Bobwhite eggs are easily obtained by mail. Bobwhites seem to have a lot of
geographic variation (like "Ring-necked" Pheasants in Eurasia, but more
subtle), and I doubt if most people who buy, raise, and release them have any
idea which populations they are from.
Wayne
From: "baro@xxxxxxx" <baro@xxxxxxx>
To: "whoffman" <whoffman@xxxxxxxx>
Cc: "Lars Per Norgren" <larspernorgren@xxxxxxxxx>, "atowhee"
<atowhee@xxxxxxxxx>, "obol" <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "MidValleyNature"
<mid-valley-nature@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, October 14, 2021 8:45:16 PM
Subject: [obol] Re: Turkey question: the pheasant story
Bobwhite were heard moderately frequently here when we arrived in 1973. That
lasted maybe 10 years or so and nothing since.
Don't know whether ODFW still gives out Bobwhite eggs/chicks?
Then, California Quail, They are around sporadically. Occasionally fairly large
coveys, currently just a single pair that apparently did not breed or were
unsuccessful. Does ODFW release these? I believe they are more common east of
the mountains? Drier there? Where, if anywhere, were they originally native in
Oregon? Where introduced?
Bob OBrien Carver OR
On Thu, Oct 14, 2021 at 4:02 AM Wayne Hoffman < [ mailto:whoffman@xxxxxxxx ;|
whoffman@xxxxxxxx ] > wrote:
Hi -
IMO the decline and near-disappearance of pheasants as breeding birds in Oregon
was caused by ODFW (including its predecessor, Oregon Game Commission). The
original successful introduction was of "Chinese" Ring-necked Pheasants.
Starting in the 1950s, the Game Commission used federal Pittman-Robertson money
(from excise taxes on firearms, etc.) to set up a gamebird breeding program,
which introduced Turkeys, Chuckars, and a dozen or so other species that never
established. They decided that they could find a different subspecies of
pheasant that would be better-adapted to Oregon's climate. First came
"Mongolian" Pheasants, eventually "Sichuan" Pheasants (ring neckless
pheasants). With each new introduction, the local breeding population crashed.
IMO, the mongrels produced following each introduction were genetically
incompetent and incapable of replacing themselves. Back here in NC, Bobwhite
Quail have become quite rare, and the game managers are baffled. I suspect the
same cause: lots of people buy quail eggs to raise and turn loose the
youngsters on their hunting land, and natural production has tanked.
The same has not happened with turkeys anywhere I know of, so perhaps their
genome is more resistant to this kind of disruption...
Wayne
From: "Lars Per Norgren" < [ mailto:larspernorgren@xxxxxxxxx ;|
larspernorgren@xxxxxxxxx ] >
To: "atowhee" < [ mailto:atowhee@xxxxxxxxx ;| atowhee@xxxxxxxxx ] >, "obol" < [
mailto:obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ;| obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ] >, "MidValleyNature" < [
mailto:mid-valley-nature@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ;| mid-valley-nature@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
] >
Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2021 11:40:45 PM
Subject: [obol] Re: Turkey question
The initial introduction of Merriam's Turkey was a limited success east of the
Cascades. A bit of a hunting season resulted east of the summit and north of
Hwy 26 by the late 60s. The introduction of Rio Grande Turkey resulted in the
current ubiquity, from Clatsop County to Hell's Canyon. They became fairly easy
to find on the westside by the early 90s and seem to continue spreading and
increasing. They were sporadic in my area of nw Washington County. Including
our yard, from roughly 2000 to 2008, but l don't think l've detected a single
one here in over a decade.
There's hope they might go away. Supposedly the first successful introduction
of Ring-necked Pheasant anywhere in North America was Peterson Butte in Linn
County. For the past ten years there are typically no pheasants counted on any
of the CBCs in the southern Willamette Valley. The literature distributed by
ODF&W in the late 60s and early 70s claimed turkeys ate almost exclusively
grass seed. Did they really believe that? I'd love to be wrong, but l think
turkeys are as omnivorous as any vertebrate. That means baby song birds of
ground nesting species are on their menu.
Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
-------- Original message --------
From: Harry Fuller < [ mailto:atowhee@xxxxxxxxx ;| atowhee@xxxxxxxxx ] >
Date: 10/13/21 6:35 PM (GMT-08:00)
To: OBOL < [ mailto:obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ;| obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ] >,
MidValleyNature < [ mailto:mid-valley-nature@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ;|
mid-valley-nature@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ] >
Subject: [obol] Turkey question
when were turkeys introduced to Willamette Valley?
they certainly own our neighborhood in South Salem
--
Harry Fuller
author of: San Francisco's Natural History: Sand Dunes to Streetcars:
[ https://ecowise.wordpress.com/2017/04/20/sfnh/ ;|
https://ecowise.wordpress.com/2017/04/20/sfnh/ ] ;
author of Great Gray Owls of CA-OR-WA : [
https://ecowise.wordpress.com/2015/05/08/the-great-gray-owl-book/ ;|
https://ecowise.wordpress.com/2015/05/08/the-great-gray-owl-book/ ] ;
author of Freeway Birding : [ http://freewaybirding.com/ ;| freewaybirding.com ]
birding website: [ http://www.towhee.net/ ;| http://www.towhee.net ] ;
my birding blog: [ http://atowhee.wordpress.com/ ;| atowhee.wordpress.com ]
