Overheated planet update, Minnesota edition: Last winter and spring so warm that only 64 percent of the pheasants died

Minnesota's pheasant numbers plummet - TwinCities.com

A key index used to track the population of ring-necked pheasants fell 64 percent from 2010, putting the index 71 percent below the 10-year average and marking the fourth year of decline in the past five years
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Pheasants generally live two to three years, so their numbers can swing dramatically with short-term weather trends such as the past two severe winters. Last winter appears to have killed off more female birds than males, said Kurt Haroldson, a DNR wildlife biologist and author of the roadside survey report.

Unlike larger birds such as wild turkeys, pheasants have a tough time digging through deep snow to search for food.

In addition, pheasants don't do well with a cold, wet spring like the one experienced by much of the western part of the state, the heartland of Minnesota pheasant country. Nests flood, and hatchlings are vulnerable to hypothermia.