MONTHLY WILDLIFE RESEARCH LETTER 
Illinois Federal Aid Project W-66-R 
Department of Conservation and Natural History Survey, Cooperating 
Glen C. Sanderson and Helen C. Schultz, Editors 
Urbana, Illinois 
February, 1977 
Vo 1. 20, No. 2 
R. E. Warner 
Manipulation of Pheasant Habitat 
several censusing activities annually conducted on ^ ^bley Study 
Area (SSA control) and the Ford County Management Unit (FCHU, seeded road 
sides provide information on the status of the pheasant populations on 
these areas These efforts include roadside counts and cock call count 
spring, brood counts and nest studies in summer, hunter harvest surveys, and 
sex ratio counts and aerial counts in winter. With the exception of the 
aerial counts, these methods reflect only relative fluctuations in pheasant 
abundance. The aerial census, however, enables ^ observer to^detennine, 
with comparative accuracy, the number of pheasants p . „f the 
Therefore, these counts are vital to understanding the dynamics of the 
Dheasant populations on the SSA and FCHU. To conduct an accurate count 
from a helicopter, the plowed fields must be completely covered with snow 
lo that pheasants are readily visible from the air. Only four times since 
“ 6 2 have snow cover conditions been favorable for making helicopter counts. 
The heavy snowfall that occurred last month (January 1977) 
an aerial census, and with the assistance of personnel from the Illinois 
Department of Conservation (IDC), counts were completed for the SSA, FCMU, 
and three areas recently or soon to be seeded by the '^--Harwood Township 
(Champaign County), Anchor Township (McLean County), and Prame Gr 
Township (Iroquois County). The findings from these ^0 he three earl ler 
rounts are listed in Table 1. The numbers of pheasants listed in the table 
are'^n'der^to be minimal, since it is possible that some pheasants were 
not observed and counted from the helicopter. In addition, some of 
pheasants hatched in a particular area may live outside the area during the 
winter months-principat ly because they have found more V f 0 “'e xa mpl6, 
cover elsewhere. This phenomenon may have occurred on the ™U, f o r exa. PI , 
where large numbers of pheasants were observed near grassy or woody co 
located 0.5 to 1.5 miles from the perimeter of the area. 
From nonaerial censusing activities conducted in 1967, we know that 10 
years ago-prior to the roadside seedings on the FCHU-pheasant ada " da " a 
In that area was similar to that on the SSA. Subsequently, the last two 
aerial counts (December 1973 and January 1977) revea led s ign i f'cant ^ced 
greater numbers of pheasants on the FCMU. Both areas, however expenenc 
dramatic declines in pheasant abundance over the 3 Y®ars s nc 
count in December 1973- Pheasant numbers on the FCHU declin d 73 P 
NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY 
MAR 7 1977 
