f 
MWttt HISTMlf Slinky 
JUL 14 1978 
LIBRARY 
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 
June, I978 
Vol. 21, No. 6 
R* E. Warner 
Manipulation of Pheasant Habitat 
cooperative effort’"between^tolog i !ts"f JoiTth * 5 1 ^? du ? ted on flve area s in a 
and the Department of Conservation. These areas ITh Hlstory Survey 
Management Unit (FCMU), the Sibley Study Area ! h ® Ford Count Y 
Township in McLean County, Harwood Township in ChaLi- r County, Anchor 
Green Township in Iroquois Countv Audio V C ^ am P a, 9 n County, and Prairie 
conducted on all areas in May 1978 i n r US ' n9 -° f C ° Ck P heasan ts was 
were made on the SSA and FCMU in late AorM Tm V,Sua ' counts of pheasants 
traditionally been censused as a part of hit * y * SSA . and FCMU have 
areas commenced in I 976 . Roadsides in the ’ censusin 9 of the other 
Harwood townships in l 97 6 , “d^rafrie G fenf ££ " eded ' 968 ’ Anchor a " d 
Populat?on] i cen!used m r y r ear f ago eaS V?s t uaT a co n °t ted “V" 3reaS in Ma V '978 from 
6.4 and 6. 9 cocks, respectively' olrToo m?les rV- e . SSA a " d FCMU indi «ted 
and 77-6 percent from the numbers observed in I977 '^hu f f J 978 ’ d ° Wn 71-8 
of pheasants between the 2 years mav be nartbii 7 \/-l S difference in numbers 
weather during early mornina hour*; in a -i y attributed to the unusually wet 
making accurate visual Zls The ac count ^ " 0t CO " duci - * 
percent (SSA) and 14. 5 percent JrMii? o ! u SU " ested declines of 25-0 
audio and visual counts on thesi are« h f Sam ? P eriod - years, 
relative abundance of the ringneck (MWRL lop)?"-^?' ' ar reflec ‘>"9 the 
indicatei° 3 ?l; n ^ 2 : n aIff. 0 n cans A o:^' 4a ™° d ’ a " d Prairia «"•" -as 
with 2.1 calls and 6-5 calls per' 2 -ninute ' St ° P u res P ec 1 * ve 1 y, compared 
to last year, the number of c«k cal s on hf rh" ‘ $SA ^ FCMU - Relati '' e 
(Anchor), 12 .7 percent (Harwood), and 6?.4 perc e nT(Prai rif Green) d .' 4 ' 5 P£rCent 
Sides in the three townshtpff re 'nofest abr 'W ’■ ^ recentl 7 seeded road- 
FCMU, with mature roadsideseedinqs had abouff • mature nest cover - The 
other areas, with the exception of the u * b ! tw, ’ ce as man Y cock calls as the 
had similar numbers of cocks. The Ha-wood W °° d ar6a ‘ The Harwood and FCMU areas 
order to evaluate the potential bene? tt of 6 " S6,ected for " a " a 9 a "*"t in 
winter cover was relatively abundant Th^ ° Cat !" 9 seed ‘ngs where protective 
two winters has afforded s^ch onltaiuaUon^?^ ^ S6Vere W6ather the 
calls were heard on the Harwood area than in = " ^ ^ pr,ng of l 9 76 , fewer cock 
storm-related declines in this area have hp P ny k ° F the otfier areas * However, 
other four areas, with the res u ?t ?ht? ?h substantially less than for the 
highest pheasant populati'onfof thffivfareafthat T ' 978 had 006 ° f tha 
rive areas that were censused. 
