Excerpts from “Think About It!” an article by Dan Hare
Food
Food. well, that seems logical. We all need food to survive. Where is that group of pheasants going to get food? If you think about it, and I hope that you are, I am going to guess that you will have more questions. What season of the year is it? How many pheasants are there? Are these adult pheasants or are there chicks too? Yeah, those type of questions!
Well, let’s continue to think about it a bit. Maybe we will answer some of our own questions. First, the food must be plentiful enough to maintain that population of pheasants no matter how many there are. If there isn’t enough food, some of the birds will have to move to find food or they will not survive. Yeah, that is the way it is out there in the natural world!
There is plenty of grain after the harvest and just before hunting season. We see lots of grain stubble fields when we drive around in the fall. But what if it’s winter? Will those birds have to travel a long way to get food?
If they have to travel more than one mile, there are many things that can have an effect on them. Predators will be looking to fill their own stomachs, and the pheasants may get caught by a fox or other predator as they travel. If it is winter in the northern part of the United States, and the traveling pheasants are exposed to very cold temperatures and wind, it may actually cause a negative intake of energy even though the birds find food. They burn up more energy getting there and back to protective cover than they take in. Over a period of several days or a couple of weeks, those birds might not be able to maintain their body fat enough to survive.
What about early summer when the hen is sitting on her eggs and then hatches out 10 little chicks? What kind of food do they need? Well, for about three weeks, those little chicks need lots of insects. So, where do they find them? Wherever there are plants with leaves and green stems, insects usually thrive. Therefore, those chicks need to get to an alfalfa field, a weedy patch in a field or some row crops that haven’t been sprayed to kill the insects. If the chicks find that, they will eat heartily and grow very quickly to a point where they can eat weed seeds and grain. Food is usually available, but anytime we can provide better food more pheasants survive.
Water
Water is usually readily available for pheasants. Water holes for cattle, streams, creeks, wetlands, and lakes can provide water for all sorts of wildlife. Even when it rains, there are puddles on the land that wildlife can drink. Sometimes animals can get all the water they need from the moisture in the plants they eat.
Now, what about a covey of pheasants? It will use whatever water is available to them and will certainly benefit from any shallow water development that is provided. Sometimes there are droughts that harm wildlife. If there is not enough snowmelt or rainfall for a period of time, water may become scarce. Wildlife will have to move to find it or once again, they will not survive! We take water for granted. We get water from the kitchen sink, in fancy bottles and water fountains just about everywhere we go. Wildlife must find water pretty close to where they live or they have to search out a new place to live. Think about it… Water is very important for wildlife.
Shelter
Since I am a wildlife biologist, I like to refer to shelter as habitat. Now, not all habitat is the same. There are different types of habitat including winter habitat, nesting habitat, brood rearing habitat, loafing habitat, food plots, habitat that protects birds from winged predators and habitat that protects animals while they travel between different habitats. That is a lot of habitat.When you think about it, habitat is the most necessary thing for wildlife since all wildlife spend their entire life in some sort of habitat type!
Now, this special place that you have been thinking about probably has lots of habitat. I bet there are trees, shrubs, grass, weeds, grain or other kinds of plants out there. Well, when you put all of those things together, you get different habitat types. Winter habitat can be many rows of trees of different kinds in a shelterbelt, nesting habitat is different kinds of grasses and probably some alfalfa and clover all mixed together, travel lanes can be a couple of rows of shrubs that connect food plots with loafing habitat.
So, what’s loafing habitat? Well, let’s compare it to our lives. We all need a place that is quiet, secure from intrusion and where we can just relax a bit. Pheasants need to have a place secure from predators and bad weather where they can rest and soak up some sun or just a place to feel protected.
Food, water and shelter (habitat). Those are the basics needs of all life! However, in places that don’t we have to work hard to provide them. As you are driving out in the country next time, take a close look at the different habitat that is out there. You will probably see some areas that don’t have the things we have talked about. Think about how much better it is for wildlife to have all of the basic needs pretty close to where they live. Just think about it.
Dan Hare is Pheasants Forever’s Regional Wildlife Biologist in North Dakota and Montana
Habitat – The Key to Survival
A habitat is the place where something lives. Your habitat is your home, whether it’s in the country, the city, or the suburbs. It is where you get and drink your water, where you get and eat your food, where you sleep comfortably in bed without worrying about freezing to death, or getting attacked by wild rabid dogs. It is where you keep your secret stash of M&Ms, where you play kickball with your friends, and that quiet tree you hide under to read your magazine. Habitat is essential for all living creatures on this planet. Without it, pheasants, humans and ladybugs could not survive.
Habitat is a recipe for life. You take your four ingredients—food, water, shelter and space—mix them together in just the right amounts, and voila! You get habitat. Every species has different needs, so every species has a unique habitat. Timberwolves might find enough food, water and shelter in Nebraska or Iowa, but they wouldn’t survive because they require miles and miles of uninterrupted, undisturbed space. Alligators, on the other hand, don’t need very much space, but need a constantly warm, aquatic environment, which is why we don’t have alligators in the Midwest.
Many species share similar habitat. The grassland birds featured on pages 10-13 require similar grassland habitat as pheasants.
By ensuring that proper habitat is provided, a healthy population will be strong enough to survive almost all the perils known to pheasants including, drought, deep freeze, predation, and others plights. Ideal habitats are self-sustaining, and require little maintenance. For this reason, Pheasants Forever focuses most of its conservation efforts on habitat projects.
Shelter and Other “Housing” Projects
A pheasant can run, but without habitat, it can’t hide. Pheasants need shelter from many things, depending on the time of year and time of day. Pheasants always need cover from predators, but this is even more crucial during nesting season. Nesting cover provides them with a place to nest discreetly. They need loafing cover to relax, digest, dust, preen, and just hang out during the day. In the summer, they seek shade to keep their cool. In winter they nestle in cattails or other dense vegetation to keep warm. Roosting cover is shelter they seek in the evening where they can get a good night’s sleep. Winter cover, which provides shelter from freezing temperatures, wind, and snow, is imperative. Woody plants (trees and shrubs) that line the perimeter of a field form a shelterbelt, so called because it slows down rushing winds, and can withstand heavy snowdrifts. Ultimately they help shield wildlife from the harsh elements.
Grasses that are sturdy and remain tall after heavy snows also help. Some tall grasses provide a source of food when other sources are buried under snow drifts. More importantly, such vegetation is ready-to-rear after the snow melts, before other vegetation has had a chance to grow to a protective height. Native grasses specific to the particular area is ideal for plantings as they have evolved to be acclimated to the weather patterns and are able to withstand the adversity winter doles out.
Food for Thought
One of the things that make pheasants adaptable to such varying habitats is the fact that their diet is very diverse. Grains and seeds are their primary source of nutrition, however the protein content of grasshoppers, crickets, ants, and other insects are vital to growth for young chicks. Many of the plants that provide shelter for pheasants also provide food. Those plants that pheasants don’t eat, are often food for grFasshoppers, which pheasants do eat. You can’t judge something as useless just because you can’t see the indirect role (or niche) it plays in the environment
Where There’s Water, There’s a Way
Like any other living creature, pheasants depend on water. A nearby lake, pond, stream or puddle are obvious sources of water for a thirsty bird, but not crucial. A dainty sip of morning dew can provide sufficient water. Moreover, the insects and fruits of their diverse diet provide the bulk of this universal necessity of life.
Outer Space
A pheasant can live its entire life in an area smaller than two miles, if the food, water, and cover requirements are met. Conversely, pheasant populations given many miles of space will suffer and die if the conditions are poor and don’t provide enough food, water, and cover in the right proportions. Physical space is also important during mating season. Roosters will defend 3-10 acres as their territory.
To Stock or Not to Stock?
That is the question. No is the answer. Stocking is the release of pen-reared pheasants into habitat where wild birds are already present. These birds are typically unable to survive on their own. Those that do survive rarely breed successfully and therefore the land requires continuous restocking.
Some may argue that Mr. Denny’s efforts were merely to stock. Well, to stock is different than to “introduce.” Introductions or “transplants” involve the release of wild birds into an area where wild birds are not generally present. Introductions require extensive management plans and habitat development prior to release, and are intended to start self-sustaining populations.
At the time and place that pheasants were introduced, the landscape was much more pheasant-friendly, providing many small fields, diversified crops and primitive farming techniques that didn’t interfere with nesting. These factors, with the advantage of being a hardy breed, helped establish a healthy population.
