Pa wild pheasants

Thanks for posting. I know PA has a ten year pheasant project going. By the looks of it, it seems it may be working. Let's keep our figures crossed.

I've heard MI has a similar project in the works. Not sure if it's going through or not.

Good luck! --1pheas4
 
Pheasants Forever stocking birds!! Are the rivers running backward?

I am delighted by the progress of pheasant restoration in Pennsylvania. I remain confused by the policy of Pheasants Forever. In one case they preach habitat, habitat, and more habitat. They tell us stocking birds is a waste of time. Yet we watch a clip of the Pheasants Forever biologist happily supervising a restorative stocking of pheasants! What gives? Sounds like do as we say not as we do, to me.
 
oldandnew said:
I am delighted by the progress of pheasant restoration in Pennsylvania. I remain confused by the policy of Pheasants Forever. In one case they preach habitat, habitat, and more habitat. They tell us stocking birds is a waste of time. Yet we watch a clip of the Pheasants Forever biologist happily supervising a restorative stocking of pheasants! What gives? Sounds like do as we say not as we do, to me.
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The stocking their doing is a wild stock, not pen birds. Wild birds were caught than transplanted into another area.:) --1pheas4
 
Wild caught birds are surely more likely to survive and prosper on a percentage basis, but a stocked bird is a stocked bird. Numbers of pen raised birds, naturalized, flighted, would be almost as useful, and capable. Still stocking is stocking, no matter how fine a point you put on it. Here I thought all along that we were supposed to build the field of dreams habitat, and wait for the pheasants to pioneer the promised land from 75 miles away, or the 3 or 4 local birds all 2 or 3 year olds to bring off a hatch in the latest edition of a cold wet spring.
 
bauerline said:
http://www.myfoxnepa.com/subindex/local_shows/great_outdoors

The above link should take you to a video of a flushing survey of wild pheasants in Pa. These birds are offspring of pheasants that were trapped out west and released in Pa. This is the best chance we have to get wild pheasants back in Pa.
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More background information on Pa. wild trapping program, see article below:

http://republicanherald.com/wpra-s-why-change-success-1.872457

The are a number of big takeaways we can all learn from this program. First of all aerial predators are everywhere now, more abundant now than maybe thirty or forty years ago.
So when getting wild pheasants started again or restarted you need close to a 50% hen to 50% rooster ratio. Why because in predator areas truly wild roosters actually warn the hens of danger, this is vary important in spring time when hens are busy feeding gaining nutrients for the egg laying season.

I am a firm believer in wilder strains of pen raised pheasants for getting wild pheasants started in areas completely void of wild pheasants. And we all know that our present wild population came from pen raised stock years and years ago.
But I have to admit that some of the present day commercially available pen raised pheasants are close to 60 or 70 generations in a pen and are totally inbred and tame. Those tame fat non-alert pen raised bird we all know will not last a week in the real wild world, they will just make the predators fat. In the case of tame pen raised pheasants I agree with Pheasant Forever. No stocking of tame pheasant. But firmly believe in stocking of wilder strains of pen raised pheasants.

With that being said there are wilder strains of pen raised pheasants available. I will not name any names but one breeder went back to China and obtained over 2000 wild pheasant eggs (from wild fields totally wild genes). This same breeder used wild (100 generations in the wild roosters from Kansas to add wild genes to his hens). This same breeder made wilder and wary Afghan Whitewing pheasants available to the public.

The wild-trapped pheasant stocking program is good, wild pheasants naturally know how to avoid predators and crouch down at the first sign of danger. But the average person or average land owner can't get access to wild-trapped pheasants.
 
Very interesting and very good for Pa. Now here is my question pertaining to wild trapped birds. Would it not be more cost effective to keep these birds penned and start a f-1 breeding program and then release them the following year? Why does PF not support this type of stocking as opposed to more expensive (per bird released) wild relocations? I think f-1 stock raised in a manner as to avoid a lot of human contact (taming) would be very effective in these types of situations.
 
This is great news. It is actually more encouraging than the info released last summer. Maybe some day PA hunters will be able to have a quality experience with wild pheasants. Steve
 
The releasing of pen raised birds has not worked in Pa. Over the past few years the PGC has put out over 100,000 birds per year. Before that they were stocking over 200,000 birds. Add to that the number of birds that private land owners have released and the number of pen raised birds released over just the last 10 years have been over 1 million birds. I bought some day old chicks that were suposed to have come from wild stock and they didn't make it in the wild. They need to be taught in the wild and not in a pen. The PGC trapped some of the last wild birds left in the state to add to their stocking program and those birds did not make it. We must also remember that the habitat in Pa is not the same as it was when we had wild birds in the past. And it is a lot different than the western states where pheasants are thriving. The best chance for wild birds in Pa is the trap and transfer of wild birds.
 
bauerline said:
The releasing of pen raised birds has not worked in Pa. Over the past few years the PGC has put out over 100,000 birds per year. Before that they were stocking over 200,000 birds. Add to that the number of birds that private land owners have released and the number of pen raised birds released over just the last 10 years have been over 1 million birds. I bought some day old chicks that were suposed to have come from wild stock and they didn't make it in the wild. They need to be taught in the wild and not in a pen. The PGC trapped some of the last wild birds left in the state to add to their stocking program and those birds did not make it. We must also remember that the habitat in Pa is not the same as it was when we had wild birds in the past. And it is a lot different than the western states where pheasants are thriving. The best chance for wild birds in Pa is the trap and transfer of wild birds.
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I am very happy for you guys on having a plan to help wild pheasants, but one line in your post "we must also remember that habitat in Pa is not as it was when we had wild birds in the past" leads me to believe more habitat work is needed for this to really work. If good habitat is in place f-1 stockings will work. Ask any state that has huntable wild pheasant populations. Almost all wild birds in American came from f-1 or farther removed stockings. The closest relatives to pure Chinese ringnecks are the pheasants in baja California especially Mexicali which were imported by Chinese rail workers directly from China for release. Not even the pheasants in the Willamette valley are so pure.
 
More habitat work is needed. There are some other areas in the state that have been considered for the wild pheasant plan but they are not getting any birds until the habitat is improved, if they get any at all. The wild birds were released in areas that met certain habitat requirements. I think the best Pa hunters can hope for is pockets of wild birds located in different parts of the state. The current plan seems to be the best option but it is still a wait and see as far as measuring success goes.
 
The problem with the wild stocking is the birds we get here in PA are the ones that are dumb enough to get caught in a trap.
How do we get the smart ones to come over? I think they would have a much better chance of survival.
Also, if they flushed from East to West during the survey,maybe they could move some birds to my side of the state!!
Okay, okay, just kidding.
We don't tend to have the wide open areas like you find west of here. The aerial predators have the advantage of not only hunting while flying, they have an opportunity to hunt from the roost. Most of the PA habitat consists of relativelysmall plots bordered by stands of trees and treed fence rows. Great place to sit and watch for dinner. This also gives good cover for our ever increasing population of nocturnal predators. I have seen/battled more raccoons and opossums on my farm than I ever had in the past. There are very few trappers around here, and little incentive to trap.
I think the wild trapping/stocking of pheasant and quail is great for PA. It looks like, with the help of Pheasants Forever et al, we are developing a more scientific approach to our upland game management. You will know the program is becoming successful when PA returns to rooster only hunting.

Good comments - Good thread
 
I live and farm in east central Kansas. We have some fairly decent pheasant habitat but don't have any birds. In the late 80's I raised and released 1000's of pen raised birds. We did have limited success in that there were a couple years we did have some hatches raised from the released birds, but they never did take off. We had some birds for a few years and then they disappeared. I have always thought if I could get a few hundred truly wild birds and release we would have better success. KDWP says no, if we had the right habitat for pheasants they would move the other 100 miles from the west and be here. I have hunted pheasants all over the country, and while we aren't as wide open as western Kansas and parts of South Dakota, it looks to me like we have better habitat than parts of Nebraska and Iowa where they have pheasant. If I knew how get a hold of a few 100 wild birds, I am sure I could find the funds to buy them. I would like to try it and see if KDWP is right or not. I know the turkeys weren't here until they trapped and released them, and they are flourishing now.
 
fsentkilr said:
I live and farm in east central Kansas. We have some fairly decent pheasant habitat but don't have any birds. In the late 80's I raised and released 1000's of pen raised birds. We did have limited success in that there were a couple years we did have some hatches raised from the released birds, but they never did take off. We had some birds for a few years and then they disappeared. I have always thought if I could get a few hundred truly wild birds and release we would have better success. KDWP says no, if we had the right habitat for pheasants they would move the other 100 miles from the west and be here. I have hunted pheasants all over the country, and while we aren't as wide open as western Kansas and parts of South Dakota, it looks to me like we have better habitat than parts of Nebraska and Iowa where they have pheasant. If I knew how get a hold of a few 100 wild birds, I am sure I could find the funds to buy them. I would like to try it and see if KDWP is right or not. I know the turkeys weren't here until they trapped and released them, and they are flourishing now.
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fsentkilr, KDWP is is giving you skewed information, wild pheasants not moving into your habitat has nothing to do with you not having good habitat, you just don't a truly wild pheasant to fill or occupy your excellent habitat. Number one wild pheasants don't fly around like doves or starlings or nest in trees so they won't just expand rapidly, these are ground nesting birds and any natural expansion is very slow.
You have excellent pheasant habitat in eastern Kansas but no wild pheasants.

People forget that just a little over 100 years ago there were no pheasants in South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska or Kansas. Main point, good habitat with no wild pheasants back then.
Forty years ago when I would visit friends in Wichita, Kansas, friends reported to me that they would see only a few pheasants in wheat fields then, now 2011, I am told that wild pheasants are common in that area.

Wild pheasants are now seen directly south of Wichita as for south as Kingfisher, Oklahoma. Wild pheasants expand faster in vast wheat field areas.

But the wild expansion is slowed once trees are encountered by wild pheasants. That does not mean that they can't live around trees and creeks it only means that the natural wild expansion is slow, to speed up the process they may need a little help in expanding into thicker vegetation areas.
That help is releasing wild-trapped pheasants lot of them into good habitat.

Why drive hours and hours when you can have wild pheasant fun right near your town.
If you are not successful in getting wild-trapped pheasant try wilder and more alert and wary strains of pen raised pheasants, don't give up.
There are wild pheasants reproducing every year in the southern Texas panhandle because people that wanted wild pheasants, did not give up, keep trying.
 
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Preston1 said:
fsentkilr, KDWP is is giving you skewed information, wild pheasants not moving into your habitat has nothing to do with you not having good habitat, you just don't a truly wild pheasant to fill or occupy your excellent habitat. Number one wild pheasants don't fly around like doves or starlings or nest in trees so they won't just expand rapidly, these are ground nesting birds and any natural expansion is very slow.
You have excellent pheasant habitat in eastern Kansas but no wild pheasants.

People forget that just a little over 100 years ago there were no pheasants in South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska or Kansas. Main point, good habitat with no wild pheasants back then.
Forty years ago when I would visit friends in Wichita, Kansas, friends reported to me that they would see only a few pheasants in wheat fields then, now 2011, I am told that wild pheasants are common in that area.

Wild pheasants are now seen directly south of Wichita as for south as Kingfisher, Oklahoma. Wild pheasants expand faster in vast wheat field areas.

But the wild expansion is slowed once trees are encountered by wild pheasants. That does not mean that they can't live around trees and creeks it only means that the natural wild expansion is slow, to speed up the process they may need a little help in expanding into thicker vegetation areas.
That help is releasing wild-trapped pheasants lot of them into good habitat.

Why drive hours and hours when you can have wild pheasant fun right near your town.
If you are not successful in getting wild-trapped pheasant try wilder and more alert and wary strains of pen raised pheasants, don't give up.
There are wild pheasants reproducing every year in the southern Texas panhandle because people that wanted wild pheasants, did not give up, keep trying.
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Great post.:10sign:
 
I released some birds purchased from a pheasant farm in Wisconsin that were crosses from wild birds brought in from Manchuria. They were wilder than the regular pen raised birds, but still didn't take off. I was releasing them at a younger age, at about 8 weeks, realizing I would lose some releasing them that young but hoping the ones that survived would be wilder. The birds in Kansas are expanding their range. The season used to not be open east of 81 highway. Now their is excellant pheasant hunting east of 81. I don't know why the season is open statewide now instead of closing it in southeast Kansas were there aren't any birds. There was nothing stopping quail hunters from shooting the birds I released. I have offered to pay for some wild birds to KDWP but they have no interest in helping me get some wild trapped birds and releasing here. I would almost guarantee that if I had 500 wild birds I could get birds started in our area.
 
fsentkilr, I have been keeping up with the slow expansion of the wild north American pheasant range (just as a hobby since my teens) for a long time. And you are right the pheasants range is slowly expanding in Kansas as well as in Oklahoma and Texas. But if you just wait for wild reproducing pheasants to naturally move into you area you might be an old man by then.

Look at the article below it will take a group effort to get wild pheasants started:

http://www.amarillo.com/stories/120201/whe_legionsofspo.shtml

I personally know one of the guys involved in the program above and he told me that spring time release of full grown (wild strains Manchurian and Whitewing cross, the birds look like your regular Kansas ringneck but they will inherit the predator wary and alert traits of the whitewing) resulted in a well established wild population. But the article doesn't say this but it took over 20,000 full grown spring release pheasants and over 10 years to get them start.
Yes that is a lot of hard work but its better than driving of 8 to12 hours South Dakota.
 
I drive 4 hours to do most of my pheasant hunting. I can be in pheasant county in 1.5 hours, but there aren't a lot of birds there. Thats not the main reason I want to get them started. I just love the birds and would really like to have them in our area. I tried for close to 10 years before I gave up. Like I said when we saw young birds that had been hatched in the wild I thought we had succeeded. In a few years they were all gone. I think the quail hunters shooting every rooster that they get up really hurt the effort.
 
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