Pheasant Crowing Surveys

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Pheasant crowing surveys similar to quail whistle call counts are upland bird forecasting tools that in isolation leave a large margin of error and when combined with other indicators lead to a better estimation or forecast of bird populations.

The limitations of pheasant crowing and quail whistle counts is they are not predictors of reproduction rates. The are indicators of male bird counts relative to a baseline of long running previous surveys. The failing is two fold. First, the ratio of males to hens or breeding pairs cannot be estimated from crowing or whistle counts. Within both upland bird species a male may breed with more than one hen to an indeterminate number of breedings. Second, pheasant crowing surveys do not predict nest or brood chick survival success.

As one more indicator for inclusion along a range of annual checkpoints they are probably as useful as any other. And, just as any other none by them selves is a sole indicator of hunt quality. Too many folks equate upland bird forecasts to hunt quality and both are distinct.

There are some that have expressed concern about the quality of pheasant crowing surveys citing the number of crows to be heard from one spot with each indicating a single rooster. An example is the actual table reproduced below from one such survey from a well known pheasant hunting state. We will not cite the survey source as not do denigrate anyone and will leave it to anyone that wishes to do any internet search will be able to come up with similar data being illustrated.

Stop Number	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
1	6	11	8	20	10
2	8	9	6	12	5
3	14	11	13	13	8
4	23	6	11	4	6
5	19	6	13	7	10
6	16	9	7	8	9
7	11	17	14	17	6
8	14	7	8	10	8
9	19	13	12	13	16
10	19	16	14	16	19
11	14	10	11	5	10
12	24	19	17	6	12
13	14	24	9	3	15
14	11	16	13	6	20
15	11	12	15	7	11
16	5	18	14	5	30
17	8	15	9	3	17
18	4	15	11	3	20
19	9	12	8	2	19
20	11	19	16	1	11
TOTAL CROWS	260	265	229	161	262

For those with field experience that standing in anyone spot in the spring and listening for crowing pheasants hearing even one is a good sign. The most is typically three and to hear from one spot into the double digits would for anyone make it difficult to distinguished one bird from another, especially that rooster pheasants will move while crowing.

A comparative example is your MAHA staffer's experience in Kansas within overlapping pheasant and quail range typically will hear from one to three distinct location crowing pheasants at one time during prime pheasant crowing periods that overlap with spring turkey hunts. Three has been the all time high number for any spring from one spot during whatever length of time we may have been set up for that morning's turkey hunt. For that turkey hunt/pheasant crowing experience and reason of this type of informal survey we also found independent of fall pheasant hunt quality we have chosen not to included any such efforts into our forecast methodology.

For those that have not been to Jewell County the picture series below is of some of the better bird habitat to be found in that county.

jewell county private land

The panoramic above shows well the recurring land use. A lot of wheat and milo with limited cover.

Standing in the same spot as the first picture turning the camera 180 degrees shows a tall grass field next to the milo.

The primary cover is the dry drainage cutting through the crop fields.

From inside a dry drainage looking out to the crop field in the far ground. Combination quail and pheasant habitat.

In spite of this open terrain there are deer of fine caliber.

Jewell County offers those traveling between the better pheasant hunting in Norton County and that of the better quail land in Washington and Republic the chance to stop off and try a type of habitat characterized by small habitat patches spread amongst large grain fields.

Pheasant Crowing Surveys

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