MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Pheasant hunters will have fewer birds this year because of last year’s harsh weather.

The Department of Natural Resources said the severe winter followed by a wet spring is to blame for a big drop in the number of pheasants in Minnesota.

The DNR estimated that there are about 64 percent fewer pheasants this year compared with last year.

They said fewer pheasant hens survive when winters are bad, and the birds that do survive have a hard time hatching broods in colder spring weather.

Pheasant hunters are expected to harvest about 250,000 roosters this fall, the lowest number since 1997.