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MONTHLY WILDLIFE RESEARCH LETTER 
Department of Conservation and Natural History Survey, Cooperating 
Glen C. Sanderson and Helen C. Schultz, Editors 
Urbana, Illinois 
July, 1974 
Vol. 17, No. 7 
Manipulation of Pheasant Habitat G. B. Joselyn 
Since the primary purpose of roadsides is for drainage, the question is 
sometimes asked whether significant numbers of pheasant nests established on road¬ 
sides are destroyed by water deep enough to cover nests. Data on 436 nests located 
on seeded roadsides on the Sibley study area over the 10 years 1963-72 indicated 
that less than one-half of 1 percent of these roadside nests were destroyed by 
wa te r. 
Nest studies conducted during 1973 and under way this year on the Ford 
County Management Unit show somewhat higher rates of nest destruction from flood¬ 
ing. Rainfall during the past two springs, in May and June, has been substantially 
above normal on the management unit. Several downpours during these months in 
both years resulted in flooded fields and deep water standing on some roadsides. 
In 1973 ^ 5 of I 96 pheasant nests located on management unit roadsides (3 percent) 
were flooded; so far this year 3 of 99 nests located on these roadsides (3 percent) 
were flooded. Pheasant eggs that have stood under water are usually covered with 
mud, so it is probable that additional nests were flooded but were not located 
during the searches. Since precipitation during the past two springs has been 
considerably above normal, the 3 percent rate of nest destruction may be somewhat 
lower during years of normal rainfall. Pheasants seldom nest in ditch bottoms; 
rather, the vast majority of nests occur on the higher backslope and foreslope 
areas, where there is the least chance of flooding except during times of extremely 
high water. 
Nest studies on the Ford County Management Unit this year suggest that 
considerable numbers of pheasant nests established in waterways have been de¬ 
stroyed by flooding. On the first search of a sample of study-area strip cover 
(fencerows, waterways, drainage ditches, travel lanes), a total of 13 nests were 
located, 7 of them in waterways. Four of the waterway nests--31 percent of all 
strip cover nests and 57 percent of waterway nests--were destroyed by flooding. 
Ecology and Management of Squirrels 
C. M. Nixon, 
S. P. Havera 
Midwinter census data for Illinois fox and gray squirrels are available. 
Visual counts were taken at five sites in 30 counties from 1953 to 1962 and in 
35 counties from 1963 until the present by William L- Preno, Illinois Department 
of Conservation. The time-area method was used to census the squirrels. The 
count was taken during a 20-minute period between midmorning and midafternoon on 
sunny calm days. Each year, squirrel counts were taken from a vehicle positioned 
in the same place at each site. 
NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY 
