From
Pheasants ForeverPheasant Population Dynamics
Impacts of predators, hunting and pheasant stocking pale in comparison to the single most important factor for maintaining strong pheasant populations: suitable habitat.
Pheasant hunters have long argued about the impacts predators, hunting and pheasant stocking have on pheasant populations. Although they do influence pheasant populations, they pale in comparison to the single most important limiting factor: HABITAT.
Pheasant Stocking
Stocking with pen-raised pheasants will not effectively increase wild pheasant populations. When habitat conditions improve, wild pheasant populations will increase in response to that habitat. Only by addressing the root problem suppressing populations –habitat - will you have a long term positive impact on pheasant numbers. Habitat is the key to healthy pheasant populations.
Studies have shown that stocked pheasants, no matter when they are released, have great difficulty maintaining self-sustaining populations. Predators take the main toll, accounting for 90 percent of the deaths and at the same time predators become conditioned to the idea that pheasants are an easy target. Pen-raised birds do provide shooting opportunities, a good way to introduce new hunters to hunting in a controlled situation and a chance to keep your dog in shape. Release birds as close to the time you want to hunt as possible, just keep in mind that these pen-raised birds are not going to produce a wild self-sustaining population in the area.
Effects of Hunting
Questions continually arise from both hunters and non-hunters alike about the effects of regulated sport hunting on ring-necked pheasants. Because hens and roosters are easily distinguished in wing shooting situations, and because hens are protected through game regulations, pheasants are actually managed much more conservatively than almost all other upland game birds. Hunting simply removes "surplus" males not needed for reproduction the following spring. In most cases, hunting pressure, success and harvest are greatest during the early part of the season. It is common for 30-50% of the season’s harvest to take place during opening weekend in many states. And considering the majority of hunters are active only during the first two weeks of the season, the effect of restricting season length and daily bag limits would be minimal.
Liberal, lengthy roosters-only seasons do not harm populations. When seasons work as designed, the outcome is a reduced standing population of male ring-necked pheasants. Extensive research has shown this has little or no effect on pheasant reproduction and subsequent populations.
Predators
As they are for all small game species, predators are the principle decimating factor for pheasant nests and adult birds, a fact that is not unusual or unsolvable. Through sound management, the detrimental effects of predation can be reduced. Removal and exclusion of predators are small-scale remedies that are cost prohibitive on a landscape scale. The effect of predators can however be diluted through the addition and management of proper habitat.
Well-designed habitat projects can reduce predation by up to 80%. In addition to decreasing the overall impact predators have on existing nests, this tactic also increases the number of nests on the ground and subsequently the pheasant population in the area. Through the addition and management of habitat, we not only decrease the impact predators have on existing nests, but also increase the number of nests and population size in an area. And habitat for pheasants and other wildlife comes at a fraction of the cost of other predator reduction methods.
Effects of Weather
Weather is another extremely important factor in determining pheasant numbers! Severe winter storms can literally decimate pheasant populations overnight. Cold wet springs can claim an equally devastating number of newborn chicks who do not develop the ability to regulate their own temperature until they are three weeks old. The direct effects of weather are obvious, less obvious is the indirect role that weather can play on pheasant numbers. Hot dry summers can impede insect production, depriving chicks of the protein they need early in life. Drought like conditions will stunt vegetation growth reducing the amount of cover on the landscape and leaving birds vulnerable to winter storms. Precipitation is essential but too much or the wrong form at the wrong time can be the difference between a great and poor pheasant year.
Habitat is the key component to all effective pheasant management plans. For more information, consult Pheasants Forever's Essential Habitat Guide or contact the Pheasants Forever Farm Bill Biologist in your area.
http://www.pheasantsforever.org/ There is just about everything you could possibly want to learn about pheasants on the web site. Join a Pheasant's Forever Chapter nearest you and seek the assistance you need to do the best you can with the acreage you own.
http://qu.org/ Quail Unlimited is another great organization. I have worked more with them as quail are a native bird where as the pheasant is not and quail have naturally reproducing populations in Virginia while pheasants do not. Again, if you are looking for quail related info, the website has great info. Another good website is
Quail-Friendly Plants of the Midwest It has good photos to ID plants you may already have growing on your land and information about them along with information about plants you may want to consider cultivating on your land to further your quail.
Pheasants and quail aren't the same bird, but often times areas with good habitat will support healthy wild populations of both birds.