On The Wing Podcast Ep. 266: Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Making the Map for Grasslands, is live. Listen now at the link in our bio, or wherever you get your podcasts. Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Irene Liu, Wenfei Tong, and Tom Swartwout, along with web developer and software engineer Ben Cooley for a “behind the scenes” conversation about the creation of the Map for Grasslands. The map is the output of a partnership spanning two years between the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and more than two dozen conservation organizations working toward the creation of the North American Grasslands Conservation Act. Episode Highlights: • As a producer, editor, and director with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Center for Conservation Media, Swartwout explains his organization’s interest in grasslands conservation and his team’s role in turning data into a visual tool for the public. • Liu and Tong discuss the data sources behind the map’s focus on bobwhite quail, pheasants, monarch butterflies, elk, and northern pintails as five of the fifteen different wildlife species highlighted within the www.MapForGrasslands.org • Cooley then explains how he turned the tremendous volume of data sources into a heart-breaking AND compelling story of the need for grasslands habitat conservation by utilizing the “martini glass” principle. #pheasantsforever #quailforever #cornelllabofornithology #actforgrasslands

For the past month, our chapters, volunteers and staff have been participating in Hands-On Habitat workdays across the country. Thank you to those who put their boots on the ground and got their hands dirty or participated in our first ever Hands-On Habitat Online Auction. No matter how you supported the uplands this spring, you’ve made an incredible difference for the habitat, wildlife, and local communities our habitat mission supports! While Hands-On Habitat Month is coming to an end, there are still workdays scheduled to take place throughout summer. Remember, the uplands give us so much, it’s our duty to not just give back – but to give it everything we’ve got. You can still find a local event, get to know the host-chapter, have fun, and make a difference for the critical upland habitat and the wildlife we cherish. Head to the link in our bio to find a workday event in your area. Hands-on Habitat Month is proudly supported by @onxhunt #pheasantsforever #quailforever #handsonhabitat

We may be at the onset of summer, but there is never a bad time to be thinking about winter cover for pheasants to ensure successful numbers for the fall. Check out the latest section of our Habitat Essentials Guide: Winter Cover, at the link in our bio. If pheasants—especially, good numbers of hens—can't make it through winter, there will be fewer successful nests in spring. Winter can be deadly for many species of farmland wildlife, pheasants among them, unless there is dense sheltering cover and a reliable food source nearby. The thick cattails of wetlands, or stiff-stemmed native grasses such as switchgrass, are the most effective winter cover. If available, pheasants prefer these herbaceous covers because of the density of vegetation at ground level. The woody habitat of coniferous farmstead shelterbelts can be another benefit to pheasants in the most severe winters, where wetlands or stiff-stemmed winter cover does not exist. Shelterbelts must be done properly though, so as not to degrade the quality of adjacent grassland habitats that provide the greatest lift to the local pheasant populations via the nesting and brood-rearing cover they provide. Two main components comprise prime winter habitat: » Wetland Benefits » Shelterbelt Considerations #pheasantsforever #pheasants #farming4habitat

🇺🇸 Land of the free, because of the brave. Today we take a pause, to honor our fallen heroes. #memorialday #pheasantsforever

Pheasant Fact Friday!💡 Peak egg laying occurs in early May as hens fill their nests. If you find an egg should you take the time, and expend the effort to incubate it? This depends on if the nest is abandoned or not. If you know the hen has abandoned the eggs or has been killed, why not try incubating them. Remember though that when you release the incubator hatched birds, their survival in the wild is very poor. If you find the nest is in a harvested field and the hen is alive, leave the nest alone. Although the cover is gone, and predators may have a better chance of finding the nest, the eggs are best left to the hen. The probability of a chick living until fall is greater if the hen tries to hatch and raise it, than if you hatch and release it. Without a hen to teach survival techniques and feeding habit, and to reinforce instinctive behavior patterns, the chicks’ chances of surviving the wild is small. Of 50 chicks released in July or August, fewer than 15 will survive into winter and fewer than 4 into spring. Of 50 chicks raised by wild hens, 33 will survive into winter and 22 into spring (S. Riley). #pheasantsforever #pheasant #pheasants #pheasantfactfriday

Hands-On Habitat Month ends at the end of May, but that’s no reason to stop the momentum. There are still many workdays being held by PF and QF chapters throughout the country this summer. Head to the link in our bio to find a workday event near you, so that we can continue to improve upland habitat together! In celebration of Hands-On Habitat Month, @alpsoutdoorz partnered with Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever to enhance local quail habitat. Our very own President and CEO Marilyn Vetter joined them last week to put boots on the ground to improve the habitat we all enjoy. This collaborative effort highlights dedication to upland habitat conservation and the impact we can achieve together. Hands-On Habitat Month is proudly supported by @onxhunt

Tomorrow marks a major milestone for Federal Farm Bill as the House Agricultural Committee is set to mark up a draft of a new five-year Farm Bill. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s Government Affairs team is hard at work at the U.S. Capitol this week advocating for increased CRP support, the Voluntary Public Access Program, and critical funding measures for the entire Conservation Title. Tune in to the committee action tomorrow at 11AM EST by going to agriculture.house.gov #pheasantsforever #quailforever #conservation