Vol. 22, No. 4 
Page 3 
fields of grass suitable for nesting were still present at Mt. Erie during the 
census in 1978 but were plowed by this spring. It can be surmised that prairie 
chicken reproduction at Mt. Erie was nil in 1978 and the last remnant birds 
"moved to oblivion." When this subproject was initiated in I 963 , Wayne County 
contained the largest population of prairie chickens in Illinois. 
The flock near Hoyleton in Washington County thus becomes the last unmanaged 
flock of native prairie chickens in Illinois. Four males were censused on their 
traditional booming ground at Hoyleton this spring. This flock persisted with 
numbers as low as 2 , 3, and 4 cocks in 1971, 1973, and 1970, respectively. The 
highest count was 11 males in 1976. Several fields of red clover provide the 
most likely nest cover for prairie chicken hens at Hoyleton, but these fields 
are certain to be mowed for hay or plowed before hatching is possible. 
The relative stability of the flocks having access to nest sanctuaries was 
reassuring. Nest success of prairie chickens at Bogota in 1 978 was only 35 % 
due to mammalian predation and interactions with pheasants. Also, wheat was 
absent on private land adjacent to the sanctuaries at Bogota in 1 978 due to 
the wet fall of ]977, which prevented seeding of wheat. We believe wheat is 
important to prairie chickens for ( 1 ) brooding and roosting cover, ( 2 ) greens 
in early spring, and ( 3 ) grain in summer and fall. However, the decline in the 
flock at Bogota in Jasper County was less than we had feared. 
In the next newsletter we will discuss the improved distribution of the 
breeding population and the improved cover at Bogota. 
