Iowa’s annual roadside survey of small game animals, from pheasants to quail to rabbits, is now underway. D-N-R wildlife biologist Todd Bogenschutz says specially-trained crews will cover 210 routes across Iowa totaling about five-thousand miles during the coming two-week period.

He says it’s too early to predict what kind of season pheasant hunters will see. He notes, this past winter was quite harsh while many areas of Iowa had flooding this spring and summer — all of which could impact the various wildlife populations.

The roadside surveys first started in Iowa in the 1930s and were standardized in the 1960s. The results should be ready by early to mid-September.