MONTHLY WILDLIFE RESEARCH LETTER 
Department of Conservation and Natural History Survey, Cooperating 
Glen C. Sanderson and Helen C. Schultz, Editors 
Urbana, Illinois 
July, 1968 
Vol'. 11, No. 7 
1. Pheasant Populations and Land Use S. L. Etter,R.jE. Greenberg 
SPECIAL REPORT.--Because of rainy fall weather, the corn harvest in Illinois 
in I 967 was nearly a month later than normal. By November 30, only 63 percent of 
the corn had been harvested (Illinois Agricultural Statistics, 1988). As a result 
of the large acreages of standing corn, pheasant hunting was extremely poor during 
the regular November 18-December 17 hunting season. Because of the light harvest 
of cocks during the regular season, the Department of Conservation issued an ad¬ 
ministrative order, on December 12, extending the 1987 pheasant hunting season to 
include the 2-week period December 18-31. 
To assess the effect of the season extension on the harvest of cock pheasants, 
questionnaires requesting information on number of hunter-days and number of cocks 
killed during the regular season and during the extended period were sent to a total 
of 340 hunters. Included in the total were 48 hunters who had returned tags or 
bands from cocks killed on the Sibley Study Area during the hunting seasons l 963-67 
and 292 hunters who indicated on regular Department of Conservation hunter-question¬ 
naires that they had hunted pheasants during the hunting season in 1987* 
Final tabulation of the data obtained from 195 hunters who answered our question¬ 
naires and supplied complete information indicated that 110 (56 percent) hunted 1 
or more days during the extended period. The reported hunting effort indicated that 
29 percent of the season's hunting occurred during the 2-week extended period. Thus, 
the season extension resulted in a substantial increase in the amount of pheasant 
hunting beyond that which would have occurred if the season had ended on December 17- 
The reported harvest of cocks indicated that 28 percent of the cocks bagged 
during the entire season in 1987 were killed during the extended period. Reported 
success rates, 0.55 and 0.54 cock per day for the regular season and extended period, 
respectively, were essentially equal. Although the additional hunting pressure 
and kill resulting from the extended season resulted in a. higher proportionate 
harvest of cocks than would otherwise have occurred in 1987, the observed sex ratios 
after the hunting season in 1987 (42 cocks per 100 hens) were significantly higher 
than in 1985 and 1 986 (32 cocks per 100 hens in both years). This suggested that 
even with the extension, pheasant harvest was light and more birds could have been 
taken in 1987* 
Attitudes of hunters toward the season extension were favorable. Of 27 hunters 
in the Sibley sample who returned questionnaires on which they were specifically 
asked to indicate their opinions of the season extension, 25 indicated approval, 1 
was indifferent, and 1 disapproved. Of 31 hunters from the statewide sample who 
volunteered opinions of the season extension, 25 expressed approval and 6 disapproval. 
