MONTHLY WILDLIFE RESEARCH LETTER 
Department of Conservation and Natural History Survey, Cooperating 
Glen C. Sanderson and Helen C. Schultz, Editors 
(Jrbana, Illinois 
September, 1975 
Vol. 18, No. 9 
Manipulation of Pheasant Habitat r. Warner 
The previous MWRL (13(8):1-3) included a report of this year's (1975) declines 
in pheasant nest establishment and success on the Sibley Study Area (SSA) and 
Ford County Management Unit (FCMU), from 1974. The reduction in nesting was 
exemplified by an estimated 45 percent decline in hatched nests located in road¬ 
side, small grain, hay, pasture, strip, and nonagricultural cover on the FCMU 
(MWRL 18(8):l). 
However, information from early morning counts of pheasant broods in August 
1975 reflected substantial increases in numbers of broods observed, compared 
with 1974. For the SSA, the increase in the number of broods observed approached 
377 percent ( 6.3 broods per 100 miles in 1974; 30.1 in 1975 , Table 1). On the 
FCMU, the number of broods observed increased 218 percent (1 7.1 per 100 miles 
in 1974; 54.4 in 1975, Table 1). On the FCMU, 77 percent of the hens observed 
were associated with broods in 1975 , compared with 69 percent in 1974 . 
The incongruity of the declines in nesting in 1 975 with the substantial 
increases in numbers of broods observed is clarified by the following consider¬ 
ations. First, it is estimated that as much as 50 percent of the 1974-to-l975 
increases in numbers of broods may be attributed to extreme differences in weather 
conditions on the mornings when brood counts were made. Nearly every brood 
count morning in 1974 exhibited little or no dew. In contrast, heavy dew pre¬ 
vailed throughout the brood census times in 1975- From studies conducted in 
Iowa, differences in dewfall have been determined to be a significant factor in 
causing variation among brood counts. Secondly, nest searches in past years on 
the SSA revealed that some nesting occurred in row crops, particularly soybeans. 
Although row crop acreages are maximal, nest establishment and success in such 
cover has traditionally been assumed to be insignificant relative to other cover 
types. This situation may have existed in 1973 and 1974 when wet ground con¬ 
ditions and late planting minimized successful nesting in row crops. However, 
ln 9 r °und cover was dry, early planting occurred, and most cultivation 
activities terminated in early July, when crop size prevented their continuance. 
Thus, any nesting in row crops in 1975 would have occurred on a reasonably dry 
substrate and without the interruptions of farm operations after mid-July. There¬ 
fore, extensive row crop acreages coupled with an unusually optimal season for 
nesting in this type of cover suggest the possibility that soybeans and corn 
sustained an untypically large proportion of successful pheasant nests in 1975 . 
NATURAL HISTORY 
