The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is preparing to launch an annual wildlife population survey. Kevin Baskins, spokesman for the DNR, says the 15-day long effort will begin this Saturday, August 1. Data is collected from 208 routes statewide, each covering about 30 miles.

A recently released survey of hunters found they harvested an estimated 216-thousand (216,000) pheasants last year, a 30-percent increase compared to 2013.

Baskins says another mild winter likely helped the survival rate of pheasants and quail, but wet months of May and June are sending mixed messages.

Baskins says pheasants do best during mild winters with less than 30 inches of snow followed by a warm spring nesting season with less than eight inches of rain. Information from the population survey will be released in mid-September.