Pheasant Travel

S

strapman

New member
Has anyone documented the amount of distance a pheasant will travel in its lifetime? I have heard a mile at maximum? I'm clueless as to what the true answer is. Has anyone ever seen any documentation on this issue?

This is really a critical issue during times of drought and when farmers/ranchers harvest their crops and the birds are looking for cover. Thanks, I look forward to hearing what you folks have to say.
 
Well I was roofing a church in Ledyard IA and kept seeing this goofy truck with antennas at the café every day. I Finlay asked the two DNR guys if they were tracking deer. They smiled and said, no, pheasants. I am chuckling as I said it must get boring driving around the same block each day. They told me they have birds that travel as much as 25 miles. I could not believe it. Not that all do. But I do believe many travel a few miles or more regularly. But when winter sets in they seem to hunker in here and stick with an accessible food source. I am sure that IA info should be available some where by now. That was 20 years ago.
 
FCSpringer said:
Well I was roofing a church in Ledyard IA and kept seeing this goofy truck with antennas at the café every day. I Finlay asked the two DNR guys if they were tracking deer. They smiled and said, no, pheasants. I am chuckling as I said it must get boring driving around the same block each day. They told me they have birds that travel as much as 25 miles. QUOTE]

Wow FCS that's really interesting thanks for sharing.:) I had know idea they traveled that far.

The furthest I've wittnessed pheasants travel was about a mile and a half and I thought that was far!
--1pheas4
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I have followed prairie chickens in flight for more than 5 miles. So I am sure those roosters travel great distances. Seems like most here fly at least a mile when flushed.
 
I bet those pheasants travelled every mile on foot! As for prairie chickens and sharptails, they are regionally migratory, there's a term for it, I can't remember right now, but they will do short migration flights to get certain habitat or escape certain conditions. I have seen them flying at heights one normally reserves for ducks, having come from miles away, and travelling obviously miles farther, at 2000ft altitude. It's those time I wonder how I ever get one pointed!
 
I have read that a pheasant can carry out his whole life from hatch to death on as little as 700 acres of prime habitat. Mind you that is on prime cover that takes care of all of its needs, but that is just over a square mile. I don't remember where I read that but it stuck in my mind.
 
ive been known to chase the same rooster across a county ..or 2.. just depends on how many boxes of shells i bring :D:D:D
 
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