NEBRASKAland

VOL. 51 / NO. 10 / OCTOBER 1973 Published monthly by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Fifty cents per copy. Subscription rates $3 for one year, $6 for two years. Send subscription orders to NEBRASKAland, Box 30370, Lincoln. Nebraska 68503. commission Chairman: William G. Lindeken, Chadron Northwest District, (308) 432-3755 Vice Chairman: Gerald R. Campbell, Ravenna South-central District, (308) 452-3800 Second Vice Chairman: James W. McNair, Imperial Southwest District, (308) 882-4425 Jack D. Obbink, Lincoln Southeast District, (402) 488-3862 Arthur D. Brown, Omaha Douglas-Sarpy District, (402) 553-9625 Kenneth R. Zimmerman, Loup City North-central District, (308) 745-1694 Don O. Bridge, Norfolk Northeast District, (402) 371-1473 Director: Willard R. Barbee Assistant Director: William J. Bailey, Jr. Assistant Director: Richard J. Spady Staff Editor: Lowell Johnson Editorial Assistants: Ken Bouc, Jon Farrar, Faye Musil Photography: Greg Beaumont, Bob Grier Layout Design: Michele Angle Illustration: C. G. Pritchard Advertising: Cliff Griffin Circulation: Juanita Stefkovich Copyright Nebraska Came and Parks Commission 1973. All rights reserved. Postmaster: if undeliverable, send notice by form 3579 to Nebraska Came and Parks Commission, Box 30370, Lincoln, Nebraska 68503. Second class postage paid at Lincoln, Nebraska Travel articles financially supported by Department of Economic Development Ronald J. Merteus, Depty Director John Rosenow, Tourism and Travel Director Contents FEATURES LUCK OF THE DRAW 8 SANDPITS IN THE FALL 10 THE ART OF DECOYING 12 TO STOCK OR NOT TO STOCK 16 THE RING-NECKED PHEASANT IN NEBRASKA 18 DEPARTMENTS SPEAK UP WHAT TO DO 56 TRADING POST 66 COVER: Early morning rays of the October sun touch the leaves of a cottonwood sapling at season's end. OPPOSITE: Maple leaves float the calm water of an eastern Nebraska pond these last full days of Indian summer. Photographs by Greg Beaumont and Bob Grier.

Dead duck. Almost half the ducks hatched in North America ... like the little fella on your right. . . never make it through the nesting season. When the water's too high, nests are flooded and eggs destroyed. When it's too dry, millions of ducks are never hatched. Or, in their frantic search for water, they're taken by predators. If you want to save ducks by the millions, join Ducks Unlimited. Ducks Unlimited is a non-profit group of hunters and conservationists who raise money each year to invest in water control projects in the prime nesting grounds of Canada. Yes, in Canada. Because that's where 80% of all our ducks are hatched. No other group is doing as much to save and strengthen the vital breed- ing areas for wild ducks as is Ducks Unlimited. Though more and more sportsmen are joining up, still only one American duck hunter in 50 is a member. That's not enough. Not any more. In the next 10 years Ducks Unlimited's new master plan calls for controlling water (floods or drought) on more than 4,500,000 acres of prime waterfowl nesting habitat. This is three times as many acres as Ducks Unlimited has put under con- trol in its first 32 years of existence. Ducks Unlimited needs your help. And the help of every American who wants more greenheads, cans, pin- tails, etc. on our flyways. Through the cooperation of maga- zines like NEBRASKAland (which donate this space free of charge) we urge you to send your tax deductible check for $10 or more to Ducks Un- limited, Dept. FS03, P.O. Box 66300, Chicago, Illinois, 60666. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Speak Up

Northerns for Nomads

Sir / We always enjoy your magazine and the beautiful pictures.

We especially enjoyed Jack Curran's Northerns for Nomads, (June 1973). Having formerly lived in Nebraska for 9 years and being much in love with the beauty of the state, it made one long for a Nebraska sunset and a night under the stars.

Part of the beauty of this article, however, was that the author not only helped Bill and Lisa make a discovery about the state of Nebraska but that he made a discovery about two people. It was a beautiful learn ing experience for all three. Thanks to Mr. Curran for sharing it.

Nancy Lane Oelwein, Iowa Grade A Grouse

Sir / I would like to give my compliments on the excellent article, (Prairie Grouse, May 1973), which helped me write a grade A report in Language. Also I learned a great deal from it and it had beautiful pictures. Once again my compliments and thanks.

Mick Grabowski Cairo, Nebraska Chinese Fish Ball

Sir / It has been years to be counted when I started reading your magazine. Year 1968 to be exact, in Saigon, South Vietnam, where I first read NEBRASKAland. I was going steady with a guy who was born and raised in Benkelman, Nebraska. Being an Asian (Phillipine born) gal, I only knew about Nebraska in my school years. Your magazine gave me a clear view of Nebraska, its wonderful people, beautiful views and terrific landmarks. The wheatfields, OCTOBER 1973 cornfields and cattle raising really amazed me.

I am now happily married to this guy from Nebraska and he always has a subscription to NEBRASKAland.

For other NEBRASKAland readers I would like to share my recipe on fish. I've tried this on carp and catfish.

CHINESE FISH BALL 2 large fish 6 tbsp. soy sauce 5 stalks of celery 5 pieces of green onions 2 eggs 2 cups flour Shortening

Clean fish thoroughly. Boil the whole fish in a big pan until done. Place the fish on a plate and start picking out the bones. Mash the fish meat with soy sauce, set aside. Cut the celery stalks and green onions into fine pieces. Mash the green onions and celery with the fish meat. Beat the eggs and mix all ingredients. Heat the shortening in a skillet to about 300 degrees. Make 1/2-inch balls out of the meat and roll in flour before putting in deep fat fry. Serve with catsup or homemade sweet-sour sauce. Serve four to six people.

Mrs. Keith Ellis Stratton, Nebraska NEBRASKAland in Germany

Sir / I wish to commend you on an outstanding magazine that brings me a great deal of enjoyment with each issue.

I am stationed with the United States Army in Germany and will spend at least two years of my current enlistment here. I truly enjoy the many articles. They bring back many fine memories of my home state.

Many of my friends also read the magazine. They enjoy reading about how Nebraska was in the past and what it is like today. Although I receive my copies later than most people, I cherish each and every issue. Keep up the good work.

Gordon Karre Heilbronn, Germany Children of the Wind

Sir / Children of the Wind, (July 1973) was of particular interest to me.

My grandfather; Dr. William Levi Zenner, had returned from a call into the country. He and my grandmother, Anna Maria Zenner, decided to go to Valentine.

My grandfather's team was tired, so it was decided to drive my grandmother's horses and to use her buggy. The team was skittish but my grandmother was used to them. My grandfather felt that a gentleman drove the team so he took the reins.

As they came to a rise they met a Romany wagon. The team became frightened. There was a runaway.

How long my relatives lay there I do not

Treat your shotgun to a new shock absorber. As the charge in a shotgun shell ignites, the initial shock can crush the shot together. The patented "Power Piston" wad in Peters "High Velocity" and "Victor" shot gun shells has a built-in shock absorber. It cushions the jolt, so shot-to-shot de formation is kept to a minimum. The "Power Piston" shot cup prevents the shot from touching the inside of the barrel. To give you rounder, truer shape, straighter flight and more perfect patterns. And its base helps keep gas behind the shot column for maximum power. Add Peters famous "Kleanbore" priming and plastic shell body, and you'll know why Peters "High Velocity" and "Victor" shot gun shells are a favorite choice with hunters. FINE AMMUNITION SINCE 1887 "Peters'Y'Kleanbore", "Power Piston" and "Victor" are trademarks registered in the U.S. Patent Office. "High Velocity" is a trademark of Remington Arms Company, Inc.   TRAVEL TIP OF THE MONTH Black powder will be poured into both rifles and shotguns when the Grand Island chapter of the Ne braska Muzzle-Loader Rifle Association puts prizes on the line. Shooters and just plain watchers are in vited for this 6th annual event, located four miles north and four miles west of Cairo. 6th ANNUAL TURKEY SHOOT CAIRO OCTOBER 14 your/Independent Insurance Agent This message brought to you by your local INDEPENDENT INSURANCE AGENT who is a member of the Nebraska Association of Insurance Agents BRASS HUNTING LICENSE HOLDERS Made in 1930s, marked "Nebraska Fish and Game Commission" —Genuine antique 21/4"Xl1//2". Ideal for displaying license on coat. Limited number...$5 ea. postpaid. J. R. Callahan; York, Neb. 68467 THE PINES Rooms and Cabins Adjacent to the Finest Trout Stream in Nebraska. Ph: (402) 273-4483 Long Pine, Nebraska 69217 Built in NEBRASKAland CAMPERS Go-Lite features a complete line of travel trailers, pick-up campers and caps. Camping trailers are available beginning with the economical Model 11-B at $950.00 and up. Self-contained travel trailers begin with the Model 16-B at $2,595.00. Go-Lite pick-up campers start with the Model 802 two-sleeper at $850.00 which features a full line of cab-over campers. Pick-up covers are priced from $185.00 for the 24" bolt-on, to $395.00 for the weather-tight 36" slide in model. Go-Lite will also custom build motor homes and 5th Wheel Trailers to any specifications, as well as custom building of any other type of trailer or camper. Go-Lite's rear door entrance allows a valu able conservation of the useable cabinet and storage space in trailers. The tough, solid plywood exterior wall construction, with insulation and a styled pre-finished aluminum skin, round out Go-Lite RVs to the best on the road today! Go-Lite CAMPERS, Inc. East Hiway 30 23rd and S0MERS, Fremont, Nebr. 68025 AREA CODE 402-721-6555 "Nebraskans, Turn Green!" Plant a little green with us, and watch it grow a brighter, greener future for you. UNION LOAN & SAVINGS ASSOCIATION THREE LINCOLN OFFICES 209 SOUTH 13TH - 1776 SOUTH 70TH - 56TH & O AND 1716 2ND AVE.. SCOTTSBLUFF

know. My grandfather succumbed to head injuries. He has lain in a grave in Kewanee Cemetery in Cherry County since September 1892. My grandmother suffered a broken nose and a broken arm. It began to knit but was never straight. I presume that in those days few bones were reset.

Anna Mangan Upjohn Omaha, Nebraska

Sirs / We continue to be amazed month after month at the fantastic magazine you are putting together. The photography and artwork, layout and content are beautiful and compares favorably with any publication anywhere. You may not be natural, but you are definitely one of Nebraska's great est resources.

Hugh Williams Omaha, Nebraska Short Stopping

Sir / The tragic mallard and Canada goose epidemic of Duck Viral Enteritis at Lake Andes, South Dakota has caused me a considerable amount of concern. It is very apparent to me that this tragedy is the out growth of some very questionable and selfish practices which have been occurring at that particular refuge.

What concerns me more is that I have seen these same practices occurring in our own state, particularly at the Plattsmouth Waterfowl Refuge and others along the Missouri River. It appears to me to be contrary to the laws of nature to attract and hold such huge concentrations of migratory waterfowl in such a confined area by such artificial means as artesan wells and feed-grain planting.

Being an avid waterfowl hunter, it appears to me that if we are to preserve this heritage for our children, we should take heed from the bitter experience at the Lake Andes Refuge, and change some of our waterfowl management practices. It appears that unless we do, this massive duck and goose loss will be repeated at any number of wildlife refuges, as well as at such places as Lake McConaughy, where there has been a concerted effort to encourage large numbers of waterfowl to winter.

For years, I have been reading the complaints of conservationists and hunters alike from Arkansas, Louisiana, and other gulf and southern states, concerning the water fowl management practices of the northern states. I must confess that I thought these people were simply jealously guarding their own interests, but I am now convinced that they have indeed been right in their concern, and their dire predictions have indeed begun to come true.

While I am aware that much of the management of migratory waterfowl refuges is under federal control, I sincerely hope that the state game commission will do all it can to initiate a thorough re-appraisal of the current waterfowl management practices in our state. I would also like to know what measures I can take as a private citizen to help prevent the recurrence of a tragedy such as occurred at the Lake Andes Refuge in South Dakota.

D. J. Loschen, M.D. York, Nebraska

It is true that waterfowl concentrations such as found at Lake Andes National Waterfowl Refuge in South Dakota, in fact waterfowl concentrations almost anywhere, create conditions conducive to disease.

We long ago turned away from "natural laws" of waterfowl management. This is true from the summer breeding grounds to the wintering concentrations of the south ern Gulf states. The refuges between the breeding ground and wintering grounds — such as Lake Andes, Plattsmouth and Clear Creek —serve a dual purpose in providing sanctuary, rest, and feed during the fall migration and to holding birds in these midlands for midland hunters.

Without these refuges waterfowl would have little choice but to make the long fall migration flight in one hop. The hunting pressure is such that the "natural" rivers, marshes and lakes offer little more than fleeting attraction to tired and hungry birds. If they attempt to land hunters usually "burn them off". Thus we have created refuges, and as a by product the problems inherant to refuges, one of which may be disease.

Keep in mind that southern concentrations also are subject to disease. It then be comes a simple question of where you wish to concentrate birds during the fall and winter.

As a private citizen, might I suggest that you support research, broad based at the federal level, to seek out answers to diseases of waterfowl, especially in concentrations. Your letter to us is reassuring in that it shows that sportsmen are interested in something more enduring than a "bird in the bag."

Harold K. Edwards Division Chief, Resource Services Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

Wildlife PORTFOLIOS No. 1 $5 per set plus sales tax Readers asked for them. So, here they are! Full-color reproductions of Bud Pritchard's wildlife art. The 81/2 x 11 pictures are printed on high quality, 11 Vi by 15 paper suitable for framing or decoupage. Portfolio No. 1 features selections from Bud's popular winter songbird series. No. 2 includes six of his favorites from the Fauna series. Both sets are sent in attractive presentation folders. No. 2 $5 per set plus sales tax by C.Q. Sua1-fcftcKard Please send me set(s) of Bud Pritchard's wildlife prints as indi- cated below. I have enclosed $5 per set plus sales tax. set(s) of Portfolio No. 1 set(s) of Portfolio No. 2 Send order to: Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, P.O. Box 30370, Lincoln, Nebraska 68503 Name Street City State Zip Amount enclosed (Send check or money order. No cash, please.)

luck of the draw

Despite mosquito plague, archery hunt comes off as a memorable success

by Dave Oates

THE WIND was steady from the northwest, which was not ideal for either of the blinds I had set up earlier. My neighbor had told me that he had been having deer damage in his bean field, which was near one of my blinds. This, coupled with the fact that I considered that same blind to be my best one, made up my mind, and I headed that direction. The easiest way to the blind was a circuitous route through another neighbor's head-high corn, following his irrigation roads. This afforded me the opportunity to conceal my vehicle in the field. The blind was still about a quarter of a mile walk away along the soybean patch and across a fallow field. Tracks in the mellow ground indicated that deer had been in the area recently and with some regularity.

I arrived at the tree about an hour and a half before sundown. It was even more ideal than I had remembered, for there were two almost parallel branches extending out at right angles and spaced so that one could stand on the lower, and either lean or sit on the upper. As any deer hunter can attest, a comfortable blind will cause fewer bodily complaints and thus reduce the need for movement. This branch arrangement also allowed a shot from a position comparable to that normally used for target practicing.

Settled in my perch, I was just beginning to enjoy the esthetic surroundings. A flock of about 50 mallards was circling a bend in the river just west of me, the bees were moving back to the hive, and carp were jumping near brush piles. That's when the mosquitoes located me, and in half an hour had cooled my ardour for hunting and overshadowed the esthetic values. I began to make a game of seeing how many mosquitoes I could kill on the back of my left hand, for they were the ones I could get to by making very slight finger movements. When I reached a hundred, I vowed, I was going to leave! Just as I started counting the seventies, a snapping twig made me impervious to all mosquito activity.

A few moments later, two deer stepped out of the heavy timber and started down the trail that passed about 25 yards south of my tree. The cover in that direction was dense, with vegetation consisting primarily of 4- to 5-year-old trees. Believing in not disrupting an area any more than necessary, and then only at a level above the deer's normal line of sight, I had made no holes in the brush. A shot at this point was impossible.

The wind was blowing more steadily now as a front was rapidly moving in from the west. The wind was going to make it marginal as to whether the deer would make it to an area I had cleared out before they caught my scent. Conflicting thoughts raced through my mind —(1) the deer was a doe with what looked like a single fawn, so she could possibly be a fawn of last year herself; (2) two of us had passed up close shots at a doe with a small fawn the first week end of the season; (3) in the past I hadn't cared much for deer meat, although they had been from the western part of the state and here was a possible chance for a "corn-fed" deer. Also, an office pool for the buck with the biggest rack had remained unclaimed from the previous year. Still, I slowly took a full draw, anticipating when the doe would come into a cleared area.

As she cautiously approached that area my conscience got the best of me and I decided not to shoot. Instead of continuing down the trail, she turned and walked straight toward my tree. At about 4 or 5 feet she looked up, turned her north end south and high tailed it back into the timber. She didn't stop to snort or stomp like I had seen some deer do; perhaps she had seen rather than smelled me and not actually recognized me for what I was. It was fortunate for me that she hadn't given some warning signals, for shortly thereafter I heard another twig snap and thought that maybe she was returning. But, a flash of light off antlers quickly changed that assumption.

Warily but steadily, a buck came down the same trail the doe had taken but a few minutes before. The wind now was such that a deer would spook before it came to my cleared area, so I quickly searched for an opening in the foliage farther into the timber. Straight south of the tree there was about a 3-foot opening and I decided that my only possible shot would be there. Again I slowly reached full draw, and when the front quarter appeared in that opening, I let fly.

The deer shifted from granny to fourth gear in about 20 ft. When he flashed by an opening where I could see him better, my heart fell, for it appeared that I had hit the front shoulder and that only the tip had penetrated. Like most hunters, I would rather miss than just wound an animal. In this instance I considered chances for a kill shot very high as the vital area was essentially the only target I had. The deer ran about 50 yards, then stopped and looked back into the timber. I quickly readied for a long shot since I had already wounded him, but decided against it. Shortly thereafter he dropped from sight and I thought he had probably gone down the riverbank. There was about 45 minutes of hunting time left so I decided to wait at least 30 minutes before leaving the tree. I hung up my bow and gave the mosquitoes my full attention.

Like many archery enthusiasts, preparations began several months prior to the opening of hunting season. The 1972 Nebraska archery-deer season opened September 16 and closed December 31, but bow hunting was closed during the 9-day rifle season. Preparations consisted of practicing with hunting buddies during the noon hour in an area adjacent to the office. Other important aspects included obtain ing permission from the landowner, and scouting the hunting area. The first aspect served a dual purpose. We had just moved to a small farm on the Blue River in June, and that afforded (Continued on page 64)

Sandpits in the Fall

Frigid weather doesn't mean fish won't bite-it's just that anglers stay home. Those who get out get action

by Lowell Johnson

WHEN COLD winds and even snow are blowing around the countryside, most anglers have heeded the obvious hints of Mother Nature and gone into semi-hibernation.

But, there are a few hardy or stubborn souls who refuse to knuckle under. When there are still fish out there willing to hit a lure, they are certainly willing to toss it out to them. Glenn Thompson of Holdrege is one of these. The fall of 1972 was especially laden with fishing time for him, because he was unable to be involved in the routine of working. A heart condition forced him to take time off from his insurance business, and during much of the summer he couldn't even venture out to loaf much be cause of the added complication of asthma.

Mild exercise, such as fishing, was just what the doctor ordered after the first freeze, however, and he was mighty willing to listen to such advice. As soon as the first cold spell took the pollen threat out of the air, Glenn started prowling his old fishing haunts. Largemouth bass are one of several favorite species, and with numerous sandpits close to home, they drew a good share of his attention.

Surface plugs are his preferred lures for largemouths because they produce the most exciting hits and battles, but their use is somewhat limited. Bass just don't hit surface stuff except at certain times, and late fall is not one of those prime situations. So, spinners and spoons came next to mind. These he casts parallel to shore, where shallower water was warmest and where bass most often feed.

Having been exposed to fishing almost as soon as he could toddle along a lakeshore or stream bank, Glenn has developed a pretty open attitude about the sport. If he is after bass and they are not reacting much, he will switch lures and work on bluegill. Such tactics are naturally more productive and enjoyable than relentlessly wearing troughs in the water when the old bass just can't be had.

Another favorite trick of Glenn's when he is trout fishing at Lake McConaughy calls for the old switcheroo of lures, but still keeping after the trout. In years past, he dragged a boat with him, yet he always ended up fishing near shore. So, he sold his boat and now wades for rainbows. Using spinners or spoons or whatever, he works areas that normally have a good supply of trout. At various times during the day, but of very short duration, the trout will begin leaping after flies. So, Glenn removes the spinner and snaps on a casting bubble and a short leader with a trout fly on the end.

This rig can be tossed with his spin-cast outfit to each spot where a trout rises. In many cases, the fly catches a honey of a fish, and except for losing quite a few because of light leaders, it is (Continued on page 58)

the art of decoying

Makings for duck hunting are easy to come by, but using them properly requires artists touch.

by Ken Bouc Combining knowhow of Dutch Henry, Gordon West, Bill Tallman, and Dick Turpin gives waterfowlers benefit of more than a century's duck hunting experience.

UNLIKE MANY other outdoor sports, duck hunting has remained a rather mysterious discipline, seemingly requiring some undefined talent and magical touch known only by a few masters of the sport.

The leisure boom has dethroned many of the traditional elite of the outdoor world, putting flyrods in the hands of rather ordinary people, and sending the guy next door mountain climbingor canoeing on a white-water river.

Why, then, hasn't the ordinary guy managed to excel in waterfowling? Why do ducks respond time after time to one man's decoys and call, while others in the area get nary a shot?

The answer probably lies in the expert's approach to the sport. The best waterfowl hunters were not born with any more duck savvy than the next person. But, the good duck hunter has probably never wasted an opportunity to learn. Chances are, he learned from other hunters, he learned on his own by trial and error, he learned by watch ing ducks out of season, and he might even have found a few useful bits of information in books or magazines.

Like everyone else, he was a beginner at one time, and he had to find answers to the same questions. "What do I look for in a hunting area? What kind of blind do I use? What kind of decoys? How many? How do I arrange them? What kind of call do I use? When do I use it? How do I use it? What attracts ducks? What sends them away?

The first question is basic to the sport, and the answer is obvious once the gunner considers the things waterfowl are looking for. For the most part, ducks in Nebraska have little trouble finding food, with spilled grain in fields virtually everywhere. But, after they eat, the birds feel a powerful thirst, and they go searching for a swig of water. If it is a cold, blustery day, they also want a bit of shelter, plus quiet water with little or no current, a place of safety with no sign of enemies and, most of all, companionship.

The obvious place to hunt, then, is a pond, lake, or river near where ducks feed. The decoys promise company, and the blind should hide the hunter, the principal threat to the duck's safety.

Acquiring all the ingredients is not all that tough, but combining them into a productive setup is where the master duck hunter excels.

Rather than going to all the trouble of studying ducks and learning about them, some greenhorns have tried to buy their way into the sport. They come loaded down with a truckload of the most expensive decoys, toting a custom fitted, engraved shotgun with a $1,000 price tag, and lugging other assorted paraphernalia. Then, they watch in disgust while an oldtimer a half-mile downriver downs duck after duck with a department store shootin' iron over a handful of vintage decoys. After a couple of such outings, the greenhorn will probably decide to spend the rest of his fall weekends watching end runs and instant replays on the boob tube.

Reams have been written on the art of decoying ducks, but the bulk of the material is related to the diving ducks of Chesapeake Bay, wintering birds in southern marshes, or other distant places. Experience gained in such places can be applied in Nebraska, though.

12 NEBRASKAland OCTOBER 1973 13  

Waterfowlers have learned to control the path of approaching birds to a remarkable degree by the positioning of their decoys. They can guide ducks to a certain point in front of their blind by leaving a "hole" in the spread for the birds to use as a landing strip. Decoying ducks generally head for this opening instead of the decoys, since it appears to be bad etiquette among ducks for an approaching bird to bump, land on, or splash another on landing.

Expert duck hunters are individualists by nature, so very few things are universally accepted as doctrine. Some, though by no means all, say that ducks will avoid flying over land if a route over water is available. A few also be lieve that puddle ducks do not like to fly low directly over resting ducks for fear of a collision should those on the water take off.

Others say that tightly bunched decoys simulate nervous birds and scare away any ducks that might decoy. And, many hunters in coastal areas say decoys look unnatural on water with a light-colored bottom, since such bottom is devoid of the plants on which ducks feed.

Some hunters employ a few imitation geese as "confidence decoys", since ducks seem to trust the judgment of species that are habitually wary. Other duck hunters might also put a crow decoy on a nearby fence post, or set up a fake heron or bittern. Each duck hunter must decide for himself which, if any, of these things are valid. By combining some of these practices with basic knowledge that ducks must face the wind as they land, expert hunters can usually come up with several potentially good patterns for any given site.

Gordon West of Ogallala, who has hunted waterfowl as man and boy for 45 years, is certainly one of these. Others would include Bill Tallman of Tekamah and Dutch Henry of Peru, both professional waterfowl hunting guides. And then there's Dick Turpin, former conservation officer for the Ponca area and now the Game and Parks Commission's hunter safety coordinator. Each fall during his 11 years as an officer, Turpin would spend five days each week watching others hunt ducks. The other two days he went hunting himself.

In Turpin's neck of the woods, prime waterfowl hunting grounds usually meant the Missouri River. The stretch between Gavins Point Dam and Ponca State Park was largely unaltered by man, with numerous sandbars and backwaters to attract ducks. Below the park it was channelized into a fast-flowing navigation ditch, which significantly changed the duck hunting picture.

Dutch Henry cut his teeth on Missouri River hunting some 40 years as man and boy, but has abandoned it almost entirely since channelization.

West does most of his hunting off sandbars of the North Platte River above Lake McConaughy. Tallman hunts a man-made pond most of the time, but ventures onto the river occasionally.

In Nebraska, over 95 percent of all ducks harvested are puddle ducks, which simplifies techniques somewhat. Most hunters rig specifically for the puddlers, and count any divers in the bag as a bonus. Gunners are a bit uneasy about taking any divers, however, since they might turn out to be canvasbacks or redheads, which have been under very restrictive regulations the past few years.

Henry, Tallman, West, and Turpin all favor styrofoam decoys, and none of them places much value on elaborate paint jobs. "You might see some green heads and other bits of color on my decoys," says Henry, "but that's more for the benefit of my clients than for the ducks. I've done just as well with black, and one fellow I know shot over blue decoys with black polkadots one time just for fun, and he brought in birds." West cautions that the realistically colored decoys may be necessary if hunters hope to ambush a Canada goose or two, since honkers are very particular about colors.

Many of the techniques used on Henry's and Tallman's ponds would also apply on farm ponds, Sand Hills lakes, marshes, and other small bodies of water, and the techniques of Turpin and West should work under comparable conditions on most rivers.

Henry hunts on a fairly large pond, about 18 acres, with the blind on a tiny island in the middle. He has about 300 standard-size decoys on the lake, but these are scattered in small bunches along coves and other likely looking spots along the shoreline just to make the area look sort of homey. The main attraction is a spread of about 18 over size duck decoys around the island.

"Those bigger decoys really pull ducks", Henry says. "They're especially good when a flock seems nervous or when the birds are far away.

"I generally start the day with the same setup that worked the day before, unless the weather has changed overnight. If the first bunch or two like it, I leave it alone. Otherwise, I move 'em. Sometimes I string the decoys in a ragged line from the quiet water on the lee side of the blind out into the pond. But, on stormy days, bunched decoys close to the island and out of the wind seem to look natural to the birds."

The "fishhook" pattern works with machine-like precision on certain days, according to Henry. He sets the decoys in the form of a "J", with the curved portion in quiet water near the blind and the straight portion extending downwind into the lake. He often adds 4 or 5 decoys within the hook. On certain days, decoying ducks will follow the straight portion of the pattern and head unerringly for a landing within the hook, which takes them well within shotgun range of the blind.

Tallman's pond is smaller than Henry's, and he doesn't have the flexibility that an island blind affords. His blind is on the north shore of the lake, so that it will be near calm water during a north wind.

One of his favorite setups includes a few decoys on stakes on shore or in very shallow water, a few floaters close to shore, and a ragged line extending into the lake. When this arrangement works, it can be as effective for him as the "fishhook" is for Henry.

Tallman doesn't depend on numbers to attract his birds. "You can get too many on a lake. If you crowd it with decoys, it won't look natural to the birds, or else they will think there's no room for them.

"Wind is the key. I like it from the north about 10 to 15 miles per hour. That much wind gives the decoys realistic movement, but any (Continued on page 53)

14 NEBRASKAland OCTOBER 1973 15

to stock or not to stock

by Faye Musil

AS THE NUMBERS of game animals continue to decrease and hunting becomes more and more difficult, the Game and Parks Commission seeks ways to help wildlife, the landowner who supports it, and the hunter. Biologists are searching for answers from all available sources, some tried and traditional, some brand new. Each of them, though, must pass the test of analysis. Stocking, one of the oldest and most traditional in the conservationist's bag of tricks, has had years of scrutiny, and the analysis is mostly negative for Nebraska pheasants.

However, thedistinction between introductory stocking and maintenance stocking is often overlooked in the fervor of providing more pheasants for a growing number of sportsmen. Since pheasants are now established in every Nebraska county, introductory stocking is a thing of the past. Biologists list three basic reasons for discouraging mass maintenance stocking: 1, it is ineffective for increasing populations since pheasant populations, like all other wildlife, build to the level their habitat will support, then level; 2, it does not significantly increase the number of birds bagged, and 3, such a program is astronomically expensive. In making recommendations to the Commission, biologists reviewed the history of stocking in Nebraska and other states. They list six possible reasons for stocking, including introduction of a new species, extending the range, put-and-take, introducing new blood lines, annual maintenance, and replenishing birds lost to natural disaster.

Introductory stocking has already been completed in Nebraska for the ringneck. The pheasant and wild turkey are two success stories of introduced species. Field personnel note, however, that neither the number stocked, nor the number of years stocking is continued is the deciding factor. Only about 500 pairs of pheasants were stocked by the state over a 10-year period during their introduction, and 28 Merriam's wild turkeys resulted in the present populations. Finding the right animal for the right environment is the key.

In the past 15 years, a number of species of wildlife have been introduced into the state in an attempt to get them established. The list includes coturnix quail, chukar partridge, Hungarian partridge, scaled quail, Merriam's wild turkey, Rio Grande wild turkey, tinamou, ruffed grouse, and a plant of eastern wild turkey. Of these, only the Merriam's wild turkey, and, to a very limited degree, the Rio Grande wild turkey have been successfully established. The Eastern turkey was just introduced in the winter of 1972-73 so it is still too early to make any forecasts one way or the other.

In Nebraska, stocking for the purpose of extending pheasant range is already accomplished. Again, pheasants can be found in all counties. If pheasants are sparse in some regions, Durward Allen's remark on quail can easily offer an explanation —"A quail is a much better judge of quail habitat than a hunter or a biologist. To say we have the habitat but not the birds substitutes human judgment for the only sure-fire yardstick we have for measuring the quality of conditions on the land".

The only put-and-take stocking ever practiced here has been on private shooting preserves. Biologists note that there is not great enough hunting pressure exerted on any state area to justify the expense of that kind of operation at this time The Michigan department is embarking on a put-and-take program on some heavily-used state lands there. Michigan technicians, with a past history of significant release programs behind them, pointed out that releasing birds over large sections of the state proved unsatisfactory as early as the 1930s.

Birds stocked before the gun on Indiana fish and game areas showed a 70 to 80 percent return. For each bird bagged, a cost of $3.50 was reported. Workers concluded that the overall release program provided some return, but at a cost per bird that was greater than the license fee. On the basis of cost, number of pheasants released, number of license holders, and number of birds bagged, 95 percent of the license holders helped to pay for benefits derived by only 5 percent. Stocking has been suggested in Nebraska to improve blood lines, and plans have been made to trap wild pheasants for release in low density areas of the Sand Hills. In Iowa, biologists are still analyzing results of a limited release program undertaken to improve blood lines, and thusly populations, in the southeast corner of the state.

Stocking for annual maintenance is not justified, according to biologists, because of the high cost, low return rate, and the perpetuation of a false idea in the public mind.

In South Dakota, where the greatest number of pheasants has ever been recorded, few releases were made. Until 1967, South Dakota had never operated a game farm, which is considered a high-cost, low-return business. In 1967 some 2,700 chicks were purchased, raised, and released. A return of 6.2 percent from hunters made the expense of putting birds into the hunter's bag a phenomenal $17.32 each!

Michigan personnel saw some value in replenishing by stocking, birds lost to natural disaster. If a catastrophe wiped out the population in an entire area, they said, releases would be needed to re-establish the birds —but only after the cause of the catastrophe was corrected.

Severe winter blizzards in Nebraska have diminished pheasant numbers on occasion, but biologists here question the feasibility of replacement stocking. If suitable habitat is present, they say, recovery is quite rapid from natural reproduction. Past records have shown this tendency, as in the case of the 1959-60 severe winter. The key has always been the environment, the biologists stressed, and stocking cannot maintain game where the essentials of life are missing.

A number of alternatives to stocking were a part of technician's recommendations to the Nebraska Game Commission. These might be more helpful in improving the state's pheasant population, if implemented.

One suggestion would create a companion project to the well established "Acres for Wildlife" program. The campaign would include distribution of "Seed Packets for Wildlife", prepared packets of seed with planting instructions. The packets would be supplied to landowners and other interested persons on request, and would give Commission personnel an opportunity to discuss wildlife conservation with interested landowners.

In addition to seed packets, biologists further suggested that the Commission provide nursery stock to landowners in certain parts of the state. The plant materials would be used for the creation of a "living snowfence" for wildlife. The snowfences would provide both protection and food for wildlife during Nebraska's harsh winters.

Landowners could be further encouraged to plant wildlife corners on the end rows of fields adjacent to roadways. This would provide low ground cover where tall corn or other crops make for dangerous blind intersections. Such a program could involve local clubs and individuals in actions that could benefit wildlife, contribute to rural beautifications, and help avert traffic accidents.

This has formerly been an approved practice for federal cost-sharing under an Agricultural Stabilization Conservation Service program. It would provide for involvement of hunters, citizens and landowners in an action program to actually improve habitat. Another change might allow birds from destroyed nests to be taken to the farm, hatched, and raised there. This would not add much to the population, but it would provide contact with wildlife for the farm family. Such a change would require legislative action to modify the current law, however.

According to biologists, the federal farm program is receiving scrutiny from a special committee. The thrust of that committee's work is to design a three-to-five-year retirement program to put cover on fields that would otherwise be barren. This would reduce wind and water erosion and at the same time provide direly needed cover for wildlife. Such an amendment is being considered as part of the new farm bill before Congress. As a companion to coordination with county and state officials in limiting roadside mowing, a management program for development of roads under construction might be set up, biologists said. The Illinois Department of Conservation has developed a roadside management program that produces a bird in the bag at far less cost than that for released birds.

Second only to complaints of diminishing numbers of game birds and animals are the complaints the Commission receives of the increasing amount of private acreage closed to hunting. Farmers consider themselves victims of some hunters, and suggestions relate to the need for improving hunter-landowner relationships. Aside from an education program to acquaint landowners with their legal rights regarding trespassers and violators and to apprise hunters of their responsibilities as guests on private lands, biologists suggest some posting innovations.

One recommendation would allow the Commission to provide signs for posting private lands. This would establish a source of contact with landowners, excluding hunters where there is a clear need, but creating a posting method less objectionable to hunters. Proposed signs might read as follows: 1) Be a Sportsman. Ask before you enter. Don't trespass. 2) Safety Zone Family Residence. No Hunting. 3. Unharvested Crops —no Hunting Until Harvest is Completed. To stock or not to stock. That seems to be a question answered by cost and return rates. The problem, then, is one of finding alternative means of improving hunting opportunities.

the Ring-necked Pheasant in Nebraska

Better adapted to modern game range than any native species, this wild chicken from the Orient has earned the unqualified respect of bird dogs and hunters alike. Today's ring neck is a mongrel strain derived from several species of pheasants. He is uniquely American, a farm-country bird adapted to grain fields and waste areas, thriving in climates too northerly for the bobwhite quail and too humanized for the prairie grouse. He's been described as a tin-shingled refugee from a chicken yard and as our most elegant game bird. Despite his ancestry and nature, even he is finding survival increasingly difficult

Ringneck Its Past and Prospects

A most successful exotic, pheasant numbers are declining

NO EXOTIC game species can lay claim to being as successful an introduction as the ring-necked pheasant. In his homeland of Asia and Asia minor, however, the ring-necked pheasant that we regard as a superb game bird, is only one of over 40 species that exist from the southern foothills of the Caucasus along the Black Sea to as far east as Japan. The birds of the genus Phasianus are perhaps better known than any of the other 15 groups of pheasants in the world. All are related to the partridges, quails, grouse and guinea fowls which make up the order Calliformes or chicken-like birds.

Modern man is not unique in finding the pheasant of high palatability. Primitive man also found the pheasant a very worthwhile food, according to remains found in ancient kitchen middens. Large pheasants apparently lived in southern France in Miocene days. The Greeks obviously knew the bird in the 10th Century B.C. since their name for the species Phasianus ornis (phasian bird) was derived from the birds' abundance along the Phasis River (now Rion) nearthe Caucasus Mountains. The Chinese knew the pheas ant some 3,000 years ago as indicated by ancient paintings and embroideries. The Romans are considered responsible for the spread of pheasants in western Europe. When Julius Caesar invaded England about the middle of the First Century B.C., the pheasant followed close behind. Apparently the pheasant found the English countryside to its liking, for when Chancellor Neville became Archbishop of York in 1465, 200 "fessauntes" were among the game served at the banquet. It wasn't until almost 300 years later that the pheasant made his appearance in the New World. Some dozen pairs of the black-necked strain were introduced on what is now Governor's Island, New York. Other varieties of pheasants were also released in the 1700s in New Hampshire and New Jersey. None of these releases were particularly successful.

Not until 1881 when Judge O. N. Denny of Oregon finally succeeded in releasing some 100 pairs of Chinese ringnecks in the Willamette Valley did the pheasant really gain a foothold in the United States. Some 11 years after that, the ringneck had multiplied to such numbers in this highly suitable habitat that the first hunting season saw some 50,000 harvested on the opening day. From that time on, pheasants were propagated and released by individuals, state agencies and clubs. For all practical purposes, pheasants have been established everywhere in the continent where suitable habitat exists.

The first occurrences of pheasants in Nebraska were in 1900 to 1904, when individual birds were reported to have been shot at various points along the Kansas line in southeastern Nebraska (Table Rock, Pawnee, Barneston, etc.), these probably having been qorthward stragglers from some of the early private Kansas importations. The earliest stocking at tempts by the state were made around 1915 with several dozen birds. During the next 10 years, small shipments were released by the game agency each fall. State releases were supplemented by private individuals to some extent, particularly in the central portion of the state. Today's pheasant numbers, estimated at approximately 3V2 million birds, were thus derived from what was probably fewer than 500 pairs.

The increase of what was primarily a mixture of Chinese, Mongolian and blackneck strains of the ring necked pheasant demonstrated the tremendous biotic potential of this bird. Adaptation to the changeable climate of Nebraska, and to the habitat associated with grain culture of the plains was nearly perfect—almost too perfect, in fact. By the early 1920s, corn damage from pheasants was being reported in central Nebraska. Looking back, it's found also that material was prepared for the farmer in 1945 giving directions for preventing damage to corn. Even spring shooting was tried until it was concluded that this type of random shooting did not stop any important number of the birds which had acquired the corn-digging habit. The corn-digging habit apparently resulted as birds worked around the base of corn plants in search of cut worms.

By 1926, pheasants were so plentiful in Howard County that some 1 5,000 were winter-trapped and distributed in 49 other counties of the state. A year later, about 30,000 birds were trapped in Howard, Sherman and Valley counties for distribution in 76 counties. That pheasants were abundant in this area is borne out by the fact that the 1926 trapping effort removed an average of 27 birds per section in Howard County.

Stocking was continued through out most of the state during those early days of the pheasant in Nebraska. The State Game Farm, established south of Norfolk, began operation in 1937 and provided some 130,000 birds for release over 84 counties until 1949. Cooperative pheasant rearing units, set up under Pittman Robertson Project 1 -D, raised 40,156 birds for release from 1939 through 1944.

While weather always plays a significant role in the reproductive potential and survival of the pheasant, land-use patterns are basic to the areas where pheasants have been able to abide successfully. Like any other living organism, certain requisites of food and cover are necessary. The pheasant, while highly adaptable, is generally found in highest numbers where approximately 20 to 45 percent of the area is in small grains and wild hay and less than 40 percent in corn and alfalfa. Where interspersion of cultivated lands and permanent vegetation exists, pheasants thrive.

Pheasant densities were plotted in 1969 as part of preparation for the State Wildlife Plan. Examination of this range map demonstrates well that pheasants are a product of agriculture. The south-central and south west regions of the state have consistently bepn good areas of cover over the years. Soil-Bank vegetation which had contributed to some excellent pheasant numbers in northeast and central Nebraska during the mid-1960s was returned to cultivation with a subsequent decline in pheasant numbers by 1969.

The highest local populations in the state existed in the high plains wheat country of Box Butte and Sheridan counties except during several years of severe blizzards. While winter cover is usually not a limiting factor in southern or eastern Nebraska, it has been deficient in much of the western areas. As a result, periodic storm losses have occurred—at least once in every 10 years.

In the Sand Hills region of the state, some interesting pockets of

  Pheasant Range and Abundance Since the pheasant's introduction, it has spread over most of our Northern states and southern edge of Canada. Its primary range begins in eastern New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, sweeps westward across the Great Lake states and ends on the western borders of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas. Notable pheasant populations are found in agricultural valleys west of the Rockies. Though not for lack of attempts by various game departments, the pheasant has not been established in the southeastern United States. The line separating good pheasant range from unsuitable range is remarkably sharp. Most biologists agree that warmer temperatures have a detrimental influence on developing pheasant embryos. Almost all of Nebraska can be considered as possible pheasant range. Biologists estimate that that amounts to over 43 million acres, with approximately 13 million supporting moderate to high populations. The greatest single factor controlling pheasant numbers over much of the state is the availability of suitable nesting cover. Expiration of land-retirement programs like the Soil Bank, more intensive land use, and changes in road ditch management policy are major contributing factors to this decline in nesting habitat. Shortage of winter cover can be a critical factor in some years, especially in marginal pheasant range. North American Distribution Nebraska Densities

pheasants exist. As would be expected in an area of such unbalanced habitat, pheasant populations do not tend to have a great deal of stability. Greatest numbers are found near marshes, shelterbelts, streams, or small cultivated areas. In contrast to food habits of birds in the prime pheasant range of the state, Sand Hills pheasants are very much dependent on annual seed crops from native plants. Food items such as sunflower, grasses and ragweed be come very important to the pheasant in this area of essentially non-cultivated land. Food-habit characteristics similar to prairie grouse are also observed in the adaptable ringneck of this region, with wild rose and poison ivy berries being utilized, particularly in the winter.

No game bird in the state is as adaptable as the pheasant, nor does any other game species have the reproductive capability of the ring neck. Yet, this capability to exist under the changeable and often harsh climate of Nebraska cannot ever be fulfilled to the sportsman's desire without the ecological requisites for survival. During the relatively short pheasant history in Nebraska, it has been apparent that even a small percentage of permanent cover means much to pheasant numbers. Soil Bank booms have come and gone, and the pheasant has fluctuated with these increases and decreases in permanent cover. Where intensive irrigated farming has removed fence rows, drained and leveled rainwater basins and narrowed roadsides, pheasant numbers have dropped. Spelled out from a game manager's perspective, every unit of land has a given carrying capacity. Where essentials like nesting and winter cover or winter foods are lacking, carrying capacity is diminished. In terspersion or diversity of cover types is also a key to estimating productive capability of pheasant range. A solid 640 acres of corn or grass would provide an abundance of food or nesting cover, but it most certainly lacks the needed niches of other habitat so essential for life needs.

Thus, like any other living organism, the pheasant is completely dependent on suitable habitat. However, cover that produces high wild life numbers is often in conflict with agriculture or urban expansion. The short-term gains provided by modern-day land manipulation, though, often become predictable long-term losses. Many methods of habitat management and restoration can be wholly compatible with farm improvement practices and urban land development. Until realization and implementation of these practices become an actuality, the ring-necked pheasant's future in Nebraska will be a steady, but losing battle for survival.

Population Trend in Nebraska

Nuptial Rites and Nesting

Spring recoups winter's losses

WITH THE approach of spring, distinctive physical and hormonal changes occur in the pheasant. As the days get longer, the pituitary gland in the brain becomes active triggering the production of hormones which stimulate courtship behavior. Since the hen must cope with the rigors of mating, nesting, and brood rearing, she particularly undergoes significant internal change. She must have a reserve of energy to lay all her eggs and to produce the necessary heat to incubate them. Therefore, the hen attains her peak weight in the spring.

Courtship activities of ring-necked pheasants provide a springtime drama that is hard to top. A cock stakes his claim to a piece of real estate for courtship purposes. With in this self-claimed domain, he is a strutting, boisterous fellow who will tolerate no trespasses by other males. He has a one-track mind —girls —at this time of year, and his crowing proclaims to the pheasant world that this is his territory, that he is a great lover, and that he is the meanest bird on the "block".

Crowing activity generally begins in late February or early March, be comes more intense during April and peaks in early May. In crowing, the rooster grasps an immovable object, stretches and emits his raucous crow, followed by a rapid beating of wings.

The second and most dramatic phase of courtship occurs after the hen is attracted to a cock's territory. The rooster approaches the hen, tilts his body toward her, spreads his tail feathers, and extends one wing downward. His head is held low with ear tufts erect and neck feathers flared. The lores or wattles on the sides of his head turn a vivid shade of red and swell until they nearly touch on top of the head. His yellow eyes appear vacant, and he seems to be completely ruled by the biological instinct to reproduce.

The drab-colored hen, too, has her role in the unfolding drama. Early in the season, she is a typical coy female. She may appear to be totally disinterested in the ardent rooster's attempt to woo her. She may watch his antics, then continue feeding or walk nonchalantly around him. When that happens, the cock does his best to rearrange himself and continue his display. As the nesting season approaches, she be comes more attentive and may crouch by her selected mate as he displays.

Pheasants are polygamous, and a cock will gather as many hens as possible into his harem. The average harem, in Nebraska, includes three to four hens. However, it is not unusual to see a male with from 5 to 10 hens. The ringneck rooster is a virile fellow who is quite capable of mating successfully with a great number of females.

The ratio of females to males in the spring breeding population usually averages about two hens per cock. When compared with the average harem size, there's an obvious annual surplus of roosters which donot mate.

These "bachelor" birds tend to be a disturbing influence in the breeding population. They roam about picking fights and assaulting hens as they try to gather their own harems. These cocks, and many that were successful in acquiring a mate, are purely surplus to the reproductive needs of the species. A spring sex ratio of 6 to 10 hens per cock would be a desirable management goal. No poultry man would consider main taining a rooster for every two hens in his flock.

Spring crowing behavior of the cock pheasants has provided biologists with a tool for estimating spring populations. "Crowing counts" are made along sample 20-mile routes in the various regions of the state. Starting 40 to 45 minutes before sunrise, technicians conduct the census by stopping in each mile and record ing the number of cock calls made during a two-minute time period. The number of calling cocks, when corrected with sex-ratio data from roadside counts, provides an index to the population. The index is simply a figure that allows calculation of increases or decreases in numbers from year to year and in no way indicates absolute numbers.

The population density of an area is related to the diversity of cover types existing on that locale. For example, more than 25 lagoons or rain basins were distributed on one nine-square-mile pheasant study area, while a second study area less than 15 miles away had none. The population on the area with the basins was consistently twice as high as the population on the second area. Since cropping patterns, weather conditions and soil types were similar, the differences in population were attributed to the presence of the lagoons.

Basins tended to break up large blocks of cover and provided a mixture of types that better meet the needs, and will support more pheasants. This interspersion of cover types is important to pheasants and results in greater numbers of birds on an area.

When the hen selects her mate, the courtship period ends and she must get on with the serious business of home selection and chick rearing. She must choose the nest site, lay and incubate the eggs, and brood the chicks after they hatch. She receives no help with these chores from the male. His duties end after mating takes place.

Early in the nesting season, the hen may seem rather careless about egg laying. Eggs may be dropped at random, with no attempt made to conceal them. Later she may play a stop-and-go game of initiating a nest, laying a few eggs in it, and then abandoning it. Frequently several hens will lay eggs in a single nest, termed "dump nests" by biologists. It is not uncommon for a dump nest to contain from 20 to 30 eggs.

Promiscuous egg laying by pheasants is not limited to dump nests. Pheasant eggs were found in nearly 7 percent of all duck nests checked on a study area in south-central Nebraska.

The most heavily parasitized nest found during that study contained three duck eggs and five pheasant eggs. The nest contained one blue winged teal egg when first discovered and three teal eggs and

one pheasant egg at a later date. The hen teal abandoned her nest after the pheasant's intrusion and neither incubated the eggs.

As spring progresses, the hen ceases random egg laying. She quits practicing and becomes serious about establishing a nest.

Pheasants are ground nesters, and the nest itself consists of a small depression which the hen shapes to her own specifications. It is lined with grass, leaves and other pieces of plant material. Down, feathers and  

additional vegetation are added as egg laying and incubation progress.

Nests are established in a variety of vegetation. Findings from a 10 year study on pheasant life history and ecology in south-central Nebraska indicated that hens preferred roadsides, wheat and alfalfa as nesting cover. Most of the chicks (approximately 77 percent) were hatched from nests in roadsides and wheat.

Roadsides are particularly important as pheasant nesting cover. While this cover type makes up approximately one percent of the total land area, it consistently produces more than 25 percent of all chicks hatched. This relatively high production from such a restricted area results primarily

The courtship activities of the ring necked pheasant are a spectacular springtime drama. Crowing begins in late February and peaks early in May. During this time, cocks vigorously defend well-defined territories, above. By late May, most hens have laid their clutches and are at the business of incubation.

from the permanency of this cover type. Roadsides are not normally worked from year to year. Therefore, they contain residual cover as well as new growth. Generally, roadsides with well-developed, solid stands of warm-season native grass or smooth brome are not preferred types. Rather, hens select roadsides with an abundance of early maturing grasses such as west ern wheatgrass or bluegrass, mixed lightly with annual weeds.

Hen pheasants also show a definite preference for nest placement within the roadside profile. The bottom area is preferred as a site to establish a nest, followed by the slope adjacent to the fence.

While winter wheat is a major crop in south-central Nebraska, it is not a particularly popular nesting choice. However, it is productive. In a study in the region, approximately one-quarter of the land involved was devoted to its culture, and the crop provided more than half of the total available nesting cover. Still, nest densities in wheat (2 nests per 10 acres) were lower than in any other cover type. On the other hand, 24 percent of all nests were established in wheat, and about 53 percent of all chicks produced during the 10-year study were in this cover.

The harvest of wheat normally begins during the first or second week of July, which is well after the peak of the pheasant hatch. Hens which lose a nest and choose wheat as a site to renest may also be successful, even if the field is harvested prior to hatching of their clutch. Stubble is normally left high enough to provide sufficient cover for the nest, and many hens return to complete incubation after the harvest.

Predation of nests is also lower in wheat because the nests are spread over a larger area and because nest predators such as the striped skunk prefer to prowl strip cover such as fencerows and roadsides to large blocks of wheat.

Alfalfa must also be considered as an important cover type for nesting, even though few chicks are produced there because of mowing. Alfalfa greens up very early in the spring and is very attractive to nesting hens. Approximately 27 percent of all nests are located there. However, more than 95 percent of these are doomed to destruction by mowing, which occurs just prior to the peak of the hatch. In addition, these areas often become death traps for the incubating hen.

Changes in technology over the years also have made it more difficult for pheasants to utilize alfalfa. Machinery has progressed from relatively slow, horse-drawn mowers to tractor-drawn models to today's wide, high-speed, self-propelled swathers. Irrigation of alfalfa has also increased, allowing the man on the land to harvest his crop earlier. While all these advances have in creased the efficiency of the farmer, they have been detrimental to old dame pheasant because she just can not adapt. This does not mean that the farmer should return to horse drawn mowing of alfalfa. That would not be practical or economical. In stead, game researchers must look for means of making other cover types more attractive than alfalfa and thereby reduce the loss of hens.

The history of agriculture in the central Platte River Valley graphically illustrates its effect on pheasant populations. The valley from Grand Island to North Platte formerly supported good ringneck populations, but the agricultural economy of the area is now based on two crops, corn and alfalfa. Alfalfa in that region is normally cut repeatedly during the summer and sent to dehydration plants. Chopping is often done on a 24-hour basis and few nesting hens survive. Most of the crops and native hay fields which formerly offered nesting cover in the river valley no longer exist. Consequently, one finds a much lower pheasant population today.

Other cover types used for nesting include pastures, native hay fields, marsh edges, and fencerows. Researchers were surprised to find that during their 10-year study, weedy and brushy fencerows produced no pheasant chicks. Many nests were found in this cover type, but not a single one appeared to be success ful. Continued study revealed that such areas of cover served as regular

Nest Site Preferences Nests are established in a variety of vegetation. Find ings from a 10-year study on pheasant life history and ecology in south-central Nebraska indicated that hens preferred roadsides, wheat and alfalfa as nesting cover. Approximately 77 percent of all pheasant chicks were hatched from nests in roadsides and wheat. While alfalfa is preferred nesting vegetation, few chicks are produced there because of mowing mortality. Roadsides, with an abundance of early maturing grasses, are also preferred areas. Wheat, though it is not a preferred vegetation type for nesting pheasants, is one of the most productive.   Photographs by Greg Beaumont

travel lanes for several pheasant nest predators. Thus, nests were easily found and provided many omelets for skunks, raccoons, and other such critters.

Careful examination of more than 1,700 nests revealed that hens also prefer certain groupings of plants within cover types as their nest site. Eighty-two percent of all nests were established in cover where the plants achieved maximum growth during the spring months. In other words, most nests were located in alfalfa, winter wheat, and cool-season grass stands such as western wheatgrass or bluegrass. Native warm-season grasses were seldom used by nest ing pheasants.

This preference for cool-season plants by nesting hens was also demonstrated in a recent study near Grand Island, where 60 hens were confined in three, one-acre pens. These were each divided into one half acre alfalfa and one-half acre of warm-season grasses. The 60 hens established 89 nests in the alfalfa and only 10 in the warm-season grasses. This indicates that hen pheasants can and do actively select certain plant complexes for nesting if those complexes are available.

Waterfowl in south-central Nebraska also exhibit a tendency, similar to the pheasants, to select cool-season plants for nest sites. Roadsides and alfalfa were preferred cover types, and alfalfa and cool season grasses were preferred plant complexes within cover types.

Once the hen becomes serious about becoming a mother, she selects a nest site and begins laying at the rate of about one egg per day. The eggs are generally laid some time between the morning and evening feeding periods. The hen does not remain at the nest except to deposit the eggs. The completed clutch may contain from 1 to 20 eggs, with an average of 10 eggs in Nebraska.

When egg laying in the nest has terminated, incubation begins. The hen began to shed feathers from her breast just prior to egg laying in preparation for this phase of the nest ing cycle. As the feathers are shed, a bare patch of skin on the breast appears. This "brood patch" is well supplied with surface blood vessels to keep the eggs at the right temper ature for hatching.

The hen's attentiveness to the nest has also changed during incubation. During egg laying, she was a casual visitor who stayed only long enough to deposit her egg. Now she only leaves the nest for a brief period each day. She shows true devotion to the young developing within the eggs in her nest.

Pheasant eggs require approximately 23 days of incubation. Dur ing this period, the hen turns and readjusts the eggs frequently. Although the eggs were laid individually over a two-week period, incubation of all eggs begins at the same time and they all hatch within a few hours of each other.

When development is complete, the chick uses its egg tooth, a projection on top of the beak, to cut a cap off the large end of the egg. The new arrival emerges from the egg as a wet ball of fluff supported by spindly legs. Pheasant chicks are precocious, capable of leaving the nest soon after hatching. The hen will lead her new brood away from the nest as soon as they are dry.

Although pheasant chicks hatch from April through August, the peak hatching period occurs during the first three weeks of June. More than 60 percent of all chicks hatch during this brief period of time.

Reasons for nest failure or poor pheasant reproduction are always a topic of discussion among the barber-shop biologists. Factors most frequently discussed are weather, predation, and farming operations. Weather is the most variable of the environmental factors and one with little possibility of control by man. Only two weather factors, departure from normal precipitation and temperature, exerted an influence on nesting during the course of Nebraska studies. Deviation from normal precipitation was of primary importance, while abnormal temperature was secondary. Earliest hatching, which is usually more productive, occurred in years when spring was classified as warm and dry, while the latest hatches occurred in wet, cold years.

Most nesting failures can be attributed to three major factors farming operations, predation, and abandonment. All three have vary ing effects from area to area and from year to year. Generally, when abandonment rates go up, nest failures from predation and farming operations go down, and vice versa. Generally speaking, years of high nesting success are also years with high predation rates.

Habitat as a factor affecting nest ing success is a much discussed topic. However, the true importance of secure nesting cover is seldom fully recognized. Man can exert a degree of control over habitat and thus modify the impact of weather, predation, farming losses, and abandonment.

Fertility and hatchability are not problems in Nebraska's pheasant population. Examination of hundreds of eggs indicates that fertility consistently averages about 92 percent. Nebraska pheasants are persistent nesters, and the hens do everything in their power to literally flood the fields with their offspring. Each hen in the spring population averages over three nests in an attempt to reproduce. In spite of this tremendous effort, only 48 of every 100 hens present in the spring successfully bring off a clutch of eggs.

Nesting season is the most important time of the year for pheasant populations. This is the season when old dame nature decides whether the harvest will be a boom or a bust. Pheasants are not noted for their longevity. The average life span of a Nebraska pheasant is less than one year, and few birds live to see two successive hunting seasons. The annual turnover rate in the population approaches 70 percent.

Hatching Peak in Nebraska After the last egg is laid, the 23-day incubation period begins. Although eggs were laid individually over a two-week period, incubation begins at the same time and all will hatch within a few hours of each other. Hatching runs from April through August, but over 60 percent of the nests come off during the first three weeks of June.

Summer Broods

While cocks undergo their annual moult, hens enter the brooding period. For eight weeks, hens attend chicks

WITH THE advent of summer, nesting activities diminish and the hen enters the brooding stage of the reproductive cycle. Young chicks are highly susceptible to cold, wet weather and cannot survive repeated or severe exposure to these conditions. Therefore, the hen attends them almost constantly. She will normally remain with her brood until the young are six to eight weeks old.

One frequently hears comments about how good the "second hatch" is during a late nesting year. This misconception is caused by the hen pheasant's persistence in trying to hatch a brood. If her nest is destroyed or abandoned, she will renest time and time again until she is either successful or simply runs out of time. A hen that loses a brood will not renest. Broods of young pheasants observed in late summer or early fall are the results of renesting.

A look at the time required to lay a clutch of eggs, incubate them, and then rear the young will show that raising two broods in one summer is a feat that is next to impossible for a hen to accomplish. It takes the average hen 13 to 14 days to lay her clutch of eggs. She will then spend 23 days incubating them, plus another 8 to 1 2 weeks rearing the young. That totals a minimum of three to four months from start to finish. If a hen started her nest in early May, it would be August before she would be ready to start over. There is just not enough time for her to repeat the process.

In addition to the time factor, there are important physiological reasons why the hen wi 11 not rear two broods. Her behavior during each phase of the reproductive cycle is governed by a delicate balance of hormones in her system. Different hormones dominate the egg laying, incubation, and brood-rearing phases. Consequently, nature dictates that a hen which loses her brood will not renest, nor will she attempt to hatch and raise a second brood. She is physically and emotionally conditioned to brood by her hormone balance, and the cycle will not repeat itself until increasing daylight triggers the response the following year.

One of the most difficult phases of managing or studying pheasant populations is the accurate census ing of broods. The summer census provides necessary information on the success of the preceding nesting season and of juvenile mortality. It also gives the data for setting hunting season regulations. Information on pheasant broods is collected in two ways—roadside counts by Game and Parks Commission biologists and the rural mail carriers census.

Roadside counts have been used to inventory pheasants in Nebraska since 1941. The method involves driving a standardized 30-mile route in mid-summer when weather conditions are favorable. Beginning at sunrise, observers leave a designated point and drive the route at approximately 15 and 20 miles per hour. All pheasants observed on the route are counted, aged, and recorded on standardized forms.

The Rural Mail Carriers Survey (RMC) is exactly what the name implies—a tally of game birds observed by the carriers along their regular routes. Nebraska's mail carriers are particularly conscientious and provide the Game and Parks Commission with a massive quantity of data from virtually every county in the state. This is a major advantage of this technique, since it provides extensive information on the entire state in a short period of time.

A combination of data from these surveys provides game managers with figures on birds per mile, birds per hundred miles, and young-per-adult hen ratios. All these figures can and have been used as post-breeding population indices that give a picture of population trends from area to area and from year to year. Regulations for the hunting season are, in turn, based on these trends.

The summer brood census also provides a means for measuring juvenile or chick mortality. As one might expect, there is a general trend for broods to become smaller as the chicks become older. By running the census route repeatedly and aging chicks to the nearest week, it is possible to determine the rate of mortal ity. From hatching until 6 to 10 weeks of age (the most accurate census grouping), approximately 35 per cent of the chicks die. This figure remains quite constant from year to year. While we know that we are losing more than one-third of our chick population, this mortality is a phenomenon that is extremely difficult to document. Dr. Allen Stokes aptly described the scope of this problem in 1954 when he said, "The disappearance of so many thousands of chicks in the short space of a sum mer almost beneath one's eyes and

yet not noticed is a baffling experience and an enigma still to be solved".

Observations of a hen with young of two or more age groups is not uncommon in Nebraska. Hens will adopt chicks that have strayed from or lost their own mother. Approximately seven percent of all broods in south-central Nebraska consist of two age groups. This represents a minimum figure for brood mingling, because it is obviously impossible to tell if a brood of the same-age chicks is mixed or not.

Broods with more than one hen in attendance are also commonly observed in the summer. This may represent a mixing of two or more broods, or it may be that a hen has attached herself to another hen and her brood. A study at Sacramento Game Management Area showed that a hen pheasant would probably abandon her nest upon visual and audio contact with other hens with chicks. This may explain why fewer than half the hens hatch a clutch of eggs in intensively farmed south central Nebraska.

  Immediately upon leaving the nest, day-old chicks begin feeding on summer's abundant supply of insects. They respond quickly to this protein-rich diet and when they are 13 or 14 weeks old, the juvenile birds may weigh as much as 1 Vi to 2 pounds.

Upon hatching, a pheasant chick will weigh slightly less than one ounce. Insects will make up the major portion of the chick's diet for several weeks, and it starts feeding immediately after leaving the nest. Chicks respond quickly to this protein-rich diet, increasing in size and strength. Both males and females demonstrate rapid growth from a little over half a pound at 5 weeks, to about 1 Vi to 2 pounds at 13 or 14 weeks, then growth is more gradual until adult weights are reached.

Along with changes in size and weight, the pheasant chick is also changing his plumage. Within a few days of leaving the egg, he begins replacing his natal down with drab juvenile plumage that is similar in both sexes. The primaries, or flight feathers, are the first real feathers to develop, and by the end of its first week a chick is capable of short flights.

Chicks undergo what is virtually a continuous moult during their first summer. They begin to replace their juvenile plumage with adult or post juvenile plumage at about four weeks of age. Young cocks begin to show colored feathers on their breasts and necks at eight weeks. This final moult of the year continues until the chicks are about five months old. It is almost impossible to tell a 21-week-old bird from an adult on the basis of plumage alone.

Hen pheasants spend the summer months trying to hatch a clutch of eggs, if they were unsuccessful in earlier attempts, or in rearing their young. Hens also undergo their annual moult during this period. They are at their lowest weight of the year after egg laying and incubation, and must use any reserve energy they have left to grow new feathers. There is some evidence that many hens cannot cope with all this stress and die. In fact, there are indications that summer hen mortality exceeds winter mortality.

Adult cocks are notably absent during the latter part of the summer. During late July and part of August, they undergo their annual moult and become quite secretive. It seems that the loss of his beautiful plumage is more than his ego can bear. So, in shame, he goes into seclusion until his new feathers have grown in.

Following a typical brood through an average day at monthly intervals during the summer would illustrate the variety of cover types utilized by ringnecks.

In late June, a hypothetical brood is about 21/2 weeks old. There were nine chicks when they hatched on June 10 in a nest near a wild lettuce plant in a bluegrass roadside. Two chicks were chilled and died follow ing a sudden thunderstorm shortly after hatching. In the false dawn that precedes sunrise, the remainderof the brood starts moving around the roost site in a patch of western wheatgrass along the margin of a marsh. They might also have spent the night in a roadside or pasture that had not yet been grazed. As the sun appears in the east, the brood moves into a pasture and starts feeding on insects. On another given morning, they could be found eating ground beetles, ants and other insects in a milo field.

At 11 a.m., when the sun is approaching its zenith, the brood heads for a nearby roadside. There, they spend the hottest part of the day in the shade of an osage orange hedge row. Other broods can be found during this midday period loafing in a brushy fencerow or at the edge of a marsh.

The roadside where the brood is loafing is a good producer of insects, so they spend the late-afternoon feeding period right there. It was easier than moving back to the pasture across the road or to a sorghum field.

As sundown nears, the hen collects her young and moves them back to a patch of western wheat grass to settle down for the night.

The next observation is in mid-July, when the winter wheat has been harvested. The brood has been roosting in a stubble field for the last two weeks. There are only five chicks left, since two more chicks were lost when they contested the road right-of-way with a pickup truck. The brood is a little slower in leaving the field, for their diet now consists of plant material as well as insects. The roosting field contains abundant wheat seeds that the combine left, so they are in no hurry to get to the neighboring milo field, where they will spend the rest of the morning. They seldom visit the pasture where they fed a month ago, because that area has been grazed quite heavily and cover is sparse.

The brood has found a good weedy fencerow nearby to spend the mid-day period, taking life easy. Their cousins are using the neighboring marsh or roadsides, but the fence row is a preferred cover type.

In the evening, the birds move in to an uncut alfalfa field that is loaded with insects and tasty greens. They don't come to this banquet in the morning to feed, because there is usually a heavy dew and they really hate getting their feathers wet. As darkness approaches they return to the stubble field and select their beds for the night.

A final look at the brood comes in mid to late August. One can see quite a bit of color on the breasts of the young cocks as they move about. This brood, along with many others, is still using the stubble field for roosting each night. The western wheatgrass, where they roosted in June, has been hayed and is no longer used as a roost. Milo fields are maturing and cover is excellent. The brood elects to spend the entire day there feeding, loafing and dust ing in the loose, cultivated soil.

The brood ends its day, like it has ended so many others in the last month, in the stubble field. Very soon, the young pheasants will disband as a family group. Fall is approaching, and during the next few weeks the young will begin to assert their independence and go their own way.

Hunting the Ring-necked Pheasant

WITH THE arrival of August, token hints of fall begin to appear. Ripening grain, along with the gradual change in plumage of the young cocks, make one realize that pheasant season is just around the corner. By mid-August, biologists' recommendations, based on summer brood surveys and field observations, are submitted to the Commissioners for setting of the season regulations. The opening date and season length are only procedures for the hunter who plans his outings from one pheasant season to another. To the motel owner and restaurant operator, the opening weekend of pheasant season means rush and confusion, but more business. Many eyes and ears wait for the official announcement of the Nebraska pheasant season.

Season setting, however, comes as no simple matter. Many weeks of data gathering by field biologists and conservation officers are only a fore runner of the chore of last minute data tabulation. Results of regular brood surveys and field observations are prime data for digestion by the Commission and the public. Season recommendations by staff biologists take into consideration all factors of pheasant biology, for management of this top game bird is not only designed to harvest surplus birds and provide maximum recreation for the public, but also to provide a sustained resource for future years. With 40 some years of experience in pheasant seasons now under the agency's belt, one premise in pheasant seasons has been proven time and time again. That is: It's impossible to overharvest cock pheasants. The law of diminishing returns is demonstrated by the cock pheasant in a classic manner —at a certain level, coupled with a peculiar wily evasiveness, this tin-shingled refugee from a chicken yard will simply not be pursued further by hunters after a certain density has been reached. Such characteristics make the ringneck the very desirable game bird he is today. If biological manage ment were all there is to it, the Commission's job would be a cinch. But, the sociological aspects of pheasant hunting provide another area requiring much consideration. It's often said that biologically, the pheasant season could run from September through March if only cock birds were legal. While this may be true, the landowner tolerance for such a season length would be limited. Further, the prestige and enjoyment of bringing home a gaudy trophy such as the ringneck would be diminished, for such reasons, then, the Commission finds that the biological problems attending the pheasant are small compared to the sociological problems of the hunting season. As in most democratic so cieties, compromise is the name of the game. And, in setting the season on the ringneck, an equitable arrangement for all citizens is strived for so that a portion of the surplus roosters can be harvested, recreational benefits can be enjoyed, and yet private lands will not be subjected to undue pressure from sportsmen.

During all this period of human activity and decision-making right on up to the opening hour of the season, summer-hatched pheasants have been growing, gaining weight and changing feather style. By hunting season, all but a few late-hatched cocks have acquired the resplendent copper bronze characteristics of the adult. Outward appearance, how ever, isn't the only change that is going on in the young pheasant. All the tricks of the adults and all the awareness of his surroundings have been continually honed to a fine edge as the weeks pass. The June hatched pheasant has already learned many of the tricks of survival passed on by countless generations of the past. Increased wariness is, after all, the one survival mechanism that allows this Asian refugee to make it year after year and to provide the sporting qualities which so many avid hunters find worthwhile.

For the pheasant hunter, novice or experienced, the first cloud-bound departure of a cackling rooster in the dim-lit sky on opening morning serves notice that this is one foe that will provide all the excitement and frustration that the average nimrod will want to tackle. If there is any relevance in the advantages of "psyching out" an opponent, there are many hunters at this juncture who see the writing on the wall. Their cause is lost, because there's no way that those knees which have suddenly turned to jelly, or those trembling arms will recover enough to get the sights set on this oriental invader before he's long gone from shotgun range. For this group of would-be pheasant hunters, a brief period of contemplation back at the car or farmhouse with a steaming cup of coffee might provide a chance to retrench. Or, it may be that the rugged contest with John Q. Ringneck just isn't the proper activity for the easily frazzled hunter.

Back in the field on opening morning, sounds similar to a small army are no indication of success. Even the veteran pheasant pursuer has found that there's always a new trick in the ringneck's escape maneuvers. There is probably no game bird on the continent that can crouch, hide, run or fly and do them all equally well as the pheasant. An understand ing of some of these capabilities could assist any would-be pheasant hunter to at least get closer to his quarry.

  Age Characteristics of Fall Pheasants

Often overlooked is the ringneck's acute hearing. The slam of a car door or even the metallic click of a closing shotgun chamber are usually enough to send most pheasants scurrying for cover. During World War I, documentation showed that pheasants responded to cannon fire some 320 miles away —explosions inaudible to the human ear. Biologists have capitalized on this acute hearing ability at times as a census technique. Detonation of firecrackers at regular intervals along a census route during the spring allows a rough estimate of cock numbers, since most male birds respond to a loud noise by crowing. While crowing is not common in the fall, many a pheasant hunter has been surprised by a testy cock delivering a full-fledged crow following the discharge of a nearby shotgun. Human voices also have an excellent dispersal effect on pheasants, particularly during dry, calm days. The first maxim of successful pheasant hunting could well be "make no more noise than necessary".

The ringneck also possesses extremely good eyesight. Any object foreign to his neighborhood is enough to make most cocks shift into high gear in the opposite direction. The pheasant, unlike many mammals, is inherently spooky and takes to wing or legs upon any unusual intrusion. Any way the hunter can use cover to his advantage is an asset to successful pheasant hunting.

Flight is not one of the pheasant's best escape assets. But for a bird with such small wings compared to body size, he doesn't fare too badly. What is lacking in wing area is made up for with a more rapid wing beat. Once moving, a rooster pheasant hits between 35 to 45 mph. Couple this with an uncanny ability to go with the ever-present prairie wind and the pheasant becomes about as easy a target for the gunner as a will o'-the-wisp. Most pheasants are not long distance flyers. Several hundred yards is about average. On occasion though, pheasants have been known to fly several miles. On landing, almost all hit the ground running. The pheasant's leg muscles are well adapted for such an evasive tactic, and for the most part, this is the primary method for evading danger.

Many a hunter has experienced the frustration of seeing a rooster rapidly legging it down a corn or milo row, just out of gun range, and completely disappearing in a snap of-the-fingers time span. Worse yet, many a hunter has watched his well trained bird dog break all the rules of training and instinct and take off at a dead run after a high-headed, sprinting cock bird, after the torment of continually trying to point a moving bird just became too much.

The ringneck's constitution seems to go along with his extraordinary senses. An excerpt from John Madson's ode, You Pheasant, provides one of the best descriptions of this bird's capacity to survive:

You favor summers that raise fever blisters on rawhide And winters that jell your cussedness at forty below You get fat on a ration of bobwire and blizzard —

Ringnecks are rugged-no question about it. Each year many instances of healed legs and wings come to the biologist's attention. The pheasant has a tremendous capacity to heal breaks and wounds, and can often get by with the loss of feet, toes, and an eye. Early trapping efforts on the Valentine National Wild life Refuge turned up 3 percent of the cocks with complete or partial loss of toes on both feet. Five cocks were blind in one eye, probably from fighting. Yet, all were within the normal weight ranges. In agricultural areas, the rate of injury is undoubted ly higher.

In spite of these characteristics that seemingly give the pheasant a charmed life from the hunter's view point, there are a number of techniques that can be used successfully to assure bringing home more than just feathers.

At the beginning of the season, in particular, a lot of out-of-range shooting occurs. By holding back on the long, wild shots, the average hunter can boost his rating. Another tip comes after years of observing hunters in the field operating like Olympic contestants, as if working to break all time-distance records. The number of cagey ringnecks they breeze right by is unbelievable. Nothing shakes up the average wily cock more than a slow, methodical approach to cover stomping. Often this is the only way to get one of these crafty birds to break cover. A zig-zag style of hunting, particularly in milo and corn, is not only effective on those holding tight, but goes a long way in breaking up the run ahead, circle, and run-back tactics used by other pheasants.

Quick, accurate marking of downed game also adds to success. When a bird drops in heavy cover, keep your eyes on the exact spot as you move in. Better yet, insist that your hunting partners assume responsibility for marking a downed bird. By "homing in" on two lines of sight, the location is more accurately spotted and the search is short ened. If you're alone, drop a handkerchief at the spot where the bird dropped, then work around the spot in ever increasing circles. Take your time. Kick the cover and keep your eyes open. Often a brief pause is enough to make a smart old bird think he has been spotted.

Notorious for his ability to hide, a pheasant may often burrow into heavy cover, a drain, or an animal den. The careful hunter will keep an eye out for a long tail feather that looks out of place. Often the other end is attached to a sneaky cock who's making like a badger.

In those long milo and cornfields, a crippled bird often travels straight down the row without the usual crossing pattern. A careful approach to the field's end often produces the sought-after bird. But step light, and be ready.

If you're sure you've hit a bird but he doesn't fold or flinch, keep your eyes on it. In many cases, a fatally hit pheasant will set his wings and slant down on a long glide. Just before landing, the bird may fold up and drop like a stone. Mark the spot and the reward is often a bird which almost made the disappointment category.

It goes without saying that a good dog can provide additional hunting pleasure and at the same time be a definite asset in cutting bird losses. The value of a dog in the field has been demonstrated not only in Nebraska but in many other states, particularly as a factor in reducing pheasant loss. A good working dog can be expected to cut lost birds by more than half.

Selection of the most effective dog for pheasants is grounds for endless debate. Based on field observations, a close-working dog with retrieving ability is going to come closest to filling the bill. Both Labrador and golden retrievers have proven worthy under Nebraska conditions. A pointer-retriever with sufficient met tle would have to include the Vizsla, German short-haired pointer and Brittany. Or, it may be that the 57 variety type, just plain dog is as effective as any.

From the standpoint of hunting techniques, a number of methods can be used with success, depending on the time of season and weather. Often overlooked but high ly effective is very early morning hunting in wheat stubble. Of all cover types, wheat stubble is the pheasant's favorite haunt for roost ing. Early in the season, careful and quiet movement into this cover just as morning light begins to show can provide excellent hunting. Overcast or drizzly days are especially good just as dawn is breaking, for the pheasant intensely dislikes moving from secure and comfortable cover. Good, rank wheat stubble can also provide some excellent dog work for the hunter who knows how to move in this cover. Again, a careful, slow, and methodical hunt will pay off in fast action. Often in the latter part of the season, wheat stubble can provide a bonanza late in the after noon during heavy overcast or just before a storm closes in. For some reason, birds often respond to a fall ing barometer and will move into roosting cover early. As some hunters will attest, there's nothing as unnerving as having pheasants fly to you or over you, rather than   straight away. Under these infrequent conditions, adeptness at pass shooting comes in mighty handy.

For the average pheasant-hunting party, field driving is the most common method used to outwit the pheasant. Even here, good organization is a must. A widely spaced, straggling line of fast-moving hunters is going to get more exercise than excitement. A 20-foot distance between hunters is usually plenty; in weedy milo stubble, 10 feet would be better. Again, zigzagging in a slow, methodical fashion will move birds ahead and put them within gun range out front rather than behind and beyond the reach of anything but anti-aircraft weapons. Blockers, for maximum effectiveness, should move into position slowly, quietly, and without being conspicuous.

As the season progresses and crops are harvested, the pheasant still retains his early morning and late after noon feeding habits, but begins to spend more of his loafing time in heavier weedy pockets and fence rows unless the crop field is particularly rank. For the lone hunter or twosome, there's probably no cover to compare with a good weedy fencerow, and there's no method so effective for ringneck hunting as moving quietly along such cover with a shotgun poised at ready. Any time between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. is fine for this type of hunt, for during this period pheasants are going to be loafing. Fireweed, ragweed or sunflowers are among preferred vegetation. Weedy fencerows bordering milo or corn are choice areas, particularly on the south side, where the birds can soak up sunlight as the autumn days shorten.

The first few Plains snowstorms put an altogether different kink in pheasant-hunting tactics. This can be a time when the usual hunting techniques either go down the drain or work with great success at least once. Snow seems to add new dimension to the pheasant's sensory perception and provides some new magic for his usual bag of tricks. Some hunters swear that the closest approach to a bird at this time will still put him as a speck disappearing over the horizon. Others, by learning their quarry's habits, find it easy to put birds in the bag. First snows seem to catch birds off guard for a time. The hunter who concentrates on small weed patches adjacent to grain fields can usually find birds. Midday hunting is often the most productive time for these outings.

Shelterbelt hunting comes into its own with snow on the ground. Food and cover are requisites for survival on the Plains. Taking advantage of the pheasant's proclivity for shelter belts, particularly in the western part of the state, can provide some fast field action.

Under blizzard or heavy snow conditions, tracking pheasants provides a different but often productive hunt. Ambling along a set of fresh tracks is special fun for the young hunter, for very often a youngster gets so involved with the tracks, the pheasant is momentarily forgotten until an explosion of snow and a sky ward burst announce the departure of the stalked. This is a time, too, for remembering that pheasants like to burrow into cover, but it gets pretty hard to pull in and cover two-foot trailing tail feathers with snow on the ground. And, many an old rooster has gone to that great cornfield in the sky as result of telltale feathers show ing from a snow-covered clump or fireweed plant.

Regardless of which hunting tech nique is employed, any dyed-in-the wool pheasant hunter will be hard pressed to explain just why he subjects himself to the discomfort of cold, heat, rain, and snow for an average of 4 to 6 hours; to the humiliation of realizing that 21/2 pounds of feathered roughneck disguised as a game bird can consistently outsmart him; and to discover that he could have bought 4 to 5 times more porterhouse for the equivalent amount of time and money spent on hunting pheasants. In the pheasant hunting game there can be no explanation. No one can ever place a monetary value on the

thrill of seeing such sights as a young hunter racing back with his first ringneck; a four-footed hunting companion locked-up tight in a classic point, or simply the sight of dozens of birds breaking cover.

The excitement and anticipation of ringneck hunting in the wide open spaces of Nebraska touch many, be he a young hunter who has faithfully followed his dad during previous seasons and anxiously awaits his chance to pit wits against a wild cackling cock, or a crusty old veteran who daydreams through the spring and summer of pheasant hunts long past.

To most people, it comes as a complete surprise that Nebraskans have only been hunting the ringnecked pheasant under seasons for less than 50 years. The first season opening in 1927 allowed a 5-bird bag in Wheeler and part of Sherman County for 3 days. Since that time, many changes have taken place in the regulations governing pheasant hunting. Most noticeably, the season length has become longer and the opening date has gradually shifted later in recent years to a November kickoff.

While different areas of the state may have had different bag and possession and season lengths some years, the entire state has, for the most part, been open to pheasant hunting since the mid-1940s. Looking back over the statistics, it is in teresting to note that total hunter trips for several years in the 40's are comparable to those tallied in recent years. Of particular interest are 1943, 1944, and 1945 when the statewide harvest was over 2 million birds. Like other states in the nation's prime pheasant range, those days are gone.

Modern-day managers predict that the pheasant will continue to furnish unparalleled thrills for many seasons to come, but will never be available in the numbers experienced some 30 years ago. Since those peak years, Nebraska's pheasant harvest has undergone some significant changes. In 1956, the annual harvest plummeted to the lowest on record, 369,000 birds. Since then, harvest figures have gradually recovered to what appears to be an annual aver

  A working dog can be expected to cut the number of birds lost by one half

age of somewhere around a million birds.

Over the years, hunting pressure or distribution of hunters has provided for considerable discussion. Through hunter check stations and surveys, information on these aspects has been obtained by Game Commission technicians.

During the early 1940s, Wayne and Madison counties were by far the top pheasant counties of the state. By 1946, a southward shift to Fillmore, Clay, and Hall counties became apparent. A shift back to the northeastern counties was noted in 1949, but after this, emphasis again shifted to the east and south-central portions of the state.

While hunting pressure may appear very high in the eastern third of the state, particularly on opening weekend, a number of far western counties also sustain high hunting pressure simply because of their more limited pheasant range. In Scotts Bluff County, for example, almost all the pheasant range is con centrated in the cultivated areas along the North Platte Valley. On a unit basis, there is probably as much pressure on these lands as in the most heavily hunted eastern counties.

Check stations, operated during the opening weekend at various locations over the state in recent years, provide a good insight into what the total harvest might be. The average number of hours required by a hunter to bag a bird has been a good indicator of what the season has in store. Over the years, this unit of effort has followed the harvest very well. In 1968, for example, the average hunter needed over 6 hours to bag a bird and the total harvest was be low 900,000. While the hours of effort drop, it is usually a good indication that the pheasant harvest will be high. Less than 4 hours per bird in 1963 saw some 1,461,000 birds brought home by Nebraska pheasant hunters.

Check stations also yield information on hunting pressure. It has been observed over the years that resident hunters respond very quickly to changes in pheasant populations. During the late 1950s, south-central Nebraska was a favored area with pheasant hunters. By the 1960s, pheasant numbers had dropped in that region, but were offset by boom ing populations in the central portion of the state —particularly Custer County. With the demise of the Soil Bank program, pheasant numbers took an abrupt tumble. During all these population shifts, however, the resident has been very aware of such changes and has changed his hunt ing habits accordingly. The average nonresident, on the other hand, often lags behind population shifts by a year or so. It is assumed that the out of-state visitor is also more a creature of habit. If an area furnishes reason able hunting during one season, he often returns to the same area year after year rather than shifting his effort to areas of higher bird numbers.

The final tally of how the hunter afield has done during the season is accomplished by a survey. This survey questionnaire samples a random five percent of the resident hunters who purchased small-game permits. In 1970, some 7,600 hunters were sampled, providing valuable biological information. While about 62 percent of the harvest took place in the eastern third of the state, hunters in the Panhandle and Southwest areas had the best individual success. Looking back to 1959, only about 40 percent of the harvest took place in the eastern third. The high est success areas in the Panhandle and Southwest have remained pretty much unchanged over the past 10 plus years.

Harvest data also gives a graphic picture of hunters' habits and just how far they will go to pursue their sport. Findings during the 10-year pheasant study showed that non-local hunters were willing to drive at least 50 miles but not more than 150 miles to hunt. It follows, therefore, that the eastern third of the state will continue to see far more hunter activity than the western portion, simply because of population distribution.

Over the years the contribution of the nonresident pheasant hunter has come in for heated debate. Numbers of "foreign" hunters are very visible to the resident hunter or landowner. Good information on the nonresident was collected on the pheasant study areas in Clay and Fillmore counties from 1960-64. The average nonresident hunting party numbered about four, while local hunting parties were comprised of just slight ly more than three. The nonresident emerged as a more effective or dedicated hunter than the resident. His success rate on the study areas was better, requiring about 4 gun-hours per bird as opposed to almost 6 gun hours per bird for the resident (in 1964). Information gathered in 1966 from a special survey of nonresident hunters would tend to confirm findings from the study areas. Nonresident hunters averaged 1.76 birds per day as opposed to the resident who averaged 1.0 per day in the same year. The majority of nonresidents hunted in east-central Nebraska, where 42 percent of the hunts and 40 percent of the harvest occurred.

A limited survey during the 1964 65 hunting season gave some interesting insights into nonresident participation in Nebraska pheasant hunts. The average nonresident drove 113 miles from his point of entry into the state to a place to hunt. Over 60 percent drove from 50 to 100 miles during their daily hunting activities. The average nonresident spent 3.2 days in the state, and over 40 percent planned to make more than one trip. Some 11 percent made 5 or more trips just to hunt pheasants. Tallying estimated expenditures for fuel, food, lodging and miscellaneous saw nonresidents spend an estimated $2,192,500 during the 1964-65 season with an average expenditure of $83 per hunter. The ringneck in Nebraska is big business no matter how you slice it, or chase it.

Nebraska's winters test a pheasant's mettle, but given good cover and an adequate food supply, the ringneck is almost impervious to the elements

Season of Testing

CHANGE IS the one thing in nature that is sure to occur, and the fall season inevitably yields to winter. The sun warms the earth for a shorter period each day, and autumn's bright colors turn to grey as icy winds sweep the Nebraska prairie. Winter rules supreme and locks the state in her cold, iron grasp.

Pheasants have been preparing for the fickle mood of nature for several months. They have been putting on weight through the fall months to enable them to withstand the rigors of winter. Fat reserves are built up for emergency use during periods of extreme temperatures and snow cover. They move from summer homes to winter cover with the first hints of a change in the weather.

During winter, Nebraska pheasants prefer marshes, plum thickets, bushy cover undergrown with weeds, shelterbelts, woody ditches, bushy fencerows, or railroad rights of-way. One essential for survival during the cold months is high quality ground cover.

At this time of year, pheasants almost always segregate by sex. Hens are more tolerant of crowding and generally gather in larger groups. Roosters exhibit opposite tendencies and are inclined to roost in small groups or as singles away from the hens. Thus, the old wives' tale that "with all these hens there has to be a rooster close by" has led many a winter hunter on a useless chase.

Winter weather can have particular impact on pheasant populations in localized areas. There are two major threats to a ringneck's survival during a severe winter —starvation and freezing.

The ring-necked pheasant is a tough character who is well adapted to Nebraska's winters and seldom succumbs to starvation. This bird doesn't need pampering when it comes to his winter food supply. He is quite capable of fending for him self without handouts. In fact, during really tough times, the pheasant can go without food for several weeks and live off the stored energy reserves in his body.

Corn and milo are the staples in the pheasant's diet in agricultural regions of the state. Using a combination of feet and wings, they have been known to dig through a foot or two of snow to get at grain. If pheasants can't find grain, they do just fine on a diet of weed seeds, fleshy fruits, and vegetative parts of plants. If these sources fail, they may simply move into a farmyard and feed with domestic sfbck or follow a manure

spreader and glean the waste grain.

The pheasant is big and smart and is generally resistant to death from starvation. However, he finds it difficult to survive blizzards without adequate shelter. Pheasants caught away from good cover when a blizzard strikes often die either from freezing or suffocation.

Pheasants caught in the open face into the wind to keep snow from penetrating their feathers. Their nasal openings become covered with ice, which causes them to hold their beaks open to breathe. Ice balls then block the mouth and the birds suffocate.

Freezing presents another very real danger for a pheasant caught in in adequate cover when a blizzard strikes. Wind forces snow under the feathers where it is melted by body heat. As soon as it melts, the wind and sub-zero temperatures may cause it to refreeze, and the bird becomes cased in ice. With the insulation of his plumage lost to the wetness and ice, the bird loses his body heat and dies.

Fortunately, adverse weather conditions like blizzards do not occur frequently, nor do they generally last for long periods of time. Bird losses are normally restricted to those small areas where good cover is lacking.

Nebraska's winters may test a pheasant's mettle, but given good cover and adequate food, he is almost impervious to the elements. Pheasants have been seen digging their way out of 3 to 4-foot snow drifts in a roadside after a severe storm. The birds literally popped out of the snow like jacks-in-the-box. A fireweed patch in the same storm looked like one big snowdrift, but underneath what appeared to be nothing more than a pile of snow, the birds had a complex tunnel system that puts some superhighway systems to shame.

The ringneck is well adapted to Nebraska winters, and he has no intention of quietly fading from the scene. He is a fighter and survival is his middle name. Given a chance, he will ride out the worst that winter has to offer.

Methods of Management

A YEAR in the life history of the ring-necked pheasant has passed in review. However, like a complex jigsaw puzzle that is not complete until the last piece is fitted into place, a picture of the pheasant is not complete until the management of this bird is locked into place.

Pheasants are a "renewable" natural resource —a product of the land that can be "harvested" like any agricultural crop. If not harvested, it will be lost. Nature will take this unharvested crop in much the same way she takes an unpicked fruit crop. Pheasant populations have a high turnover rate whether hunted or not, and unfortunately they cannot be stored for future use like grain in a bin. One might consider the harvest as the goal of a management program. However, because of the nature of this bird, game managers prefer to look on the gun as a management tool.

A brief review of the life history of the pheasant will show that there is a sound biological basis for harvesting male pheasants. Pheasants are a polygamous species, and the removal of 90 percent or more of the cocks has no effect on reproduction. Such a level of harvest has never been attained on a statewide basis in Nebraska. Even though Nebraska hunters have taken close to a million birds each of the last several years, the resource is underharvested. The number of birds shot could be increased by 60 to 90 percent and still not harm the population.

The harvest of hen pheasants is also biologically sound under certain circumstances. If the number of hens in the spring population is higher than the number required to produce the maximum number of young that can be raised in an area, the excess hens are surplus and could have been removed during the preceding hunting season. Nebraska research has shown that approximately 50 percent of the hens actually are successful in hatching and rearing a brood. Thus, about half of the hens add nothing to population replenishment.

Further studies were conducted to determine the effects of removing a certain percentage of hens from a population before the breeding season. For 3 years, approximately 20 percent of the spring hen population was removed from a 9-square-mile study area prior to the nesting season. No adverse effects on reproduc tion could be detected.

Harvest of hen pheasants is a topic guaranteed to stir up a heated debate even among pheasant biologists. On the one hand, the pro-group maintains that even though the sexes can be easily differentiated in pheasants, a surplus exists that is being wasted each year. They also point out that in other game species, such as grouse and quail, the surplus of both sexes is taken without apparent damage to the population. The opposition looks at the hen as sacred, and to shoot them is like killing the goose that lays the golden egg. They maintain that even though there is a surplus of hens, conditions may be come more favorable for reproduction and that we should have a maximum number of hens to take advantage of any increase in the carrying capacity of the land. They also question the ability to regulate the harvest, so that only the surplus and no more hens are taken.

Both the pro and con groups have some valid points. Each can and does make a strong case for its position.

Nebraska has allowed a hen in the bag in past years. Results of hunting surveys indicated that hunting pressure on hens was light. The harvest of hens was not overly popular with a large segment of the general public and was dropped. In any case, there should still be more attention given to the underharvest of cocks.

Season length is another aspect of pheasant hunting that concerns many sportsmen. They are afraid that the long seasons will result in an overharvest of cocks and that there would not be enough males to breed hens and assure egg fertility. Such fears are unfounded, for Nebraska hunters onlv take about 60 percent of the cocks, and egg fertility is consistently over 90 percent.

Pheasant hunting is self-regulatory and governed by the law of diminishing returns. Most (over 70 percent) of the harvest normally occurs during the first 9 days of the season, with the greatest number of birds taken on the opening weekend. Cock pheasants learn fast, and the harder they are hunted the more difficult they are to get. As the popula tion is reduced, it takes more and more hours of effort to bag a bird. The law of diminishing returns exerts its effect at the point where hunters simply will not expend further effort in pursuit of their quarry.

Lengthening the season adds few birds to the total harvest, but it does offer a greater recreational opportunity to the sportsman. And, that's what it's all about.

Any discussion of pheasant management will eventually turn to stop gap measures such as stocking, winter feeding, and predator control. They have been described as three of the sharpest thorns in the pheasant manager's side. Such programs divert a conservation agency's limited economic resources and manpower while providing few tangible results. However, programs of this nature are often quite popular with the hunting public.

Americans are an impatient people who want immediate action to obtain their goal. Since Henry Ford first introduced the concept of mass production, we have attempted to produce desired products, including pheasants, on an assembly-line basis. The stocking of game-farm-reared pheasants is a dramatic though questionable action program to give na ture a hand and mass produce this bird.

Most people do not differentiate between introductory stocking and annual maintenance stocking. The purpose of introductory stocking is to establish a new species in an area that will provide suitable habitat. Maintenance stocking is an artificial means of trying to maintain the population by releasing game farm birds. Maintenance stocking does not recognize that there are natural phenomena which govern population levels in an established population.

The pheasant is well established in Nebraska, and the present population

Effective management of any wild species must involve the manipulation of habitat to insure its abundance and the maintenance of its numbers at a level compatible with other land uses. In the case of the ring-necked pheasant, the latter includes balancing the number of hunters with landowner tolerance. It is, in effect, the management of people.

originated from a small introduction of approximately 1,000 birds over a 10-year period. This immigrantfound a suitable home and did his best to fill it. In the brief span of 21 years, the population climbed to approximately 4 million birds which is an average increase of 190 percent a year. And this was prior to the opening of the game farm at Norfolk. The reproductive potential of this bird is truly amazing, and Nebraska's introductory stocking has to be classified as a huge success.

Maintenance stocking, or stocking where a population is well established, is next to useless since natural laws govern pheasant populations. A given unit of land has a carrying capacity or maximum number of pheasants that it will support. This carrying capacity is determined by environmental factors and changes from season to season and year to year. Pheasants produce more young each year than the land will support, to insure survival of the species. These extra birds are doomed, and the addition of game-farm birds simply adds to the surplus.

Wholesale stocking of pheasants for this type of pump priming is a high-cost business that shows a very low return. The Game Commission stocked approximately 170,000 pheasants between 1937 and 1949, but less than 2V2 percent of these birds were bagged by hunters. The average cost of each bird harvested was approximately $16 or roughly $6 per pound.

The highest return of stocked pheasants recorded in Nebraska occurred on the Clay County research area. Those birds were released in   an area where hunting pressure was high. Although some of those birds were released just prior to the hunting season, only 36 percent of them were harvested, at a cost of approximately $6 each. Several hunters who did bag some of the birds had some caustic comments about their sport ing quality. It seems that many of the stocked pheasants were not over ly afraid of the hunters. Several moved slowly in front of them, others just stood and watched them.

Regardless of the sporting quality of the birds stocked, it is obvious that the costs of this type of action program are prohibitive. It is also apparent that costs of rearing pheasants have increased substantially since the 1940s. Stocking requires the license fees of several hunters to provide an extra bird for the select few who happen to bag a stocked bird.

Biologists have often been told by very sincere people who wanted to increase pheasant numbers that the Game Commission should stock hens in the spring before the breed ing season begins. This might be a

Population Dynamics Depicted above is an annual cycle beginning with a population of 100 adult birds in the spring. Thirty adults are lost before the nesting season ends, many to mowing operations. Even though only 50 percent of all hens produce broods, 300 young enter summer. Losses on roadways and from natural causes cut the mid-summer's 370 birds down to 239 by autumn. Hunting and other mortality factors will skim off another 115 birds, and normal winter losses will further reduce the example population back down to the original 100 adult birds that entered spring.

justifiable program, if there were no hens in the area. However, in Nebraska fewer than half of the wild hens successfully hatch a clutch of eggs. The addition of game-farm hens simply adds to the surplus already present in the population, although the theory was not dismissed by the Commission without a test. Prior to the breeding season of 1956, Game Commission technicians released enough hens to triple the spring population on an area. Even so, nesting studies showed that the chick population did not increase. It was also noted that the costs of hold ing the birds until spring before release approximately doubled the cost.

Pheasants have been in Nebraska for nigh onto 60 years, and during that time natural selection has produced a bird that is wary, relatively disease free, and well-adapted to the climate. The risk of introducing disease or inferior genetic strains into the population by stocking is high, and it becomes a legitimate biological question on this basis alone as to whether stocking is justifiable. Farmlands have been and will continue to produce pheasants for a long time without a brooder house in the back ground.

Nebraska is a state that is characterized by great extremes in climate. Severe winter storms or blizzards are not uncommon. During extremely harsh winters, one often feels the need to feed the birds to get them through the winter. Like stocking, winter feeding is a stopgap measure that is quite expensive in terms of time and money, while providing few benefits for the pheasant population.

This bird is a rugged character who can fast for long periods, dig through deep snow drifts for grain, or move into farmyards for a free meal. Winterfeeding programs are based on human emotional need to do something, rather than a physical need of the birds for supplemental foods.

In spite of the good intentions which prompt such projects, most winter feeding programs are failures. Grain is generally distributed in areas where humans have easiest access —along open roads and high ways or near farmsteads. These are not generally the areas of greatest need and can even be detrimental to birds attracted there. For example, many birds drawn to roads by a handout are subsequently killed by passing autos.

A statewide feeding program would be extremely expensive. Studies have shown pheasants normally eat 31/2 ounces of foodstuffs daily during the winter. The winter pheasant population has averaged between 2Vi and 3 million birds the last few years. It would take more than 328 tons of grain per day to feed these birds. Based on a cost of $1.50 per bushel for corn, it would run over $17,500 a day for grain alone. Transportation and labor costs to distribute the grain to needed areas would easily double the cost.

Man is not the only creature who preys on the surplus members of a pheasant population. He is the most efficient predator, but he must face some competition from mammals, birds and reptiles. Predator-control programs are designed to cut down on this competition. Unfortunately, predator-prey relationships are not a simple matter of mathematics where the subtraction of a predator equals the addition of pheasants for the hunter.

Predators are opportunists which prey on a species readily available. A fox or coyote will take a pheasant if it's handy, but opportunity varies with pheasant numbers and habitat quality. Pheasants in Nebraska seldom make up a major portion of any predator's diet. The hunting patterns of predators have developed over centuries and are directed toward staple foods such as mice, ground squirrels and rabbits. Such species are characterized by reproductive rates exceeding those of the pheasant. Consequently, predators tend to pursue these more abundant species. What varmint is going to expend extra effort to concentrate on pheasants when a veritable banquet of rodents can be had?

The law of diminishing returns operates the same for four-legged or flying predators as it does man. When the surplus is whittled down to the level of the carrying capacity of the land, continued effort results in decreased returns. At that point, a prey species such as the pheasant becomes relatively safe from predation.

By the same token, isolated cases of predation, no matter how dramatic they may be, do not necessarily exert a significant effect on the total population. To the individual pheasant who's killed and eaten, it makes a difference, but to the welfare of the entire population, it does not. That ringneck was part of the surplus and as such he was expendable.

A study in southern Minnesota utilized a saturation system of trapping to remove 15 to 20 predators annually from each square mile of a study area. The rate of nest destruction was reduced by at least half, and the reproductive rate (percent) doubled. However, pheasant numbers continued to decline because of adverse weather and habitat losses. Researchers there noted that predator control did not compensate for habitat losses. In addition, the Minnesota study proved costs to be prohibitive —approximately $21 per predator removed or $4.50 for each additional chick hatched. With normal survival rates of about 50 per cent, the cost for each additional bird reaching maturity would be about $9. Since only half of these birds can be expected to be cocks, the costs go to $18 per bird that "might" be harvested in the fall. However, there can be instances where limited predator control would be practical, such as in areas of marginal habitat.

It's a thorny problem for game managers —to try to preach the doctrine of habitat improvement when this trio of action programs is so much more dramatic. However, no amount of stocking, winter feeding or predator control can substitute for or replace a balanced habitat.

The only surefire method of in creasing pheasant populations is to improve living conditions for the birds in their homes or habitats. To do that, the major factor limiting the population must be identified. Secure nesting habitat is the primary problem in most parts of Nebraska.

Weather is also an important limiting factor, but one that man has not yet been able to control. However, secure habitat can modify the effects of weather and secondary limiting factors, such as predation.

Given these conditions, what type of management program or programs can be implemented that will affect enough acres of land to materially increase pheasant populations?

Some 97 percent of the land in Nebraska is privately owned, and quite naturally most pheasants are produced and harvested on these

  Effective management of habitat is the key to the abundance of all wildlife species

lands. Any program to significantly increase pheasant numbers on a statewide basis depends on getting cover on these lands. Federal farm programs offer the greatest potential for attaining this goal. The Soil Bank program aptly illustrates the benefits to wildlife possible through farm programs. Large acreages were retired from crop production under long-term contracts, and pheasants responded to the increased cover by nearly doubling their population. When Soil Bank folded, pheasant numbers declined accordingly, adjusting to the new carrying capacity of the land.

The importance of Federal farm programs to pheasants and Nebraska hunters was also demonstrated by C.A.P. or Cropland Adjustment Program. CAP was initiated in 1966 as a 5-or-10-year retirement program that provided an additional incentive payment to landowners who allowed public access on retired acres. When compared to the Soil Bank Program, the amount of quality wildlife habitat created by CAP (111,000 acres) was quite small. However, the importance of this program should not be minimized.

During the fifth year of CAP (1970), the Game and Parks Commission surveyed landowners and hunters to determine: landowner and hunter acceptance of the program, the rate that these lands were utilized by hunters, and the number of pheasants harvested on these lands.

Results of the survey indicated that approximately 58,400 resident hunters harvested 151,840 pheasants on CAP fields during 1970. Based on these figures almost 14 percent of all cock pheasants harvested that year by Nebraska hunters were taken on CAP lands. Hunter success in terms of birds bagged per day, and birds per hour was also higher than on non-CAP land.

The results of the landowner survey were even more interesting than results of the hunter survey. There was considerable concern in some circles that replacing landowner control with free access could generate some serious problems.

Approximately 52 percent of the landowners surveyed indicated that they had been concerned about hunter behavior prior to enrolling in the program. Of this group, 80 percent indicated that they had experienced fewer problems with hunters than expected, and 89 percent would sign up for the program again. Ninety-one percent of the landowners who were not concerned with hunter behavior indicated that they would enroll again if given the opportunity. Most of the landowners who stated that they would not sign up again indicated that their reason was because they had other uses for the land, and not because of hunter behavior.

CAP was a relatively small-scale land retirement program that was well received by all participants pheasants, landowners and sportsmen. Landowners received an in centive payment for public access. Sportsmen found increased recreational opportunity on these lands and their behavior was generally good. Pheasants responded to the improved habitat and set up house keeping. A truly beneficial program for all concerned.

"Diverted acres" or "set-aside acres" programs, in effect since 1961, have been the only option available to Nebraska farmers in recent years. Cropland under the set aside program was retired from production under annual contracts. USDA figures show that close to 4 million acres in Nebraska were retired in 1972, and payments to Nebraska farmers were well over $100 million.

Nebraska and 12 other states established a special Farm Program Committee in 1972 to document management practices on lands retired under the set-aside program and to work for legislation to improve the program for farmers and the general public.

The committee is working toward getting cover crops on retired lands to reduce soil erosion. The USDA's Soil Conservation Service pinpoints soil erosion as the dominant problem on 64 percent of the nation's farmland. Wildlife agencies have a vested interest in controlling erosion because wildlife, like any crop, is dependent on fertile soils. These agencies also have the responsibility for fisheries resources, and siltation from erosion is detrimental to streams and lakes. Other objectives of the committee include the enhancement of wildlife, "recreational, and aesthetic values of set-aside lands.

A survey of the 4 million acres diverted in Nebraska during 1972 showed approximately 70 percent of the land was bare and subject to erosion. Vegetation classified as poor or fair nesting cover occurred on 15 percent of these acres, while only the remaining 15 percent had good or excellent cover.

Satisfactory legislation, as far as game managers are concerned, would allow the farmer management flexibility, reduce soil erosion, and enhance wildlife. Such a law would call for long-term contracts, of three to five years, on a partial-farm basis; cost sharing to establish permanent soil-building cover on areas retired for the longer period, and annual cover on short-term retired land.

Roadsides comprise another area long neglected in habitat management, but receiving considerable attention of late. There are thousands of acres of roadsides across Nebraska, and they are extremely important as pheasant nesting cover. Development of a plan to manage these strips of permanent cover can produce pheasants at a cost far below the expenses of artificial means. A good management program can also save the taxpayer money through reduced mowing and weed control operations.

Habitat management is the key to abundance of any wildlife species, including the pheasant, and only through a sound program can wildlife populations thrive.

Optimum Land Use for Pheasant Production Seasonal Habitat Requirements

Attempts to introduce exotic species have been many, most have failed. The conversion of heart land prairies to mile upon mile of grain fields paved the road for the success ful transplanting of the ring-necked pheasant Within the lifetimes of many living Americans, the pheasant has risen from a curiosity to our most-hunted game bird. Though their numbers have cycled considerably and in general have declined over recent years, it's a good wager that as long as we have grain fields, there will be pheasants to hunt

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NEBRASKAland THE ART OF DECOYING (Continued from page 15)

stronger wind makes them bounce unnaturally. I rig most of them to face the wind, but I usually have a few turned the other way."

If the wind is from the south, Tallman moves his decoys toward the south end of the pond, leaving a large open space between them and his blind. Often, the birds will pass over the blind as they swing into the wind to approach the decoys.

Tallman's big "ace in the hole" is his use of goose decoys. "I've found that on certain days in November, big Canada goose decoys are one of the best duck magnets going. But, I've also noticed that ducks sometimes avoid the white snow goose decoys like the plague. I put those Canada decoys in a straight line, usually parallel to the general direction of duck traffic. That line of goose decoys must be visible for miles, because it can sure draw them in."

In his 40 years of duck hunting along the Platte River, Gordon West has learned to take advantage of the wind and the way it effects ducks in flight. "I put my decoys up wind of the blind and off to one side so that swinging birds don't have to pass directly overhead. Some hunters like a downwind set, but I prefer my decoys upwind. I get more shots at each flock that way because the birds come past the blind as they head into the wind for a landing, and again as they turn tail to ride the wind on the way out after I start shooting.

"I've also noticed that ducks will land upstream of those on the water, then float downstream to join them. So, as far as I'm concerned, the ideal situation is a spot where I can decoy birds to a spot upstream of my decoys and upwind of the blind," West said.

He prefers the lower end of a sand bar, and places his decoys in still water often found there. "I've noticed that in rough weather, the birds are bunched, and on nice days they're scattered, so I try to duplicate that with my decoys. You don't need many. I've done well with as few as 7 or 8 decoys or as many as 4 dozen."

West also uses Canada goose decoys on occasion, setting them off to one side. His duck decoys are over-size styrofoam affairs, painted black or dark brown and tethered on 5-foot strings.

In hunting the Missouri River, Dick Turpin encountered one factor that the others do not have to contend with — rapid fluctuation of water level caused by releases from Lewis and Clark Lake. "You can set up in high water, and an hour later your decoys will be high and dry on a sandbar. You have to be ready to move your rig in a hurry.

"I like to set up on the upstream side of a bar to take advantage of the prevailing north wind. I'll put a few decoys upstream and to the right, and another group upstream and

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to the left. The birds will come in from behind and set down in the gap right in front of the blind. If the wind is quartering the bar, sometimes I like to set up in the calm water on the downwind side."

Like West, Turpin likes to plan his layout for shots as they come in and again as they make their getaway.

On the channelized portion of the river, some hunters set up between the jetties that extend out into the river. "In places, the backwash behind these things causes the area to fill with sand. Hunters can put their blinds on these sand bars and run a few decoys in the calm water behind the structure. This works sometimes, but it's not very flexible."

The perfect complement to a well-conceived layout of decoys is a talented man with a duck call. "Calling is at least as important as the decoys," says Tallman. "Time after time, I've seen ducks a quarter to a half-mile away and already downwind of my decoys, turn and come in after a few toots on the call. I'd say 90 percent of the ducks within hearing range will go out of their way to give your setup a look if you sound right to them."

Dutch Henry likes a call with a natural sound, while Tallman and West prefer loud calls with a rather harsh tone.

"You can't call into the wind very effectively, so I wait until the birds are alongside or slightly downwind before I start. Then, I turn them with the 'highball'. That and a slowed-down version of the highball when the birds are close are the only calls I need," says Tallman.

Henry, on the other hand, has several different messages in his duck-calling repertoire. He uses the "highball" to attract at tention, the "comeback" call to turn the birds, and the chuckle-like notes of the feeding call as the birds approach. "That feeding call's the clincher. When they hear that, they don't often hesitate."

Practice is the only answer to effective duck calling, but hunting season is not the time to do it. If a hunter has not perfected his calling by the time he's in the field, he should shut up and let the decoys do the work, according to Henry. But, if a flock circles and looks like it is about to leave, even a novice should give the call a try. "If they're going to leave anyway, you've got nothing to lose. At least you'll get to see a wild duck's reaction to you calling, and you might learn something," Tallman says.

According to Henry, any number of things can go wrong, so a good duck hunter never lets his guard down. "You have to make sure your decoys are not bobbing too much, make sure they don't shine when wet, and make sure white anchor strings don't show. You have to watch your behavior in the blind, too. Duck hunters must get tired of hearing this year after year, but they never seem to learn. Ducks have good hearing, and they can be scared off on a quiet day by jabbering a lot in the blind. They can easily see movement, upturned faces, and especially the glare off eyeglasses. I know, as I've flown over the Missouri River in a light plane during the duck

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What to do

WITH October come the cool winds of autumn as the trees give up the greenness of summer for the brilliant colors of fall. People busy themselves preparing for the long winter months to come, and birds are migrating to the south and their warm winter habitats. Children devote their thoughts to halloween and its jack-o-lanterns and trick or treating, and sportsmen are turning their minds from fishing to hunting.

Archery seasons for deer and antelope continue through October with deer season continuing until the end of the year, and bow hunting for pronghorns closing October 31. Cottontail and squirrel season are still on, both having opened September 1st. Cottontail season closes February 28 and squirrel season ends January 31. The daily bag limit for both is 7, and possession limit is 21. Fall turkey season also makes its debut during October, opening on the 27th. There are a total of 1,700 permits for the fall hunt, with 1,200 in the Roundtop Unit, and 500 in the Niobrara. A bird of either sex may be taken in the fall, and the season runs through November 5.

One change in regulations for most species this year is that in shooting hours. Big-game will remain the same, one-half hour before sunrise to one half hour after sunset, but most other species will now be from 15 minutes before sunrise to sunset.

Pheasant season will run from November 3 through January 13; quail 56 from November 3 through January 31; grouse from September 22 through November 4, with a daily bag limit of three birds, which is up one from last year. Some changes were made also in duck and goose shooting regulations, with the point system again to be used for ducks, and a statewide season of October 6 through December 4, and then the western portion of the state reopening from December 22 through January 6. Redheads and canvasbacks will come in for some shooting this season, but each is worth 100 points so one duck of either species will fill the daily bag.

October anglers can still catch trout in western waters, and the snagging season opens on the Missouri River on the first. There are some good walleye to be had at most reservoirs, mainly by jigging, and there is action awaiting also for bass, crappie, and northern pike around the state.

Fall, with its brilliant colors, is a time for colorful festivities, and the Fall Festival in Brownville should provide plenty of color and excitement with its outdoor arts and crafts exhibits on the 14th. While you're there, stop and see the Carriage House Gallery, and at 3 p.m. the Omaha Symphony Group will perform in the Methodist Church there.

The last Tuesday in October provides another festival when the annual Swedish Smorgasbord is held in Wausa. The event features real Swedish dishes prepared by residents of the community from recipes that have been handed down from generation to generation.

Red always becomes a favorite color in the fall as the University of Nebraska football team hits the field. Alumni will be coming to Lincoln on the 20th from all parts of the state and nation to watch the Cornhuskers meet the University of Kansas in UNL's 1973 Homecoming game.

Theatre seasons also begin in the fall, and the Omaha Playhouse started things off September 14 with a rollicking classic musical of the 1930's, which continues through October 7. The play is Cole Porter's Anything Goes, featuring many of his best-loved songs.

The University of Nebraska's Howell Theatre in Lincoln opens the 12th with The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui by Bertold Brecht. William Morgan, who is directing the play, explains, "Arturo Ui is one of Brecht's finest pieces of sheer entertainment, being both fright ening and funny in its illustration of corruption. Brecht presents a grotesque cast of Hitler's Third Reich freaks, as if they were pre-war American gangsters fighting for control of the cauliflower industry in the Chicago of Al Capone."

Wesleyan Theatre in Lincoln opens the 11th with My Heart is in the High lands by William Saroyan, directed by Henry Blanke. The Lincoln Community Playhouse opens The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds by Paul Zindel, on the 19th.

The Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha and the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery in Lincoln continue their exhibition, A Sense of Place, until October 28. The exhibition is based on a recent book, A Sense of Place, by Alan Gussow. Mr. Gussow serves as a special curator for the exhibition. The show consists of American landscapes from the permanent collection of the two in stitutions, paintings reproduced in the book and works by living American artists from all parts of the country. Sheldon has a few other special exhibits planned for the month. From October 9 to November 4 they will have James Rosenquist Horseblinders' lithographs; from the 25th to November 25 they will have Lucia Woods Photographs of the area around Red Cloud where Willa Cather lived, and from the 16th to November 11, Sheldon's Art Shop will feature Don Bruning Sculptures.

List of Events 1-7 — Anything Goes, Omaha 1-28 —A Sense of Place, Sheldon Art Gallery, Lincoln and Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha 1-April 30 —Snagging season open, Missouri River only 2 —David Bowid concert, Lincoln 2 —Omaha Symphony Orchestra with pianist Rudolf Firkusny, Omaha 6 —pro basketball exhibition, Lincoln 9-November 4 —James Rosenquist Horseblinders Lithographs, Lincoln 9 —Lincoln Symphony Orchestra with Teresa Zylis-Gara, Lincoln 11 —Guy Lombardo, Lincoln 11-14-My Heart is in the Highlands, Lincoln 12 —Benefit Varisty Glee Club Concert, Kimball Hall, Lincoln 12-13 -The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui, Lincoln 12-14-1973 Fall Nebraska Brittany Club, Inc. Field Trials, Raymond 13 —Czech Hobby Show, Wilber 14 — 6th Annual Turkey Shoot, Cairo 14 —Fall Festival, Brownville 14-University Orchestra Fall Concert. Lincoln 15-20 — The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui, Lincoln 16-November 11 -Don Bruning Sculpture, Lincoln 17-Lincoln Community Concerts present the Texas Boys Choir, Lincoln 19-21 -The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, Lincoln 20-UNL football with University of Kansas, Lincoln 20-Artist's Series, Michael Lorimer, Guitar, Lincoln 25-Lucia Woods Photographs, Lincoln 30 —Annual Swedish Smorgasbord, Wausa NEBRASKAland

Before you begin to hunt, remember that Ne braska State Law requires that you have the land owner's permission to hunt on his property. It's a common courtesy. He'll feel better, knowing who his guests are. You will, too, knowing that you're a welcome visitor.

season, and I spotted blind after blind be- cause of these things. If I can see 'em, you can bet the ducks can."

Sportsmanship and obeying the law are important, too. "When ducks are close enough so that you can see the color of their legs, they're in good shotgun range. They're also close enough to properly identify the species," Henry says.

"But, safety is my biggest concern. I keep a constant watch for a plugged gun barrel, and I make sure it's understood that no one ever shoots from a sitting position, so that another hunter can jump up in front of the shooter.

"If you do it in a sportsmanlike and safe manner, nothing can beat waterfowl hunt ing. I've hunted them for more than 40 years, and no two days have been exactly alike. I guess that points out a good rule for the waterfowler. If the birds don't like what you're doing with your blind, decoys and call, then try something else."

SANDPIT BASS (Continued from page 10)

great sport. One day in late October of 1972, he landed several trout from five to seven pounds, and lost others, and that was at a time when even marina operators claimed it probably couldn't be done.

There is yet a lot to learn about fish and their strange habits, but it is people like Glenn who are going to learn it. Approach ing fish at all times of the year is bound to broaden the scope more than concentrating all efforts during the summer. Perhaps what will be learned will even prove to be logical.

Early in November, Glenn and I visited some pits north of Holdrege. For the most part, he used a Mepp's spinner or shad-type lure, tossing it near shore and and retrieving it fairly rapidly. I stuck stubbornly with a plastic worm on an ultra-light rod.

"If you cast to a spot two or three times without a hit, chances are you're wasting your time," he theorized. "Occasionally you can keep working a spot long enough and catch a bass, but I try it only a couple times, then move on. That way, you cover more water and should catch more fish. Generally, most of the bass will reside in a very small percentage of a pond, so being able to pick out the most suitable habitat will cut out much wasted time."

Glenn has developed a means of reading a sandpit, which is not an easy matter. Most lakes have naturally "bassy" looking spots, but not a pit. Often, they are rather stark, barren spots with few if any logs or hiding cover in the water, and seldom are there trees nearby. If bass are in there, though, they will have preferred areas. Dropoffs be side any points of land, inlets, if there are any, narrows or shallows where small bait fish hang out, weedy areas and such.

If fishing one pit repeatedly, an angler should remember where he gets the most hits, and concentrate mostly on those in the future. Most portions of the bank can produce, at least at some time during the day or with changes in the season, so one shouldn't give up on a pit just because the favorite hole doesn't provide a scrapper.

Older pits are usually better than newly pumped ones, and isolated ponds should hold more and bigger fish than those with easy access, but again, there are no hard and fast rules. Like the old saying about gold, fish are where you find them.

On that November day, Glenn wore waders, partly because the pit banks were high in some places. An angler is much less visible to a fish if he is low to the water.

"If a smart bass sees you on the bank, you probably can't hook him," he said. "May

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OIM-103 Lincoln, Nebr. 68501 59   1973 NEBRASKA Hunting Seasons Species Cock Pheasant Quail Grouse Duck and Merganser Goose Crow Inclusive Dates Nov. 3-Jan. 13 Nov. 3-Jan. 31 Sept. 22-Nov. 4 Oct. 6-Dec. 4 Daily Bag Limit Possession Limit 18 Open Area Statewide Statewide Dec. 22-Jan. 6 Sept. 29-Dec. 9 Wilson's Snipe pQii (Sora and Ha" Virginia) Coot Sept. 28-Dec. 31 Sept. 15-Nov. 18 Sept. 1-Nov. 9 Same as Duck Point System* 5** None Sand Hills/ Southwest Statewide West 5** Statewide 8 25 15 16 25 30 Statewide Statewide Statewide Same as Duck Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset for antelope and deer; one-half hour before sunrise to sunset for cottontail, squirrel, snipe, and rail, and 15 minutes before sunrise to sunset for all other species. 'Daily bag limit is 100 points, and possession limit is two daily bags. Point values-canvas back and redhead, 100 points; hen mallard, wood duck, hooded merganser, 70 points; blue winged teal, widgeon, scaup, all mergansers except hooded, 10 points; and drake mallard, pintail, gadwall, green-winged teal, all other ducks, 20 points. *East of U.S. Highway 183, the daily bag and possession limit on geese may not include more than one Canada, throughout the season. West of 183, the limits may include two Canadas or one Canada and one whitefront through November 25. Beginning November 26, the daily bag may not include more than one Canada. Throughout the state, the daily bag and pos session limit may not include more than one whitefront and one Ross' goose. Portions of the Sand Hills are closed to hunting of Canadas and whitefronts. Cottontail Squirrel Wild Turkey Antelope (firearm) Sept. 22-Sept. 30 Antelope (archery) Deer (firearm) Deer (archery) Sept. 1-Feb. 28 Sept. 1-Jan. 31 21 21 Statewide Statewide Oct. 27-Nov. 5 Aug. 18-Sept. 21 Oct. 1-Oct. 31 Nov. 10-Nov. 18 Sept. 15-Nov. 9 Nov. 19-Dec. 31 Special Permit Required CONGRESS INN One of the Capital City's finest Motels Deluxe units Sample room Swimming pool Television Room phones Restaurant and Lounge Meeting and Banquet Rooms 2001 West "O" St. Lincoln, Nebraska 68528 Call 477-4488

be in an hour or so, if you return to that spot you can, but it makes them spooky. I also like waders because some of these pits have bogs in low areas, and you may have to go a long way to get around them."

Nothing happened after several casts into known bass haunts, but a stretch of innocent looking shore brought Glenn's first customer of the day. Only a couple of feet deep, the water suddenly burst forth with a feisty, thrashing bigmouth. A short battle ended with a two-pound bass in the hand, and then Glenn was back to the shoreline patrol.

A couple of white bass in rapid succes sion hit Glenn's spinner next, but they were slightly less than keepers. Then, having covered most of the rim of the small pit, and since I had not yet had a nibble, a move to another area was in order.

"Usually, it's not hard to catch a limit of bass in an hour or so, but that doesn't mean they'll all be big ones," Glenn remarked. "Of course there are those times when you can't seem to buy a fish, but luckily those are rarer than good days. Maybe it's good that we haven't totally figured fish out, because that would sure take away most of the sport."

I knew Glenn could catch fish when others couldn't, but I was somehow glad he had off-days, too. Then I wondered if he was jabbing me for not having had a hit yet.

The next pit was a big, sprawling body of water with deep areas at each end and a broad expanse of shallows between. After a few exploratory casts, Glenn slipped the spinner off and attached one of his trout rigs, the casting bubble and fly. Small blue gill immediately started ripping into it, but they were only slightly bigger than bait size.

"There are both smallmouths and large mouths in here," he explained, "but they seem to live in opposite ends. I don't ever recall catching them both in the same spot. Your worm may get some response in here, though."

About that time, another hit and easy retrieve exposed a strange creature on Glenn's small hook. It somewhat resembled a young carp in body color and scales, but the head and mouth were much different. "That must be a goldfish," Glenn observed. "I have seen them in this pit before, and that's all I can figure them to be."

I had alternately worked the worm, strolled aimlessly, and simply watched. Any long lulls in action tended to give me an in feriority complex, so I pretended to be very casual about the whole affair. Finally, how ever, after Glenn pointed out a shallow bayou off the Platte River behind us, I really got into the action.

With the bottom clearly visible, and with very few branches or lumps there in evidence, I tossed the worm near the op posite shore and wiggled it across the bottom. A gentle tug signaled a taker, and I let the line go slack and watched it slowly move out. After several seconds to let the line just about snug up, I gave the light rod a good jerk and had my first fish. A few zips hither and yon, and I reeled in a 10 or 11 inch largemouth.

The next cast to the same spot resulted in another tap, but a complication arose. This time, I opened the bail to give slack, then slammed it shut again. I saw that the line had somehow gotten behind the spool, but thought if I took a couple of turns with the crank, all would work out. It didn't. When I set the hook, the line quickly parted and a bass probably started digesting that fake worm.

Because of the lack of action earlier, I had left the car and spare worms far be hind, but Glenn produced a couple of used ones and an adequate hook, so I was soon back in business. And, business was brisk. The bass were all within an inch of the same size and were less than keepers, but the tiny hook didn't hurt them a bit, and their response did me a lot of good.

Glenn also caught several bass, but he slowly moved on down the shore. I assumed it was because he was going else where to look for bigger fish, but it may have been to avoid hearing my splashing and chortling.

Later, I moved farther down the bayou because a lot of fish started disrupting the surface. I never could tell what they were, but sneaking along the bank behind a log pile, I got a good idea. There, spread out in midstream, were thousands of carp. They were mostly about a foot long, but there were also some which went over four pounds. I couldn't help wonder how many could be taken with a bushel of corn, but I also yearned for a bow and arrow.

Glenn, meanwhile, had switched back to his bubble and fly in the big pit, as he had previously caught some one-pound bluegill in there. Checking out the areas that normally were good, he continued to catch only small ones.

"You never know if the big ones are somewhere else, or if the littie ones just hit so fast they don't give them a chance,"

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he groused. Large or small, it appeared he was enjoying the bluegill and sunfish action. As he worked around the pit, I stayed in the cove and kept tossing out the trusty worm, but never did get any takers in the deep water. Just as with the bluegill, I wondered if there were no bass where I was working, or if they were just not in an eating mood.

"Why don't we wander over to the pits at the Fort Kearny Recreation Area," Glenn suggested. "Some of those can be real good, although I haven't fished them for a while."

Being as agreeable as possible, I cranked in and we headed for the car. As it was only a few miles away, my worm had barely time to warm up before we were back outside in the 30-degree weather watching hundreds of sandhill cranes passing overhead. Their distinctive noise carried down loudly, al though they were several hundred feet high.

Glenn and I both got lures into the water about the same time, and our first casts were both received with open mouths. Glenn dragged his bass in, but I apparently didn't let mine take a long enough run, for when I set the hook on the worm, it came back all alone. Again, Glenn's bass was less than a pounder, so he was returned, and then our repeated casting turned up blanks. Glenn moved around the pit rather quickly, but I went slowly along the near side and saw that we had gotten the hits in quite shallow water with a lot of plant growth on the bottom.

That one gentle strike on my first cast was also my last, but Glenn fared better. He gave up on the small pond and moved over to another, and it wasn't long before he had a two-pounder on.

"Maybe I should switch to a spinner," I shouted over to him as he negotiated the far bank. I really didn't want to change, but I was beginning to wonder again if the water was a little cool to be using a worm. But, before I had come to any decision, my attention was diverted by a garter snake hiding in the tufts of grass. I must have been shuffling around strangely, as Glenn yelled over asking what I had found. When. I told him it was a snake, we then started discuss ing why the critter hadn't holed up some where for the winter. It didn't seem very lethargic, as after a little coaxing it hustled across the sandy ground and soon slipped out of sight.

By that time, Glenn had again worked clear around the pit, so I suggested that we get out of the cold wind and head to town to get a warm bean or two.

On the way, I remarked that we probably had caught our limits of bass, if we had kept them. "You were the only one who caught any real keepers, but it's amazing that largemouths can be taken at all when it's this cold," I added. "One thing is sure, if you fish this time of year, you're going to have the water all to yourself. That isn't a bad argument for late fall fishing it itself catching largemouths at the same time is sort of a clincher. If I could just figure out how to get next to the big ones, I'd really go for this cold-weather fishing, despite all the frost.

"It is like ice fishing without the ice," Glenn responded. "In fact, I would like to do some ice fishing this winter if the doctor will O.K. it. I haven't done any for a lot of years. We used to take quite a few perch and walleyes that way, and even some catfish. If I'm not back to work this winter, I'd sure like to go drill some holes somewhere and give it a try. It must be nice to have a job like yours, where you go fishing and call it working".

I could only agree with that, but it does seem I haven't been "working" as much as I should have —at least in the fall.

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LUCK OF THE DRAW (Continued from page 9)

me an opportunity to become acquainted with our neighbors. Plat maps and aerial photos aided in identifying property lines and gave insight as to where to expect deer activity. The following Saturday was spent scouting. A fortuitous rain a few days before that excursion made recent deer activity fairly obvious. I hadn't traveled far before I realized that the landscape had changed since those aerial photos were taken in 1965. Fifty-year-old trees in 1965 had turned to sprouting corn in 1972. From the unchanged timbered areas, I picked two blinds. The better blind was at the bottle neck of a peninsula. The river made a big loup, turning the bottleneck about 150 feet across and enclosing 15 to 20 acres of timber. Two trails left the timber at this point. They weren't Oregon Trail ruts, but were similar to others I had found in the area. Only one tree was suitable for a stand, and luck being with me, it turned out to be a bee tree. I was willing to share it with them and hoped the feeling would be mutual.

A king-size mosquito trying for a pint of blood from my ankle gave him number-one priority right then, and I vowed again to wear boots instead of tennis shoes. Sprinkles and increased mosquito flux brought me back from daydreaming. If I had just wounded the buck, I had better check while there was still tracking light. With the bow in readiness with nocked arrow, I cautiously approached the area where the deer had disappeared from sight.

Upon viewing a patch of white, I took full draw. It was unnecessary, as the deer was dead. The arrow had deflected off the scapula and severed the jugular, resulting in a very fast kill.

Adrenalin was really flowing as I viewed a nice 4-point buck. I started dragging him to the cleared field but soon discovered that the flesh was weaker than the spirit. The rain was picking up, so I ran back to the car and drove back to the deer. He hogdressed at 165 pounds, and although it wouldn't qualify for Pope and Young or even a state citation, in my book he was a trophy. And, he was large enough to win the office pool, so everyone remembers my hunt nearly as much as I do.

64 NEBRASKAland

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Trading Post

Acceptance of advertising implies no endorsement of products or services. Classified Ads: 20 cents a word, minimum order $4.00. November 1973 closing date, September 10. Send classified ads to: Trading Post, NEBRASKA land, 2200 N. 33rd St., Lincoln. Nebraska 68503, P.O. Box 30370. DOGS AKC German Shorthaired pointers. Whelped May 9, 1973. Excellent hunting stock—good color. Mar vin Elliott, R. R. #2, Kearney, Nebraska. Phone (308) 234-9134. AKC hunting dogs. Irish setter, English springer spaniel. Pups and dogs. Breeding stock and stud service. Also Westie and Basenji. Kirulu Kennels, Hebron, Nebraska 68370. Phone (402) 768-6237. ENGLISH pointers. Excellent gun dogs. Pups, dogs, and stud service. M. D. Mathews, M.D., St. Paul, Nebraska 68873. ENGLISH Pointers: 3 year old female, 2 year old male. Clyde Barrett, Peru, Nebraska 68421. Phone (402) 872-6975. ENGLISH Setters: Pups, started dogs and stud service. Mississippi Zev, Wonsover, Commander and Crockett Field trial bloodlines. E. L. Bar tholomew, Ainsworth, Nebraska 69210. GERMAN Shorthaired pointers. Top hunting and field trial bloodlines. Don Sallenbach, M.D., Gib bon, Nebraska 68840. Phone (308) 468-5822. HUNTING DOGS: German shorthaifs, English pointers, springer spaniels, Weimaraners, English, Irish, and Gordon setters, Chesapeakes, Labradors, and golden retrievers. Registered pups, all ages, $75 each. Robert Stevenson, Orleans, Nebraska 68966. QUALITY trained and partially trained hunting dogs ready for the 1973 hunting season. Limited number of English setters, pointers, and brittanies. Darrell Yentes, 1118 McMillan Street, Holdrege, Nebraska 68949. Phone (308) 995-8570 after 5:30 p.m. MISCELLANEOUS FRAME cabin. 1184 square feet: $1950. ma terial. Purchase locally. Complete plans, instruc tion manual and material list: $5.00. Moneyback guarantee. Specify plan #1501. "Dependable Products," Box #113, Vista, California 92083. ATTENTION: Pheasant, quail hunters. Reserve a modern cabin near hunting area. 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Digest, Box 25561-PT, Seattle, Washington 98125. HOW much are your bottles worth? "Bottle Col lector's Handbook—Pricing Guide" identifies, prices over 2,500 collectible bottles. $3.95 postpaid. (Guaranteed!) Infobooks, Box 5001-NL, San An gelo, Texas 76901. IDEAL 5-acre ranch. Lake Conchas, New Mexico. $3,475. No down. No interest. $29 monthly. Vaca tion paradise. Hunt, camp, fish. Money maker. Free brochure. Ranchos: Box 2003RW, Alameda, California 94501. METAL Detectors—Thinking of treasure huntmg? Use the metal detector the professionals use, a Garrett. Free literature. Spartan Shop, 335 North Williams, Fremont, Nebraska 68025. Phone (402) 721-9438.' NEBRASKA'S BEST COLLECTOR'S SHOW: Buy —Sell—Trade ANYTHING! Antiques, Guns, Dishes, Coins, Bottles, Barbwire,, Knives, Insula tors Cartridges, Relics, Rocks, Paintings, Etc. SATURDAY and SUNDAY, October 6-7, City Auditorium, Fremont, Nebraska. 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Modern methods and life like workmanship on all fish and game since 1935, also tanning, rugs, and deerskin products. Joe Voges, Naturecrafts, 925 4th Corso, Nebraska City, Nebraska 68410. Phone (402) 873-5491. KARL Schwarz Master Taxidermists. Mounting of game heads - birds - fish - animals - fur rugs robes - tanning buckskin. Since 1910. 424 South 13th Street, Dept. A., Omaha, Nebraska 68102. TAXIDERMY work—big-game heads, fish-and-bird mounting; rug making, hide tanning, 36 years experience. Visitors welcome. Floyd Houser, Sutherland, Nebraska 69165. Phone (308) 386-4780. TODAYS BEST ADVERTISING INVESTMENT WRITE: NEBRASKAland Att: Advertising Department P.O. Box 30370 Lincoln, Nebraska 68503 CLOSING DATES: Black and White: 5th of second month preceding date of issue. COLOR: First of second month pre ceding date of issue. DISPLAY ADVERTISING RATES Color: Full-page outer back cover-$565; full-page inner back cover-$515; full-page inner front cover -$515; full-page inside magazine-$455; 2/3 page -$325; 1/2 page-$259; 1/3 page (minimum size for color)-$136 plus $20 for each extra color. Black and White: full page-$400; 2/3 page-$270; 1/2 page-$204; 1/3 page-$136; 1/4 page-$113; 1/6 page-$75; one-column inch-$15.20.

OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland of the Air

SUNDAY KHAS KMMJ KBRL KRFS KXXX KLMS KRGI KODY KOTD KCOW KFOR KCNI KAMI KAWL KUVR KGFW KMA KNEB KTCH KVSH KHUB WJAG KBRB KJSK KICS KEYR KICX KRNY KTNC KSfD KCSR KGMT KBRX KNLV KKAN KOLT KMNS KRVN KJSK-FM Hastings (1230) 6:45 Grand Island (750) 7:00 McCook (1300) «:15 Superior (1600) 9:45 Colby, Kan. (790) 10:15 Lincoln (1480) 10:15 Grand Island (1430) 10:33 North Platte (1240) 10:45 Piattsmouth (100) 12 Alliance (1400) 12:15 Lincoln (1240) 12:45 Broken Bow (1280) 1:15 Coxad (1580) 2:45 York (1370) 3:30 Holdrege (1380) 4:45 Kearney (1340) 5:45 Shenandoah, la. (960) 7:15 Scottsbluff (960) 9:05 a.m a.m a.m a.m a.m a.m a.m a.m Noon p.m p.m p.m p.m p.m. p.m p.m p.m p.m FRIDAY Wayne (1590) 3:45 p.m Valentine (940) 5:10 p.m Fremont (1340) 5:15 p.m Norfolk (780) 5:30 p.m Ainsworth (1400) 6:00 p.m SATURDAY Columbus (900) 6:00 a.m Hastings (1550) 6:15 a.m Scottsbluff (690) 7:45 a.m McCook (1360) 8:30 a.m Kearney (1460) 8:30 a.m Falls City (1230) 8:45 a.m Sidney (1340) 9:15 a.m Chadron (610) 11:45 a.m Fairbury (1310) 12:45 p.m O'Neill (1350) 4:30 p.m Ord (1060) 4:45 p.m Phillipsburg, Kan. (1490) 5:15 p.m Scottsbluff (1320) 5:40 p.m Sioux City, la. (620) 6:10 p.m Lexington (880) 9:15 p.m Columbus (101.1) 9:45 p.m DIVISION CHIEFS Date R. Bree, Parks Harold K. Edwards, Resource Services Glen R. Foster, Fish Production Carl E. Gettmann, Law Enforcement Jack Hanna, Budget and Fiscal Ken Johnson, Game Earl R. Kendle, Research Lloyd Steen, Personnel Lyle K. Tanderup, Engineering Bob Thomas, Fish Management Delvin Whiteley, Federal Aid Jim Wofford, Information and Education CONSERVATION OFFICERS Ainsworth—Max Showalter, 387-1960 Albion—Robert Kelly, 395-2538 Alliance—Richard Furley, 762-2024 Alliance—Richard Seward, 762-4317 Alma—William F. Bonsall, 928-2313 Arapahoe—Don Schaepler, 962-7818 Auburn—James Newcome, 274-3644 Bassett—Leonard Spoering, 684-3645 Bassett—Bruce Wiebe, 684-3867 Bassett—Mick Bresiey, 291-9315 Benkelman—H. Lee Bowers, 423-2893 Bridgeport—Joe UI rich 262-0541 Broken Bow—Gene Jeffries, 872-5953 Columbus—Lyman Wilkinson, 564-4375 Crawford—Cecil Avey, 665-2517 Creighton—Gary R. Ralston, 358-3411 Crofton—John Schuckman, 388-4421 David City—Lester H. Johnson, 367-4037 Fairbury—Larry 8auman, 729-3734 Fremont—Andy Nielsen, 721-2482 Geneva—Kenneth L. Adkisson, 759-4241 Gering—Jim McCole, 436-2686 Grand Island—Fred Salak, 384-0582 Hastings—Norbert Kampsnider, 462-8953 Hay Springs—Marvin E. Kampbell, 638-5262 Lexington—Loren A. Noecker, 324-2845 Lincoln—Dayton Shultis, 488-8164 Lincoln—Ross Oestmann, 489-8363 Lincoln—Leroy Orvis, 488-1663 Milford— Dale Bruh-a, 761-4531 Norfolk—Marion Shafer, 371-2031 Norfolk—Robert Downing, 371-2675 North Platte—Dwight Allbery, 532-2753 North Platte—Gail Woodside, 532-0279 Ogallala—Parker Erickson, 284-2992 Omaha—Dick Wilson, 334-1234 Omaha—Roger A. Guenther, 333-3368 O'Neill—Roger W. Hurdle, 336-3988 Ord—Gerald Woodgate, 728-5060 Oshkosh—Donald D. Hunt, 772-3697 Piattsmouth—Larry D. Elston, 296-3562 Riverdale—Bill Earnest, 893-2571 Sidney—Raymond Frandsen, 254-4438 Stapleton—John D. Henderson, 636-2430 Syracuse—Mick Gray, 269-3351 Tekamah—Richard Elston, 374-1698 Valentine—Elvin Zimmerman, 376-3674

WE'VE FEATHERED DEVILS NEST FOR YOU. If you've been to Devils Nest before, come again because there's been a lot of changes. Since the last time you visited Devils Nest, we've laid 10-miles of asphalt roads. We've also built some ideal model homes for you to see. Our marina on the scenic Lewis and Clark Lake will be completed soon. Plans for the new elegant Devils Nest Motel are coming off the drawing board. Yes, we've made a lot of changes at Devils Nest. But despite all the changes, you can still appreciate nature in its most beautiful state. Right now at "The Nest" the shady clusters of oak trees are turning from soft greens to brilliant oranges and fiery reds, and the days are growing crisp. Come Winter, you can ride the chair lift up the snow-clad hills and gracefully glide down "Rustlers Run," "Devils Dream," or "It'll Never Work," our longest ski run at 5,100 feet. Devils Nest—the Total Recreational Development—we've feathered it for you. Put a feather in iTelephone your nest by coming to Devils Nest. Devils Nest—the ideal I recreational community for fine homes, cabins and income- |Address_ producing duplexes and condominiums. mu email this coupon for a free color brochure.! Devils Nest 3000 Farnam Street Omaha, Nebraska 68131 Name State Zip Devils Nest—near Gavins Point Darn on Lewis and Clark Lake.   Holiday Inn 9 LOCATIONS COLUMBUS (402)564-1492 KEARNEY (308)237-3141 NORTH PLATTE (308) 532-9090 FREMONT (402)727-1110 LINCOLN (402) 434-3171 or 475-4971 OGALLALA (308) 284-3625 GRAND ISLAND (308) 384-1330 or 384-7770 NORFOLK (402)371-4430 OMAHA (402) 393-3950