Why are pheasant's so special

[ANYFISH]

First off, not trying to ruffle feathers. Just asking questions and looking for comments. I do not hunt pheasants, think it would be fun, but have not tried.

1.) Why are pheasants the only Exotic species (bird) protected and so reviered? ( I believe only because of the economic benifits)

2.) Are they (as i believe) the main reason why ATV's are not allowed in roadside ditch's between April and August? ( I know other species use roadsides but believe pheasants are the main focus).

3.) Do pheasants effect Prairie Chicken and other prairie bird populations? (I have no info, just believe there may be a connection).

Now I am not against hunters whom target pheasants. I hope they can give thier view point on these questions.

thanks

[Jameson]

1) BECAUSE THEY TASTE GOOD!

don't know about 2 and 3

[fisherking01]

A lot of the consideration goes to economic value. They are very hardy, very saught after for table fare. As for competition with native species, not so much, as prarie chickens aren't as adaptable to the majority of land practices state wide. As for atv's in ditches, there are a lot of birds that nest in ditches, including but not limited to, pheasants, ducks,killdeer, and many more I'm not sure about. Doesn't make a lot of sense in my area where it is common practice to cut the ditches for hay, leaving them void of any nesting cover at all.

[Tom7227]

ATV's in ditches tear things up and make the whole area look like something from Arkansas.

[B. Amish]

actually pheasants are known parasite nesters, meaning they will lay eggs in the nests of other species (ducks & prairie chickens). and if they lay an egg in another bird's nest before that bird starts incubating, then the pheasant egg will hatch first because they have a shorter incubation time than prairie chickens and most if not all ducks. and when that pheasant egg hatches, the owner of the nest will probably abandon the nest thinking that the rest of the eggs aren't going to hatch when in reality they are only a few days away from hatching.

[ANYFISH]

This is interesting to me, please keep it coming.

I know pheasants can be a economic plus but also think they could be detrimental to native speices. ATV's in ditches can do damage to our soil, that a good point, but my idea's came from the fact the line for no riding during nesting months follows very closely to the pheasant range in MN. And my biggest question is about the money and laws that have been spent to manipulate habitat (disclaimer: these improvments have helped way more than just pheasants and are a good thing)and protect an exotic species, when we try to eradicate all other exotics (except-brown trout). Could this be better spent on our native species?

[BigWadeS]

 Originally Posted By: Jameson

1) BECAUSE THEY TASTE GOOD!

don't know about 2 and 3

I second Jameson!

[LABS4ME]

 Originally Posted By: Tom7227

ATV's in ditches tear things up and make the whole area look like something from Arkansas.

That is the primary reason for limiting ATV travel in ditches... erosion! During the rainy periods, tore up ditches will increase sedimentation into the few remaining wetlands as the water flowing through them collects the exposed soils.

A lot of our native songbirds also nest in ditches such as meadowlarks and ground sparrows.

Th economic and social impacts of pheasants have been known since they were introduced in England and other European countries prior to the settlement of America. There is anoher introduced bird that has not flourished near as well, but if it did, I believe it would be as popular as pheasants, and that is the hungarian partridge. Chuckar partridege were also introduced to the mountains out west and do well there. So pheasants can't hold the title as the only exotic species that is protected. Over the course of time, fish and game depts. have tried to introduce species to help with the production of food. Now-a-days man rarely relys on the land to provide his dinner any longer, so species are introduced for sport. This even inclludes the moving of native species to areas that never originally had them.

With the adaptability of pheasants, I'm sure the pressure on the species will continue to increase. Other species are slowly dwindling such as ducks an sportsman are drawn to the species because there is some success to be had on the stae's vast public grass lands. As wetlands continue to degrade and the duck flyway bcomes permanently shifted to the west, more guys will be drawn to pheasants. The equipment needs and commitment to the sport all also less.

I hope that helps shed a little more light on your question...

Good Luck!

Ken

[BobT]

Pheasants provide explosive flushes and are quite fast on the wing. They are excellent eating and offer great sport and can be challenging to hunt.

I believe they are managed for similar reasons as fish stocking programs. For example, walleyes and trout are not indigenous to many of the Minnesota lakes where they are found today. They are there only through stocking efforts.

As far as competition with prairie chickens, I don’t know as we see very few in this area. I might be wrong but I’m thinking if it wasn’t for pheasants around here, we wouldn’t have many upland game birds to chase after. I don’t believe prairie chickens were ever common this far east and doves…well, there’s too much opposition from animal lovers to hunting doves it seems. Of course I am an animal lover too. They do taste pretty darn good you know.

Regarding the road ditch issue, I believe you are correct with the reason for the ATV regulation although I am not inclined to believe it is justified but then I’m not a biologist either. From my own personal experience, limited as it is, I rarely find pheasants nesting in the grasses along the road ditches bordering my property. In fact, I can honestly say I have never found a nest in a road ditch by my place. I believe there is too much traffic and it is too dusty to suit them. About the only time I see pheasants anywhere near my road ditches is when they are picking up grit along the edge of the road and then dart into the ditch to avoid traffic. Other than that they’ll use them for cover during the hunting season after my fields have been plowed in the fall.

If the issue with ditches was erosion Labs, why then only in the farm belt? Erosion would occur in norther MN too.

Bob

[muc33]

Many good answers in here, I got beat to the punch on most. Yes there is deffinate income and economic value to the DNR for many reasons. Look for example what it has done for SD. Look what flyway waterfowl hunting has done as well. You create habitat, and in return get numbers. That produces income streams from not only residents, but more importantly NON residents who will rush to populated area's and spend money. For the DNR this means more licenses sold, hence more income. For the area's much like where I live... More money to C-Stores for fuel, pop, candy bars ect. Hotels, bars, resturants ect. Sports shops sell more shells, and down the line. Bonus. To the locals, better everyday hunting but the flip side some say is increased traffic on Public grounds. Still this means more birds because birds travel. The ground also produces more than just habitat for Pheasants. Song birds prosper as well. So my grandmother gets to see more native birds due to habitat that gets me table fare! Win Win right?!!!!

As for the ditch thing, I agree with many on erosion. Also the chance of fire. Wind swept flat farmground can burn fast and furious.

Good questions.

[BobT]

The thing about the erosion explanation is that it's a road ditch. It's supposed to be dug out so it can drain. Grasses in there tend to collect dirt and anything else the wind blows in and as a result, the ditch has to be manually cleaned out from time to time. Allowing ATV traffic could possibly reduce this need by keeping the grasses in check.

As I already mentioned, the erosion issue would be statewide but the ditch issue is not. This has lead me to believe that it had something to do with nesting birds or something but I have never really seen evidence to support this need either.

There is concern from erosion in early spring during the thawing process and some areas get closed as a result.

I found this on the DNR website.

The DNR also reminds riders that state law prohibits ditch riding south of the agriculture line between April 1 and Aug. 1. The agriculture line runs roughly from Moorhead to Taylors Falls along Highway 10 and Highway 95. The purpose of this is to minimize disturbance of nesting birds and to protect the cover that ditches provide.

I really have never seen evidence of nesting along my road ditches. Of course maybe there is more of it elsewhere.

Bob

[B. Amish]

i think that in some areas of heavy ag, road ditches are some of the only places where there is any grass. so, not allowing atv's could help a few more nests to hatch.

it's definitely not the best habitat, but if it's all that is out there, why not try to make it productive for something?

[JIGGIN']

Fun as [PoorWordUsage] to shoot and a lot more challenging to hunt when they are truly wild, late season birds. Oh, and great to eat as well. SOmeone already said that. Watch a good pointing dog outsmart a rooster and you will REALLY know why they are so fun to hunt.

[ANYFISH]

Thanks for the reply's. Some great insight and opinions, I still would like to hear more. I am still stuck on the pheasant being an exotic, but yet loved by us and our DNR, odd thinking in this day and age. They have been in our country so long that we may not see any of the potential harm they may have caused. Like one post said walleye's are not native to many of the waters they now thrive in, I'm not so sure that was the wisest either, but that a whole different thread.

thanks

[muc33]

Not to start an argument... but I am trying to find a bad reason for the interest in the Chinese Ringneck Pheasant in the U.S.? Let alone the wrong that the habitat which has made them flourish being bad? Harm? I guess another word I would want you to explain. Again, I am not looking for an argument, just some clarity... you obviously have some issues with it. I am just trying to really figure out your questions. I don't know why the issue of Prairie Chickens would be a big riff, nor the issue of not being able to ride an ATV in a ditch for a few months... on one side of the road? Please help me understand your questions more. Thanks

[Wanderer]

Why are those exotic pheasants so special? Because they fit.

Out of all the different exotics introduced, pheasants have benefitted their range way more than devastated. Major sporting opportunity but also a productive member of the food chain for the area predators.

They just add soooo much.

I haven't witnessed widespread use of the ditches for nesting but I have seen pockets. Actually right after I learned of the ditch closure season I saw a hen pancaked with the tail stuck up in the air. A fresh wheeler track in the grass right over her. (Not a shot at wheelers, I ride too)

Also, where I have seen them using the ditches has been in SE MN where the fields are plowed to the woods. The 6 in tall grass in the ditch was moving all over and there was no wind. Then one hen peeked up, put her head back down and disappeared again.

My bet is: If you try pheasant hunting, you'll be thankful we have em.

I wish Asian beetles tasted good!

[ANYFISH]

Muc33,

I really don't have anything against the the pheasant except that they are not native. I have no proof of any adverse effects of their populations. But every animal has a niche in an ecosystem, they had to take over or have competition with a native species when introduced, that is the "harm" that I see. The ringneck is going nowhere, they are a beautiful bird and great table fare (I have eaten them). I started this thread to get people to think and to see them justify the exsistince of an exotic that we like. I was hoping for some good discussion, and I got it. thanks

p.s. someday I will hunt them, they look like fun.

[Eric Wettschreck]

Anyfish, don't wait for someday. Take the time and get out there. Once you've hunted a couple days in late November/early December you will have an easier time understanding the love affair many have with pheasants.

[BobT]

Being non-native isn't always bad. It seems lately there's a push to maintain the status quo. We don't want the world to warm because it'll change how we live. Likewise we don't want it to cool either for the same reason. We worry about a species losing habitat that was part of its former range and we spend mucco bucks trying to reintroduce them, why? Heck, with the exception of a few of us, we are all non-native as well and it can be argued whether that has been good or bad. I for one am glad we are here.

So the pheasant was introduced in the area. Maybe they displaced some species that we wouldn't have found so useful. Would that be good or bad? Every time we buy up a piece of land and clear it or build on it, we displace some other living organism, both plant and animal. Such is life.

We also do things that nature would not have done like our current deer population. If it wasn't for the changes we have made through predator reduction, habitat management, and harvest control, whitetails wouldn't flourish naturally as they do today.

Bob

[Jarrod32]

There are two reasons why pheasants are so special...and they have both been touched on here. Eating them and hunting them.

They are excellent table fare...off the grill, out of the crock pot, in the oven, out of the smoker...

Hunting them is also special. For me, I think it is the instantaneousness (is that a word?). With ducks, geese, even deer you see the target, watch them come in, and tend to have a long time to prepare for the shot.

With pheasant, the flush is instant. No build up...just instant adrenaline rush when the pheasant takes wing right next to you or right behind you. You don't have time to prepare or think...you just react. It gives you a rush beyond compare.

And watching a good, seasoned hunting dog roust a pheasant out of cover is a treat that you don't get with waterfowl.

I love hunting waterfowl...but there is no question in my mind that a pheasant hunt walking along a fenceline or unimproved roadway on a nice fall day beats even a great day of duck hunting, and even the best morning in a deer stand. And I know that will be blasephemous to a lot of people. Oh, well.

[Boogaard]

by far my favorite animal to hunt. I make several trips out to SD a year. Sometimes i would rather just watch the dog work then shoot anything but then again Shootin a late season bird at 50yds with the beretta is pretty awsome as welL!

[muc33]

Anyfish, thank you for at least asking... most would just complain and gripe about it at the coffee shop and be ignorant about the subject...kudos to you for listening to sides and forming a true opinion. I don't know how much of a varried response you might get here though. We all might be a little slanted in the favor of the bird. hehehehe I would say though that another thing you might want to do is seek out a true "old timer" find someone who has hunted the pheasant before big organizations came into play and you will get some of the same answers. My point is that even in the 40's and 50's I have many stories of guys who would line up on a country section, and walk a mile section of prairie grass and shoot whatever flew. They talk of hundreds of birds per section right here in Minnesota. The chinese ringneck, was first brought to the us in 1881. they came to flourish because of habitat, not because they were not hunted. This became home for them.... kinda like you and me. Not from here, but through generations, have made it ours. Not always "right", but not always "wrong"!

Thanks for making us think with this question.

Or maybe I should say, thanks for making ME think!

[fishgutz77]

I have to ask the same question.

1. when pheasant hunting do you get to call them in? NO

2. Do you conceal yourself to the max? NO

3. Do you have to set decoys given the days conditions? NO

4. Do they come from nowhere to scare the H E out of you? NO

5. Do you get to shoot 4-6 of them daily? NO

6. are they faster than a canvasback? NO

7. do you get to fire up the boat? NO

8. Do you get to laugh until you run out of air shoulder to shoulder in the blind? No

9. Do they taste better than ducks MAYBE

10. Does it take a complete psycho to love duck hunting YES!!!

Duck Hunting Nothing Else Like It!

[muc33]

1. Yes, by creating my own private heaven on a rough piece of ground by planting the proper nesting, adequate food plots, and great cover.

2. Nope, inexpensive!!!! All I need is great visable blaze orange and anything else that I wear is all about comfort! More than I can say about waders!

3. Decoys.... nope, I save my money here too! Man this Pheasant hunting is in everyone's price range isn't it!!!!!!

4. I have pee'd on many occasions... have you ever stepped on a pheasant nustled in some switch grass. OK, I confess, maybe it was more than just a dribble too!

5. Come hunt with me, I tend to sometimes miss alot, so you may get to shoot my two as well! Then you can get 4!

6. Nope they are not, but they have their own special way of humbling even the best shooters! Speed ain't everything! Plus, unless you live by the flyways, you don't very often get to see ole slope head very often.

7. Nope, but your boat wouldn't make it past my switch grass or for that fact, it couldn't even till my food plot with your prop. Oh, and let me tell you how much my pheasants love to hide in your frozen duck slough's cattails!!!! Thanks for only having 2 weeks of duck season, so I can shoot more pheasants in the cattails! hehehehe

8. Do you get to laugh when you are walking in a field with 6 of your classmates and someone brings up the time when your buddies dog brought back a skunk in his mouth in 6 foot switch grass and your buddy was dumb enough to bend over and pick it up?

9. MAYBE NOT

10. Nope, no psycho's, just everyday good ole joe's and jolene's! We aren't too fussy, just out to have some fun, talk, appreciate the day and get outside!

Are we even yet?? I love your post fishgutz!!!!!!

[ANYFISH]

muc 33, Actually I have bother-in-law that raises and hunts pheasant and many friends that hunt them also, so it is around me. I am not a very good wing shooter so I choose to limit my bird hunting to grouse a couple of times each year, no sense winging birds. Please don't think I'm out to do away with pheasants, because I am not, just wonder what we all had to say.

Fishgutz.. #4 is definatly a yes, been walking through our wetlands and meadows, just to have a pheasant flush, just feet infront of me. As muc33 said dang near wizzed myself.

[Eric Wettschreck]

#4- One of the reasons I continue to live in Minnesota is the rush you get when a bird flushes, 6 inches in front of you, out of the snow.

BTW Anyfish, this is a pretty cool topic. I'm glad you brought it up and the posters are open minded enough to at least try and understand what the others are thinking.

[BLACKJACK]

 Originally Posted By: BobT

Being non-native isn't always bad. It seems lately there's a push to maintain the status quo. We don't want the world to warm because it'll change how we live. Likewise we don't want it to cool either for the same reason. We worry about a species losing habitat that was part of its former range and we spend mucco bucks trying to reintroduce them, why? Heck, with the exception of a few of us, we are all non-native as well and it can be argued whether that has been good or bad. I for one am glad we are here.

So the pheasant was introduced in the area. Maybe they displaced some species that we wouldn't have found so useful. Would that be good or bad? Every time we buy up a piece of land and clear it or build on it, we displace some other living organism, both plant and animal. Such is life.

We also do things that nature would not have done like our current deer population. If it wasn't for the changes we have made through predator reduction, habitat management, and harvest control, whitetails wouldn't flourish naturally as they do today.

Bob

Good post Bob!! Everything man has done has altered the environment and wildlife habitat, and the species that can survive - and thrive - change. Prairie chickens couldn't hack it but pheasants, with a little help - some nesting cover, winter cover, and winter food, will thrive.

I chuckled about a year ago when I read an article about prairie chickens vrs pheasants and it stated that pheasants were out competing P. chickens because the pheasant eggs hatch in 21 days while it takes 23 days for p. chickens to hatch.

Its nice to have a few areas up in NW MN to go observe p. chickens but I think its pretty stupid to devote big chunks of land out by Lac Qui Parle to 'prairie chicken habitat', let hunters hunt those areas for something they all want - pheasants!!!

[BobT]

Actually, ANYFISH, I grew up hunting grouse and then moved to pheasant country in my 30s. I can assure you from personal experience, nailing a grouse on the wing is far more challenging. They give you the same "at the foot" flush but you can't see them nearly as long and you have to contend with the brush when you bring your shotgun to bear. I suspect pheasants might be just a bit faster on the wing but in most cases, you have open shooting at a bird that flies relatively straight whereas a grouse is dodging and zig-zagging through forest and brush and doesn't tend to fly level but darts up and down as well as side to side.

I will say that you have a better chance of finding grouse on the ground or roosting within range than pheasants, which will be on the ground but running about 100 yds in front of you.

Bob

[Eric Wettschreck]

Bob, I'm sure you know this, but for those who don't, here we go.

Shooting phesants isn't as easy as it may seem. On the prairie we have the wind to deal with, and once a ringneck hits the wind, it's a whole different ball game. Plus, they are a bigger bird than a grouse, but it's deceiving. So much of the bird is tail feather and I don't know how many phesant butts I've shot off just to watch a bird fly away. If you do manage to shoot one down, you better get to it fast, or have a good dog. They hit the ground running and in the thick prairie grasses and cattails it's not impossible to find them, but it aint easy, either.

Pheasant hunting may look like just guys walking around in orange vests shooting them as they jump up, but until you've gone a few rounds with the ringneck it's difficult to understand how difficult it actually is to put a kill shot on a bird of that size.

[Dotch]

Pheasants are a part of our heritage in So. MN. While we don't boast the numbers that IA & SD do, the birds here have got to be smart and cunning to survive. My Dad grew up in the 20's and 30's on the farm and used to hunt pheasants with the .410 bolt action single shot among the grain and corn shocks. When we as kids got to hunt first in the days of the Soil Bank and still remember that being torn up. In the mid-80's we saw CRP return along with the pheasants. Fortunately, we also saw more CREP and resulting permanent easements in the MN River watershed in the early aughts so there are better core areas than there were not so long ago. While their numbers will likely take a hit with CRP coming out, they probably won't be decimated as badly as they were in '95 - '98 when much of the original CRP began to come out. As far as being non-native, pheasants are here to stay. To think that we'll ever see prairie chickens repopulate to the levels seen by our forefathers is probably unrealistic given the population of humans inhabiting the planet. Nowadays, I like creating habitat with multiple use for them on the acreage we have to work with. I like both waterfowl and pheasants both so the restored CREP wetland was an easy call. And adding a warm season grass pasture has been something both the sheep and the pheasants can appreciate. Haven't been pheasant hunting for several years and it really doesn't bother me. Just enjoy watching them all year long and knowing we're having a small impact on their well being. They're beautiful creatures, especially this time of year.