Pheasant Fact Friday!💡
Pheasants are tied very closely to areas with a high number of good field edges. So, it makes sense to hunt such areas and to hunt those edges. Edges are the transition zones between different cover types, and the most successful hunters will concentrate their efforts there. Regardless of the size of a field, most birds will be within 40 feet of its edge.
Biologists often call the pheasant an “edge” bird, because the bird likes to spend much of its time near the edges of farm fields. A farm can be evaluated as to how good it is for pheasants by determining its number of field edges. Using aerial photos of the farm, draw 5 lines through the farm that intersect at the farm’s center. Now count each time a line crosses from bad-to-good or good-to-good fields. Do not count from one corn field to another, from farm field to a mowed roadside, or from a farm field to a grazed shelterbelt or to a drained wetland. Add the edges for all 5 lines, divide by 5, and you have that farm’s “interspersion index.” The higher this index, the more potential you have for a good pheasant population.
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