Bad news for pheasant hunters

[Special T]

If pesticides are to blame then why are Quail making a come back in places like the basin? We are seeing more quail in the areas where we hunt. In addition to anecedotal evidence i thought i red an artilce that talked about Qauil making a come back in the area from the basin to the tricities...

[boneaddict]

Quail reproduce faster and tend to be more resilient to people or Urban like.   Whitetail syndrome if you may.   

[boneaddict]

This morning in the corn patch......

[singleshot12]

If pesticides are to blame then why are Quail making a come back in places like the basin? We are seeing more quail in the areas where we hunt. In addition to anecedotal evidence i thought i red an artilce that talked about Qauil making a come back in the area from the basin to the tricities...

Also Quail tend to thrive better in non-agricultural areas. Fringe areas with rocks,sage, and canyons that are not farmable

[singleshot12]

Nice to see a couple roosters pickin and grinnin in your corn patch Bone

[Bullkllr]

Is this happening here too?

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/01/us/as-pheasants-disappear-hunters-in-iowa-follow.html

Not happening IMO; already "happened".

[Special T]

I would also add that EVERY time farm commodity prices rise there is MUCH more incentive to farm every corner and up to any to ditch. leaving less for them to hide in...

[boneaddict]

I am sure you guys saw this post, but one of my favorite shots of the year so far.....

[JLS]

Great colors in that photo.

Another thing that hasn't been touched upon is the use of broadleaf herbicides.  Look at how many CRP fields and eyebrows are a monoculture of grass.  Then, think about where you find the majority of the birds.  It's usually NOT the grass monoculture.

[Special T]

My brother in law planted  a couple of strips of bird plots. The best ones for holding birds was a mix of different crops. I think he did 5 rows sweet corn, 5 rows Milo 5 rows sorghum and kinda layered them from lowest to highest. seemed to really hold the birds and made it great for hunting them.
The problem with most of the "non irrigated" cover seems to be that it takes so damn long to grow. they get taken over by weeds especially if you try and speed things up by watering them. The WDFW will come in and plant native cover for you if you pay them, or you can get seedlings from them, as i remember. He also planted some of those and i think has taken them at least 3 years and they are just NOW starting to look like cover but the birds don't really hang in them.

[boneaddict]

A tree they seem to love, and one I am not particularly fond of but planted a couple.....is Russian Olive.   Thats what I know it by anyways.   Thats what they roost in at night along with a bunch of quail.

[AspenBud]

My brother in law planted  a couple of strips of bird plots. The best ones for holding birds was a mix of different crops. I think he did 5 rows sweet corn, 5 rows Milo 5 rows sorghum and kinda layered them from lowest to highest. seemed to really hold the birds and made it great for hunting them.
The problem with most of the "non irrigated" cover seems to be that it takes so damn long to grow. they get taken over by weeds especially if you try and speed things up by watering them. The WDFW will come in and plant native cover for you if you pay them, or you can get seedlings from them, as i remember. He also planted some of those and i think has taken them at least 3 years and they are just NOW starting to look like cover but the birds don't really hang in them.

I believe Pheasants Forever will provide seed at no cost if you're a member and your land meets their requirements. I know they do that in other parts of the country at least.

[Bullkllr]

There is an interesting column in this month's Northwest Sportsman by Leroy Ledeboer about the National Wild Pheasant Conservation Plan. Couldn't find any on-line info.-anyone familiar with this?

Apparently this plan involves 29 states and is focused on improving habitat for ringnecks. The article detailed how in Washington the effort is focusing on improving/diversifying the vegetation on dryland CRP lands. Sounds like it should already be making a positive impact, but like any of these programs it needs to be widespread and continued to have much impact and that depends on funding and long-term cooperation from landowners.

[Special T]

My understanding is that Pheasants forever will give you the seed, maybe even plant it IF you open it to the public. Since that is not gona happen on his farm that is what he plants.

One of the problems with CRP is that even when you plan grasses and sage brush, the sage takes so long to get big enough to provide any real cover. bro in law had a fire on his CRP field after about 6 years worth of Sage growing.  It was just starting to hold some birds and deer. An electric pole shorted out and wiped out 3/4 of a square mile of really promising habitat.

[Stilly bay]

. An electric pole shorted out and wiped out 3/4 of a square mile of really promising habitat.

damn