Pheasant season update?

[pikergolf]

Does anyone have an update of where the pheasant season stands? I am hearing anywhere from, no bird plants, to no season which I don't believe.

[cacty]

They've been walking across my driveway all winter lol.

[oldgutpile]

It would be nice, if someone involved with the UBA would pipe in on this one. My understanding is that they have folded their group, and dumped this project in the lap of the ACA.
I do know for fact that the CPC is officially shut down. Even though the UBA took on responsibility for the release funds the last few years, they have always been housed and distributed through the hatchery site. Not sure how they would accomplish the holding and distribution from now on. There is a pile of work behind the scenes to make a hunting season like this work.
Will the province keep charging for a license and maintain a season if there are no birds being released? Could be extreme pressure on the sparse population of wild birds remaining out there.

[SLH]

Or perhaps a whole lot more people will start to understand that the answer to a viable pheasant population (as well as all species) is not the continual money pit of put and take releases and that money is better spent on habitat.

The season is not dependent on a release. IMHO

[FCLightning]

The habitat conditions that allowed the pheasant to flourish in the 60's will never happen again in this province. Never. A huntable wild population for a general season is a pipe dream. Releases are a necessity for a pheasant season unless extirpation is your goal.

[SLH]

I know of a fair number of populations in this province that are not dependent on releases. So again in my opinion the smart money is on habitat. The fact that we put so much money year after year into a release that yields absolutely zero long term benefits does not make sense to me. Yet even after the several bad winters we've had in my area and the absolutely horrible nesting seasons, we still see birds around those areas with suitable places for them to live.

Regardless of whether we ever have the conditions of the '60's is irrelevant what we spend our money on now is what will make the difference. Continual releases have led us to the situation we have today.

Places with no habitat=no birds, places with habitat=birds.

[wwbirds]

Habitat has been an issue since the 60's but they still were doing well into the mid to late 80's, what changed?

We used to have a pheasant program in alberta that any interested party (or 4H clubs) could get 25 raise and release pheasants for stocking on their land or their neighbors. Not just the put and take release sites that get hunted out within hours (sometimes they wait for the truck).
All these raise and release pheasants thrived in many areas that were not hunted much and the overflow spilled into areas that could sustain some hunting. Putting 200 birds in an area hunted by 400 hunters is a waste of time and money. We have lost some habitat but there is still sustaining habitat in many places they are just not the Bucks for wildlife release sites. My neighbors for 5 miles in either direction have lots of pheasants.
Oldgutpile and I have talked about the old 4H raise and release success many times. Cost of day old chicks to a club or individual is peanuts compared to what stocking for a few "hunters" cost.

[walking buffalo]

Habitat has been an issue since the 60's but they still were doing well into the mid to late 80's, what changed?

We used to have a pheasant program in alberta that any interested party (or 4H clubs) could get 25 raise and release pheasants for stocking on their land or their neighbors. Not just the put and take release sites that get hunted out within hours (sometimes they wait for the truck).
All these raise and release pheasants thrived in many areas that were not hunted much and the overflow spilled into areas that could sustain some hunting. Putting 200 birds in an area hunted by 400 hunters is a waste of time and money. We have lost some habitat but there is still sustaining habitat in many places they are just not the Bucks for wildlife release sites. My neighbors for 5 miles in either direction have lots of pheasants.
Oldgutpile and I have talked about the old 4H raise and release success many times. Cost of day old chicks to a club or individual is peanuts compared to what stocking for a few "hunters" cost.

Without question this program was a cost effective way to establish local pheasant populations, influence individuals to maintain or even supplement local habitat, and most importantly create a venue for personal interest.

I raised and released about 100 pheasants a year back in the 80's thanks to this program. Before we got involved there were Very few pheasants around our area. After a few years it was common to see pheasants within a couple of miles of the farm. Coincidence?

[wwbirds]

Some days Jim (Oldgutpile) and I feel we are preaching to the choir. Long before I had even thought of the pheasant farm we acquired 50 chicks from raise and release on my old acreage a couple miles from here. One of the neighbors had great cover and we released (think the permit said they had to be released before October) on his farm. Lots of people did it and the pheasants were all doing well. sure the put and take birds were still killed on the release sites each year but we had pheasants in many places in Alberta.

[SLH]

It was a wonderful program, and no coincidence that you would see birds around in neighbors yards in short order. But this is not what we have been funding for the last twenty five years.

The benefits of a spring chick rearing program extend well past just a release; there is also the benefit of a steward who has a vested interest in the success of their project. It doesn’t take long for the connection of survival and the quality of the existing habitat to sink in and then habitat becomes something more than just an esoteric ideal, it becomes integral with the ultimate success of the project.

It also is my understanding that ACA may in fact have some first steps in place to forward such a program again. In my mind this is money much better spent than keeping a relic of a bird factory open that promises something that it could never provide. A 4-H chick rearing project of this type has value that goes well beyond the dollars and cents written on the check.

[walking buffalo]

It would be nice, if someone involved with the UBA would pipe in on this one. My understanding is that they have folded their group, and dumped this project in the lap of the ACA.
I do know for fact that the CPC is officially shut down. Even though the UBA took on responsibility for the release funds the last few years, they have always been housed and distributed through the hatchery site. Not sure how they would accomplish the holding and distribution from now on. There is a pile of work behind the scenes to make a hunting season like this work.
Will the province keep charging for a license and maintain a season if there are no birds being released? Could be extreme pressure on the sparse population of wild birds remaining out there.


To answer the OP, my understanding is as noted by Oldgutpile. I don't have any further knowledge than this. I'll suggest that people inquire with the ACA as to the status of the program.

[Big Grey Wolf]

Guys, I raised and released birds. However I got discouraged in last few years. We protected the raptors now to many hawks,eagles etc. The coyotes, fox eat their fair share. Last spring I had three vultcures sitting on trees watching my birds which was last straw. Mink killed 20 pheasants in one night in my enclosed pens. A cougar came around one night. In the spring I would release 3-4 hens with one cock and came back to site a few hours later and raptor had already eaten him, does not pay to crow about your love making ability.

[Versatile]

Or perhaps a whole lot more people will start to understand that the answer to a viable pheasant population (as well as all species) is not the continual money pit of put and take releases and that money is better spent on habitat.

The season is not dependent on a release. IMHO


Your right it doesnt but it sure does help keep them damn city warrior out of the back country and on the release sites.

That being said CPC was over charging everyone on birds. Taber Pheasant festival was bringing in bigger, stronger, better birds from the USA for considerably less that buying those skinny little runts from the CPC. Why raise them when you can buy them for cheaper. If they do keep releasing its will be easier to just bring them up from the states.

Someone mentioned habitat and they are bang on. We need to stop taking every tree off the land, we need to stop farming to the raod, we need to stop cutting ditch grass on the back roads, but most importantly we need to bring back the canals. The irrigation companies put in pipes then filled the canals. The canals were what was providing all that habitat. No cover + perches for hawks + no control on foxes and coyotes = no pheasants. The summer hail storms did its toll on the birds as well. I think it ruined alot of nests and it pounded alot of cover into the ground.

We need to put a .223 in the hands of every pheasant hunter in AB and do a province wide open season on every coyote, fox, and hawk in AB. Put a bounty on them if we have to.

[ward]

Your right it doesnt but it sure does help keep them damn city warrior out of the back country and on the release sites.

That being said CPC was over charging everyone on birds. Taber Pheasant festival was bringing in bigger, stronger, better birds from the USA for considerably less that buying those skinny little runts from the CPC. Why raise them when you can buy them for cheaper. If they do keep releasing its will be easier to just bring them up from the states.

Someone mentioned habitat and they are bang on. We need to stop taking every tree off the land, we need to stop farming to the raod, we need to stop cutting ditch grass on the back roads, but most importantly we need to bring back the canals. The irrigation companies put in pipes then filled the canals. The canals were what was providing all that habitat. No cover + perches for hawks + no control on foxes and coyotes = no pheasants. The summer hail storms did its toll on the birds as well. I think it ruined alot of nests and it pounded alot of cover into the ground.

We need to put a .223 in the hands of every pheasant hunter in AB and do a province wide open season on every coyote, fox, and hawk in AB. Put a bounty on them if we have to.

Wow !

[smith88]

Your right it doesnt but it sure does help keep them damn city warrior out of the back country and on the release sites.

That being said CPC was over charging everyone on birds. Taber Pheasant festival was bringing in bigger, stronger, better birds from the USA for considerably less that buying those skinny little runts from the CPC. Why raise them when you can buy them for cheaper. If they do keep releasing its will be easier to just bring them up from the states.

Someone mentioned habitat and they are bang on. We need to stop taking every tree off the land, we need to stop farming to the raod, we need to stop cutting ditch grass on the back roads, but most importantly we need to bring back the canals. The irrigation companies put in pipes then filled the canals. The canals were what was providing all that habitat. No cover + perches for hawks + no control on foxes and coyotes = no pheasants. The summer hail storms did its toll on the birds as well. I think it ruined alot of nests and it pounded alot of cover into the ground.

We need to put a .223 in the hands of every pheasant hunter in AB and do a province wide open season on every coyote, fox, and hawk in AB. Put a bounty on them if we have to.

I cannot agree with putting a bounty on hawks. They are indigenous and do far more good with killing mice, gophers and other rodents than the pleasure of seeing and hunting pheaseants

[Versatile]

Last I checked pheasant hunting brought more money into this province than mice. Money that can be put back into habitat.

I am not saying we need to shoot them all but their populations need to be brought into check.

Pheasant, Partridge, sharptail, even sage grouse populations will not grow if there are too many predators.

[hal53]

Last I checked pheasant hunting brought more money into this province than mice. Money that can be put back into habitat.

I am not saying we need to shoot them all but their populations need to be brought into check.

Pheasant, Partridge, sharptail, even sage grouse populations will not grow if there are too many predators.
give the birds ground cover, they will protect themselves from the birds of prey, coyotes etc.

[Versatile]

That is only partially right. Yes with cover it gives the birds places to hide but with everyone having dreams of a country life there are alot more power poles out there. Guess where the hawks sit to pick off their foot sources. Yup on those power poles.

Noone minds seeing the hawks but when I pull up to a hunting area and there are 5 hawks sitting there something needs to be done.

Is anyone aware of any studies showing what predator kills the most pheasants other than people?

I have read studies that show less than 2% of all released birds make it to breed the next spring. They have their place to relieve pressure off of the wild populations but if people think we should stock them to help replace wild birds its flushing money down the toilet. Predator control and habitat are what is going to help populations grow.

[Pudelpointer]

Foxes are bird killing machines.

Truth is, if you want to protect your upland birds, leave the coyotes alone. Yes coyotes take a few pheasants and stumble on the occasional nest, but they kill foxes. If there are coyotes around, the foxes will be few and far between.

Kill all your coyotes and you will have foxes. If you have foxes you won't have birds.

Release birds are easy prey for all predators, whether winged or furred.

[wwbirds]

Kills more pheasants and huns than hunters. They like mice but they love pheasants.
Take the heads right off them through the netting sometimes. One took me for 25 roosters in one week before F & W live trapped him and relocated him to Carseland.

Highly visible Redtail hawks on power poles and Swainsons on fence posts get blamed for a few bird deaths that are usually caused by the northern goshawk. I have redtails nesting across the street for the past 5 years and never have a problem with them but a goshawk will take a loose pheasant in the yard every second day if the escapees make it back to the yard.

[smith88]

Last I checked pheasant hunting brought more money into this province than mice. Money that can be put back into habitat.

I am not saying we need to shoot them all but their populations need to be brought into check.

Pheasant, Partridge, sharptail, even sage grouse populations will not grow if there are too many predators.

If we want to go with what brings the most money to Alberta, every grass eating animal should be shot to make way for cows...

Wildlife conservation is not about making money.

Its seems that no one on here understands that most wild animal populations are cyclical. And the more humans try to mess with them, the more we f*** them up

[Big Grey Wolf]

Smith 88, you are correct, game cycles occur. However slighly off topic take wolf cycle and moose/elk populations. Wolves will eventually eat almost all moose and elk when they reach top of cycle. Also large packs of 20-30 will start killing just for fun and do not even eat any of the dead ungulates. Then wolves die off and yes 20 or 30 years later moose/elk populations recover. I dont have many 20 year periods left in my old age to wait for a decimated population to recover.
Pheasants will not recover with present large raptor populations and no replenishments from large CPC hatchery.

[Versatile]

The populations are already messed up by us, its up to us to make sure there are still birds for our grandkids can shoot.

I dont know about where you hunt but around here its not uncommon to see pheasants in the middle of a herd of cattle. If you got a good eye as you pass by the buffalo farm they like to hangout there too. No reason with proper grazing techniques cattle cant be used to improve cover for wild upland birds.

Pretty soon we will be like the sourh east. Birds will be liberated on plantations.

[pikergolf]

Yes there will be pheasants released this year, it will be run by ACA. There will be an effort to get more birds into the Northern part of the province.

Taber pheasant festival will also be a go but with ACA playing less of a roll, more local talent.

Release sites may change, same number of birds overall.

ACA website will have updates as they become available.

[Gary K]

now this is a bit off topic,
i have great pheasant habitat available. there is a couple of pheasants around on the property that seem to be doing quite well.

my question is, if i wanted to put some birds into the local population, not for hunting purposes, just because the mother in law likes watching them . how would i go about doing that?

i expect i can order 20 birds and release them as i see fit? WWbirds, is that something you could potentially sell me come fall :)

[wwbirds]

happens in late April so birds have a chance to nest. if you put them out in fall they have to learn the lay of land, food sources etc during winter when they are more exposed and vulnerable to weather. Spring gives them plenty of feed and cover to get used to the area. I only have hens available to plant this time of year.

[oldgutpile]

Yes there will be pheasants released this year, it will be run by ACA. There will be an effort to get more birds into the Northern part of the province.

Taber pheasant festival will also be a go but with ACA playing less of a roll, more local talent.

Release sites may change, same number of birds overall.

ACA website will have updates as they become available.

You have personal insight on this? Has the contract actually been given out?

[pikergolf]

You have personal insight on this? Has the contract actually been given out?

Yes, spoke with ACA today. Don't know about a contract, assume F&G clubs will be doing the releases again.

[oldgutpile]

Yes, spoke with ACA today. Don't know about a contract, assume F&G clubs will be doing the releases again.

Should be interesting if it is left to the clubs.

[Gary K]

happens in late April so birds have a chance to nest. if you put them out in fall they have to learn the lay of land, food sources etc during winter when they are more exposed and vulnerable to weather. Spring gives them plenty of feed and cover to get used to the area. I only have hens available to plant this time of year.

Hey id "plant" some hens, i dont need any permits at all do do such a thing?

[wwbirds]

Fish and wildlife took the permit requirement off for putting them back on land for restocking purposes probably 10-12 years ago for pheasant and wild turkeys. Only need a ground release permit now if you want to shoot during the closed season.

[Pudelpointer]

You have personal insight on this? Has the contract actually been given out?

ACA has signed an MOU with the AB gov to take over (long term AFAIK) the pheasant release program.

The release of birds takes place with the assistance of local F&G clubs, as it has for many years, so there is nothing new there.

Birds will very likely be coming from the same supplier as last year.

[oldgutpile]

Not many people have a clue about the amount of work required, let alone the facilities to house them . They dont just stay in the shipping crate until release! With just a small number released daily onto the release sights, they have to be staged in holding pens, and gathered on a daily basis for release to their respective areas. This has traditionally been done out of the CPC, even last year, when the birds were brought up out of the states. Very few facilities in the province to accomodate this.