Ever heard a pheasant?

[stateofmind]

Sitting in my home office this morning, I kept hearing this odd noise. Sounded like a kid's train whistle, or a sick morning dove. After some searching around my home finding robins, a cardinal, and a couple goldfinches, I found a pheasant in the green-space near the creek behind my home. I'm pretty stoked to see a pheasant in Ankeny. Are the numbers coming back?

If you haven't heard one before, this is the closest I could find. https://www.audubon.org/sites/defau...wandwingflutter_UTkc_1.mp3?uuid=570fc59f1b752

 

[Prone2Clone]

Yep, pretty distinctive sound.

I've seen more around where I live over the past couple years, but nothing like they used to be.

http://www.iowadnr.gov/About-DNR/DN...ps-37-Percent-Quail-Highest-Count-in-21-Years

 

[carvers4math]

Yep, pretty distinctive sound.

I've seen more around where I live over the past couple years, but nothing like they used to be.

http://www.iowadnr.gov/About-DNR/DN...ps-37-Percent-Quail-Highest-Count-in-21-Years

My brother used to try and hunt pheasants but the few he would see, he missed, probably due to his declining eyesight. He did get one about 10 years ago that he accidentally hit with his car.:spinny:

 

[Triggermv]

Sitting in my home office this morning, I kept hearing this odd noise. Sounded like a kid's train whistle, or a sick morning dove. After some searching around my home finding robins, a cardinal, and a couple goldfinches, I found a pheasant in the green-space near the creek behind my home. I'm pretty stoked to see a pheasant in Ankeny. Are the numbers coming back?

If you haven't heard one before, this is the closest I could find. https://www.audubon.org/sites/defau...wandwingflutter_UTkc_1.mp3?uuid=570fc59f1b752

Big pheasant hunter here. Yep, that would be a rooster pheasant. That pheasant is "crowing", which is the term for when they do that. When hunting them and you "flush" one up (the bird jumps up and starts flying), rooster pheasants will many times make that same noise in a really fast and hurried cadence, which is then called "cackling".

 

[GrindingAway]

I'm surprised there are people in Iowa that haven't heard a pheasant tbh.

 

[EddyCy]

I hear it daily. #countryboy

 

[Turn2]

I routinely drive from the Ankeny area around the northwest part of the state as part of my job. I've seen more pheasants in the last year than the previous 6 combined. They used to be much more common before so much of the favorable habitat disappeared.

 

[TXCyclones]

Pheasants in IA have declined in very large part due to the major effort to increase wild turkey populations. The turkeys literally destroy the eggs of pheasants as they share the same habitat. I'd personally prefer pheasant rather than wild turkeys. #pheasantsforever

 

[VeloClone]

I hear it daily. #countryboy

I hear it quite often right here in the burbs. There are pheasants in the mostly drained wetland behind the houses across the street from me. We will occasionally see a **** or hen roaming around our yard.

 

[Deanster]

There was a pheasant in my backyard yesterday morning. It was suprising, as I live in a residential area... I went on the deck to try and get it to cackle and fly away, but it just ducked down really low. I about hit it was a golf ball off my deck, and it still wouldn't move.

 

[jay moe]

Pheasants in IA have declined in very large part due to the major effort to increase wild turkey populations. The turkeys literally destroy the eggs of pheasants as they share the same habitat. I'd personally prefer pheasant rather than wild turkeys. #pheasantsforever

Absolutely FALSE. Pheasant numbers have not declined because of turkeys, pheasants have declined due to poor farming practices that take away any cover that they use to survive during winter.

 

[TXCyclones]

Absolutely FALSE. Pheasant numbers have not declined because of turkeys, pheasants have declined due to poor farming practices that take away any cover that they use to survive during winter.

Over decades of modern farming, yes, you're correct. But pheasant numbers in IA had begun rebounding through the 70's and into the early 80's before the resurgence of the wild turkey due to specific efforts. My comments were related to the decline over the past 3 decades specifically.

 

[chadm]

Absolutely FALSE. Pheasant numbers have not declined because of turkeys, pheasants have declined due to poor farming practices that take away any cover that they use to survive during winter.

good farming practices if you are farming, bad if you are a pheasant. Pheasants do not pay the bills.

 

[isu22andy]

Over decades of modern farming, yes, you're correct. But pheasant numbers in IA had begun rebounding through the 70's and into the early 80's before the resurgence of the wild turkey due to specific efforts. My comments were related to the decline over the past 3 decades specifically.

Weren't wild turkeys reintroduced in Iowa in the early 80s ? I think predators like hawks and coyotes are much much much bigger problem then some wild turkeys .

Habitat is also a big kicker but I agree with chadm , pheasants dont pay bills but with all the new renewed 10 year CRP contracts in another 5 years Iowa will be a pheasant hunters dream again.

Love hunting them both, heard a pheasant today with a turkey gobble behind it. Everyone needs to wake up at 5:30 A.M. and hear a turkey gobble off the roost atleast once :yes:

 

[2020cy]

Over decades of modern farming, yes, you're correct. But pheasant numbers in IA had begun rebounding through the 70's and into the early 80's before the resurgence of the wild turkey due to specific efforts. My comments were related to the decline over the past 3 decades specifically.

Still disagree. 80% habitat, 15% weather, 5% other factors including predators.

 

[nfrine]

Bad winters (cold, ice), wet springs during nesting, and ethanol mandates all negatively impact pheasant numbers.

 

[jay moe]

Agree 100%......

 

[CloneIce]

Pheasants in IA have declined in very large part due to the major effort to increase wild turkey populations. The turkeys literally destroy the eggs of pheasants as they share the same habitat. I'd personally prefer pheasant rather than wild turkeys. #pheasantsforever

Habitat is the real driver here.

 

[Bret44]

It has to do with a few different factors, with habitat leading the charge.

The Turkey thing is real, but shouldn't we happy that a NATIVE species is coming back so strong??? :spinny:

 

[BoxsterCy]

Yep, pretty distinctive sound.

I've seen more around where I live over the past couple years, but nothing like they used to be.

http://www.iowadnr.gov/About-DNR/DN...ps-37-Percent-Quail-Highest-Count-in-21-Years

Grew up with this as background noise in my small town. Guy in the neighborhood had all sorts of big cages with exotic birds including other types of fancy pheasants. And, yes, I also would recognize the cry of a peacock. To us it was just part of the neighborhood. Looking back it was like having a zoo in the neighborhood that us little kids were free to walk through. Pretty neat.