Pheasant sounds

remy3424

remy3424

Well-known member
I was out in a hedgerow with the idea of picking some plums (for the pits to plant) this last weekend, learned a couple things. First thing is that everything must like eating plums, there weren't many left on the bushes, but there were even fewer on the ground under the bushes. While I was searching for plums, I could hear a soft clucking. I just thought that maybe turkey had hatched a batch and there was a couple around, (not completely impossible). I could tell the sounds were getting closer, coming up in the food plot that parallels the hedgerow. Once the sounds were very close, I walked into food plot and 2, close to full sized pheasants flushed, they were getting color on them. I have heard this in late summer & early fall, but I was surprised it was the juvenile pheasants making the sounds. In season, the you never hear these sounds (only cackles). I am not sure if it is due to the age of the birds or due to the birds knowing you are there and they only vocalize when they think there are no threats about. There are a few birds around.

Back to plum pits...I planted whole plum pits before with no success. 2 years ago I gathered pits from a peach tree that has bunches of peaches (not that common in NW Iowa). Those pits I cracked and removed the seed inside, these grew (not assured or even likley of getting same the tree). I did the same with the plum pits now and will plant just the seed inside the pit this fall and see what happens. I hope to fill-in gaps in other rows (species) that had some losses (lost very few plums) and maybe start a new row elsewhere. Has anyone else tried planting wild plums with success from seeds?
 
Try putting your plum pits/seeds in the freezer for a few weeks before planting them in the early spring. A lot of wild seeds (like annual sunflower) have to go through a winter in the ground before they will germinate.
 
Also, wild plums seem to do best in Sandy soils.
 
Plum seeds will have to go through stratification, as Ibills mention. Google plum stratification.You will probably get better results keeping them in the refrigerator over the winter. Then plant them in the spring.
 
This summer at the lake, I would hear this frequently. I don't remember hearing a rooster do that before but it was a softer clucking but definitely a pheasant and I would suspect a rooster. I wondered if a hen could make that sound as a way to gather the chicks up. I am skeptical of that theory so wonder if it isn't the male chicks starting to train their vocals. I would add that the sound seemed to be 100-200 yards away and audible to me (and my dogs) but not anything like a cackle of a flushing rooster.
 
I was thinking that planting them this fall would take care of the statification of the seed.....I did store the peach seeds in the refrigerator over the winter, works for acorns too, left them in the shell. Have had hazel nuts grow that were planted in the fall (without the shell).
 
I love to hear the turkeys and pheasants on my dad's place.I don't hunt the pheasants, and dad said don't shoot any turkeys!! I did rub out a 25 lb.gobbler last year, unbeknownst to him...lol
 
Used my trimmer with a blade and cut out a tract about 6 feet wide, 80-90 yards long along side a conifer wind break I started 3 years ago. I removed the standing brome, waited for it to grow back (and it did quickly), then sprayed it with Round-Up and last week-end I planted half the row. The remaining seeds are in the refrigrator, sealed in a pill bottle with some damp paper towels. First thing in the spring I will get those in the ground and see what happens.
 
If you have access to a greenhouse, you might try starting the plums inside and then transplanting them on your place.
 
OK, I think the frost is about out here, checked the plum seeds I have stored in the refrigerator and they are sprouting! It looks like the trick here is to get them out of the pits prior to planting them, like peaches (I am somewhat new to growing trees/shurbs from seeds). A couple had a root an inch long, pretty sure thase are goners, as that fragile root would be broken off in my planting method, the ones that were just sprouting should be fine I am thinking, hoping to get some gemination from some of the other ones yet and the ones planted last fall. I will watch for sprouts popping up in the coming months. Hoping the fall planted ones do well, that would be the easiest way to get these going. Would like to stay away from transplanting, we had some strong straight-line winds last fall and lost several Austrian pines, in a shelter belt, will likely replace those with ditch cedars (eastern red) here in a couple weeks. Might wait for a local spring consignment auction, they usually have some potted evergreens, a chance to get bigger trees than I can easily dig....I was transplanting ditch scotch pines 3 years ago when I had a heart attack, don't need that again!

As expected with our mild winter, I saw a pile of birds flushing from the switch grass, as I made a walk through it this weekend. Always great to see!
 
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