Where are all the pheasants this year??

[jaydog]

I'm getting a little concerned for this fall. Considering I live in and drive around prime pheasant area I'm not seeing near as many roosters as usual. Matter of fact, I'm seeing almost NONE. God's country is usually cock country, but my new pheasant gun may die of bordom this fall if things don't pick up.
Anyone else noticing a lack of birds this year?

[chezz]

Can't say the same..seeing huge amounts around here..too bad they're in everyones yards..

[Deleted]

Shearwater and the Caldwell Rd. Tons of them. I used to here the roosters at sun up every morning on the early shift at Wing Met.

[crockett]

Luckily, you'll have Ruby the wonder-dog under that new shotty of yours - don't worry - we'll roust them out! With your wife away, we might actually get to take a shot at a few of them before she knocks them out of the sky! Take'em and I did some scouting up your way last week - let Ruby out at a few spots and the feathers flew!
-Croc

[jaydog]

Huh, everywhere but by my property. Good thing gas is cheap!
So there is lots of birds in your yard Chezz?? Tell your wife I will be over tomorrow to dig a pit blind down by the treeline then! I like my coffee black and don't want raisins in the cookies. ;D THANKS.
Croc- bad news, my missus can't buy a local licence out in BC this year so is talking about coming home for a few weeks of hunting with us before the big move. So much for easy shooting! Upside is, any birds we don't eat immediately go in your freezer....

[chezz]

just a thought..what if your dog brings them home???
I mean he catches it alive and brings it to the supper table kinda like an offering to his master???
What's the laws say about that?

[bubba]

Hey chezz tell Timber to make sure theres a couple in the fridge when i get there and i wont rat him out to the man lol...

[crockett]

Aug 23, 2008 10:43:00 GMT -5 jaydog said:

Croc- bad news, my missus can't buy a local licence out in BC this year so is talking about coming home for a few weeks of hunting with us before the big move. So much for easy shooting! Upside is, any birds we don't eat immediately go in your freezer....

Sounds fine to me - there's no-one I'd rather have shoot a rooster out from under me than Tanya! I'll be back on the 5th and ready for roosters any time afterwards (I've got a few early-season spots - longer drive for you but somehow I think you can be convinced!).
-Croc

[Wolf Of Shadows]

there are alot of birds around here. port dufferin nearby is full of them too, not just now but all year round. it is common to have a couple run out in front of you while you are driving thru, or see them forging for food on peoples lawns. in august we were driving thru and there was a young female sitting in the road sunning herself. we drove around her, and not knowing if she was injured or just insane we turned back to see what was going on. i got out of the car and walked to wards her, she just stared at me. when i got within a few feet i started clapping my hands and making weird sounds to get her to fly off if she could. she stood up and casually walked off the road and flew up into a tree. i think that she was a very stunned little bird just sitting there like that, how is she supposed to grow up and make a nice dinner if she gets run over? ;D lol

on saterday i had dune out for a walk in the yard, before i left i had a feeling to put him on his leash, which is a little odd for me to do because dune is a well behaved dog and dose not need to be on a leash except along the road, as he has a love for leaping at motorcycles and cars and trucks hauling trailers behind them.
once we were out there i was glad that i had put him on his lead, as 4 pheasants were in the trail ahead of us. only one of them flew off, so i sat down on the ground and watched the rest peck around in the fallen leaves about 10-15 feet away from us. dune was just trembling with excitement, he wanted to go chase them but i made him sit and watch. we sat there for about 5 minutes until i decided to go in the house and leave them alone.
later in the day i thought that they would be far from the house, so i took dune out again (on the leash, just to make sure ) we were not far into the cemetery when i saw a large pheasant standing on the large center stone in the stone circle. another one came running down the hill opposite of me and thru the circle. i sat down near stryders grave with dune and another pheasant appeared in a tree above us. it sat there looking as interested in us as we were of it. she made a couple of little clucking sounds and another pheasant came out from under a bush to wards us. when she saw us she walked off in the opposite direction to wards the circle to be with the other birds. the only one of the 4 pheasants that seemed too nervous of us being there was the largest one, who was very dark in coloring. she stood very still on the rock most of the time we were there. i think that she was the mother, in june stryder and i stumbled upon a mother and 5 chicks very close to were dune and i were watching these ones. i have come to find that where i put stryder is a very appropriate place, as he loved watching birds. there is always alot of birds in the cemetery, and his grave is the best position for viewing the whole lot. i would have much rather have had him sitting there by my side watching the birds though
dune and i sat there watching them do what pheasants do, until my husband came outside looking for me. even with him there the birds did not fly off. he said that i had been gone for almost 20 minutes, but it did not feel like it was that long sitting there. it did not take my husband long to find me, as his first place looking was in the cemetery, i guess he knows that if iam not in the house thats were i'll be,lol ;D speaking of the cemetery, yesterday afternoon my husband went for a walk in the woods around the property and came in the house talking about how a bear was down on the other side of the hill near the circle digging. he did not see the bear, just where it had been digging. i asked him if he was sure it was a bear because skunks like to dig in old stumps and whatnot for bugs too, and he said that it wasn't in a stump, it was just large sections of moss missing from the forest floor. i laughed and told him that it wasn't a bear, it was me. he asked me why i had been digging up moss and i asked him where he thought i had been getting all the moss to use over the pets graves. i guess even though we have lived out here for 2 years he is still not sure of everything going on in the woods behind our house, which sometimes i think is best considering that it is me he is dealing with, lol