DNR: Spring surveys show increase in pheasant while ruffed grouse numbers remain strong

WISCONSIN – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) this week announced that data is now available from annual spring surveys of Wisconsin ruffed grouse and pheasant.

According to a release from DNR, pheasant observations were above the five-year average for the second consecutive year.

The results of the ruffed grouse survey showed a slight decrease from 2024, but numbers were still significantly up from the five-year average.

Find these wildlife survey reports and others on the Wisconsin Wildlife Reports webpage.

Pheasant survey

The DNR reported the 2025 average pheasant observations at 0.81 pheasants per stop, an increase from 2024 at 0.62 pheasants per stop.

For the second year in a row, the count remains above the most recent five-year average (0.52 pheasants per stop).

“DNR wildlife biologists use a measurement known as an abundance index to assess the state's wild pheasant population each year,” DNR stated. “On trend from past years, abundance was highest in the northwestern part of Wisconsin's pheasant range and lowest in the east-central region.”

For more information regarding pheasant hunting and management, visit the DNR's Pheasant Hunting and Management webpage. 

Ruffed grouse survey

The DNR also released the results of its annual Roadside Ruffed Grouse Drumming Survey.

The survey measured ruffed grouse drumming activity heard along roadsides throughout Wisconsin this spring and showed a 6% decrease in statewide drumming activity compared to 2024.

"Although we observed a decrease in drumming activity statewide, this slight decline still exceeded our expectations for this year," said Alaina Roth, DNR Ruffed Grouse Specialist. "In 2024, we saw a large, unexpected 57% increase in drumming activity, so a slight 6% decrease from 2024 is still good news overall and should mean good hunting prospects this fall."

The exceptionally dry and favorable nesting and brooding conditions could have contributed to the increase in drumming activity in 2023 and 2024, DNR noted.

Since 2021, survey data has been organized and analyzed by ruffed grouse priority areas to help monitor key populations across the state, as defined in the Wisconsin Ruffed Grouse Management Plan 2020-2030.

The 2025 survey results for priority areas compared to 2024 showed:

• An 11% increase in drumming, with an average of 0.46 drums per stop, in the Central priority area.
• An 8% decrease in drumming, with an average of 2.13 drums per stop, in the Northern priority area.
• A 250%* increase in drumming, with an average of 0.09 drums per stop, in the Driftless priority area.

“Sample sizes in the Driftless priority area were low, and thus, wide percentage swings are likely to occur from year to year,” DNR said. “Recent research has indicated that 10-year population cycles are less pronounced at the periphery of the ruffed grouse's range, which is consistent with what the DNR has observed in the Driftless region.”

For more information regarding grouse hunting or managing habitat for ruffed grouse in Wisconsin, visit the DNR's Ruffed Grouse Hunting webpage.