natural fluctuations in the numbers of bears, some annual 

 variation is to be expected. 



UPLAND GAME MANAGEMENT 



Management objectives for upland game include the pro- 

 vision of regulations which will enable hunters to make 

 maximum use of resident small game species, several of 

 which are traditionally under-har^'ested; to encourage the 

 use of woodland and upland management practices which 

 increase small game production; and to provide the public 

 with sound predictions relative to the annual availability of 

 small game. 



RUFFED GROUSE 



The year 1968 was not a good year for ruffed grouse al- 

 though much "leaner" hunting years are on record. An 

 excellent grouse season was enjoyed in many northern 

 districts in 1967. Extremely cold, wet weather, which set 

 all-time records for some areas during the critical brooding 

 period in the following late May and June, lowered the 

 survival of grouse chicks across most of the Province. Two- 

 thirds of the forest districts reporting indicated a much 

 lower than usual ratio of young to old birds taken by 

 hunters. 



Lower hunter success was reflected in bag check in- 

 formation; the average number of grouse shot per 100 hours 

 by hunters on foot across the Province was 47, 46, and 32 

 for 1966, 1967 and 1968, respectively. Similarly, the average 

 number of birds shot per hundred miles given by those 

 hunting along bush roads was 6.5, 9.4, and 4.9, respectively. 



On the strength of brood observations before the season, 

 most districts predicted lower hunter success for autumn, 

 1968. 



SHARPTAILED GROUSE 



For the second consecutive year, northern sharptailed 

 grouse migrated from the lowlands of lames and Hudson 

 Bays into more settled portions of northern Ontario. The 

 season on this species was extended until March 31st, and 

 this produced additional hunting recreation. Birds are not 

 as abundant as in the winter of 1967-8, however. 



RING-NECKED PHEASANTS 



Ontario winters limit the breeding distribution of pheasants 

 to a relatively narrow fringe of range north of Lake Erie and 

 the western margins of Lake Ontario. Areas which consis- 

 tently receive much over fifty inches of snowfall per season 

 support few, if any, ring-necks. 



Across the breeding range, hunting success has varied In 

 recent years, and research is underway to determine why 

 some areas support better pheasant numbers than others. 

 The 1968 season was much improved in several counties. 

 The Lake Simcoe Forest District reported the best success 

 since 1963, and hunters bagged just under one bird per day 

 for the complete season. Opening day hunters in the Lake 

 Huron district also had slightly better success, both in birds 

 taken per hunter and in lower effort required to bag a bird. 

 Hunter success was also improved in Essex County, although 

 it was still poorer than in areas to the east within the 

 pheasant range. 



In 1968, a count of crowing cock-birds in spring was 

 initiated on transects throughout the pheasant range. This 

 survey is designed to show trends in pheasant breeding 

 populations and will be continued on a yearly basis. 



The Department continued to propagate pheasants for 

 release, both on private lands and on public hunting areas. 

 Chicks and poults were provided to regulated townships 

 for release prior to the season from the Provincial Came 

 Bird Farms at Normandale and Codrington. Production in 

 1968 comprised 41,000 chicks, 14,400 poults, and 6,500 

 adults. Returns to the hunter from five-, to seven-week-old 

 poult releases have been consistently low. Rearing pheas- 

 ants for release just prior to the season puts a very much 

 larger percentage of birds in the bag, and this practice is 

 being encouraged. 



Giant Canada goose on tub nest. Lake St. Lawrence goose 

 management area. 



~^^^ 



