A mild winter and prime nesting conditions in May and June had Kansas upland bird hunters anticipating the Nov. 13 season opener.
Depending on the area of the state hunted, many were not disappointed, and most hunt-ers checked by Wildlife and Parks staff during the weekend were having a great time whether they had taken many birds.
In northeast Kansas, hunting was better than in recent years, according to state official Rob Ladner.
"It was pretty good, and the hunters were seeing more pheasants than in the past," Ladner said. "We're still a little low on quail, though. The best parts of the region were in the western counties. Hunting pressure in the eastern counties was very light."
Ladner said that although hunting activity was very high Saturday, Sunday was quiet despite mild weather. He thinks the best is yet to come.
"We've got good pheasant numbers, noticeably higher than last year," he said, "especially around CRP."
In northwest Kansas, state official Steve Price said hunting was "pretty spotty." Price said hunters in Smith County were averaging about one and one-half pheasants per hunter and two per hunter in Osborne County.
In southwest Kansas, state official Marvin Jensen said although not a lot of birds were taken, it was a good opener.
"We probably had a bird or two per person in some areas," he said, "but it was wet, and the hunting was tough. The small groups weren't doing too well because the fields are just so big that they're hard to cover."
In south-central Kansas, official Val Jansen offered one of the most glowing reports in years.
"This opening hunt went very well," she said. "We had a lot of hunters and a lot of happy hunters."
"We conducted a check station in Marion County near Florence, and 171 hunters had 359 pheasants and 80 quail," Jansen said. "That's about 2.1 pheasants per hunter. We were very, very happy about it. It was a pleasure to work, and the weather was great."
Southeast Kansas traditionally is slow on opening weekend because most hunters travel west to hunt pheasants, according to official Mike Little.
This region harbors no significant pheasant population.
"The quail hunting was slow," Little said. "The weather was wet, too, which may have affected the situation, but most folks from around here go west on opening weekend. I expect a lot more activity this coming weekend, after hunters have had a good taste of the pheasant hunt."
Pheasant and quail season will run through Jan. 31.
The limit on pheasants is four roosters per day, and the limit on quail is eight birds of either sex.
The possession limit on both species is four times the daily bag limit.
A resident hunting license costs $19 and is required of all Kansans 16 through 64 years old. All nonresidents must have a license.
The junior nonresident license is $36 for those 15 and younger. The license for nonresidents 16 and older is $71.
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