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Post by poppshunts on Dec 9, 2011 9:37:13 GMT -5
i was raised doggin pheasant for my dad , i remember seeing so many birds i could not count, then the blizzard of 78 hit and killed off most of the birds, we stopped hunting " wild" birds for 10 years along with other hunters. i decided it was time to go looking for birds again, in the last 20 years i see very few "wild" pheasant, talking to farmers in nw ind. , some are trying to bring back the numbers and will not allow hunting , i respect that alot,
the farmers also tell me they still are not seeing the numbers of birds we used to have. are any other bird hunters seeing decent numbers of "wild" pheasant in indiana?
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Post by esshup on Dec 9, 2011 13:17:12 GMT -5
Nope! I think that it was a combination of the hard winter, and the low fur prices in the past years that contributed. There's no big $$ incentive for trappers to chase after the 'coons, fox, 'possum, etc. now. Plus now you have 'yotes in areas that they weren't in the early to mid '70's.
I see a few birds here and there, but not like back then.
Plus, the cleaner farming practices now have eliminated a lot of cover for the birds. There's places in Illinois that are farmed, and it looks like a table top after the crops are in. Absolutely no cover at all for the birds to find shelter in. Fencerows and small woodlots are disappearing or have disappeared to make room for more crops.
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Post by poppshunts on Dec 9, 2011 13:54:07 GMT -5
nothing like a ring neck comin up from under my feet , keeps the heart in check, i took my son 3 years ago on youth bird day, was a priceless day, we new there were birds running out ahead of us, the smart birds were running big circles in this crp area, we got to the very end and i had warned him that the birds will go now if they were still here, sure enough, 1 more step and the biggest rooster i have ever seen got up right under his feet, the look on his face i will never forget, it is a look i had expierenced as a kid to. with him carrying the gun that day on my license and me standing there with no weapon , i said " shoot" , so as a good kid , he shoots the gun, not at the bird but at the ground lol. i could not help but to laugh , he never raised the gun but shot the 20 pump lol. i asked him why he did not raise the gun and aim at the bird , he simply said , " that bird scared the crap out of me" . i thought i was going to cry i was laughing so hard, i told him , welcome to bird hunting, the hard way lol. that was the last bird we saw all day, but he got to expierence a hunt he will never foget i got to see the look on his face , knowing i had that same look as a youngster, priceless.
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Post by steiny on Dec 11, 2011 10:09:33 GMT -5
90% Of the problem is lack of habitat. Modern farming has eliminated most all of the fence rows, swamps and cover that the birds need. Yes, predators don't help, but the worst predator on game birds is hawks, not coyotes.
If you have good cover, you will have birds. I've got a bunch of quail and pheasant on my place.
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Post by poppshunts on Dec 11, 2011 11:16:02 GMT -5
protect the if you can, the numbers are to low , thought of joining pheasants forever, but no bird dog here , yet!
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Post by indyqdog on Dec 11, 2011 21:31:17 GMT -5
I live in populated noblesville and saw a biggun 30 feet off the road by a barn
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Post by dsayer on Dec 13, 2011 16:51:30 GMT -5
I hunt a property in Warren County and have seen lots of wild birds there and in the surrounding properties. Unfortunately I tend to see the pheasants when I'm deer hunting and deer when I'm pheasant hunting... I have harvetsted 3 birds off the property this season and probably see a 1.5:1 ratio of hens to roosters. I've hunted this area harder than I normally would here however because the landowner is taking the property out of CRP after this year.  |
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Post by poppshunts on Dec 13, 2011 17:23:30 GMT -5
i have hunted warren county for birds all my life , i have seen approx. 1 farmer per year eliminating the cover, used to be a gr8 slough area i hunted , been gone for 5 yrs now, i do understand the farmer making $$ thow i miss the cover and game.
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