today I've seen a pheasant

[Legi0n]

Today I've seen a pheasant. The bird was flying over Deer Lake in Burnaby and landed on the north side in some thick brush on private property.
I've never seen a pheasant in the lower mainland.
I was so excited I did not even think about pulling my phone and snapping a picture.

:twisted: do I need a side by side?

[The Dawg]

When I was growing up, I used to see them there all the time. This was after Oakalla and before the big development.

Used to see them along the Fraser Foreshore a bunch too

[yamadirt 426]

Seen one on the side of the highway in delta last week. They are kicking around

[olympia]

wish they would have reintroduced some of those instead of the wolf

[fishingguy44]

see them anywhere that we can sling arrows at them?

[warnniklz]

I've seen them several places in the lower mainland... not in that area however. Considering I spent about ~4 years working right in that area.

On delta they have shooting clubs where they release pheasants for club members to hunt. Not all of them get flushed and shot. So they should be spreading.

[r106]

seen one by 16th ave in aldergrove

[Ride Red]

Back in the late 70's early 80's we used to see them all over the upper valley. Once the coyote population exploded, the pheasant population declined fast.

[chris]

Used to see them all the time in aldergrove. After sowing a field they would come out of the woodwork just before dark and undo all your hard work.

[Big Lew]

Back in the late 70's early 80's we used to see them all over the upper valley. Once the coyote population exploded, the pheasant population declined fast.

x2...and earlier. We lived next door to a huge pheasant farm owned by A.D.Hitch. A big part of his business was selling birds to private gun clubs. The problem with birds raised in farms is with the 'de-beaking' necessary to reduce damage from birds pecking each other to bits. This 'de-beaking' removes part of the top beak which makes it difficult, but not impossible, for the birds to survive in the wild. Occasionally the farm would have birds escape and many seemed to make it, but raccoons, fox, and coyotes all successfully prey on them. I seem to remember that birds destined for release or for fancy restaurants (where the packaged bird had the feathered head and neck exposed) were not de-beaked. He also sold birds to the government for release in B.C.
As a side note...this fellow, A.D.Hitch, was mentioned in our school social studies book as the person that introduced chucker partridges to the Interior of B.C. He also raised quail.

[Jack Russell]

Is it too damp in the lower mainland, coupled with a ton of predators, too allow pheasants to flourish?

So many blackberry fences, corn crops etc., it seems possible, yet....

[The Dude]

I`ve seen some off United Blvd near the log sort yard in days gone by...

[Fella]

My uncle and his brothers used to hunt them in east chilliwack and greendale back hen they were youngsters. They'd flush em from the ditches and corn fields and apparently there were a ton of them. I have never seen one here in chilliwack despite living here my whole life. I guess they've been decimated by all the yotes and varmints.

[ruger#1]

Used to have them in Mission. Not far from the rod and gun club. Coyotes have cleaned them up. Hardley see any grouse anymore. The local bobcat has probably dined on a few also.

[longwalk]

Have seen them on the railroad tracks just off the Port Mann and also on Barnston island.

[Ian F.]

1. Pheasants are native to asia
2. The almost complete lack of habitat thanks to modern farming practices is the reason they don't survive, weather, predators etc are secondary factors
3. Clubs release cocks, not hens

[Brew]

We used to have lots out in whonnock when I was growing up. You sure don't see them anymore.

[kishman]

I grew up in south Burnaby in the 70's, we used to see them all the time back when the flats was all farmland.

[guest]

Clubs do release both male and female, been there and seen it, and yes there are still numbers of wild birds out there but the yotes have hammered them bad ..... shoot a yote save several pheasants. The Serpentine flats still offer some good wild bird hunting but its not like it was years ago. I can attest to that.

CT

[Jack Russell]

1. Pheasants are native to asia
2. The almost complete lack of habitat thanks to modern farming practices is the reason they don't survive, weather, predators etc are secondary factors
3. Clubs release cocks, not hens

1. So they're an "import". So are starlings
2. There are tons of pheasants in the US. We farm different than the US? What exactly would that difference be? Weather and preds are secondary? You are stating farming practices are primary reason for lack of pheasants?
3. Need hens to raise cocks, no? Somebody has the hens. What about "other" initiatives? We have sheep societies, ducks unlimited, elk conservationists, but no pheasant initiatives?

There are always escapees of some kind. What factor is the main reason why the pheasants do not "introduce" themselves in numbers on the valley floor?

If it is farming practices, can someone elaborate?

Drive Sumas prairie - and all the bush and fringe lines between Abbotsford and Langley. No habitat? Hard to believe.

[Big Lew]

I personally have watched fox, raccoon, and coyotes stalking pheasants. I've seen a fox jump up and pull a pheasant to the ground. It's not hard to assume these predators are hard on pheasant populations. Add in raccoons and possum finding their nests. Possums weren't in the valley in any numbers years ago...until about the time pheasant populations started to decline. I think there is ample habitat for healthy pheasant populations otherwise. It was quite common to see pheasants in people's backyard gardens etc. years ago.

[ruger#1]

I haven't seen a red fox around the lower mainland since 1982. I'am starting to see possums. Wich we never had this side of the river. People that live trap them must let them go on this side of the river. Used to be lots of pheasants in Hatzic prairies.

[curt]

I used to belong to a club called the local hunters club we leased properties in cloverdale surrey delta ladner and we used to release pheasants every year. there used to be a few pheasants farms in the langley aldergrove area and on many occassions 100's of birds escaped there should be plenty around the valley still however coyotes feast on them regularly

[xfactor]

'Pheasants forever'. Has had tremendous success in Alberta. If enough people are interested and are willing to get involved, support financially, then it may be worth contacting them for more info on how to get started.

Im not involved in any way, other than I have been to several fund raisers in Calgary for 'PF'. Witnessed almost 3/4 of a million raised in one evening on a silent auction for habitat enhancement initiatives, land purchase etc...

Like with everything else, it costs money and requires people to put differences aside and work together for the greater good of the species being targeted.

[bccanadian]

I`ve seen some off United Blvd near the log sort yard in days gone by...

I had one bounce off of my windshield, just after I came up the hill from the bailey bridge. I couldn't stop due to traffic but I checked my rear view mirror and couldn't see it anywhere. A lot of feathers went flying. It flew from the small amount of brush, along the side of the road almost even with the log sort yard.

This was about 14 or 15 years ago.

[ruger#1]

I had one bounce off of my windshield, just after I came up the hill from the bailey bridge. I couldn't stop due to traffic but I checked my rear view mirror and couldn't see it anywhere. A lot of feathers went flying. It flew from the small amount of brush, along the side of the road almost even with the log sort yard.

This was about 14 or 15 years ago. I need the tail feathers for tying flies. Do you think it is still there.

[TyTy]

almost stepped on one at the serpintine fen about 10 yrs ago. scared me good when it flushed about 3 feet from me

[laredo318]

In the 60's & 70'S, there was a ton of them in Richmond. They were something we saw daily, as we had huge fields out the back.

[SHACK]

from my understanding its more about farming practices. Pesticides, herbicide s, and such leave less and less cover and feed for the birds. Yes predation is a huge factor. But I myself have seen and hunted in farmland that is left as "organic" and farmland that is heavily sprayed. Even with the presence of large predator populations, the birds still thrive on the farms with the organic farming practices due to the large amound of cover created by the weeds and undergrowth. Just drive by any farm, and you will see what I meen, perfect clean rows, no cover anywhere, or at best thin ditch rows with very little cover. These birds need the insects, and low ground cover to thrive, excactly opposite of what the farmers are trying to achieve.
Yes, you can still have some good days, if you have good dogs, but gone are the 60s and 70s when the numbers were such that you could kick some shrubs and roosters would pop out for ya to shoot!

[biggyun68]

When I was a kid in the early 1970's we had them in South-lands, golf courses and Small bits of wood land that now have become Arbutus Village and other developments: I used see alot at Cadet camp in Vernon in the early 1980's and I hear the birds are pretty much gone after they built the sub divisions up there: Therefore I would agree with the folks who say development and farming is the main factor because we did not get lots of coyotes in the Vancouver until the 1990's. Also pheasants depend on the weed species for not just cover: it is one of their primary food sources. The also depend upon trees being near by. As the farms in Richmond have become bigger and have less wind row tree's there is lees tree cover as well.
There is a nesting air on the grounds of the Vancouver Gun Club in Richmond which is a tiny bit ironic.

[huntinnewbie]

Hubby and I used to hunt them in south Surrey. Actually the flats south of Cloverdale. There was lots in the early and mid 70's. Our old yellow lab was pretty good at flushing them. But the nicest one we got was................are you ready................at the intersection of 148th and 88th in Surrey.
Flew across 88th and into the bush. Hubby bailed with the shotgun and went in after him. We actually had that one stuffed and it was on the mantle of the fireplace for years.
Imagine doing that now.

[bccanadian]

Hubby and I used to hunt them in south Surrey. Actually the flats south of Cloverdale. There was lots in the early and mid 70's. Our old yellow lab was pretty good at flushing them. But the nicest one we got was................are you ready................at the intersection of 148th and 88th in Surrey.
Flew across 88th and into the bush. Hubby bailed with the shotgun and went in after him. We actually had that one stuffed and it was on the mantle of the fireplace for years.
Imagine doing that now.


You can imagine but that is pretty well all you can do. Unless you want to run a "fowl" of the law...:-D

[Darkbloom]

My dad raised pheasants on a hobby farm in Pitt Meadows during the 70's and 80's. There are still a lot of wild ring-necks around Pitt, on both sides of the river. But they have declined since the mid-90's, with the rise in coyote population.

[The Dude]

I had one bounce off of my windshield, just after I came up the hill from the bailey bridge. I couldn't stop due to traffic but I checked my rear view mirror and couldn't see it anywhere. A lot of feathers went flying. It flew from the small amount of brush, along the side of the road almost even with the log sort yard.

This was about 14 or 15 years ago.

That's exactly where I used to see them, in between the Bailey Bridge and Marks WW

[Scuba_Dave]

Used to live in Mission...Had lots up past the new developments on Stave Lake...Dont know about now though

[Big Lew]

I still see the odd few as I drive around the valley, most often along the Haney bypass, west side of highway 11, or south along 16th ave. The cocks are most noticeable when they sit on a prominent rise or stump, crowing during the spring.

[andrewscag]

I saw one in Richmond on the south side of steveston hwy near 2 road a couple of weeks ago. I just about crashed

[Danny]

I find hawks and eagles take out Most of the ones that get released out in delta/Ladner ! If they don't get shot in the first day or to after a release a lot get taken out by the raptors

[Piperdown]

Just saw a real nice rooster and a hen in Kauai :)

[nano]

Heard lots of stories of the great pheasant shoots my grandfather and his frends had over by the red barn is surrey.( for members of the LHC you may know where I am talking about) it's cool to drive by and to think what it would be like. The only phesant I have ever seen was on the other side of the street and I was not ready for a shot.

[Getbent]

Use to see tons in langley under the power lines and in some of the local fields, used to hear more of them than we saw. Saw my first in many years on 56th in Murrayville the other day.
One of the old boys at the Nicomekl Hatchery was saying that the coons and the odd possum (mostly an insectivore I think) are getting most of the eggs. All this old guy does is walk the creeks (checking our escapement and returns) and the fields so he sees alot of local ground and he figures that the population is a tenth of what it was in the last 10 years or so...

[Legi0n]

Pheasant at Deer Lake in Burnaby. I found the nest. Could only snap a couple of pictures of the hen with my phone.
I hope the chicks make it.
http://members.shaw.ca/le_r0umain/2013.05.20_Deer_Lake_Pheasant_Hen_1.jpg

http://members.shaw.ca/le_r0umain/2013.05.20_Deer_Lake_Pheasant_Hen_2.jpg

[Jack Russell]

Nice find!

[wos]

Could only snap a couple of pictures of the hen with my phone.
I hope the chicks make it.

funny looking hen!

[Legi0n]

funny looking hen!

My mistake, it's the cock.
I've typed the text before seeing the pictures.
The hen was there as well.
Didn't want to stress them so I took the pics from a distance.
Not an easy feat in the 3 ft grass. Shot a couple dozen pics but only 2 showed some color.

[180grainer]

Shot a lot of them in the mid to late 80's in Surrey. Couple of gun clubs, like Burns Bog, use to stock them but you could always tell a new release for opening day from a wild one. I've seen a few lately so they are around.

[MFERGIE]

Gun clubs do release hens, as well as roosters but they don't release the hens at the start of hunting season. Most breeders that clip beaks breed their birds in tight quarters where they will peck at and eat each other. These meat birds don't tend to fly very well and when they do most of them won't crow as a wild one would in flight. When released and the dogs are on them they run forever before taking a short 50 foot flight and hitting the ground only to run again...understandable how most get taken by the coyotes and raptors. The breeders that raise Ringneck pheasants for release as opposed to meat don't normally clip beaks as the birds are raised in good sized, outdoor pens and not in such close quarters as meat birds are raised. The pens are generally long enough that the birds will learn to fly better but most will only fly the length of the pen once released outdoors. There are still some wild birds around but few and far between.

[6pt_elk_wannabe]

in 2 years ive seen 2 pheasants, 3 grouse, and a whole lot of coyotes in the farmers fields while driving along the highway every morning.

[6pt_elk_wannabe]

in cloverdale

[Farmer]

from my understanding its more about farming practices. Pesticides, herbicide s, and such leave less and less cover and feed for the birds. Yes predation is a huge factor. But I myself have seen and hunted in farmland that is left as "organic" and farmland that is heavily sprayed. Even with the presence of large predator populations, the birds still thrive on the farms with the organic farming practices due to the large amound of cover created by the weeds and undergrowth. Just drive by any farm, and you will see what I meen, perfect clean rows, no cover anywhere, or at best thin ditch rows with very little cover. These birds need the insects, and low ground cover to thrive, excactly opposite of what the farmers are trying to achieve.
Yes, you can still have some good days, if you have good dogs, but gone are the 60s and 70s when the numbers were such that you could kick some shrubs and roosters would pop out for ya to shoot!
Farming practices are a contributor, but I think that the pesticide/herbicide issue is unlikely to have much of an impact. Years ago, The first grass crop was not cut until late June or early July. This allowed the pheasants to finish nesting before the long grass was removed. Also, because farmland is expensive, farmers want to use all of their land so brushy fence lines are removed and the land is utilized for crops. In the intensively farmed areas, there are few shelterbelts to provide cover for pheasants and since we crop 4 -5 times a year, there is little long grass left for cover. In my opinion, coyote numbers will keep the pheasants from making a comeback in the valley. The comment about "organic" farms having more cover is probably valid. I just have to look at one on Prairie Central Road in Chilliwack. Blackberries, weeds, and junk all over- it looks like a dump.

[Getbent]

saw a couple of males the other day in abby in a field of whatcom...speaking of grouse, I saw a covey on the Nicomekl at 208th in langley about 5 years ago...couldnt believe it...
they are around for sure

[Arn]

I have seen them up and down the bottom coquitlam river in Colony farm

[itsy bitsy xj]

Saw one on river road in Delta (Tilbery) earlier this year

[panhead]

My Pa used to trap them in stovepipes at Cassiar and Charles street in East Vancouver. Last one I saw was about 5 years ago
when it flew out of a ditch and exploded as it hit the side of a cube van. Didn't go to waste though as I tie flies ...