer roadside brood counts.
“In addition to cool, wet weather in June, which is unfavorable for chick survival, we suspect sharptail may have been impacted by West Nile virus because they declined from spring surveys to late summer surveys. Those declines appeared to have hampered the rebounding population, and the 24% drop in sharptail harvest reflects this,” Gross said.
Last year, 18,343 hunters (down 16%) harvested 50,445 gray partridge (down 25%). In 2024, 21,887 hunters harvested 67,465 partridge.
Counties with the highest percentage of gray partridge taken were Stark, McLean, Hettinger, Williams and Divide.
“Although hunters harvested fewer pheasants in 2025, we are optimistic after yet another mild winter, that the high pheasant population should carry through to 2026,” Gross said.
However, since much of the fall forecast depends on nesting and brood-rearing success, hunters should stay tuned.
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