Hard Winter for Pheasants

[pureinsanity]

Who thinks its going to be a tough winter on birds?

My father is out of town so I have been going over to his place to take care of the dog. He lives on 29 acres of prime pheasant habitat. I noticed that a majority of the high grass and a majority of the cattails have folded over from the storm we had over the weekend. This is not a good start to the winter season! Luckily we have a thick shelter belt that should hold the majority of the birds.

Hope mother nature eases up on the birds. Gonna be a tough winter this year in my opinion.

[LandDr]

"Hope for the best - but plan for the worst"

Sounds like you have a good spot for some feeders...trash can feeder, PLM feeder, Moultrie or whatever you can get out there. One 65 gal feeder will feed approximately 30 birds thru the winter...if you have more birds or more will show up, ten install more feeders now rather than later. Also try to install enough feeders so you only have to fill once and not have to go back later when the snow is 3 ft deep. Very important to put feeders "into" thick cover and not out in the open.

Good post and now is the time to be thinking and planning and installing for the worst winter...and hopefully we will get something much less than that.

[TylerS]

From what I understand, folded over cattails offer even better protection/habitat than standing cattails as it creates something like a "roof" for the birds. That, and pheasants are amazing grass tunnelers. They probably have a whole maze of trails since the storm.

[LandDr]

Cattails can be a pheasants best friend...but they can also be a death trap.

I have had oldtimers tell me of the days when there were clouds of pheasants around and a storm would set in with heavy snow. The pheasants would head for the cattails to only get snowed in. Weeks later they could smell the stench of rotting pheasants because the birds could not get out and/or suffocated.

Big cattail swamps offer better protection because the edges catch the snow like a snow fence to allow the inner parts to be more snow free. Small cattails stands are almost always blown in badly and are death sentences for pheasants.

A management technique is to establish shrubs along the windward edges of cattail stands to provide even a better primary snow fence...especially on small cattail stands. Even better is to add some rows of conifers after the rows of shrubs to provide more thermal protection. A shrub-conifer-cattail setup is fantastic! But...remember...if the food is not consistent, reliable and close, the birds will be forced to venture far away from this ideal winter cover to find the food which increases exposure to inclement weather and predators (terrestrial and avian).

If you have land or have an influance on a landowner, there are excellent government programs available right now for implementing projects like these. The landowner will get a very nice annual payment, maybe even a $100/ac bonus payment and up to 90% cost share to pay for the projects.

Send me your aerial photos or township/rang/section and I will outline some options for you if you are interested in exploring these options.

Adopt-A-Habitat...work with a neighbor, relative or friend to develop some winter cover. Take the lead for the landowner so they don't have to do the foot work and then do as much of the project as you can. If you need help...call...with up to 90% cost share for the projects, it makes it easy to hire some help as well. Don't complain about the weather...do something about it!

Land Dr

[pureinsanity]

My father helped form one of the first county chapters after pf's incorporation. When he built his house he built the land as well for the wildlife. Mainly pheasants, but rabbits, deer, and many other creatures benefit from the setup.

When I was seven we planted shelter belts. Now they are so thick I hardly ever try to walk through it! I have been in the shelter belt in winter and its amazing how calm and warm it is in there out of the elements!

We use crib feeders to feed the birds. We have it out in the open so we can view them in the winter months but it is on the edge of the cattails so the birds can easily escape to cover.

We built a border around the crib feeder with hog fence to keep the deer out. We cut holes in the fencing for the birds to walk right into. The deer cant figure it out! Occasionally we will find a deer laying on its side with its head through the hole stealing a cob here and there!

As for your tips, we are surely covered, but I am sure someone in here will find your advice useful. So thank you for the informative post!

As for burrowing and tunneling through the snow. Yes pheasants are pretty good at that. I have many old timers tell me stories about how they use to pheasant hunt by hand after a snow storm by reaching into spots were birds where burrowed.

However this snow is rock solid and I think a pheasant would have a hard time making a hole. Hope the next snow we get is light and fluffy!

[Jack Peterson]

Farmer's almanac said we're going to have a "really cold and really snowy winter."

Well, usually those two don't go hand in hand, but they're both bad for pheasants!

Hopefully the predators lay off this winter.

[tori's dad]

Jack, by the number of varmints I have seen this yr I dont think they will lay off for any amount of time- we need to thin these things out too and it will in turn help the birds out. Keep our fingers crossed and pray.