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
On Jan 11, 2016, at 8:08 AM, Cathy Nowak <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] 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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