Daysland Pheasant Release Alive & Doing Well

[jafo]

Saw a couple roosters on Friday just north east of the release area. Nice to see some made it so far through the winter. Hopefully a few hens in the area and could actually get some semi wild ones come spring.

[elkhunter11]

I wonder if there are any hens within miles of there, I haven't seen a hen in the area.

[wind drift]

Pipe dream. Chinese birds with no feathery toes aren’t going to establish a population at that latitude, hens or no hens. Stragglers might beat some odds for a while, but don’t change biology.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by wind drift

Pipe dream. Chinese birds with no feathery toes aren’t going to establish a population at that latitude, hens or no hens. Stragglers might beat some odds for a while, but don’t change biology.

A study that I read stated that the survival rate over winter, in our northern climate was around 1-2%, way too low for a population to be established here.

[lannie]

I thought in the 60s and 70s there was a self sustaining population of birds in the greater Camrose area. Loss of habitat and more efficient farming methods were the pheasants biggest hurdle. It is hear say and I have no documentation.

[Sashi]

Originally Posted by lannie

I thought in the 60s and 70s there was a self sustaining population of birds in the greater Camrose area. Loss of habitat and more efficient farming methods were the pheasants biggest hurdle. It is hear say and I have no documentation.

I lived in that area in the 50's 60's and 70's, and there was an abundance of pheasants in that area. They self populated themselves, no problems with our harsh winters.

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by wind drift

Pipe dream. Chinese birds with no feathery toes aren’t going to establish a population at that latitude, hens or no hens. Stragglers might beat some odds for a while, but don’t change biology.

Lots of birds don't have feathery toes and survive quite well. Pheasant survival is a bit more complicated than that
Cat

[trapperdodge]

Pheasants were introduced into the province a 100 years ago or more along with Hungarian partridge. Both established themselves in southern AB where natural habitat exists. Neither have feathers on their feet like grouse.

[Sashi]

Pheasants habit has disappeared in the seventies eighties etc.
because of the need for more farm land. They only have the fence lines with the cover for habitation, and guess where the coyotes and skunks travel searching out nests. Not like it was in the 50's and 60's.

[Big Grey Wolf]

Pheasants have no problem with Alberta winters, especially our winters are now more similar to Montana. Just as mentioned main reason they have low survival numbers are Raptors, Coyotes and Fox numbers. Also limited habitat now along roads.
Without the Brooks Hatchery that Klienken gave away few years back limited number of hens being released now. No girls, no sex no offspring trained for survival.
PS raised and released many pheasants Raptors ate most of them.

[stob]

The previous 6 or so posts speak to the truth of pheasants in the area. I remember pheasants up and down highway 13 and 14 as a kid. There are self sustaining populations along all our rivers up to Edmonton and there remain some pockets on private land that does no get hunted as far north as Athabasca. You just have apply Maslow's hierarchy of needs to get pheasants established - lol

[elkhunter11]

Regardless of the reasons, the estimate is that only 1% of released pheasants survive in Alberta, so no matter how many you release, you won't likely establish a self sustaining population now, where there isn't already a wild population.

https://albertaviews.ca/hunting-wild-pheasant/

It’s even worse in Alberta: Just 1 per cent of the farm-raised pheasants released in Alberta, whether by 9-year-old kids or the professionals from MacFarlane Pheasants Inc., survive the winter, and the few that do are hard pressed to reproduce. Essentially, they all die whether or not they evade the hunter’s gun.

[Quest206]

I had this conversation with a couple of the biologists from ACA and this is what was explained to me.

Pheasants definitely do cost a lot of money! Interestingly enough, we were able to have them shipped to our door from Wisconsin at a considerably cheaper rate than buying them from the hatchery here in Alberta (while they were still operational). We have definitely tossed around the idea of having a large scale hatchery here in Alberta again, but of course, the logistics and dollars involved in setting one up would be huge. Also, the manpower and expertise needed to run such a facility, or the cost of hiring an outfit capable of doing so, would also be very considerable from year to year. As it is right now, we are just paying for the birds, which takes up a large portion of our annual budget. MacFarlane’s was actually looking into setting up a shop here in Alberta, but looks to be on the back burner for now.


Program longevity – while ACA is committed to running the pheasant release program each year, we don’t know if this is a program we will have way into the future. To make investments into new facilities, we would need some sort of guarantee that this program will be around for the next 20? 30? 40? years…? No crystal ball, so it is difficult to say. We do know that for the foreseeable future, we will continue to set aside adequate budget for this program to purchase birds each year. ACA commits dollars each year to many types of projects that benefit both angling and hunting opportunities throughout the province – keep in mind that of over 120,000 hunting license holders in the province, less than 10,000 purchase pheasant hunting licenses…we need to spread out our budget accordingly. An interesting note, pheasant license sales in the province have almost doubled in the past 7-8 years…there is no doubt that it is becoming more popular, and will continue to administer the release program as best we can!


Increasing wild populations – yes, that is the ultimate goal! And it can only be done by increasing and improving habitat. That is goal we are trying hard to accomplish, but it is undoubtedly a challenge. Land is worth a lot down here – agriculture is king – and we need to continually be creative in how we gain partners so we can actually make on-the-ground change to improve habitat. This means working closely with the agricultural community, counties, irrigation districts – and the list goes on. There has been lots of partner dollars that have gone into habitat projects and there is a strong will to continue to do so. We are going to keep hammering away at this.


Hen releases in the south – while the fall pheasant release program only brings in roosters for the hunting season, our partnered project with 4H Alberta brings in over 10,000 hen chicks into the province each year. The 4H kids raise them to 16-18 weeks, and then they are released into suitable habitat areas. Here in the south, there are numerous local Fish and Game clubs who purchase the hens from the 4H kids and then release them where they think is best. The Lethbridge Fish and Game Association purchases 500 hens annually, and they are all released around the Milk River Ridge area. The hens are purchased at a modest price as well, so the dollar is stretched further than buying hens directly from a hatchery. The kids make a bit of money, and we get good quality birds released into the wild (not ‘spent hens’), a win-win situation!

[wind drift]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

Lots of birds don't have feathery toes and survive quite well. Pheasant survival is a bit more complicated than that
Cat

Don’t get hung up on the feathery toes comment. The point is that native uplands birds have adaptations that have allowed them to persist and thrive in our northern climate (and do have feathery toes). Chinese pheasants dont fall into that category, so we shouldn’t fight evolution and be surprised if it doesn’t work out to our liking.

[Talking moose]

In the 80’s, up north by Manning, (North Star to be exact). My buddy’s farm had a family of pheasants every year in the same small area. For quite a few years.
Was nice to see them.

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by wind drift

Don’t get hung up on the feathery toes comment. The point is that native uplands birds have adaptations that have allowed them to persist and thrive in our northern climate (and do have feathery toes). Chinese pheasants dont fall into that category, so we shouldn’t fight evolution and be surprised if it doesn’t work out to our liking.

Neither Huns nor Chukkars have feathery toes either and both do very well in harsh climates, and neither species is native to Canada.
Cat

[sns2]

We can talk all we want, and yes its really nice to see the odd pheasant that makes it through the winter, but Southern Alberta is the northernmost limit where pheasants can sustain themselves, and propagate if they have the right cover. Weather is what weather is. I for one am happy like hell they have pheasant releases for us hunters.

[sns2]

Originally Posted by Quest206

I had this conversation with a couple of the biologists from ACA and this is what was explained to me.

Pheasants definitely do cost a lot of money! Interestingly enough, we were able to have them shipped to our door from Wisconsin at a considerably cheaper rate than buying them from the hatchery here in Alberta (while they were still operational). We have definitely tossed around the idea of having a large scale hatchery here in Alberta again, but of course, the logistics and dollars involved in setting one up would be huge. Also, the manpower and expertise needed to run such a facility, or the cost of hiring an outfit capable of doing so, would also be very considerable from year to year. As it is right now, we are just paying for the birds, which takes up a large portion of our annual budget. MacFarlane’s was actually looking into setting up a shop here in Alberta, but looks to be on the back burner for now.


Program longevity – while ACA is committed to running the pheasant release program each year, we don’t know if this is a program we will have way into the future. To make investments into new facilities, we would need some sort of guarantee that this program will be around for the next 20? 30? 40? years…? No crystal ball, so it is difficult to say. We do know that for the foreseeable future, we will continue to set aside adequate budget for this program to purchase birds each year. ACA commits dollars each year to many types of projects that benefit both angling and hunting opportunities throughout the province – keep in mind that of over 120,000 hunting license holders in the province, less than 10,000 purchase pheasant hunting licenses…we need to spread out our budget accordingly. An interesting note, pheasant license sales in the province have almost doubled in the past 7-8 years…there is no doubt that it is becoming more popular, and will continue to administer the release program as best we can!


Increasing wild populations – yes, that is the ultimate goal! And it can only be done by increasing and improving habitat. That is goal we are trying hard to accomplish, but it is undoubtedly a challenge. Land is worth a lot down here – agriculture is king – and we need to continually be creative in how we gain partners so we can actually make on-the-ground change to improve habitat. This means working closely with the agricultural community, counties, irrigation districts – and the list goes on. There has been lots of partner dollars that have gone into habitat projects and there is a strong will to continue to do so. We are going to keep hammering away at this.


Hen releases in the south – while the fall pheasant release program only brings in roosters for the hunting season, our partnered project with 4H Alberta brings in over 10,000 hen chicks into the province each year. The 4H kids raise them to 16-18 weeks, and then they are released into suitable habitat areas. Here in the south, there are numerous local Fish and Game clubs who purchase the hens from the 4H kids and then release them where they think is best. The Lethbridge Fish and Game Association purchases 500 hens annually, and they are all released around the Milk River Ridge area. The hens are purchased at a modest price as well, so the dollar is stretched further than buying hens directly from a hatchery. The kids make a bit of money, and we get good quality birds released into the wild (not ‘spent hens’), a win-win situation!

Thank you very much for sharing. What an informative post.

[stob]

Just an observation, but i have spent a lifetime learning how to locate birds, listen for birds, time of day, type of cover 12 months of the year etc etc etc as have other pheasant nutbars... with todays optics and cameras it is much easier ... I see a big trend in the populations expanding north due to easier winters and more cover ... these populations are not huntable to any great extent but i am happy to see the move trending northwards ... as for the south, the birds have changed their lifestyle ... still lots of birds and in crazy #'s where you least expect them or would not think to look ... you need a good dog to be successful ... not just a dog, but a good dog ... as much as coyotes and skunks can take birds, it is the foxes that are the ace pheasant catchers ... i have seen weasels with a phesant a few times too

[FCLightning]

Originally Posted by stob

Just an observation, but i have spent a lifetime learning how to locate birds, listen for birds, time of day, type of cover 12 months of the year etc etc etc as have other pheasant nutbars... with todays optics and cameras it is much easier ... I see a big trend in the populations expanding north due to easier winters and more cover ... these populations are not huntable to any great extent but i am happy to see the move trending northwards ... as for the south, the birds have changed their lifestyle ... still lots of birds and in crazy #'s where you least expect them or would not think to look ... you need a good dog to be successful ... not just a dog, but a good dog ... as much as coyotes and skunks can take birds, it is the foxes that are the ace pheasant catchers ... i have seen weasels with a phesant a few times too

I don’t think you can discount the effect of the Great Horned and Snowy Owls once the drifts fill in the shrubby ground cover.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[stob]

Originally Posted by FCLightning

I don’t think you can discount the effect of the Great Horned and Snowy Owls once the drifts fill in the shrubby ground cover.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

To your point I witnessed a GHO follow a covey of huns for weeks and pick them off as needed ... to that point i have seen the same with cougar(s) and one specific herd of mulies in the foothills during one winter

[Quest206]

In our area it's the raptors that kill most of the released birds. I watched a red tail hawk take a pheasant out of the air 200 yards from the delivery truck. We spook hawks and owls regularly at our release site and see the ground littered with kills.

[buckman]

Spring weather is the biggest factor for ground nesting birds.

[Pikebreath]

Originally Posted by lannie

I thought in the 60s and 70s there was a self sustaining population of birds in the greater Camrose area. Loss of habitat and more efficient farming methods were the pheasants biggest hurdle. It is hear say and I have no documentation.

"Back in the day", most fields were smaller and qtr sections were often cross fenced. Combines did not come widepread use until the 50's and early 60's. So grain was harvested with stationary threshing machines where the bundles of grain were brought to thresher. Straw was thrown into large piles and a lot of waste / spilled grain was concentrated in around the straw piles.

Pheasants had the straw piles to burrow into to keep warm and a close by easily found source of feed in the waste grain.

As combines took over harvest, the straw plies and associated concentrated grain loss were gone. Now the straw and grain were scatttered over the whole field. Larger fields became more efficent as equipment got bigger and most of the cross fencing was taken out. This landscape change favored geese which are more "open country" birds and the Camrose area now has world class goose hunting instead of pheasants.

[Big Grey Wolf]

Pike I agree major combine change and field size had impact on survival of winter birds. It would be interesting to observe how many birds survived winter in quarters of bush/pasture around release sights.

[walking buffalo]

Originally Posted by Big Grey Wolf

Pike I agree major combine change and field size had impact on survival of winter birds. It would be interesting to observe how many birds survived winter in quarters of bush/pasture around release sights.

Keep in mind that these new imports are not being bred for survival in Alberta's climate. The main trait seems to be smaller size and an ability to survive in densely populated rearing facilities.

In the past, locally raised birds were chosen for their hardiness, i suspect that just is not the case anymore.

[Big Grey Wolf]

Walking Buffalo, sad to hear they are raising substandard birds for our Alberta climate. I really miss our Brooks hatchery where 100,000 plus birds raised and optimized for our climate.

[sns2]

Originally Posted by walking buffalo

Keep in mind that these new imports are not being bred for survival in Alberta's climate. The main trait seems to be smaller size and an ability to survive in densely populated rearing facilities.

In the past, locally raised birds were chosen for their hardiness, i suspect that just is not the case anymore.

is there an identified subspecies of Ringneck Pheasants that is heartier than others?

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by sns2

is there an identified subspecies of Ringneck Pheasants that is heartier than others?

Personally, I would like to see an actual study, comparing the birds from McFarlands, to the ones from the Brooks hatchery.

[sns2]

From Pheasants Forever…

WINTER IS ALL ABOUT HABITAT AND SURVIVAL FOR RING-NECKED PHEASANTS. HERE'S WHAT BIRDS NEED TO COME OUT THE OTHER SIDE ALIVE.

Story by Jim Wooley, Pheasants Forever Biologist Emeritus.

Winter on the prairie is a beautiful but deadly time of year. Last February was particularly vicious. Serial blizzards and bitter cold battered wildlife. Many people wondered if any pheasants would escape to rebuild populations.

A thin margin of survivors did just that, though summer brood surveys traced the expected declining trendline. In Iowa and South Dakota, numbers dropped 17 percent – hardly a surprise. But it could have been worse.

Winter is normally marked by high pheasant mortality. Birds die incrementally (predation), catastrophically (blizzards), and less often from exposure or starvation. January and February are the tightrope walk. Fall’s extravagance of food is gone. Bitter cold reigns over hostile landscapes as habitat fills with snow. Waste grain provides reliable rations only if snow and ice don’t lock the pantry. How do pheasants manage to survive?

Cold temperatures alone don’t bother pheasants. The birds simply adapt physiologically and behaviorally. When food is abundant, they lay down subcutaneous fat (10-15% of body weight) -- critical when birds can’t feed for days during blizzards. But fat reserves and warm feathers aren’t enough. Pheasants need dense habitat that breaks the wind and stops the snow, along with nearby food.

Pheasants require 30 to 40 percent more food in winter than in early fall, which means that birds sometimes must forage far from safe cover. That’s why it makes sense to place corn or sorghum food plots near protective woody shelter and roosting cover. With the kitchen next to the bedroom, pheasants can grab a bite without risking travel.

Snow, driven by high winds, is the most serious winter threat for both wildlife and people. Multi-row coniferous shelterbelts around farmsteads keep snow out and create a favorable microclimate that reduces energy needs by 30-plus percent. Dense winter roosting habitats (cattail marshes, native grasses and beefy shelterbelts) do the same thing for pheasants, blunting wind-chill and blizzards. To appreciate that, stand upright in switchgrass in a shrieking, sub-zero wind. Now get horizontal. The microclimate at pheasant level is downright balmy by comparison.

A little snow on top of gently folded cattails or native grass may add insulation for roosting birds. Deep snow, however, provides no benefits, since ringnecks do not snow-roost (dive into soft drifts to escape the elements like ruffed grouse). Indeed, snow that fills roosting habitat and covers food is serious trouble. Birds forced into marginal cover are vulnerable to wind-driven snow and windchill. They die from exposure as snow blown beneath feathers thaws and refreezes, making thermoregulation impossible. Some birds suffocate in blizzards as ice blocks their airways.

Well-designed winter habitat has just one objective: delivering maximum numbers of birds to breeding season in peak condition. So what’s important? Cattails and native grasses for roosting? Multi-row, conifer/shrub shelterbelts for blizzard protection and emergency cover? Nearby food plots that reduce travel and boost body condition?

The answer is yes, you need them all – a winter cover complex. Just get going on it. The best time to plant was yesterday. The next best time is tomorrow.