Pheasant Scarcity

berettaman

Just wanted to pick the brains of the assembled pheasant hunters. Has anyone noticed a scarcity of pheaseants this year? The wet summer destroyed a lot of clutches and I know those are scarce but even adult birds are few and far between.
Our area has acres of barley stubble and ditches that we covered with good dogs and just the odd bird found. Adult birds were released in spring and fed well, predators culled as far as possible. Yet when you listen in the evenings you don't hear the usual cackling going into roost. I was wondering what the story was in other parts. I am in the middle of Wexford by the way. Thanks for reading.B.

dev110

I have found the same. Last year there were a nice few pheasants around including one or two wild clutches.
This year there seems to be nothing around. I haven't gone out with the dog yet and probably won't for another two weeks but usually I would see something moving in the mornings.
I think it is going to be a bad year unless your club releases a few birds.

pugw

Scarce up this direction as well! Havent seen anything only the odd hen on a farm that is normally full of them! Also I saw a poult the other day that was awful small for this time of year I thought!

patdahat

heard of 2 clutches seen 3 week's ago and they were small chicks with no coloring don't think they will do this year.

cubbyleader

I'm in wexford too and I walked the dog every day during the summer and I seen one or two clutches and a few hens with single poults but that was it so I'd say it will be crap year around here as all our birds are wild

owelfisherman

cubbyleader wrote: »

I'm in wexford too and I walked the dog every day during the summer and I seen one or two clutches and a few hens with single poults but that was it so I'd say it will be crap year around here as all our birds are wild

Any one niticing the hens arent the same normal colour?il go out with the dog over the weekend and see how we get on.

Stevegeraghty

Not much here either, it doesn't fill me with much confidence for the season

dodderangler

Bit of land I have there is more pheasants than rabbits on it loads of them around but think there is a gun club rearin them
I Havint seen many on my other permissions tho very few

Birdnuts

Its not suprising really given how poor conditions were during the breeding season - heard the same about the Grey Partridge project in North Dublin with many nests washed out and most chicks dieing from hypothermia or lack of insect food:(. There are some late clutches about these parts but I wouldn't fancy their chances with the shortening days,colder nights and dwindling natural food supplies. Many adult birds I've seen also appear to be in poor condition and underweight which suggests poor feeding conditions over a prolonged period of time. Indeed its pretty much the same story for more or less any ground nesting birds you care to mention like Corncrakes,various waterfowl,sea-birds etc. all of which had very poor breeding season.:(

jarv

Was walking the dog yesterday along the lane, he fluched a hen and her clutch out of the hedge the chicks were tiny for this time of year.

daithi55

saw one clutch about a month ago... a week later a i saw two of them dead in the same spot along the road... was in the bog a lot this summer with the wet weather trying to save the turf and i heard feck all crowing there compared to every other year

ace86

I rattled 6 hens there myself a few weeks ago along a bog and I was going to work one morning and I came across 3 young hens and a cock on the road. I hear them clucking around the bogs alright late in the evening but i don't see any big numbers of them around or any clutches with hens.

berettaman

Thanks for the replies lads. Sorry to hear that things are as bad elsewhere.

I did about two and a half hours today with the setter. The dog put up one very young bird. May eventually turn into a cock but had nothing like all its colours. Miserable summer/predators, whatever, this could turn out to be a very short season. Our club released a good number of adult birds last march into areas with good cover and feeders in place and there is nothing like the numbers out there that there should be. Very hard to get the dog "right" without game..

jellybaby21

Walked a place today and saw a two young cocks and a young hen.Then saw a hen with a very young clutch for this time of year and also saw another clutch with the cocks just starting to get their colouring so there is a few on that farm but very young birds.

Hunter21

Sure Armageddon is near, they left early

On a serious note, very bad down here in North Cork too. My own permissions have gone quiet seen none about.
Club bought none

Even cut back on duck shooting this year as it was so quiet with lack of ducks end of last season.

snipe02

lads meeting loads of ducks this yea\r more than usual and the dog flushed a lovely hardy clutch of about 5 or 6 hens this morn they were well hardy and able to fly but in saying that not meeting any cocks or even seeing them in the fields when driving we will see

dev110

I ran the dog through a patch that has always had pheasants in it. Last year there was a wild clutch, 3-4 hens and 3-4 cocks.

So far there isn't a thing in it. Dog isn't even getting scents of anything in it.

Its going to be a bad 1st of November

berettaman

The season is going to be over right fast. There are two cocks that I know of in this area and there are about 15 lads that will be after them the first of November so the season will be short and not so sweet. So what I am going to do is focus more on predators this season than I would have. Maybe if I try to make predators less of an issue in my area it will help, especially when we release birds in the spring. It can't hurt anyway.;)

dev110

I plan to do the same myself and hit the foxes in the coming months.
Pheasants have a hard enough time with predators but after the summer he had they didn't get a chance to survive.

garyc007

im going to take a walk today and see whats around but iv heard and seen a nice few over the last couple of weeks

charlie10

myself and brazzill have ran a few nice birds the last few weeks ,the only hope for a place thats scarce with cocks is woodcock i suppose! my cocker hunted a cock the other day that any man would of been proud of !!hope he is there the first and brazzill or myself will get him (fingers crossed) i cant wait for season but doubt it will be a good as last season for me personally:(

owelfisherman

charlie10 wrote: »

myself and brazzill have ran a few nice birds the last few weeks ,the only hope for a place thats scarce with cocks is woodcock i suppose! my cocker hunted a cock the other day that any man would of been proud of !!hope he is there the first and brazzill or myself will get him (fingers crossed) i cant wait for season but doubt it will be a good as last season for me personally:(

Went out with the dog seen1 woodcock 2 cockpheasant 1 hen.4 snipe.usually id be seeing 10-20 pheasant

superlite

I was just talking about this the other night, there doesn't seem to be half the birds as last year here in Louth, all the usual hot spots are looking poor. 3 nights ago came across a poult just able to fly, about 20 yards or so before he dropped down. Seems there a lot later this year. May have to focus on Charlie this year.

Theshooter2012

I know of a hen and cock pheasant but they didnt breed this year they were together since march but no young ones whatsoever. I think it was the muddled up weather.

Wolfhillbilly

I was out on Saturday and came back empty handed. It was the first Saturday of the season up here in the Wee Six but to be honest there is barely a wild bird in the North anyway.
If you don't release birds, you don't get any shooting.
We saw five birds, three hens and two cocks. Didn't get a shot at either of the cocks but they would have been leftovers from birds we released last year and didn't shoot. We release every year and only shoot cocks but they rarely breed. Saying that, there was a clutch around about a month ago but the chicks were very small so I assume they've perished at the hands of Charlie or the weather/lack of feeding.
My shoot in in Co Tyrone by the way.

Theshooter2012

Wolfhillbilly wrote: »

I was out on Saturday and came back empty handed. It was the first Saturday of the season up here in the Wee Six but to be honest there is barely a wild bird in the North anyway.
If you don't release birds, you don't get any shooting.
We saw five birds, three hens and two cocks. Didn't get a shot at either of the cocks but they would have been leftovers from birds we released last year and didn't shoot. We release every year and only shoot cocks but they rarely breed. Saying that, there was a clutch around about a month ago but the chicks were very small so I assume they've perished at the hands of Charlie or the weather/lack of feeding.
My shoot in in Co Tyrone by the way.

you should release them pheasants and stop everyone hunting the land. Those pheasants will hopefully breed and the young ones will spread out. Make sure you let the pheasants out near a bog/marsh of some sort, and long hedgerows and open fields if you have this mix pheasants will stick around and breed. I dont exactly know why they need bog but there are always pheasants in an area with bog ,open fields and cover.

meathstevie

And another one I would refrain from is let your dog flush them in early autumn/late summer. I agree it's great training for the dog but it's also upsetting pheasants that could well be on a late clutch.