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 Biologist®
Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area
59116 Pierce Rd
La Grande, OR 97850
541-963-4954
-----Original Message-----
From: 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.
