Why are pheasant's so special

[Eric Wettschreck]

#4- One of the reasons I continue to live in Minnesota is the rush you get when a bird flushes, 6 inches in front of you, out of the snow.

BTW Anyfish, this is a pretty cool topic. I'm glad you brought it up and the posters are open minded enough to at least try and understand what the others are thinking.

[BLACKJACK]

 Originally Posted By: BobT

Being non-native isn't always bad. It seems lately there's a push to maintain the status quo. We don't want the world to warm because it'll change how we live. Likewise we don't want it to cool either for the same reason. We worry about a species losing habitat that was part of its former range and we spend mucco bucks trying to reintroduce them, why? Heck, with the exception of a few of us, we are all non-native as well and it can be argued whether that has been good or bad. I for one am glad we are here.

So the pheasant was introduced in the area. Maybe they displaced some species that we wouldn't have found so useful. Would that be good or bad? Every time we buy up a piece of land and clear it or build on it, we displace some other living organism, both plant and animal. Such is life.

We also do things that nature would not have done like our current deer population. If it wasn't for the changes we have made through predator reduction, habitat management, and harvest control, whitetails wouldn't flourish naturally as they do today.

Bob

Good post Bob!! Everything man has done has altered the environment and wildlife habitat, and the species that can survive - and thrive - change. Prairie chickens couldn't hack it but pheasants, with a little help - some nesting cover, winter cover, and winter food, will thrive.

I chuckled about a year ago when I read an article about prairie chickens vrs pheasants and it stated that pheasants were out competing P. chickens because the pheasant eggs hatch in 21 days while it takes 23 days for p. chickens to hatch.

Its nice to have a few areas up in NW MN to go observe p. chickens but I think its pretty stupid to devote big chunks of land out by Lac Qui Parle to 'prairie chicken habitat', let hunters hunt those areas for something they all want - pheasants!!!

[BobT]

Actually, ANYFISH, I grew up hunting grouse and then moved to pheasant country in my 30s. I can assure you from personal experience, nailing a grouse on the wing is far more challenging. They give you the same "at the foot" flush but you can't see them nearly as long and you have to contend with the brush when you bring your shotgun to bear. I suspect pheasants might be just a bit faster on the wing but in most cases, you have open shooting at a bird that flies relatively straight whereas a grouse is dodging and zig-zagging through forest and brush and doesn't tend to fly level but darts up and down as well as side to side.

I will say that you have a better chance of finding grouse on the ground or roosting within range than pheasants, which will be on the ground but running about 100 yds in front of you.

Bob

[Eric Wettschreck]

Bob, I'm sure you know this, but for those who don't, here we go.

Shooting phesants isn't as easy as it may seem. On the prairie we have the wind to deal with, and once a ringneck hits the wind, it's a whole different ball game. Plus, they are a bigger bird than a grouse, but it's deceiving. So much of the bird is tail feather and I don't know how many phesant butts I've shot off just to watch a bird fly away. If you do manage to shoot one down, you better get to it fast, or have a good dog. They hit the ground running and in the thick prairie grasses and cattails it's not impossible to find them, but it aint easy, either.

Pheasant hunting may look like just guys walking around in orange vests shooting them as they jump up, but until you've gone a few rounds with the ringneck it's difficult to understand how difficult it actually is to put a kill shot on a bird of that size.

[Dotch]

Pheasants are a part of our heritage in So. MN. While we don't boast the numbers that IA & SD do, the birds here have got to be smart and cunning to survive. My Dad grew up in the 20's and 30's on the farm and used to hunt pheasants with the .410 bolt action single shot among the grain and corn shocks. When we as kids got to hunt first in the days of the Soil Bank and still remember that being torn up. In the mid-80's we saw CRP return along with the pheasants. Fortunately, we also saw more CREP and resulting permanent easements in the MN River watershed in the early aughts so there are better core areas than there were not so long ago. While their numbers will likely take a hit with CRP coming out, they probably won't be decimated as badly as they were in '95 - '98 when much of the original CRP began to come out. As far as being non-native, pheasants are here to stay. To think that we'll ever see prairie chickens repopulate to the levels seen by our forefathers is probably unrealistic given the population of humans inhabiting the planet. Nowadays, I like creating habitat with multiple use for them on the acreage we have to work with. I like both waterfowl and pheasants both so the restored CREP wetland was an easy call. And adding a warm season grass pasture has been something both the sheep and the pheasants can appreciate. Haven't been pheasant hunting for several years and it really doesn't bother me. Just enjoy watching them all year long and knowing we're having a small impact on their well being. They're beautiful creatures, especially this time of year.

[muc33]

Anyfish, don't worry, I am open minded.... As I said, I think you have great questions and hopefully you can at least appreciate the likely one sided answers you will get at least one sided in this forum.

Anytime you want to come hunt pheasants with me, just shoot me a message in here and we can set up a hunt in SW MN where the birds are plentiful!!!!!

[ANYFISH]

I knew that it would be one-sided so to speak but thats ok, I hoping for conversation, and it worked. The best part is it stayed civil and great viewpoints were cast, that's was makes FM great and what needs to happen more often with other issues.

I will remeber to take you up on your offer!

[BobT]

I hope I didn't give the impression that I thought pheasants were easy prey for they are not as evidenced by watching me in the field. I did say that I felt they were faster and boilerguy brings up a good point with the wind. When they get up with the wind they are even faster still. Too often hunters make the mistake of shooting at the tail feathers instead of the head and get results like boilerguy mentioned. Okay, I've been there way too many times myself.

Bob

[Eric Wettschreck]

Shoot em in the head and they're dead. Shoot em in the tail and they bail.

Words to live by.

Anyfish and Muc...got room for one more gun?????

[kato wall guy]

Well for me there is nothing better then watching my dog hunt a a I go to shoot them for her. The most rewarding feeling there is to watch your dog stalk a running rooster or go on point on tight holding bird. when I just started to hunt I did not have a dog and shot very few roosters its just luck if you walk close enough to spook one up i would never go hunting with out a dog. {even a bad dog is better then nothing more feet out there covering more ground as long as it stays close.} Anyone can duck hunt and retrieve there own birds. i have a lab and it does both retrieves a goose or duck. But the first thing i trained her do was hunt roosters got to have a dog for that. Unless you are one of them good sportsmans that road hunts around a game farm!!!

Anyfish i strongly suggest tring it and answering some those questions first hand but go with some one that has good dog and land so you do not get discurraged.

[kato wall guy]

I dont know where you are from but if ever in the kato area during the season let me know. I have some heavily populated private land and dog that lives for the sport. look me up

[MinDak Hunter]

I would argue that the turkey is also invasive (outside it's historic range of EXTREAM south eastern MN) and it too has gained popularity.

I can't answer your questions with any good reasons. I only know I love to hunt them on public land, where you have to work for them, with good dogs. I like to eat them and so do my kids.

Mike

[Pyrex]

I agree with MinDak, This is also the biggest reason for no atv's in the road ditches. I live in Renville co. there is 2 state land areas in the Co. the rest is farmland, and I have seen farmers first hand plow almost over the ditches to get that extra bushel. Nothing against farmers, but the ditches is all we have for habitat. Some farmers are now leaving a 30-50' area on either side of the ditches, which is an excellent idea and hope this catches on.

- On another note, Boilerguy, I'll go anytime, I do alot of hunting down there. Good state land!!!

[2 DA GILLS]

This is a valid question, but there are other valid question to ask such as:(these have been stated already - I did not read the entire thread)

1) Why do we stock walleyes in waters where they are not native?

2) Why do we stock walleyes at all? Put and take?

3) Why are wild turkeys transplanted all around the state?

They all have the same answers. Opportunities and revenue.

[Lunker]

No, pheasants do not effect other Prairie Bird pops, at least not much. Pheasants thrive because they can survive in high density ag-land with some edge and swamp habitat for nesting. Other true prairie birds(prairie chickens, etc) need expanses of true prairie to survive, that is why we see so few around anymore.

As far as begin exotic, it is one of those species that did not have a negative effect on native habitat and species, and is of value as a game animal. We often forget that some exotics are fine, it's the harmful ones that immediatley jump to mind adn spoil the term exotic. Remember the brown trout is an exotic, and we don't see too many complaints about those.

[B. Amish]

 Originally Posted By: Lunker

No, pheasants do not effect other Prairie Bird pops, at least not much.

says who... Pheasants Forever

[B. Amish]

i found these pheasant eggs in a mallard nest today.

incubation time for pheasant: 24-25 days

incubation time for mallard: 26-30 days

[muc33]

hmmmmmm, I hope she doesn't make them learn how to swim.... that might not go too good!

[BLACKJACK]

hmmmmmm, I hope she doesn't make them learn how to swim.... that might not go too good!

When we were kids we took a nest of teal eggs and put it under a banty hen and put the banty hen eggs in the teal nest. The banty hen hatched the teal eggs just fine, so then we decided to go see how Mrs Teal was doing with the hen eggs. We found the baby chicks peeping away in the nearby wetland, all perched on cowbogs, the hen teal nowhere in sight. I'm sure Mrs. Teal was mighty disapointed in her offspring!!!!

We ended up raising the chicks and the teal in the same pen, all under one banty hen!!! Then the teal flew away when they got big enough.

[riverrat56]

Do you think those swimming pheasants will decoy as good as some late season Mallards in a snowstorm?