Pheasants this winter, how are they doing ?

[pureinsanity]

I agree, if you can't see them lets just hope its for a reason....

[Turbodog]

Really ?

If any pheasants moved out of winter cover to marginal cover with the warming trend they are dead now.

This storm will KILL many, many a pheasant.

Those of you seeing all those pheasants this winter on the side of the road. It is a false sense of security. It is simply where they can find what little food is not buried. Slowly getting picked off from traffic, exposure and predators. I would rather have a 100 birds in a township hidden in cover than a dozen visible every day along side a busy road.

[CaptainBly]

Well, where I'm at in SD we got ice then sleet then more ice and finally snow. Went out to clean the driveway yesterday I bet we had an inch to an inch and a half of frozen ice and sleet. Pretty hard to find food now I would think.

[pureinsanity]

[CaptainBly]

Yeah, that's only 2. How many more are there? The whole area SD, MN, and ND have seen alot of snow. The Aberdeen area got 18". I guess we'll have to wait and see.

[pureinsanity]

There is a bit more cover around here, but go west or out in sd and its not looking good unless there is shelter belts

[CaptainBly]

I hear ya

[Tom7227]

Pure - did you shoot that video? Pretty graphic proof of what I've read about for many years. I wonder what the birds looked like - crops full or empty? Amount of fat on them compared to the one that was shot? From the looks of it they were all pretty much the same just that two weren't in good enough cover. When was the video shot and roughly where?

[pureinsanity]

No it was on a pheasants forever blog

[pureinsanity]

From the source

"I was pheasant hunting in South Dakota in December 2010. While hunting these two wild Ringnecked pheasants were found in cattail swamp filled in with snow drifts. They died due to exposure to high winds, blowing snow, and a lack of good habitat/cover. Their beaks formed a small ice "ball" within their nostrils and suffocated them. Don't forget.....Support your local Pheasants Forever Chapter! Think habitat!!"

http://www.pheasantblog.org/ahauck/have-you-ever-watched-a-pheasant-freeze/

[Dotch]

They've behaved typically here since the snowfall. They spent most of their time foraging for feed once the fields opened up now they're back at the feeders again, hopscotching between farmsteads. There were about 30 here again yesterday morning while I was moving snow. I think someone made a good point that SD is not SW MN is not SC MN, etc. The types of cover vary from area to area and while one place may boast lots of cattail slough cover or large tracts of native prairie grassland, others such as the area we're in have farmyards 1/4 mile apart with spruce, pine, plum, etc., where the birds are able to get along quite nicely in crummy weather. The potential carrying capacity isn't as high per acre but survival thus far doesn't appear to be an issue. That said, we ain't seen what March will dish out yet and that can be one of the worst months from an ice storm standpoint. In the meantime, enjoy observing the birds, plan(t) more habitat and support your local PF chapter.

[CaptainBly]

I know it has been talked about before. Feeding the wildlife. I don't know how much of that is being done with corn prices the way they are.

[Dotch]

I can't speak for every area but I know it hasn't stopped anyone around here. Those of us who can appreciate the tough go the pheasants have had have taken it upon ourselves to feed them just like we always have. They really don't eat that much in the grand scheme of things. It doesn't have to be the traditional ear corn or shell corn deal either. I feed livestock so I have some excellent screenings from a neighbor's rotary screener I've fed all winter in a feeder I wasn't using. I've also mixed it with the cheapo mixed bird seed I've found on sale. Mixing their diet up a bit is probably not a bad idea. In addition, I have a couple garbage cans of ear corn from the hand yield checks we take in customers fields in the fall. No reason to let it go to waste or become volunteer corn by tossing it back in the field. Since the feeder's in the yard, feeding only what they'll consume per day helps keep the bunnies, raccoons, oppossums, deer and other critters from cleaning it out at night.

[CaptainBly]

I understand. I belong to a sportsmans club in MN and they have been buying corn and hay for years. They pay farmers for leaving food plots. But it really isn't that big of a club. They have guys complaining that they are not doing enough. They have guys coming from 30-40 miles away to get corn. They say the DNR has told them to go there of they want corn. And some of the guys that are complaining are farmers that have bushels of corn.

[Jack Peterson]

I have only seen one pheasant on my property since January 1st. Ouch. It was a rooster, and I saw him last week during the "thaw." I haven't seen any tracks in the lowlands/swamp, along the woods, or along the standing corn. I have been watching a herd of 15-20 deer across the road, and they are struggling for food as well.

I think my population of pheasants is down to a dozen, mainly due to the snow, the TWO to THREE FREAKING weeks of below zero, and the over abundance of predators/hawks. I have three local hawks, and man I sure wish it was legal to get rid of them, or at least trap them and relocate them.

Really hoping that winter goes away a.s.a.p!

[pureinsanity]

For all you who want to feed the pheasants and help save them. JOIN a PF chapter. I realize most of you are already but anyone who is concerned about the pheasants or their ability to hunt them in the future needs to do this. Every year food plots are put on certain WMA's in my local area. Every year a volunteer uses his equipment to pick these food plots and distribute the corn to fellow PF members for FREE to help feed the pheasants.

Join a chapter and donate what you can, its for a good cause. With out PF many WMA's wouldn't be here today OR the habitat at most of these WMA's. Shelter belts, nesting grounds, water, and a food source courtesy of PF.

Google Pheasants Forever and find out if your county has a chapter or not. Attend a meeting, you will not be disappointed with what you hear at these meetings.

I started going to meetings when I was age 4. I would go with my dad as he was a founding member to a local chapter. You would not believe what you will learn from these meetings, or this local pf chapter. More importantly you will meet some great people and good friends while doing it along with gaining lots of knowledge about pheasants and other wildlife habitat.

[CodyDawg]

Dotch and pureinsanity nailed it. PF is out there doing projects to help, we need more people involved. My chapter is on its 3rd gravity box of cob corn that we give away to folks for feeding the pheasants. The best answer, however, is to have habitat and food plots established. That is what gets numbers of birds through the year. Please, join a PF chapter and get involved!

[Arago]

I agree completely. If you are a rooster hunter you owe it to yourself and your children and their kids to join PF. Habitat does not magically happen. We All need to create it, or have barron fields and no birds.

[MuleShack]

I was out this after noon trying to find and get some pics of the local bald eagles and ran into these two guys. I actually seen about 8 birds, but only got to snap two of them.

[pureinsanity]

How long you been at the big K Mule?

[Farley]

Went for a walk with my 7 month old GWP last night after work around 5:30 till sundown. Walked all the way accross our big slough out in the middle of the section (a large section). Saw over 100 birds, Schultz is still learning he got up maybe a half dozen or so. Judging by what I saw in the fall\early winter and what I saw last night, looks to me like our slough lost maybe 20% of the birds. Unless a bunch of new birds moved in. We left 3 rows of standing corn along the west side of that swamp, and there is also a corn food plot about 1/2 mile away. We released around 200 birds throughout the last summer and banded them with zip ties so hopefully the ones that made it to winter, made it through the winter (I'm guessing 20% made it to the winter). Coyotes dont seem to be as big of a problem as I thought they were going to be. A few tracks but none fresh. Schultz was fired up to say the least, he didnt know which direction to turn, there was roosters cackling in every direction. We live in Central MN.

[MuleShack]

How long you been at the big K Mule?

over 2 decades

[pureinsanity]

snow cover and extreme cold weather has folks worried about the birds being able to survive. Unfortunately, many good intentioned people who set out corn actually harm the pheasants more than they help them. Carefully consider the following:

• Feeding must take place close to high quality winter cover of at least 10 acres, such as cattail sloughs and willow thickets. It is extremely rare for a pheasant to starve, but death by freezing is common.

Poorly placed feeders actually draw the pheasants out and away from their protective winter cover. They cause birds to congregate and expend energy competing for the food. Instead of saving birds, poorly placed feeders will actually add to freezing deaths.

• Feeders attract predators and expose pheasants to death by predation. Many more pheasants are lost to predators each winter, than to starvation. Feeders give predators a focus point, not unlike a bait pile.

• Once feeding starts, it must be continued. If pheasants are fed for a period of time and then the food supply disappears, the birds may become more stressed than if they had not been fed at all.

• A poorly designed feeder may make an easy meal for more efficient foragers such as deer and turkey, taking away any benefits for pheasants.

• Proper winter feeding may help the birds temporarily, but it is not an effective long term plan. THE KEY TO SAVING PHEASANTS IN THE WINTER IS HABITAT!

Resources spent on establishing high quality winter cover will yield far greater results and the best winter survival rates.

The lesson to be learned from a tough winter is that we need to plant more, high quality thermal cover in the spring. Please do all you can to educate your friends and family on proper winter feeding. By doing so, you will help save birds.

[harvey lee]

Boy do I agree with that. Winter cover is so much more important than food. Even with the food and no winter cover, the birds will have a tough time survivng.

[Grayfox]

These boys have been hanging close to the house since late December. Been putting out corn for the deer and birds and all these guys showed up. They roost in my spruce trees in the background and a short 40 yard fly to the food. The picture isn't very good but that morning there were 21 roosters and 1 hen that came out. Not sure where the other hens were but maybe a little more wary of coming out in the open? We took one rooster 2 years ago but haven't had the urge to hunt them the last few. It's nice to hear them cackle and watch them strut around in the sping though.

Rob