Them Changes

[Golden Hour]

I'm going to upload a video from my west river pheasant hunt last weekend. The day after I left, some coyote hunters came in and shot 28 coyotes in eighteen hours. Predators are only an issue when you don't have...

HABITAT. Nesting, brood rearing and winter thermal cover habitat. And roosting to a lesser extent. But the loss of habitat is the one and only reason for decline in pheasant numbers. Weather can certainly have a localized effect, but it won't be responsible for huge declines over many years.

 

[Miforester]

The thing I noticed when I hunted Kansas, was the habitat that was available to hunt, walkin areas or whatever Kansas calls it was not of the quality of Nebraska or SD. I also believe tiling the crop fields have taken away those potholes/cattails/waterways that serve as vital habitat. I don't seem much work going on in SD with tiling like I do in the states below, I cannot think of driving by many crops fields in Iowa, Nebraska or Kansas where you seem imagery of potholes scattered throughout the field, them have been removed. Regarding predators, I think nest raiders are probably have a greater impact on the population then predation of young or adult birds. That being said many hens will renest if a clutch is wiped out due to predation or weather. Bad weather shortly after chicks hatch can be very bad for the population as well as many have said.

To me it really just boils down to the drastic change in farming, as was improve seed, effectiveness of herbicides and pesticides the field become cleaner and more productive for the farmer which is great for them and the people they feed, the trade off is lesser habitat and fluctuation in bird populations. We have all seen what happens when millions of acres gets enrolled in CRP and how the population rebounds to great levels then drops when taken out. This shows that is the respective state agencies focused on quality habitat they can help sustain a nice population within the area of the managed areas. It is a head scratcher when you hit a site that is everything you would think a bird needs to survive and you don't produce any birds. I'm always looking for roosts for at least signs that they birds are or have used the site, if none are present then I cross it off my list until next year. Some times it could be the old saying you should have been here yesterday.

Growing up in Northern Indiana my dad and I always debated why were didn't seem more wild birds, then as more farms enrolled in CRP the population grew and crashed with acreage numbers. The state area we hunted did a great job with habitat and we would always kill a bird or two most of the times, we also understood the state managed area got hammered and activity pushed birds to private lands that werent pressured as much. In our neck of the woods the blizzard of 1978 really was decimating for the upland bird population and the population in Indiana and Michigan has never really recovered.

 

[BrownDogsCan2]

Too I think a lot of the remaining crp has aged to the point that it no longer can support bird numbers alone by itself.

 

[Bird Buster]

I began hunting NW KS in the mid-90s. Hunting was so good. I had good luck hunting without a dog for five years and then it got even better when I got my first bird dog. My hunting partner and I sometimes had our four-bird limits before lunch.

This opening weekend we hunted what was an ideal pheasant habitat. It was a large grassy, weedy draw with some stranding water in the middle of a quarter and was surrounded exclusively by wheat stubble and corn stalks. Moreover, it was private ground.

No pheasants. Just a small covey of quail. Why?

Has this place held pheasants before the drought the last several years? I have noticed some places that used to be good before the drought hit now are void of pheasants. Not sure if they all died or what happened.

 

[A5 Sweet 16]

I'm going to upload a video from my west river pheasant hunt last weekend. The day after I left, some coyote hunters came in and shot 28 coyotes in eighteen hours. Predators are only an issue when you don't have...

HABITAT. Nesting, brood rearing and winter thermal cover habitat. And roosting to a lesser extent. But the loss of habitat is the one and only reason for decline in pheasant numbers. Weather can certainly have a localized effect, but it won't be responsible for huge declines over many years.

I'm guessing with all the coyotes around, your video will be void of pheasants & basically be a plea for predator hunters to get our there & kill as many as possible so you can seen a rooster or 2.

No. I agree. If predators have a significant impact on pheasants, then truly sufficient pheasant habitat isn't there. Something important is missing.

 

[remy3424]

Here is some quality Nebraska acres that you can come hunt upland in thanks to Nebraska Game and Parks! Let me know how you do?

View attachment 12302

So that ground in the pic is getting paid to allow hunting? Is that right? They need a number for turning-in those acres....put up a couple bill boards with a $50 reward and every parcel in the state would be turned-in that was out of compliance with the program.

Too I think a lot of the remaining crp has aged to the point that it no longer can support bird numbers alone by itself.

Around me there isn't a lot of CRP and sadly much of it was put in 10 years ago....on 10 year contracts. Some of these are getting plowed and burnt off already. We have 5 years left on ours before the fun is over.....I really hope they have something to roll it back into then.

 

[matto]

If predators have a significant impact on pheasants, then truly sufficient pheasant habitat isn't there.

100% agree.

On top of all that, coyotes are extremely poor pheasant hunters. To the degree that predators have an impact, it's nest raiders, not coyotes. Skunks, Raccoons, Possums, etc. are the real culprits. And coyotes prey on those, so I harbor coyotes no ill will at all.

With respect to NW Kansas, IMO it's all about the "intensification" of ag practices over the last 30 years. Loss of CRP, transition to chemical weed control, shift from milo to corn and beans, tearing out hedgerows, farming closer to roads, and many other changes all play a part. Ignoring for a moment the in and out tide of CRP acres, let's focus on land under production. When I was a teenager learning to hunt in the 80s, we often hunted actively farmed land. Now, as ag production has gotten more intense, actively farmed land is only useful to game birds as a food source. As hunters, I think we missed this important transition because it happened at more-or-less the same time CRP acres were piling up on the landscape. When the CRP tide crested and then receded, coinciding with a drought, we looked around and wondered where all the birds went. Now, as a result of having less CRP, it's more spread out leaving the remaining habitat isolated. And as pointed out above, some of it (a lot of it?), has become less productive.

Farmers have to make money just like us. And the farming practices that make the most sense to them don't produce good pheasant habitat. God Bless those who are willing to make a few sacrifices "for the birds."

 

[carptom1]

So that ground in the pic is getting paid to allow hunting? Is that right? They need a number for turning-in those acres....put up a couple bill boards with a $50 reward and every parcel in the state would be turned-in that was out of compliance with the program.

Around me there isn't a lot of CRP and sadly much of it was put in 10 years ago....on 10 year contracts. Some of these are getting plowed and burnt off already. We have 5 years left on ours before the fun is over.....I really hope they have something to roll it back into then.

This what happens when your state wildlife organization gets rolled into tourism. I feel bad for the outside hunters that have come here drawn in by the acreage touted in the atlas only to find out it’s a big smoke show. The state’s answer is always the same…. They say that is good for some game…. I say it’s lazy bs and a way for big farmers to draw a check knowing nobody will set foot on it to hunt

 

[carptom1]

The thing I noticed when I hunted Kansas, was the habitat that was available to hunt, walkin areas or whatever Kansas calls it was not of the quality of Nebraska or SD. I also believe tiling the crop fields have taken away those potholes/cattails/waterways that serve as vital habitat. I don't seem much work going on in SD with tiling like I do in the states below, I cannot think of driving by many crops fields in Iowa, Nebraska or Kansas where you seem imagery of potholes scattered throughout the field, them have been removed. Regarding predators, I think nest raiders are probably have a greater impact on the population then predation of young or adult birds. That being said many hens will renest if a clutch is wiped out due to predation or weather. Bad weather shortly after chicks hatch can be very bad for the population as well as many have said.

To me it really just boils down to the drastic change in farming, as was improve seed, effectiveness of herbicides and pesticides the field become cleaner and more productive for the farmer which is great for them and the people they feed, the trade off is lesser habitat and fluctuation in bird populations. We have all seen what happens when millions of acres gets enrolled in CRP and how the population rebounds to great levels then drops when taken out. This shows that is the respective state agencies focused on quality habitat they can help sustain a nice population within the area of the managed areas. It is a head scratcher when you hit a site that is everything you would think a bird needs to survive and you don't produce any birds. I'm always looking for roosts for at least signs that they birds are or have used the site, if none are present then I cross it off my list until next year. Some times it could be the old saying you should have been here yesterday.

Growing up in Northern Indiana my dad and I always debated why were didn't seem more wild birds, then as more farms enrolled in CRP the population grew and crashed with acreage numbers. The state area we hunted did a great job with habitat and we would always kill a bird or two most of the times, we also understood the state managed area got hammered and activity pushed birds to private lands that werent pressured as much. In our neck of the woods the blizzard of 1978 really was decimating for the upland bird population and the population in Indiana and Michigan has never really recovered.

Kansas has never been a big cattail/ pothole state and it’s impossible to compare it to the Dakotas. When I was a kid hunting in the 70’s our most productive fields were dirty wheat stubble fields with old sunflowers and fire weed. Especially those that were a year or more old. There was also a lot of Milo and no corn. This was before big CRP. Man those fields were good. Some were a mile x mile. More than anything else we can blame this on clean farming. I think with education, money and luck we can turn some of it around, but it starts with willingness and a little wisdom

 

[Chestle]

The state’s answer is always the same…. They say that is good for some game….

Yep. The picked bean field with no cover at all is for the duck and goose hunters.

 

[birddude]

100% agree.

On top of all that, coyotes are extremely poor pheasant hunters. To the degree that predators have an impact, it's nest raiders, not coyotes. Skunks, Raccoons, Possums, etc. are the real culprits. And coyotes prey on those, so I harbor coyotes no ill will at all.

With respect to NW Kansas, IMO it's all about the "intensification" of ag practices over the last 30 years. Loss of CRP, transition to chemical weed control, shift from milo to corn and beans, tearing out hedgerows, farming closer to roads, and many other changes all play a part. Ignoring for a moment the in and out tide of CRP acres, let's focus on land under production. When I was a teenager learning to hunt in the 80s, we often hunted actively farmed land. Now, as ag production has gotten more intense, actively farmed land is only useful to game birds as a food source. As hunters, I think we missed this important transition because it happened at more-or-less the same time CRP acres were piling up on the landscape. When the CRP tide crested and then receded, coinciding with a drought, we looked around and wondered where all the birds went. Now, as a result of having less CRP, it's more spread out leaving the remaining habitat isolated. And as pointed out above, some of it (a lot of it?), has become less productive.

Farmers have to make money just like us. And the farming practices that make the most sense to them don't produce good pheasant habitat. God Bless those who are willing to make a few sacrifices "for the birds."

Well said.