Annual spring surveys for ruffed grouse in Wisconsin offer a picture of what to expect for the fall hunting season. (Michele Woodford/Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources photo)

MADISON, Wis. – This year’s annual Roadside Ruffed Grouse Drumming Survey showed an 11% decrease in drumming activity statewide compared to 2025, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

“A decline was anticipated this year, as the low points of the 10-year population cycle typically occur in years that end in 4, 5 and 6,” said Alaina Roth, DNR ruffed grouse specialist. “We likely observed higher abundance estimates in 2024 and 2025 due to exceptional nesting and brooding conditions in the prior years.”

Since 2021, survey data has been organized and analyzed by ruffed grouse priority areas to help monitor key populations across the state, as defined in the Wisconsin Ruffed Grouse Management Plan 2020-2030. The largest declines this year were in the southwest and central areas of the state.

The U.S. Forest Service, tribal partners and volunteers help the department collect ruffed grouse data via roadside surveys.

Meanwhile, wildlife biologists use a measurement known as an abundance index to assess the state’s wild pheasant population. On trend from past years, abundance this year was highest in the northwestern part of Wisconsin’s pheasant range and lowest in the east-central region.

The DNR reported 2026 average pheasant observations at 0.73 pheasants per stop, a decrease from 2025 at 0.81 pheasants per stop. For the third year in a row, the count remained above the most recent 5-year average, which is 0.56 pheasants per stop.