monthly wildlife research letter 
^ Illinois Fede ra1 Aid P roj ect W-66-R 
^ V l*“ ePartment ° f C0nSerVati0 " a " d ^tura, History Survey, Cooperati 
Glen C. Sanderson and Helen C. Schultz, Editors 
"9 
Urbana, Illinois 
December, 1977 
Vo l. 
Manipulation of Pheasant Habitat 
R* E. Warner 
(interstate) ""highways^i^ealt-cent rai"°n7inols neS Al h h b ' ^ a «* a “"' to 
5 percent of the roadside acreages tn hI ' AUh ? u 9 h prising only about 
roadsides offer .ub.t.i^a^«2^^ t t 5;tS^f.T^r r • , h“ ,,nt,,, ' interstate 
Preliminary evaluations of nesting on roadsMeS of fou^lane"^-^ SOn9birds - 
ducted as a part of this project in 1971 and 1079 h '9hways were con- 
County. Densities of pheasant nests on the 009 J” 57 and ' n cham P a '9n 
indicated that nesting act vitv on rhnf ? ' P '° tS ( totali "9 ' 7-7 acres) 
relative to nesting in nearbv havJieMs a a U ? ' nterstate roadsides was low 
vegetation along secondary roadsdn the s?ble° ° n mana9ed brome-aI fa 1 fa 
studies made of brome-aI fa I fa, he benef s ^ L V Area \ Thus ' in vie " »f 
along interstate highways seeded gueluo^ablef 5eedi " 9S 35 " eSt habitat 
and fescue^seed?ngs^for nesUng^ono^T' 0 " ° f th * P ° te " tial ° f ^ome-a I fa I fa 
of Transportation seeded to bromelaUa Ja aon 6 -' I ", 1973 th ® "' in ° iS De P ar ‘"»"t 
along the newly constructed FA^S nea Od^^ a'T^, ' mi ' e °l r0adsidas 
seeded on the roadsides abutting and dh-«r?i lic ! stretch of fescue was 
The test seedings were exoected^n h P * Y "? rth of the brome-a 1 fa 1 fa seedings. 
in 1976 a nest study «as in mated. e ? tablished -thin 2 or 3 years, and 9 
roadsides near Odell end alt-Sn h Y ar ’ Sweet clover dominated the 
nests on five 0 125 iife D 'o s rnr mid - June revealed four pheasant 
hatched nests pe acrl e 1/ V <°' 87 M '«bllshed anS 0.22 
presentative of tN» cre^cribed . J ° n9 the 2 *2-mi 1 e stretch was not re- 
acre ) were found in ? h Ts^et "ole" 3 ^ SOngblrd " SStS < 1 * 74 
more prolong!* 6 Brcme^nd al’faH^ 1 L- 6 ^' "? S ? S 30 eva,uatlon site appeared 
along the southernmost mile of the lo^s—^n V a,fa,fa7 were dom 'nant species 
clover, and redtop (in resoeci*^ o-^? «f ° f b,ue 9 rass > fescue, 
abutting 1.2 mile. Mid-June and mid-hilv «t ° m, [' ianc ^ was established along the 
1977 on four brome-a 1 fa 1 fa end six fesrn- T** 0 6S f °^ neS i 5 s were conducted in 
type of seeding, an equal number of p ots' U L t0tal ? 9 6 ’° acres * For each 
were searched along northbound an/c! t 'J° bromc-a 1 fa] fa and three fescue) 
not used in I976 0 ? 1977 e - C eot SOuthboL!nd J ans s. The northbound lane was 
southbound lane was sfm n a Hf^es t r i c ted *hT \qV V‘" 7raffic a ">"9 the 
southbound vehicles from old I -55 were rerou!^° f „ U fh T* heavy in l 9 77, when 
PO were rerouted to this lane. Neither of the 
