Tomorrow last day for pheasant?

[JD48]

If so, anybody going?

[BIG PAT]

I walked assumpink yesterday (not hunting) with my lab. Saw 0 tracks or birds seen. Did a 3 hour walk. Good luck if you go.

[jumpthestring]

Your basically just going for a walk , with your shotgun as company .  enjoy it while you can still do it.

[Otter]

I heard the many stories of how abundant pheasant use to be.  I got my license in 1980 and shot a handfull of native birds, right when they were dying off. Most of the birds I shot over time was from Bent Creek and Giberson, tower shoots and put n take. Shot some native birds in Colorado. My question is from all the birds released from the state and game farms no birds make it ?  By now wouldn't some birds establish and nest in the wild ? Anyone see pheasants outside of hunting season ?  In the early 2000's I drove from Denver to Nebraska to go into my first Cabela's.  I saw pheasants walking around the fields.  Drove from Mt to NJ a few times and see 100's of pheasants through the Dakotas. Has to be a science to this.

[Turkeyslayer]

10 minutes ago, Otter said:

I heard the many stories of how abundant pheasant use to be.  I got my license in 1980 and shot a handfull of native birds, right when they were dying off. Most of the birds I shot over time was from Bent Creek and Giberson, tower shoots and put n take. Shot some native birds in Colorado. My question is from all the birds released from the state and game farms no birds make it ?  By now wouldn't some birds establish and nest in the wild ? Anyone see pheasants outside of hunting season ?  In the early 2000's I drove from Denver to Nebraska to go into my first Cabela's.  I saw pheasants walking around the fields.  Drove from Mt to NJ a few times and see 100's of pheasants through the Dakotas. Has to be a science to this.

there pen birds. i’m sure they have the function to reproduce I just think they don’t have the knowledge to stay alive. the only chance of one making it is if we had a super warm winter with no snow and they had some super thick thickets they lived in

[JD48]

I've seen pheasants March- April at Colliers Mills in safety zone.

[fab]

I saw one once during trout in early April in the flatbrook.   But we are talking early 80s.   

[OldPiney Woods]

3 hours ago, Otter said:

I heard the many stories of how abundant pheasant use to be.  I got my license in 1980 and shot a handfull of native birds, right when they were dying off. Most of the birds I shot over time was from Bent Creek and Giberson, tower shoots and put n take. Shot some native birds in Colorado. My question is from all the birds released from the state and game farms no birds make it ?  By now wouldn't some birds establish and nest in the wild ? Anyone see pheasants outside of hunting season ?  In the early 2000's I drove from Denver to Nebraska to go into my first Cabela's.  I saw pheasants walking around the fields.  Drove from Mt to NJ a few times and see 100's of pheasants through the Dakotas. Has to be a science to this.

Since all the wild pheasant in NJ disappeared for various reasons, there is little chance for pen raised birds to survive for the same reasons. PA has been successful in restoring wild pheasant populations in a few areas of the State. However they did it with wild birds brought in from the Midwest. NJ has implemented some efforts to restore quail and grouse numbers by closing the seasons and in the case of quail releasing wild birds from other states. However NJ seems to have no  interest in restoring wild pheasant populations because they are not native to this state.

[jumpthestring]

7 hours ago, fab said:

I saw one once during trout in early April in the flatbrook.   But we are talking early 80s.   

So did i and that was last year.

[ithaca10]

Meadowlands in Kearny still holding native birds.

[vdep217]

4 minutes ago, ithaca10 said:

Meadowlands in Kearny still holding native birds.

Wild.  Pheasants are not native.  I do however know were there is a population of quail outside of peasly and greenwood 

Edited February 19 by vdep217

[Otter]

I saw a group of quail near the warren grove range on rt 539 

[Bonefreak]

On 2/19/2024 at 7:35 AM, Otter said:

I heard the many stories of how abundant pheasant use to be.  I got my license in 1980 and shot a handfull of native birds, right when they were dying off. Most of the birds I shot over time was from Bent Creek and Giberson, tower shoots and put n take. Shot some native birds in Colorado. My question is from all the birds released from the state and game farms no birds make it ?  By now wouldn't some birds establish and nest in the wild ? Anyone see pheasants outside of hunting season ?  In the early 2000's I drove from Denver to Nebraska to go into my first Cabela's.  I saw pheasants walking around the fields.  Drove from Mt to NJ a few times and see 100's of pheasants through the Dakotas. Has to be a science to this.

As turkeyslayer mentioned…pen raised pheasants probably dont have the know-how to evade predators…& they dont have the habitat like out west (miles of fields, low density of trees w raptors perched on, super thick early successional cover, etc.). Closest thing jersey has to that habitat is the vast area of phragmites in the Meadowlands area…& there are some communities of wild pheasant that still live there. Occasionally I would see pheasants in Assunpink and colliers mills during turkey season but that was before Rockport pheasant farm closed…they did produce a superior pen raised bird than what is being stocked now. 

[Bucksnbows]

21 hours ago, OldPiney Woods said:

Since all the wild pheasant in NJ disappeared for various reasons, there is little chance for pen raised birds to survive for the same reasons. PA has been successful in restoring wild pheasant populations in a few areas of the State. However they did it with wild birds brought in from the Midwest. NJ has implemented some efforts to restore quail and grouse numbers by closing the seasons and in the case of quail releasing wild birds from other states. However NJ seems to have no  interest in restoring wild pheasant populations because they are not native to this state.

Not so much because they are not native to the US (not just NJ) but rather because NJ lacks the habitat needed for wild pheasants.  

[Bucksnbows]

On 2/19/2024 at 7:35 AM, Otter said:

I heard the many stories of how abundant pheasant use to be.  I got my license in 1980 and shot a handfull of native birds, right when they were dying off. Most of the birds I shot over time was from Bent Creek and Giberson, tower shoots and put n take. Shot some native birds in Colorado. My question is from all the birds released from the state and game farms no birds make it ?  By now wouldn't some birds establish and nest in the wild ? Anyone see pheasants outside of hunting season ?  In the early 2000's I drove from Denver to Nebraska to go into my first Cabela's.  I saw pheasants walking around the fields.  Drove from Mt to NJ a few times and see 100's of pheasants through the Dakotas. Has to be a science to this.

States like ours see the same things with pen stocked pheasants as we do with hatchery stocked trout. Over time, they lose traits that would allow a stocked bird or fish to successfully reproduce.  This is why pheasants and trout that became successful at reproducing in the wild after being stocked happened many decades ago. Today, we aren’t seeing that very often at all. The longer an animal is raised for stocking, the less traits will be kept to keep them alive once released. 
 

Those early releases of pheasants into states like Oregon were from wild stock, not birds raised in pens for decades. Same for non native rainbow or brown trout.