The Habitat
         & This Year's Bird Forecast 


In real estate, it is said that the three most important things are; location, location, location.

A similar principle holds true with regard to attacting and holding large numbers of wild ringnecks. The three most important things are; habitat, habitat, habitat!

From a habitat perspective, pheasants need three things to survive; water, food and nesting cover. 

In addition to the land we own, Grand Ciel Lodge also holds leases on thousands of acres and much of our land is managed specifically for wildlife, especially wild pheasants.                                                                                       
Since the key to any successful wild pheasant hunt is birds, at Grand Ciel Lodge, we select our habitat based on the survival needs of wild pheasants.

The more habitat you have with water, food and nesting cover, the more birds you will have in the habitat. Most of our habitat have these three key elements and we consistantly have high numbers of birds.

Over the course of the season, our supply of birds replentishes itself as the quality of our habitat attracts new birds. In essence, we recruit birds and we do not pressure our habitat to the point where birds have to leave.

Grand Ciel Lodge specializes in wild pheasant hunting on some of the finest habitat you will find anywhere in South Dakota.

Our objective is to get you on birds that are within gun range. The rest is up to you.

Although rare, not getting a limit is never due to a lack of birds!

Note that Aurora County consitantly ranks in the top three or four in terms of overall bird numbers and birds harvested each year!

 
Modern farming practices often have a detrimental effect on wildlife. Most of the midwest was home to the wild ringneck pheasant at some point. Today there are no significant populations of wild pheasants east of the Mississippi River.

In South Dakota, wild pheasants are thriving. At Grand Ciel Lodge, our habitat teems with many different types of wildlife. We strive to find and maintain the balance between the harsh realities facing both agribusiness and wildlife, and we believe we have found that balance.
 Report for upcoming season: The overall outlook for wild pheasants for the upcoming 2007 season looks to be exceptional according to the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks division. 

Brood count surveys by the S.D. Game, Fish and Parks Department project pheasant numbers the likes of which has not been seen since the Soil Bank years of the 1950s and ’60s. The pheasant population index was at a 40-year high in 2005 and the 2007 index tops that historic mark. Overall statewide numbers for 2007 are 23% higher than the 2006 counts and 18% higher than the 2005 mark. Having abundant secure nesting habitat for pheasants that CRP provides was an important factor in 2007. That CRP habitat, coupled with favorable weather conditions in June, resulted in the highest pheasant count on record since 1963. Survey results show that the number of broods observed on routes increased by 15 percent and the average number of pheasant chicks in those broods increased by 11 percent. The average brood size in 2007 was 6.71 chicks per brood. In addition, our area continues to have the highest number of pheasants per mile and largest brrod sizes. 

 If you're an avid wild pheasant hunter, get your group organized and call or email today for available dates. Our remaining dates won't last long!