Pheasants in the East this fall..???

[Dean Romig]

Hey John, disregard what I said about NY and PA - just drive right on through. Ain't no fezzants there I'm told

(must be a very closely guarded secret I stumbled onto . . . shhhh)















Just foolin' guys - must be holdovers or stocked birds I saw

[John D.]

Hey folks!!

Great read - great advice! My thanks! Honestly - I'm not surprised to hear about the conditions in Western NY or PA? I kind'a figured we might had to go further west? Dang...

Maybe I'll look into parts of Il - or find that Tyson truck DLH mentions..?? As plans get closer - I may throw some places I've contacted up into this thread - and see if anyone knows any particulars..?

Agian - my thanks!!

Also - anyone from my area want to go (Dean, Pete, Dave, Scott, Bob, etc..)? If so - it will be VERY laid back and should be a blast..!!!

Best to all - and thanks again!

John

[Blind Dog]

John, There's Pelee Island in Lake Erie, Canadian waters. A lot of people from the "north shore" have been there. I haven't, but I understand that it is loaded with "wild" birds. I'll bet Roger could fill you in on the details.

Fred

[Dean Romig]

John, I only wish . . . vacation time's already assigned

But, thank you for your kind consideration.

[james van blaricum]

Ever thought of welding a seat on the front of a Tyson's truck and riding thru the country side protecting the driver from those Phantom Fezzants??? JVB

[10 bore]

hi john, bob and i have been talking about this off and on a few times in the past. maybe we can put this together if i still have a job come this fall. i'll keep you posted and see you at MWSA i hope! scott

[Don Kaas]

There are no huntable populations of wild pheasants in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Every spring I see a few birds on my farm that have drifted over from a regulated shooting ground about 3/4 of a mile away. Within a few weeks, they are gone. When I bought my current property in 1986, there was a vibrant wild population-a limit on opening day for a couple of hunters was a forgone conclusion walking from the back door. When I moved back permanently in 1996 after 7 years living in Europe, there was not a pheasant to be found.

[Dean Romig]

Don, in the ten years you have experienced on your property to what do you attribute the decline in wild pheasant numbers? Predation by natural enemies, feral housecats, habitat loss in your general area or a combination of all these? I suspect a combination.

[tom tutwiler]

In the late 1970's I had a good friend who lived in Gettysburg and they had tons of pheasants. Good Brits and lots of birds made for a childhood for him. Far back as the early 1990's there were still pockets of wild birds in the same general area. For goodness sakes, you could drive the battlefields and see wild birds everywhere. Flashing forward, they are gone. Part is certainly a loss of habitat. Another large factor is predators. Between feral cats and avian predators, what few brood birds still around got decimated and it's stayed bad. I've heard from several folks that still hunt up there, that deer are King, Turkey's are a close second and grouse are third. Pheasants aren't even a factor. I don't see the trend as being reversed. Habitat is worse, predators are increasing etc. Back in the old days, the three SSS were followed very closely by farmers. Those three SSS's were "Shoot, Shovel and Shut up". No one is really doing that these days (right or wrong I might add). The fines are too much and most think its doesn't matter anyway.

Final note, is I hunt a wonderful piece of property located outside of Winchester Va. The owner has the desire and the equipment and land necessary to raise pheasants. He has the best habitat you could ever find, native grasses, food plots, corn, millet. You name, he has it all. Over the past 10 years he has probably stocked 500 pheasants on his own at his own expense. None have taken. He truly thinks between the Foxes, Coyotes, Raccoons (nest predators), hawks, feral cats etc. he can't win. He now has concentrated soley on getting his numbers of native quail up to a decent level. Probably has 5 covey's on the 200 plus acres. We never kill many, and when we hit a covey we shoot the rise and a couple of singles and move on. Might I also add, the deer and turkey population on this property has exploded in the past 5 years. Bottom line, is while some species can handle things, apparently pheasants can't. All that said, I'd love to take about 100 wild pheasants from from ND and transplant them to this farm just to see if they have the instincts and smarts necessary to survive and thrive. Anyway, one person's opinion.

[MarketHunter]

I've always had in my mind the decline in small game was due in a large part to farm chemicals. Their use has spiked right along with the decline of wild pheasants, rabbits, and quail in the midwest.

Part of it is fur prices as well, nobody traps anymore because the pelts are near worthless. With no trappers and no coon hunters the predator population has run wild.

Destry