Pheasants Forever North Dakota

10/27/2026

Good friends, good dogs, and good habitat. What more could you ask for? Our mission is to conserve pheasants, quail and other wildlife through habitat improvements, public access, education and conservation advocacy. Through a strong partnership with NDGF and support from the Outdoor Heritage Fund, as well as partners like onX Hunt we’ve been able to help put thousands of new acres of habitat on PLOTS properties right here in North Dakota!

10/26/2026

Whether your ideal Halloween week is filled with tricks, treats, or treks through the uplands, enjoy it!

Here’s our pro tip for hunting around Halloween- those elastic shell loops hold a fun sized candy bar incredibly well for those mid-walk munchies!

But keep an eye out for those bumblebees in your M&Ms, they don’t taste nearly as good!

10/23/2026

Having boots on the ground doesn’t just mean in the field. It’s also having a presence in local communities, teaching kids about what wildlife habitat is and why we should care about it! Our Education and Outreach Coordinator, Seth Owens, does a fantastic job reaching a broad audience and inspiring them to think a little deeper about grasslands, birds, and conservation.

10/10/2026

Welcome to Pheasant Season!

It’s our favorite time to be out on the landscape, and with cooler weather on the horizon, maybe it’ll finally start feeling like fall too!

Many PF Volunteers and our ND Staff were out assisting with some awesome youth season opportunities last weekend, and we have some notes for you to consider.

A lot of the yearling birds we flushed are not even close to full color. With this summer’s hatch being flipped and scrambled with heat, drought, hail, storms, and other acts of atmospheric turmoil, we have a lot of re-nested broods that hatched much later in the summer.

Be aware of your target! Young birds can be cryptically colored and hard to ID on a sudden flush. When in doubt, let them fly out!

Good luck to everybody exploring the prairies this opener weekend. We wish you all full game bags and happy and tired birddogs!

10/08/2026

With our favorite upland season just around the corner, there’s no better time than now to brush up on some ID! This is far from an all-inclusive list, but it’s a good start!

What keys do you look for while making on the wing ID’s?

1. Size and Shape:
- Pheasants are the largest, with long tails.
- Grouse are smaller with rounded wings.
- Partridges are the smallest with a stocky body.

2. Coloration:
- Male pheasants have vibrant plumage. Hens (females) are generally more subdued and brownish, but they may still have some hints of color.
- Grouse have mottled brown and gray feathers.
- Partridges are grayish-brown with barring patterns.

3. Tail Feathers:
- Pheasants have long, pointed tails.
- Grouse have shorter, rounded tails.
- Partridges have short, square-tipped tails.

4. Flight Pattern:
- Pheasants have labored flight and may glide.
- Grouse fly rapidly and erratically.
- Partridges fly low and swift.

5. Habitat:
- Pheasants generally prefer grasslands/agricultural areas.
- Grouse inhabit open grasslands/prairies.
- Partridges are found in fields/grassy areas.

Knowing these distinctions and adhering to hunting regulations and safety measures is crucial. Always identify your target accurately to avoid accidents and follow local hunting laws. You can always watch a bird fly away if you don’t know the ID. Better safe than sorry!



Photos: macaulaylibrary.org and ND E&O Coordinator Seth Owens

10/07/2026

North Dakota Pheasants Forever is proud to offer the services of our Precision Agriculture & Conservation Specialists to farmers and landowners across the state. Our specialists work with producers to identify underperforming acres within farming operations.

10/06/2026

From ash to camera-covering prairie grasses in just a few weeks!

Those deep native prairie roots are rarely affected by fire, but the flames do a great job of thinning and knocking out the shallow-rooted non-native grasses.

Prairies thrive on disturbance, and fire has been a driving force on these grasslands for thousands of years.

Pheasants Forever ND is super happy to offer technical assistance, guidance, and even rentable equipment to bring fire back to your landscape!

09/11/2026

09/10/2026

Students from Martin Luther School in Bismarck took to the field this week to collect some native plant seeds!

Students collected the seeds from 10+ different species of plants including False Boneset, Purple Coneflower, Side-Oats Grama, Big Bluestem, and, a student favorite, Liatrus punctata!

After some drying time, we’ll meet up with these students again to stratify and learn about the seeding process! Hopefully we’ll be sending each of these students into summer break with a ready to plant pot with a native plant or two in them.

09/08/2026

With cooler weather on the horizon and the colors of fall starting to creep into the leaves and across the prairie, we wanted to share some of our favorite colors!

We think every single one of these palettes would look great in your next house or hunting shack remodel!

Dove season is upon us, grouse and partridge opener is right around the corner! Go explore those colors yourself this fall!