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Post by Dutch on May 11, 2015 5:25:49 GMT -5
Subject: Wild Pheasant Update May 2015 Hi Everyone, Happy Spring! Below are some updates from PA’s Wild Pheasant Recovery Areas. 2015 FLUSHING SURVEYS: We were able to “squeeze in” some last-minute flushing surveys in the Central Susquehanna WPRA in March, after the snow melted and before we were too far into the nesting season. I’m sorry if you weren’t notified. We had a very short time to organize things. We only surveyed a few farms with a few groups, relative to other years when the effort is much larger. We did not flush as many birds as past years on most farms and we also flushed fewer hens than we’ve seen on past surveys. The sex ratio was 1.0 Male: 0.5 Female. Here are some important points to help understand our current wild pheasant populations: --During hard winters, hen survival is lower than rooster survival. We’ve just had 2 hard winters. --1.0 Male : 0.5 Female is the true, pre-nesting-season sex ratio this year. Sex ratios may have been different just 1 month earlier. --Pheasant populations will always fluctuate with winter weather and nesting-season weather. This is something we have to get used to and not panic. One year is never enough to determine long-term population trends. That’s why we must monitor wildlife populations annually and long-term. With consistent monitoring, we will know about short-term changes as they occur, as well as understand how a population is faring over time. --The good news: Pheasants are known to be able to recover from population decreases quickly, and one good nesting season can overcome high winter hen mortality. --Remember, the original parents of our PA wild pheasants came from long-established wild pheasant populations in MT and SD, which can have much harsher winters than we often have in PA. SPRING WILD PHEASANT SURVEYS: We are currently counting crowing roosters in the early mornings to determine population numbers and conducting habitat surveys to determine how much safe nesting cover is available to the wild pheasants. Later this summer we will also be continuing to measure how much nesting, brood-rearing, and winter cover is available in each of the farmland landscapes in each WPRA and how it has changed from past years. These data are used to make recommendations to Pheasants Forever Partners about where, and how much, habitat work is needed. Because farmland is such a dynamic place, and land-use changes each year, we must “stay on top of” all aspects of the habitat available for our PA wild pheasants. WILD PHEASANT RECOVERY AREA BLOG ON PA GAME COMMISSION WEB SITE: There is a WPRA update at pagamecommission.wordpress.com/2015/04/10/wild-pheasants-and-their-new-farmland-habitat/There are many wonderful wildlife articles on the PGC blog pages. Check them out if you haven’t seen this part of the web page before. WPRA WINTER FIELD WORK PHOTOS ON PGC FACEBOOK PAGE: There are photos from winter wild pheasant field work at the link below, including some trail cam shots of “birds being birds.” Many dedicated wild pheasant staff spent a great deal of time working outside this past winter! WPRA Facebook Photo Album: www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.878127365552490.1073741861.265766570121909&type=3 Special thanks to Brittany Howell, from the PGC’s Bureau of Information & Education for helping us put the blog and photos on our web site! And Thanks to all of you, as always, for your continued support and help with Wild Pheasant Recovery in PA. If you ever have any questions, just let us know. Colleen |
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Post by gobblerhunter on May 11, 2015 7:26:33 GMT -5
seems to be going well.... hopefully we will never have a bad winter again
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Post by bawanajim on May 11, 2015 8:33:31 GMT -5
Nice spurs on that bird, it would be great to see wild birds in PA.
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Post by ridgecommander on May 12, 2015 10:57:49 GMT -5
Sounds like many excuses for a program that is not working nor will it if the goal is sustainable and huntable populations of pheasants.
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2015 11:38:14 GMT -5
I blame too many predators. They tried it didn't succeed stop wasting money and time.
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2015 14:24:32 GMT -5
Dutch just posted this to raise my blood pressure! LOL!!
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Post by Dutch on May 12, 2015 15:59:13 GMT -5
Dutch just posted this to raise my blood pressure! LOL!! No I didn't. I swear. Honest.  Just reading between the lines of this info tho makes for interesting conclusions. No mention of the other WPRA's just Central. Phez not spreading due to lack of habitat. I think some CREP was removed, which may be hurting them. I did just see that PA's CREP enrollment is down a good bit. 20%. If that hit the Montour area, that hurts the effort. We should have a good nesting season, if this weather holds. Lets hope it does. |
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Post by gobblerhunter on May 13, 2015 5:17:27 GMT -5
not only a good nesting season Dutch but a light winter to go with it.
as for the other WPRA's I have no idea how they are doing but in the past when they weren't doing well they would just keep the hype on the Central one.
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Post by grouse28 on May 17, 2015 19:28:04 GMT -5
I am tired of hearing about our "rough winters"! Pheasants have survived the Dakota
winters for decades. Turkey are flourishing in Maine in ten feet of snow. We can create this false habitat for pheasants through government subsidies.
It will never work state wide. Cut down on both avian and terrestrial predators and we may again have some pheasants in habitat appropriate areas.
Stop stocking the pheasants in native woodcock and grouse habitat. Work on grouse and woodcock habitat.
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Post by gobblerhunter on May 18, 2015 7:49:30 GMT -5
apparently they "claim" the winters out there are cold but not as much snow as here. birds have a hard time finding food in deep snow. But with good springs and praying for no more snow in winters things might get better.....
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Post by davet on May 18, 2015 10:46:15 GMT -5
Am I crazy......or did I read somewhere that our wild pheasant's were not actually a native bird of the North American continent. These birds were actually imported from China way back in the day?
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Post by bawanajim on May 18, 2015 11:14:28 GMT -5
The ironic thing this post shows is the hypocrisy in the hunting community. How many times I've been called an "anti" a "hypocrite" and many other unkind terms because I don't believe that Sunday hunting is a good thing for PA. How many time have we heard the need to stick to gather for the benefit of our sports future, not to fall into plan that the anti hunters have. Even so far as to support pigeon shoots because they are the stepping stone to end our sport. Yet a very dedicated group have taken extraordinary steps to protect huge parcels of ground, ground that benefits all sorts of wildlife, and all with the hopes of reestablishing one of the greatest game birds in America and they are ridiculed. Its kind of funny where our priorities are placed these days. |
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Post by ridgecommander on May 18, 2015 12:17:34 GMT -5
The ironic thing this post shows is the hypocrisy in the hunting community. How many times I've been called an "anti" a "hypocrite" and many other unkind terms because I don't believe that Sunday hunting is a good thing for PA. That would because you have taken positions and/or have made statements that are in line with the antis or have been hypocritical. Yep. Lets look at the data coming from these areas just as some of us have pointed to the data and experiences other states have with SH. Is the pheasant re-establishment program working in Pennsylvania and can it provide sustainable hunting to the residents of this state down the road? Would the money being put into this project be better served elsewhere to benefit hunters or our sport? If the pheasant program is struggling here, I would rather the money be spent on pheasant programs in other states that are working. Or better yet, grouse or woodcock improvements here in Pa. Nice try though, Jim.... |
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Post by bawanajim on May 18, 2015 12:56:41 GMT -5
Your opinions and dirty diapers have an awful lot in common.
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Post by ridgecommander on May 18, 2015 13:58:00 GMT -5
Your opinions and dirty diapers have an awful lot in common. Glad you think so. Actually, many of mine on the two issues we are discussing here are based on the data that we have to pour over in both cases. When one relies on quips and hyopcrisy to form positions, such as you do often, it is your diaper that is leaking from the continous load being placed in it. You rarely aanswer direct questions but here is another. Do you feel, based on the data coming from the WPRA, that the program will provide sustainable pheasant hunting for the sportsman of this state for all to enjoy? |
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Post by bud16057 on May 18, 2015 14:18:22 GMT -5
Your opinions and dirty diapers have an awful lot in common. Glad you think so. Actually, many of mine on the two issues we are discussing here are based on the data that we have to pour over in both cases. When one relies on quips and hyopcrisy to form positions, such as you do often, it is your diaper that is leaking from the continous load being placed in it. You rarely aanswer direct questions but here is another. Do you feel, based on the data coming from the WPRA, that the program will provide sustainable pheasant hunting for the sportsman of this state for all to enjoy? Enough with the personal jabs- lets get back on topic before things get ugly. |
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Post by gobblerhunter on May 18, 2015 14:58:46 GMT -5
Am I crazy......or did I read somewhere that our wild pheasant's were not actually a native bird of the North American continent. These birds were actually imported from China way back in the day? nope not crazy it's true they aren't native here |
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Post by davet on May 18, 2015 15:09:29 GMT -5
Am I crazy......or did I read somewhere that our wild pheasant's were not actually a native bird of the North American continent. These birds were actually imported from China way back in the day? nope not crazy it's true they aren't native here Ok, I wonder if we should leak that info to the anti-hunters? Then we can confuse them by infiltrating 'em and begin a chant saying "Send them back where they came from." fighting0092 |
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Post by Dutch on May 18, 2015 19:06:42 GMT -5
The group of dedicated hunters could not have ANY hope of bringing pheasants back except for the CREP money farmers are taking in these WPRA's.
Grouse and woodcock habitat exists here in the state, naturally. It can be enhanced, for a lot less than the CREP program.
I still think this will fail to provide huntable numbers for any great numbers of hunters. These populations are pretty much SOLEY on private lands, not public. PGC is spending money on a program that only those that have it "in" with a few landowners, have any chance of hunting these wild pheasants.
This all said, the CREP program does help grassland wildlife, and erosion, as intended.
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Post by ridgecommander on May 18, 2015 20:09:37 GMT -5
With Delaney leaving, it will be interesting to see if this project continues to exist down the road.
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Post by Dutch on May 19, 2015 5:09:42 GMT -5
Agree.
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Post by ridgecommander on May 19, 2015 6:37:47 GMT -5
Hey Jim
What say you about the data coming from the program and the chances that the states hunters will all be able to hunt wild pheasants, sustainably, on public land as a result of this program?
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Post by ridgecommander on May 21, 2015 10:13:31 GMT -5
Nevermind.....
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Post by blackbruin on May 29, 2015 19:14:28 GMT -5
I drive throught that area and have firewood culls on farms in the wpra. The farmers are removing more and more from crep as it expires and clearing the ground of good pheasant habitat. On the one farm I am removing all white ash as it is dead or dying from all the hedgerows and wood lots on a 400 acre farm. He decided to remove all the hedgerows now and gain another six rows or so of corn per each hedgerow as well as the slight amount of grassland associated with this. Also I have a 17acre woodlot to remove totally for he is creating a shale pit there . So you figure 20 acres of habitat gone just there, let alone all the other places is see bulldozers and excavaters removing 25-30 year old growth to extend field and create more tillable acreage. No habitat no pheasant, isn't this what happened her is pa besides pesticied and other chemicals? In conjunction with less boys hunting and trapping predators, and those populations going sky high so we can feed them with introduced birds....
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