WISCONSIN – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) last month announced that 2026 results from the annual spring surveys of ruffed grouse and pheasant are now available.
According to a release from the DNR, pheasant observations were above the five-year average for the third consecutive year.
The results of the ruffed grouse survey are on track with the 10-year population trend, the DNR said.
Pheasant survey
The DNR reported the 2026 average pheasant observations at 0.73 pheasants per stop, a decrease from 2025 at 0.81 pheasants per stop. For the third year in a row, the count remains above the most recent five-year average (0.56 pheasants per stop).
“DNR wildlife biologists use a measurement known as an abundance index to assess the state's wild pheasant population each year,” the 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.”
The DNR said it thanks the agencies and groups that helped collect data via roadside surveys.
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 an 11 percent decrease in statewide drumming activity compared to 2025, according to the DNR.
“We observed an 11 percent decline in statewide drumming abundance this year, with the largest declines being in the Driftless and Central priority areas of the state,” said Alaina Roth, DNR Ruffed Grouse Specialist. “A decline was anticipated this year, as the low points of the 10-year population cycle typically occur in years that end in 4, 5 and 6. We likely observed higher abundance estimates in 2024 and 2025 due to exceptional nesting and brooding conditions in the prior years."
Since 2021, the DNR said, 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 DNR thanks the agencies and groups, including the U.S. Forest Service, tribal partners and volunteers, who helped the department collect ruffed grouse data via roadside surveys,” the DNR stated.
For more information regarding grouse hunting or managing habitat for ruffed grouse in Wisconsin, visit the DNR's Ruffed Grouse Hunting webpage.
Find these wildlife survey reports and others on the DNR's Wisconsin Wildlife Reports webpage.
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