OUTDOORS The coveted pheasant, quail and partridge seasons start this Saturday. The seasons run through Jan. 31, 2025, and are open statewide.

The pheasant daily bag limit is three and possession limits of 12. Only rooster pheasants may be harvested. Quail must be shot while in flight and have a daily bag limit of six and possession limits of 24.

The partridge daily bag limit is 3 with a possession limit of 12 in aggregate and includes Hungarian/gray and chukars. Shooting hours are 30 minutes before sunrise to sunset. Field reports and surveys from earlier this year give an optimistic outlook for upland bird hunting this fall.

Statewide, pheasant counts were up 19% during this year's July rural mail carrier surveys compared to last year and were near or exceeding five-year averages in all areas except the Sandhills. Pheasant habitat is more isolated in eastern Nebraska, but where quality cover exists. Portions of the Panhandle and southwest continue to support some of the highest pheasant numbers, but populations remain variable because of drought in recent years.

Last year's relatively mild winter benefited quail populations across much of the state, and numbers increased in five of six management regions. According to surveys, southeastern and south-central regions support some of the state's highest quail densities and should provide quality hunting opportunities. View the full upland hunting forecast at outdoornebraska.

gov/ hunt/game/upland. Upland slam The upland bird se.