Vo 1. 20, No. 3 
Page 2 
on which frozen pheasants can be observed from the road is only a fraction of 
the total land area, it is estimated that perhaps 25 to 50 percent of the 
pheasants in this 16-square-mile area may have succumbed during the storm. 
When the spring census is conducted in '*tay, it will be possible to make a better 
assessment of the effects of this highly unusual winter on pheasant populations 
tn the study areas. 
Table 1. Weights of 49 pheasants found frozen in Anchor Township (McLean 
County), Prairie Green Township (Iroquois County), and the Ford County Manage¬ 
ment Unit (Ford County), after the severe winter storm of 27-29 January 1977. 
Sex 
Age 
Number 
Average Weight 
(in grams) 
Hens 
Adul t 
21 
966.3 
Juvenile 
17 
946.7 
Tota 1 
38 
957.5 
Cocks 
Adul t 
4 
1345.3 
Juvenile 
7 
1263-7 
Tota 1 
11 
1293.4 
Ecology and Management of Squirrels Ct Nixon 
S. P. Havera 
If nest boxes improve the survival rate for juvenile fox squirrels, as 
reported in the last newsletter (MWRL 20(2):1), then total populations should 
increase on the area with nest boxes. 
As shown in Table 2, the mean estimates of population size for areas 
with and without nest boxes do not differ very much but are higher when nest 
boxes are present. We also captured more squirrels on both areas when boxes 
were present (Table 2). 
Table 2. The mean number of squirrels captured and the mean estimates of 
population size for two 65-acre study areas, one with nest boxes, the other 
without boxes. 
Mean Number of Squirrels Li vet rapped 
Danvi1le A 
54.0 
54.8 
41.3 
Before boxes 
Boxes present 
After boxes 
Danvilie B 
28.6 
33-0 
