National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic 2025, presented by Federal Ammunition, is in Kansas City, Missouri March 7-9 and promises to be an event you won't want to miss! The nation’s largest upland tradeshow and convention has something for everyone including hunters, landowners, and bird dog enthusiasts. Coming attractions for 2025 include a Concert for Conservation, Public Lands Pavilion, Path to the Uplands Stage, Habitat Stage, Bird Dog Stage, and more than 400 unique vendors featuring outfitters, gear, food, and so much more! BOGO (Buy One Get One Free) passes are available now at the link below! Get yours today! We can't wait to see you there! https://events.pheasantsforever.org/events/ae48d15b-2fb6-47f5-9daf-6b66d75aea68

If you’re somewhere in the Midwest this December, you know the start of winter is not waiting for the twenty-first of the month. Some very chilly days and nights, and even a few snows have swept the region, certainly putting some in a bad mood with icy windshields, and perhaps others in a jolly mood as Christmas trees are set up. While people are salting sidewalks and decorating, what are our favorite upland birds up to when the change of the season hits? Pheasants Forever’s senior Farm Bill biologist in northwestern Wisconsin, Cody Tromberg, shares his perspective on the adjustments pheasants make when cold weather and snow hits. Read the full blog "First Snow from a Biologists Point of View" at the link below. https://tinyurl.com/3vr589wx

Get your holiday shopping sone at the PF Store! SAVE 20% on Artisans lifestyle apparel until December 19th. Link below! https://bit.ly/3ZHXbrc

READ: "Mid-Season Reflections" by Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever's President and CEO, Marilyn Vetter. Link below. https://pheasantsforever.org/BlogLanding/Blogs/Pheasants-Forever/Mid-Season-Reflections.aspx "I have the midseason blues. Winter has set in and the nicest days for Midwest upland hunting are behind me. The days ahead will be filled with short walks in gnarly cover, cattails snapping me in the face with their notorious fuzz sticking to absolutely everything. I must remind myself that December and January pheasant hunts are productive ways to fill the freezer with far fewer hunters to compete with on publicly accessible land. It's a bit ironic that I’m lamenting the beginning of winter after experiencing some of the hottest days I’ve spent in the field. Our ten days in Montana were crazy hot but CRAZY GOOD! There’s nothing like approaching your dog on point and not knowing what species of bird will erupt. On very lucky days, you get a mixed bag right in front of your eyes. And for this neophyte sage grouse hunter, the powerful lift off of North America’s largest grouse, was awe inspiring. Luckily, I got my bearings and connected with my first sage hen, a first for my bird dogs too... ...Thankfully, my season is just past the half-way mark. Desert quail are calling me...But until then, roosters will hold my fascination with a trip home to North Dakota for the holidays. There are some benefits to being raised in North Dakota. One of them is the ability to tolerate nasty weather! Bundle up and get out there. The uplands are calling and your bird dogs are ready!"

Pheasant Fact Friday!💡 Food habits and feeding behavior during early winter are the same for both young and old birds. When the Christmas turkey is fat and juicy brown, and when your favorite fishing lake frozen enough to skate on, that young pheasant hatched in suntan weather last summer has reached its maximum weight. In fact, the young hen weighs 13 percent more than the adult hen. Perhaps nature is giving the young a better chance for winter survival. Whereas the young pheasant equaled adult food intake in September (12 weeks old), equaled adult weight in early October (16 weeks), and equaled adult plumage in late October (20 weeks), they reach adult maturity in December (25 weeks). The growth of their heart, liver, lungs, thyroid, and kidneys continue into late December, when the young bird is finally an adult in every way an adult. #pheasantsforever #pheasants #pheasantfactfriday

As a Pheasants Forever Life Member, you'll be a proven champion for the uplands. You know what is at stake and the importance of our work. And you know what will happen if we don’t fight for quality habitat, abundant wildlife, public access opportunities, and for the next generation. None of the work we do would have been possible without your generous support. Thank you! The truth of the matter is that we have more work to do. We need more acres of grassland, more birds in the air, and more hunters in the field. During our annual Elite Member Week, we are rallying our passionate members, supporters, and partners—individuals like yourself—to band together for conservation. We are well on our way to achieving our goal of raising over $500,000! We cannot stop now, and we need your help to do it! Today, we are excited to offer you an exclusive opportunity to join as a Pheasants Forever. And for a limited time, when you join today, you will receive an exclusive Pheasants Forever YETI Tundra 45 cooler as a token of our appreciation for your enduring support. https://www.pheasantsforever.org/SpecialPages/Special-Memberships/Life-Membership.aspx

“My friend is new to hunting, he passed hunters Ed a few years ago and wanted to go out and get his first rooster. My young lab and I worked extremely hard to get him the perfect bird and shot, we did it! Opening day in Eastern Washington for pheasant, he harvested his first one over a beautiful flush in thick cattails.” “Shoutout to Zach Schneider in Washington for mentoring a new hunter! Zach submitted his story to our annual Hunter Mentor Pledge contest and you can do the same at the link: https://form.jotform.com/231584435880159 Rules are simple – take someone new (or lapsed) into the field with you at least once this season in pursuit of any legal game species then submit a photo from the field and the story! Mentoring new hunters like Zach has is so important but not without challenges – what’s the biggest mentoring barrier that you face? a. Finding the time b. Finding someone to mentor c. Feeling like I’m not accomplished enough to teach someone else I don’t see the need for mentoring new hunters

On The Wing Podcast Ep. 295: Rooster Road Trip 2025 Recap, is live. Listen now at the link below, or wherever you get your podcasts. https://www.pheasantsforever.org/BlogLanding/Blogs/Rooster-Road-Trip/Podcast-Ep-295-Rooster-Road-Trip-2024-Recap.aspx This is the fifth and final episode of Pheasants Forever’s 15th annual Rooster Road Trip. Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by PF’s Vice President of Marketing Andrew Vavra, PF’s North Dakota State Coordinator Emily Spolyar, and PF’s Social Media Coordinator Nate Akey to put a bow on this year’s adventure across North Dakota. Episode Highlights: - For gear junkies, each member of the crew talks about their favorite piece of gear from this year’s hunt. Vavra also talks about features of the new Browning 825 making it a shotgun he’s planning to add to his own personal gun safe. - The group also fields crowd-sourced questions from PF & QF’s social media channels about Rooster Road Trip, hunting North Dakota public lands, gear questions, and bird hunting strategy. - Find all four companion videos accompanying the trip at RoosterRoadTrip.org. While there, enter to win a Browning Citori 825 shotgun and join/renew/extend your Pheasants Forever or Quail Forever membership featuring the new Browning Bird & Buck knife. DEADLINE is December 16, 2024. The On The Wing Podcast is fueled by Purina Pro Plan Thank you to our Rooster Road Trip Sponsors: Garmin Fish & Hunt, Orvis, Browning, SoundGear, YETI, Irish Setter Boots, Federal Premium, Ruff Land Performance Kennels

Today, PF & QF are encouraging private landowners and public land managers to help identify innovative strategies to restore quality pollinator habitat in the United States in light of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposed threatened status of the monarch butterfly under the Endangered Species Act. Eastern migratory populations of monarch butterflies have declined by more than 80% since the 1980s, and western migratory populations by more than 95% in the same timeframe. Loss of breeding, migratory, and overwintering habitat, including food sources along established migration corridors and throughout the blooming season, remain among the top threats for monarch butterflies. PF & QF’s mission to create high-quality habitat for pheasants, quail, and other upland species directly intersects with the monarch butterfly. That very same habitat, filled with diverse grasses and forbs (flowering plants) is critical for all pollinators, but essential for the monarch. PF & QF have been among the nation’s leaders in pollinator-friendly habitat, implementing 392,864 acres of high-quality habitat for pollinators and planting more than 1.3 billion milkweed seeds – an essential component for the monarch lifecycle and migration habitat – over the past decade. Read more at the following link to learn how you can help: https://pheasantsforever.org/BlogLanding/Blogs/Pheasants-Forever/USFWS-Proposes-Threatened-Status-for-Monarch-Butterfly-Under-Endangered-Species-Act.aspx

While I love the first month of pheasant season, the true hunter in me longs for the short, colder days of late-season pheasant hunting after Thanksgiving when the birds are bunched up in the thick stuff and fewer hunters are afield. In fact, part of me believes more people should be aware of the benefits of hunting late-season roosters. Selfishly, the other part of me wants to keep it a secret. As another South Dakota winter settles in and the crowds thin out, I'm reminded why late-season hunts have become my favorite tradition. Sure, the weather can be unpredictable and you'll work harder for your birds — but that's exactly what makes it special. There's an intimacy to winter pheasant hunting that October just can't match. If you think you’ve missed your chance to hunt South Dakota this year simply because the first month of the season passed you by, think again — the season is just beginning. So while others have hung up their vests for the year, feel confident knowing that some of the season's best hunting still lies ahead. See the full article "South Dakota's Pheasant Season is Just Getting Started" and learn why late season in South Dakota might just be the best time to hit the field at the link below. https://tinyurl.com/bd7m6czy Sharing on behalf of our partners in conservation Travel South Dakota Author Bio: South Dakota native Andrew Johnson lives for pheasant hunting, capturing the thrill of the chase through his gun, camera and words. Connect with him on X, Instagram, and YouTube: @DakotaPheasantHunt

Are you a refined quail snob who sips artisanal coffee while pondering the finer points of pointing dogs, or a pheasant slob grabbing gas station pizza and energy drinks at 9 a.m.? Does your sleek 28-gauge double gun gleam with care, or does your trusty 12-gauge semi-auto ride rugged and unwashed? Quail Forever Journal Editor, Ryan Sparks, digs into the stereotypes (and truths?) of these two upland hunting camps in “Odd Birds,” the latest story on our blog. Is your hunting camp all quail decorum or pheasant chaos? Drop your best stereotype (or roast) in the comments and read the full story here: https://pheasantsforever.org/BlogLanding/Blogs/Pheasants-Forever/Odd-Birds-Indeed.aspx

A message from Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever President and CEO Marilyn Vetter to kick off Elite Member week. Welcome to Elite Member Week! Life Members of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever are a force like no other—they are the folks who go above and beyond for upland habitat. That is why we are celebrating the impact that Life Members have on our conservation efforts during our annual Elite Member Week! This week, we are rallying our members, supporters, and partners to band together for conservation and sign up as Life Members of “The Habitat Organization.” Our goal for Elite Member Week is to raise over $500,000 for upland wildlife and habitat conservation, and we need your help to do it! We are excited to offer those who join this elite group of conservationists an exclusive Pheasants Forever or Quail Forever YETI Tundra 45 cooler as a sincere token of our appreciation for those who go above and beyond for our mission. Become an Elite Member today at the link below. https://pheasantsforever.org/SpecialPages/Special-Memberships/Life-Membership.aspx