i 
\l ol. 25 9 Mo. 1 
Page 4 
Apparently, mowed prairie grass is as acceptable to nesting prairie chickens 
as redtop and timothy. Pheasants, however, show no particular preference for 
mowed prairie grass. These findings suggest that if prairie grasses are to be 
maintained on sanctuaries, they should be rotary mowed or combined for seed to 
maximize use by prairie chickens, however, rotary mowing is becoming 
increasingly difficult to justify from the standpoints of energy conservation 
and economics. Likewise, harvesting by combine is currently not feasible 
because of the limited demand for prairie grass seed. 
Limited grazing may offer the best alternative to mowing, haying, or no 
management of prairie grasses. Grazing of prairie grasses was initiated on a 
small scale in Jasper and Marion counties in 1981. 
Ecology and Management of Whi te-tailed Pee r - V/-87“R C.:1. >!ixon, L.P. Hansen, 
J.E. Chelsvig, P.A. Brewer 
The first step in identifying areas of deer concentration in the northern 
two-thirds of Illinois was an aerial survey of winter concentration areas in 
Ford County, 14 January 19B2. Possible areas of concentration were identified 
from aerial photographs, topographic maps, and district biologist's reports. 
These areas were surveyed from a fixed-wing aircraft flying at an altitude of 
I approximately 500 ft (170 m). Conditions for aerial observation of deer were 
nearly ideal: 6 in (15 cm) snow cover, low temperature (4°F[-14°C]), and 
overcast skies. 
Ford County has the least forest cover of any county in the state (0.55%, 
Illinois Dept, of Conservation data). Hot surprisingly, only 2 concentrations 
of deer were found. The first area, located 4 mi (6.4 km) south of Piper City, 
contained only 6 deer but, due to the small amount of habitat available, was 
considered a possible concentration. The second concentration was 5 nii (3.0 km) 
west of Paxton and held 18 deer. These deer were in a brushy area adjacent to 
a field of standing corn, which probably influenced the site of the concentration. 
Aerial photographs and observation of the areas on foot will be used to 
estimate the total land area occupied by these concentrations of deer. Aerial 
surveys of other central Illinois counties are scheduled for this winter if 
weather and snow cover permit. 
Cooperative Waterfowl Research - V/-38-R F.C. Bell rose, S.P. Havera, 
G.A. Perkins, II.K. Archer 
Aerial waterfowl censuses conducted by Robert Crompton from September through 
December of 1981 revealed unusually low numbers of ducks in the Illinois and 
Mississippi river valleys for the second consecutive season (MWRL 2 4 (1):6). Duck 
numbers in the Illinois River valley peaked at 495,000 birds on 1 December 1981, 
% less than the 1980 peak of 544,000 birds and only half of the 1978-1980 average 
