Vol. 25, No. 3 
Page 3 
to discourage the troublesome pheasant and still be attractive to prairie 
chickens? To date, the various management categories of brome that we have 
searched for nests include: undisturbed, 161 acres; rotary mowed, 50 acres; 
light-grazed, 36 acres; or recent burned, 32 acres. Sixty-nine prairie chicken 
nests and 12 pheasant nests were found in fields dominated by brome. Chickens 
nested successfully in all 4 management categories of brome, but nest 
establishment and nest success were highest in rotary-mowed fields. Rotary- 
mowed prairie grass also showed higher use by nesting chickens than undisturbed, 
hayed, or recently burned prairie grass (MWRL 25(1)*3“4). Sample sizes of 
pheasant nests are still too limited to show significant differences among the 
4 management categories for brome; however, during 2 years, 1 18-acre field of 
lightly grazed brome showed high use by nesting pheasants. 
Brome not only is attractive to nesting chickens, but it has good longevity. 
One 14-year-old brome meadow at Bogota was still attractive to chickens in 1981, 
although invasion by Solidago sp. and Rubus sp. is progressing. By contrast, 
redtop or timothy meadows seldom last more than 10 years before plowing, row 
cropping, and reseeding are necessary. A disadvantage of brome is that it lacks 
the economic value of redtop seed. It is desirable to try fertilization and 
delayed haying as an additional approach to managing brome for nesting chickens 
and other wildlife. 
Errata 
The 1st sentence of the 2nd paragraph in last month's newsletter should 
have read: "Some 32 m» (81.0 km Z ) including the sanctuaries near Bogota .... 
Ecology and Management of White-tailed Deer - W-87“R 
C.M. Nixon, L.P. Hansen, 
J.E. Chelsvig, P.A. Brewer 
True, accurate censuses of wildlife populations can be difficult to obtain. 
A reasonably accurate census of deer can be made by counting the deer on a given 
area from a helicopter when there is sufficient snow cover (15-20 cm, 6-8 in). 
Deer were censused by helicopter in Allerton Park and vicinity 18 December 
1981, almost 1 week after the firearm-hunting season closed. The area censused 
included approximately 10 km (6 mi) of the Sangamon River SW of Monticello in 
Piatt County. Snow cover was approximately 20 cm (8 in); 79 deer were observed. 
During the 2nd helicopter census of this area, 14 February 1982, snow cover was 
approximately 50 cm (20 in); 124 deer were sighted, an increase of 57% over the 
December count. 
This information seems to indicate that Allerton Park is a major winter 
concentration area in east-central Illinois and that many deer do not move into 
the concentration area until sometime after the hunting season. Firm conclusions 
cannot be drawn from 1 pair of censuses. Future counts are planned if there is 
enough snow cover. 
