This year, we had one report of Gray Partridge in Central Oregon. This
was the first report in 7 years. It used to be seen annually north of
Madras. Barring intervention from ODFW, I suspect it will die out here
in the heartland.
On 1/11/2016 8:54 AM, Alan Contreras wrote:
My sense is that partridge is pretty local and patchy outside of the “wheat counties” (somehow “grass counties” has a different meaning) with a smaller range than 40 years ago. I have not seen them for many years in Malheur County, where they were very common in the early 1970s. I don’t think I saw any when I did atlas work in s Baker and n Malheur Cos in the 1990s. I don’t know if ODFW releases any.
Alan Contreras
acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx <mailto:acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx>
On Jan 11, 2016, at 8:44 AM, Cathy Nowak <cathy.nowak@xxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:cathy.nowak@xxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
I think that is true Alan. It seems to me all the upland birds did well this year. Just on or near Ladd Marsh we have anecdotally noticed higher than average numbers of Cal. Quail, wild turkey and grey partridge. I am not sure about the forest grouse. In terms of grey partridge on Ladd Marsh, keep in mind that higher than average means we saw 10 instead of our usual 3 or 4.
M. Cathy Nowak
Certified Wildlife Biologist®
Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area
59116 Pierce Rd
La Grande, OR 97850
541-963-4954
*From:*Alan Contreras [mailto:acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx]
*Sent:*Monday, January 11, 2016 8:38 AM
*To:*Cathy Nowak
*Cc:*OBOL
*Subject:*Re: [obol] Re: Pheasants
Very helpful, Cathy. I note that numbers of Gray Partridge seem to be quite high in Wallowa County this winter. Some of that is probably observational bias owing to plenty of snow when birding groups have been there, but perhaps they did well too.
An acquaintance of mine is a rancher in Baker County; I have asked him what he knows of Bobwhite status there.
Alan Contreras
acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx <mailto:acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx>
On Jan 11, 2016, at 8:08 AM, Cathy Nowak <cathy.nowak@xxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:cathy.nowak@xxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Although this thread began with questions about west side
pheasants, Joel questions the origin of rooster pheasants
"anywhere in the state" so I will chime in. Ladd Marsh Wildlife
Area has a robust, self-sustaining population of pheasants. I
suspect it also serves as a source population for other areas of
the Grande Ronde Valley. We routinely see high numbers of
pheasant broods in the spring both on and off the wildlife area.
On cold winter days right now, many pheasants can be seen out in
mowed fields and on dry or frozen wetlands within Ladd Marsh.
These groups tend to be about 25% to 40% roosters. I am unaware
of anyone close by that releases pheasants. We do release
pen-reared birds (generally about 120) on the wildlife area once
a year just before the youth upland bird hunt in mid-September.
About a third of those are harvested that weekend and likely a
third are killed by vehicles, coyotes and hawks. Any that remain
by the opening of the regular season are "probably" taken pretty
quickly since they have a very poorly developed survival
strategy. A few may survive to become "naturalized" breeders.
According to the self-check-out permits collected during the
regular season, which ended a little over a week ago, just over
500 rooster pheasants were harvested on Ladd Marsh in 2015
including the 47 taken during the youth hunt. This number is
unusually high due to a warm, dry spring that favored chick survival.
M. Cathy Nowak
Certified Wildlife BiologistÂŪ
Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area
59116 Pierce Rd
La Grande, OR 97850
541-963-4954
-----Original Message-----
From:obol-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:obol-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>[mailto:obol-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Joel Geier
Sent: Saturday, January 09, 2016 10:46 PM
To: Oregon Birders OnLine
Subject: [obol] Re: Pheasants
Given the impressive number of replies on this thread, perhaps we
should call it "Pheasants Forever."
Personally, I tend not to trust any detections of Ring-necked
Pheasant cocks, anywhere in the state, as representing wild
birds. When I see a hen, I take note.
I'm not sure that releases are limited to ODFW, since there could
be private groups releasing birds (legally or otherwise). As I
mentioned in my previous posting, most places where I've detected
this species in the Willamette valley, other than Baskett Slough,
are close to hunting club properties.
That includes Finley NWR (even though it also seems plausible
that pheasants could be nesting on the North Prairie, just I've
seen no direct evidence of that), and the area around the Cold
Creek hunting club on Robison/De Armond Rds. along the
Benton/Polk Co. line.
To address Hendrik's remark about birds (nowadays all males) that
are released for the annual fee hunt at E.E.Wilson Wildlife:
No idea how far any potential survivors of these releases
might stray.
I doubt that many of them get very far, though some do seem to
shelter in place up to 3 months after the end of the season,
before the coyotes catch up with them.
These pen-raised birds are sorely lacking in survival skills.
About 10 days ago I noticed one on the hillside above our yard
(so about 200 yards from the wildlife area boundary) that was
standing out in the open, and being stalked by a large feral c*t
that's been plaguing our neighborhood. The pheasant only escaped
because I went out and yelled at the c*t, distracting it enough
for the pheasant to escape.
But I'd bet it didn't last more than another day or two. There's
at least one Bobcat around, plenty of Coyotes, and probably at
least one Cougar patrolling the same ridge.
Good birding,
Joel
--
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis
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