V16J L_c 
NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY 
MONTHLY WILDLIFE RESEARCH LETTER JjJ[_ 1 1 ^979 
Illinois Federal Aid Project W-66-R LIBRARY 
Department of Conservation and Natural History Survey, Cooperating 
Glen C. Sanderson and Eva Steger, Editors 
Urbana, Illinois 
June, 1979 
Vol. 22, No. 6 
Manipulation of Pheasant Habitat R. E. Warner 
Breeding pheasants were censused in 1979 on 5 areas by biologists from the 
Illinois Natural History Survey and the Department of Conservation. These areas 
included the Ford County Management Unit (FCMU) and Sibley Study Area (SSA) in 
Ford County, Anchor Township in McLean County, Harwood Township in Champaign 
County, and Prairie Green Township In Iroquois County. Audio censusing of cock 
pheasants was conducted on all areas in May 1979* In addition, visual counts of 
pheasants were made on the SSA and FCMU in late April and May. The SSA and 
FCMU have traditionally been censused as a part of this project; censusing of 
the other areas began in 1976. Roadsides on the FCMU were seeded in 1968 , Anchor 
and Harwood townships in 1976, and Prairie Green in 1977. 
Trends in cock call counts on the 5 areas are listed for the past 4 years 
in Table 1. Cock call counts from 1978 to 1979 remained about the same on the 
SSA, FCMU, and Harwood areas, declined on the Anchor area, and increased sub¬ 
stantially on Prairie Green (Table 1). 
Spring visual counts on the FCMU and SSA were conducted along standardized 
routes. On the SSA, 5*3 cocks were observed per 100 miles of driving in 1979 
compared with 6.4 in 1978, 22.8 In 1977, and H 7.5 in 1976. On the FCMU, 10.8 
cocks were observed per 100 miles in 1979 compared with 6.9 in 1978, 30.8 in 
1977* and 123.5 in 1976—indicating a moderate increase in breeding pheasants 
in 1979 from the previous spring. 
• 
Censuses were initiated on the Anchor, Harwood, and Prairie Green areas 
primarily to evaluate pheasant response to roadside management. To make such 
an evaluation, census activities on these areas must be continued for several 
years because of extensive losses of pheasants during winter storms since 1977 
and because seedings are recent. 
Table 1. Cock calls per 2-minute stop on 5 areas of investigation in east- 
central Illinois censused in May 1976-79* Numbers represent averages of the 
5 highest counts recorded per stop per year. 
Area 
1976 
1977 
1978 
1979 
SSA 
12.8 
2.8 
2.0 
2.8 
FCMU 
22.9 
7*8 
6.4 
6.1 
