NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY 
OCT 7 1981 
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MONTHLY WILDLIFE RESEARCH LETTER 
Illinois Federal Aid Projects W-66-R, W- 87 -R, and V/-83-R 
Department of Conservation and Natural History Survey, Cooperating 
Glen C. Sanderson and Eva Steger. Editors 
Urbana, Illinois 
September, 15)31 
Vol. 2 k, Mo. 9 
Manipulation o_f Pheasant Habitat - W-66-P. R. E. Warner 
In 1981 a record 93% of the Sibley Study Area (SSA) was planted in corn and 
soybeans. In addition, 0.3% of the land (172 acres) was planted in tame hay, 
according to maps of crop types and field boundaries. From 1377 through I 98 O, 
tame hay comprised 1.2, 1.6, 1.2, and 0.3% of the SSA, respectively. Small 
grains were planted on 1.2% of the SSA in 1381 , compared with l.A, 0.9, 0.9, and 
1.3% from 1977 through 1930. 
This year, for the 9th and probably the last consecutive summer, pheasant 
nest studies were conducted on the Ford County Management Unit (FCMU). Densities 
of hatched nests averaged 0.15 per acre on seeded roadsides in 1931, compared 
with 1.30, 1*23, 0.27, 0.A3, 0.17, 0.12, 0.09, and 0.03 per acre in 1373 through 
1930, respectively. The estimated total of pheasant nests hatched per section on 
the FCMU was 2.7 for 1931, compared with 26.3, 16.5, 3.0, 3.0, 2.2, 1.3, 1.1, 
and 2.2 for 1973 through 1980, respectively. 
Next month we will consider fall recruitment into the pheasant population on 
study areas in east-central Illinois. 
Ecology and Management of Squi rrels - W-66-R C. M. Nixon, 
L. P. Hansen 
One of several approaches to culturing seed-bearing hickories after clear- 
cutting is to reserve long-suppressed hickory poles (3 i! - 3" dbh) in new clear- 
cuts. To determine the survival and growth rates of long-suppressed trees, we 
marked Jh hickory poles (^3 shagbarks, 31 pignuts) in 3 new clear-cuts. After 5 
growing seasons, 3 (13.6%) of the shagbarks had died and 16 (37-2%) were not 
growing due to broken tops or failure to develop a terminal bud. Of the marked 
pignuts, only k (12.3%) had died after 5 growing seasons, but 11 more (35.5%) 
were stagnated and unlikely to survive. Thus about 50% of the marked trees of 
both species failed to survive for 5 years. 
Me found that trees growing <50 m from uncut forest survived significantly 
better (_P < 0.05) than trees further away. Trees on poor sites (upper west or 
southwest slopes and ridgetops) had significantly higher mortality (P. < 0.01) 
than trees on the better sites. 
