By Jennifer Whitlock
Field Editor

Pheasant hunting season is now open for 27 counties in the Texas Panhandle. Although it’s not looking like a banner year, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) received some encouraging reports from opening weekend hunters.

“Each year, we have about a dozen biologists go out who serve 44 routes across the Panhandle and South Plains,” TPWD Upland Game Bird Program Leader John McLaughlin said. “Their numbers came back pretty low this year at about two birds per route, but we do expect there to be average hunting for most folks across the area.”

There were a few really good years from 2015-2017 for pheasant hunters, but the past decade has mostly seen drought-like conditions, leading to lower bird populations.

Ring-necked pheasants are native to China but were introduced into the U.S. during the late 1800s. Populations in Texas are primarily restricted to the intensive agricultural production lands of the High Plains and Coastal Prairies along the upper Texas coast, according to TPWD. Pheasant hunting is restricted in Texas to counties in the Panhandle and South Plains.

There were no regulatory changes to pheasant hunting this year. McLaughlin reminds hunters the daily bag limit is three roosters or cocks per day, and the possession limit is nine. Proof of sex is also required when harvesting pheasants.

“Proof of sex would be one leg with the spur attached to the carcass, or the entire plumage and all the feathering still attached to the carcass,” he said. “So, after you harvest up to three birds per day, just remember that there is the requirement of proof of sex for transporting the birds back to your home.”

Although pheasant populations and habitat scope are not as large in the Panhandle and South Plains of Texas as other areas of the Great Plains, there is still quality hunting available in the area.

He noted hunters will see the most success on lands adjacent to grain fields.

People who wish to hunt pheasants in Texas need a resident hunting license, or non-resident if visiting from out of state, with an upland game bird endorsement. If hunting on public lands, it is also necessary to have a valid annual public hunting permit.

There are no reporting requirements for pheasant, although TPWD encourages hunters to report harvests on the My Texas Hunt Harvest app.

“Hunter success is important to us in making long-term projections. Certainly, we use that information on the back end to make decisions about regulations and the bird population in general,” McLaughlin said.

More information on pheasant hunting in Texas is available at TPWD’s Outdoor Annual.