Where have all the pheasants gone?

[MossRoad]

.... The biggest threats are the Turkeys and Coyotes.

Again, there is NO scientific evidence that Turkeys do anything that harms pheasants. Please post some data, study, proof of this, or stop perpetuating the rumor.

 

[QRTRHRS]

As many have mentioned, eliminating fence rows is a big factor. Sadly, if I understand it correctly, there are/were programs in place that would pay landowners to do so? Some will blame hawks for the loss but in a balance system, the hawks remove the weak. Never will the hawks over hunt an area, their presence shows that there is adequate prey.

Hay cropping is a problem in that the timing of harvest and the timing of nesting birds do not always sync. You cannot blame the farmers who are hardly getting rich.

Honestly, I am not up on tax exemptions for set aside lands. Perhaps that might be the key?

 

[ruffdog]

By 1942, pheasants were found in all but the eleven northernmost counties, but now populations occur in only a few areas and have been steadily declining since the 1940's. Removal of hedgerows, drainage of wetlands, early mowing in hayfields and the use of pesticides and herbicides has all taken their toll on pheasant numbers. Predators tend to keep the population down once it has been reduced by other factors, and it is now estimated that Wisconsin only holds about 200,000 birds.

Ring-Necked Pheasant in Wisconsin...

 

[teejk]

Again, there is NO scientific evidence that Turkeys do anything that harms pheasants. Please post some data, study, proof of this, or stop perpetuating the rumor.

The connection is purely anecdotal but I'm seeing it mentioned more and more lately as a possibility for the decline in ruffed grouse populations. Turkeys were reestablished in Wisconsin starting in the 1970's. It started in a small area and as the population grew birds were captured and dispersed in new areas (i.e. a creeping roll-out). People have observed that their grouse numbers have decreased on a similar creeping basis that just happens to coincide with moving turkeys in. While I have seen a story or two documenting destruction of nests, I think the bigger possibility is the territorial nature of many species...a turf thing. Now the reality of it is the sheer size of the turkey hunting population. Thousands of hunters participate each year and the economic impact is huge. Clothing, "gadgets", license fees is now big business.

 

[MossRoad]

Wild turkey and ruffed grouse – the mistaken blame game – MyMinnesotaWoods

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Wild turkey and ruffed grouse – the mistaken blame game – MyMinnesotaWoods

It is possible that there is an indirect effect, in that big increases in turkey populations will soon result in an increase of turkey predators...predators that can and will take a grouse or pheasant. It works the same with deer. Our deer population is getting out of hand; we are seeing Cougars in areas where they haven't been for 100 years.

 

[Snobdds]

Again, there is NO scientific evidence that Turkeys do anything that harms pheasants. Please post some data, study, proof of this, or stop perpetuating the rumor.

I can only speak for Wyoming habitat and the specifics of such. I have no idea or pretend to know if this also affects the same species over 1,000 away in Indiana. With that said, Wyoming pheasants are being decimated by the overpopulation of Turkeys and Coyotes. The pheasants and Turkeys both compete for the same roosting sites and the Turkeys always win. The next generation of Pheasants are left to try and roost on the ground where there is almost a complete eradication rate. The Coyotes have been left to grow in huge populations in the large river bottom portions of land, that were once cattle grazing fields, that are now plowed for agriculture. The ranchers use to keep the populations in check because of the calves, farmers don't worry about them because no Coyote is going to eat a head of corn.

I think your trying to view this issue from the 10,000 foot level, but it's much different once you get to the ground level and look at things specific to one area.

 

[MossRoad]

I can only speak for Wyoming habitat and the specifics of such. I have no idea or pretend to know if this also affects the same species over 1,000 away in Indiana. With that said, Wyoming pheasants are being decimated by the overpopulation of Turkeys and Coyotes. The pheasants and Turkeys both compete for the same roosting sites and the Turkeys always win. The next generation of Pheasants are left to try and roost on the ground where there is almost a complete eradication rate. The Coyotes have been left to grow in huge populations in the large river bottom portions of land, that were once cattle grazing fields, that are now plowed for agriculture. The ranchers use to keep the populations in check because of the calves, farmers don't worry about them because no Coyote is going to eat a head of corn.

I think your trying to view this issue from the 10,000 foot level, but it's much different once you get to the ground level and look at things specific to one area.

I'm trying to view it from a "let's see a scientific study that proves it" level.

We used to have tons of pheasant around here, and no turkeys. The state reintroduced turkeys, and they have done well. The pheasants are few and far between now.

I'm fairly certain the pheasants did well in the past because there used to be about a dozen conservation clubs and many, many private people that raised pheasants and released them annually, and they no longer do that. However, I can't find any studies on that, either, so I won't claim it to be fact.

I'd just like to see a study, report, etc... that can actually link rising turkey populations to falling pheasant populations.

 

[MossRoad]

From here:
https://www.pheasantsforever.org/Bl...ants-Forever/Spring-2018-Pheasant-Report.aspx

Only 10% of Wyoming's pheasant harvest is from wild birds....
That means 90% of them are farm raised. Are the turkeys raiding the farms? No. It's a put-and-take program. And the state blames the loss of natural pheasant reproduction on the reduction of CRP lands.
Read on. It's very interesting, and no mention of turkey competition for habitat.



WYOMING

“Wild bird harvest was down in 2017 compared to the 2016 season in Wyoming,” reports Martin Hicks, Wildlife Biologist with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. “Wild birds comprise about 10 perc of Wyoming’s pheasant harvest.”

“Poor brood rearing conditions as a result of a hot, dry summer, along with a major hail event that occurred in early June, most likely had a negative on wild bird production and survival in 2017,” says Hicks.

“Winter throughout southeastern Wyoming was very mild, with below average snowfall,” says Hicks. “This helped increase survival rates for overwintering pheasants.”

“But winter is never over in Wyoming until May,’ adds Hicks. “Typically, southeastern Wyoming experiences a heavy, wet snow event in April or early May.”

“Until there is a rejuvenation of CRP in southeastern Wyoming, habitat conditions will remain poor,” says Hicks. “Even when the area received above average precipitation in recent years, production was still well below levels observed in the mid to late 1990’s.”

 

[nybirdman]

Even South Dakota with it's great number of pheasant taken every year;a lot of those are "stocked" birds.