STEP 1: DETERMINE TYPES OF WILDLIFE SUITED TO THE AREA
One species of upland gamebird dominates the wildlife scene on private lands in Utah; the ring-necked pheasant. Six of the species of upland gamebirds, the sharp-tailed grouse, sage grouse, blue grouse, ruffed grouse, chukar, and Hungarian partridge are also important in limited areas.
Figure 1 shows the general distribution and abundance of pheasants in Utah in the 1990's. Careful consideration should be given this map.
Attempts at raising and releasing pheasants and improving pheasant habitat in "poor" pheasant range is likely to be both frustrating and unproductive.
Figure 1: The ring-necked pheasant, an introduced species from Asia, has adapted quite well to a variety of habitats. In Utah, the pheasant range includes much of the land which was original semi-arid rangeland and sagebrush steppe. The most desirable habitat is found in the north-central part of the state. Pheasants are usually found where intensively managed agricultural land is interspersed with marshlands, brushy draws and dense woodlots.
Questions to Ponder
How many upland game birds species are in Utah?
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Give the most dominate species (one).
Is the ring-necked pheasant native to Utah?
STEP 2: STUDY LIFE REQUIREMENTS
Project participants will recognize that an animal needs certain things in order to grow, reproduce and maintain its health. Domestic farm animals have all of the essential life requirements provided for them by humans all year long. Adequate water, food, shelter and living space must be provided to maintain a healthy, profitable farm stock.
Wild animals have the same life requirements as their domestic relatives. But the "wild" in wildlife means that these animals must find adequate water, food, shelter and living space throughout the year without the direct and daily care of humans. In recent years, some of these basic life elements have all but disappeared from the landscape. This disappearance is because of increased competition for the productivity of the land by humans, and modem, more efficient means of harvesting that productivity.
Question to Ponder
Give a brief reason as to why this section is important.
THE PHEASANT'S LIFE STORY
Ring-necked pheasants are not native to America. They were introduced into Utah from Asia before the turn of the century and by the 1930's occupied all of the suitable habitat available. Since its arrival, the pheasant has become the favorite upland gamebird of Utah sportsmen.
Ring-necks live their life on a small area of land; usually about 2 miles in diameter. On their small holding, they go through the seasonal changes of life. In late winter, when days grow warmer and longer, pheasants begin their trek from the lowland brush or marsh cover of the wintering areas to the upland farms for the warmer months. It is here that the male pheasant begins his pageantry in preparing for courtship.
Crowing becomes a daily activity by which he attempts to attract hens and, at the same time, announce his presence to the neighboring roosters. His activities are rewarded as he gathers his harem of hens. Some of the more aggressive roosters (cocks) may entertain from 10 to 20 hens, but most harems usually number 7 or 8.
Early spring finds the hen pheasant busily engaged in preparing her clutch of eggs for incubation. During this period, she will usually lay eggs at random or in dump nests and may even establish a nest or two which she later abandons. Her eggs are laid at a rate of
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approximately 1.3 days per egg with the average clutch size ranging from 8 to 13 eggs. The actual size of the clutch laid depends on the stage of the nesting season. Early laid clutches are usually larger then late laid clutches.
Incubation occupies a period of 23 days. Thus, a minimum of 35 to 40 days are required from the onset of laying to the day of hatching.
Hatching success of pheasant nests is characteristically low. From 60 to 80 percent of initial nests are abandoned. But, hen pheasants are persistent and studies show that 70 to 80 percent of them may eventually bring off broods in spite of high nest losses. With renests having later hatching dates and smaller clutch sizes. Pheasant chicks are capable of flight after about 10 days and resemble adults at about 15 weeks.
During spring and summer, pheasants are occupied with nesting, renesting if first attempts fail, and brood-rearing on the ever-changing farm landscape. In late fall, the birds begin their movements back to the lowland marshes, riverbottoms and brush patches to spend the winter.
During a typical year, approximately 70 percent of the population is lost to a variety of mortality factors (even in non-hunted populations). Few, if any, die of old age. Such losses are completely normal and expected. If given adequate habitat and weather conditions populations are capable of substantial growth from year to year. Wide fluctuations in numbers between years and over short periods of time are also completely normal and usually attributed to severe weather conditions. However, long-term downward trends over many years are not normal. Such trends usually indicate that habitat is being lost.
Questions to Ponder
How big is the land area that a pheasant lives out its life?
At what time of the year does the rooster (cock) gather hens for his harem?
What is the average range for clutch size, and what is usually the determining factor of the clutch size?
How many days from the onset of laying to hatching?
What is the range (in percentage) of initial nest that are abandoned?
At what age is a pheasant chick capable of flight?
During a typical year, what percent of the population survives?
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WHAT IS PHEASANT HABITAT?
Pheasants and all wildlife require the following three basic essentials in the right amount, quality and distribution: (1) food, (2) water, and (3) shelter (cover). Fortunately, pheasants eat a wide variety of foods and can obtain water from dew, insects, or moist vegetation. Since pheasants make their homes on farmland, requirements one and two are usually abundant. Shelter, however, is becoming scarce in any area of Utah. The most common habitat problem is that food sources are often not in close proximity to shelter-particularly winter shelter.
Shelter requirements vary from season to season. Nesting cover and brood-rearing cover are important during the spring and summer. During the fall and winter, thermal shelter is required to protect the birds from harsh weather. Escape cover which provides protection from predation is needed year-round.
Nesting cover-Hen pheasants prefer tall, stiff-stemmed vegetation that is left over from the previous growing season for nesting. Such stands resist flattening by winter snows and thus provide ideal cover for early nesting birds. This type of "left-over" growth or residual cover is usually found in limited amounts along roads, ditches, fences or in waste areas and is often mowed or burned and thus unavailable for pheasant use. The lack of such suitable nesting areas often force hens to nest in alfalfa or other hay as it reaches about 8 inches in height. Remember, pheasants need about 35 to 40 days of unmolested egg-laying and incubation time. This time frame is rarely available in alfalfa fields because of early season harvesting operations. Harvesting operations have a devastating effect on pheasant nesting success and subsequently, the fall pheasant crop. The lack of good quality nesting cover is a critical factor limiting Utah pheasant populations today.
Brood cover-Broods remain in the vicinity of the nest for a time after hatching but slowly extend their travels to other areas. If nesting sites are in close association to easily accessible food, excellent brood cover is usually provided.
Winter cover-Pheasants, by nature, drift to low-lying marshes or river bottom areas during winter. Cattails and rushes provide ideal protection from winter weather. In areas lacking marshy vegetation, dense-growing brush patches or thickets of willows, roses or Russian olive, chokecherry, wild plum, accompanied by a thick understory of weeds or grasses, provide the needed shelter. Pheasants will rarely travel more than one-fourth of a mile from winter cover to a food source. Sometimes, pockets of excellent cover go unused due to the lack of nearby food. Conversely, food sources may go unused if isolated from winter cover concentration areas.
Roosting and loafing sites-Crop stubble-fields such as alfalfa and small grains, pastures and grassy fringes of marshes, with cover enough to conceal the birds, are excellent roosting sites. Brush p1tches or thickets, weed patches or marshes that provide shade in summer or shelter from stormy weather are also used for loafing.
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Travel lanes--Narrow bands of cover such as fencelines or ditches, grown over with grasses or brush, that tie the various habitat parts together provide safe avenues for pheasant travel. To be effective during winter, travel lanes must be wide enough to prevent extensive blockage by drifting snow.
Interspersion-Variation in the vegetation on an area is important to wildlife welfare, and pheasants are no exception. Continuous blocks of similar vegetation do not provide. the same habitat quality that several smaller interspersed areas of different vegetation would. The more vegetated fencelines, ditches or field edges in an area, the greater its value for pheasants.
Diagram
Habitat is the key to pheasant abundance and is similar to a rain barrel in principle. If a slat of the barrel is removed or the barrel has holes in it, its water holding capacity is greatly reduced until the deficiencies are repaired. Nature keeps pheasant habitat stocked to its limit or carrying capacity. To have more pheasants, the habitat "leaks" need to be plugged. Usually, this means increased areas of safe nesting cover and better distribution and quality of winter cover and food. Attempting to solve the problem by predator control, stocking, or less hunting, is like trying to make the leaky rain barrel hold more water by adding more water.
The answer to increasing pheasant populations is simple: provide better pheasant cover on Utah farms! Creating safe cover for one more pheasant nest on each farm would increase our pheasant populations significantly.
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Questions to Ponder
What are the three basic essentials required for pheasants?
Which of the these three basic essentials is becoming more and more scares?
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The most common habitat problem is that______
are often not in proximity to______.
What are the two types of cover that are most important during the spring and summer?
Give an example of the following, and its importance:
Nesting cover
Brooding cover
Winter cover
Roosting and loafing sites
Travel lanes
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Interspersion
What is meant by "To have more pheasants, the habitat 'leaks' need to be plugged"?
The answer to increase pheasant populations is simple. Provide better pheasant on Utah farms!
STEP 3: INVENTORY HABITAT
Before beginning a pheasant habitat improvement program, it is essential that you prepare a habitat inventory map of at least one square mile that includes your project area (farm, ranch, and adjacent lands). A habitat map will indicate what is presently available or lacking terms of the habitat requirements of the desired wildlife species.
Materials needed to complete your habitat inventory:
1.
Aerial photos (photocopies are available from the nearest field office of the Agricultural Stabilization and Soil Conservation Service (ASCS office)).
2.
Soil Conservation Service Soils Map (photocopies are available through the nearest Soil Conservation Service (SCS) field office).
3.
County map (available from nearest county office or Utah Department of Transportation).
4.
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Copy of a project area, farm or ranch conservation plan (available through
SCS).
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Method:
Prepare a map of the land within a one-half mile radius of your project area (home, farm or ranch) (see Figure 2). This map should be as detailed as possible, utilizing soils and county maps in addition to aerial photos.
Use a scale that permits locating relatively small tracts of land with reasonable accuracy. Maps using one inch' equal to about 200 feet are large and easy to use. A conservation plan may have been developed for the land in question by the Soil Conservation Service and this provides an excellent starting point.
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The following areas should be included on a general habitat map: grassland, brush, second-growth forest, mature forest, grazed woodlot, pasture, cropland, open water and marsh areas. Also include buildings, fence lines, farm groves, windbreaks, roads and ditches. Identify crops grown and, if possible, the sequence of rotation.
Compile a data sheet (see Figure 2), including a close approximation of the percentage breakdown of the different habitat areas. The map and data sheet will be used later for starting a habitat improvement program designed specifically for the desired game species.
After making this inventory map, study it in relation to the habitat requirements of pheasants in terms of nesting cover, food, winter cover and range limitations.
Questions to Ponder
What is the purpose of making a habitat inventory map, of your project area, before starting the habitat improvement project?
What is the four materials needed to complete your habitat inventory?
What areas and instructions should be included in your habitat map?