The Decline of Upland Game Birds in North America

This was an essay I wrote about the continous population declines our upland game birds are facing.

The Decline of Upland Game Birds in North America

It is not merely an acquired taste: the instinct that finds delight in the sight and pursuit of game is bred into the very fiber of the race. Golf is sophisticated exercise, but the love of hunting is almost a psychological characteristic. A man may not care for golf and still be human. But the man who does not like to see, hunt, photograph, or otherwise outwit birds or animals is hardly normal. He is super civilized, and I for one do not know how to deal with him. We are dealing therefore with something that lies very deep."

-Aldo Leopold

Across North America a crisis is unfolding as we speak.  Upland game birds are quite literally about to be forced off a cliff.  The native prairie, grasslands, forests and marshland they depend on for breeding and survival are being ploughed up and drained at an alarming rate.  Predator populations are booming out of control, destroying countless nests and hatchlings.  Activists protest the logging of forests, preventing the growth of early succession forest several grouse species require for survival.  And worst of all the number of bird hunters going afield each fall is declining dramatically.  But this all stems back to the fact that everywhere you look habitat, for game birds is declining severely.  Unfortunately the culprit for this decline in game birds is modern agriculture.  This one paper will barely scratch the surface of the declines all species of game birds are experiencing or are going to experience within a few years.

There are several things that must be done sooner rather than later to restore game birds back to the peak populations bird hunters experienced in the 1990s.  Game bird managers across North America know exactly what needs to be done to restore these historic populations.  Canada needs to adopt a federal program similar to the USA’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and the USA needs to increase the amount of acres enrolled in CRP.  Predator management has proven to be effective in boosting populations of upland game birds and extermination of feral cats in areas targeted for restoration would be considered an asset.  One thing that also must be done is to prevent the declining number of bird hunters.  Upland game hunters contribute millions of dollars each year to upland game bird habitat protection and restoration.  Without future bird hunters who will care enough about these birds to ensure they will still have places to call home.  For who loves the birds more than the hunter?  But surely the greatest tool to prevent loss of upland game birds is to protect their habitat.  That means no more draining of wetlands.  No more cutting and burning of ditches.  No more plowing up fields from fence row to fence row.  And no more fall tilling of stubble, leaving birds without a vital source of food and cover to get them through the winter and breeding season.  It is time for wildlife managers, hunters and conservationists across our continent to say no to these issues.  The time for upland game bird restoration is now. 

Ruffed Grouse

“The autumn landscape in the north woods is the land, plus a red maple, plus a Ruffed Grouse. In terms of conventional physics, the grouse represents only a millionth of either the mass or the energy of an acre yet subtract the grouse and the whole thing is dead”

-Aldo Leopold

 

Of all our game birds probably none is a majestic as the ruffed grouse.  This clever bird has rightly earned his name as the king of the game birds.  It takes a well-trained bird dog to hold point and not flush a spooky grouse.  But of all our game birds, these denizens of the north woods are not declining as severely as others.  The ruffed grouse exists in a ten year cycle called the grouse cycle.  In the later years of the cycle the grouse population will be high while in early years the population will be low.  Scientists still do not fully understand this cycle and probably never will.  All they know is that in certain years the population will be high or low.  For these populations of grouse to be sustainable they require healthy early succession forest.  Early succession forest is the early stage of forest growth.  Without this type of habitat grouse populations will decline.  Because of today’s environmental protection movement, many people oppose logging.  Without logging there is no way for the early succession forest the grouse require to survive to grow.  Right now much of the woodlands in the ruffed grouse’s range are in the early successional stage.  For now their population remains stable but as forests mature and activists protest logging the grouse population will suffer a decline.  

Ring-necked Pheasant

Conservation will ultimately boil down to rewarding the private landowner who conserves the public interest”

�"Aldo Leopold, 1934

If the ruffed grouse is the king of the game birds, than the ring-necked pheasant is definitely the noble prince.  Nothing stirs up images of autumn in farm country more than a well-trained bird dog pointing or flushing a wily rooster as he takes to the air crowing his defiant call.  After the bobwhite quail none of our game birds is more threatened than the pheasant.  These natives of China were first successfully stocked in Oregon in the 1880s.  From that point on most states and Canadian provinces began campaigns of pheasant introduction.  The most successful introductions were in the Canadian prairies and the Midwest and prairie states.  Because of the large amount of agricultural production in these regions the pheasants prospered and populations remain present in these areas but are declining.  But why are they declining?  Well the ring-necked pheasant is heavily reliant on specific types of habitat.  Like all game birds they need brushy cover for protection from predators and nesting.  Historically most farms had hedge and fence rows which offered cover for pheasants.  But now the rise of agribusiness and the decline of the family farm mean that many farmers are now profit orientated.  They seek to plant as many crops as they possibly can.  This means fields are ploughed fence row to fence row leaving no cover for pheasants.  Worst of all is that many farmers no longer leave crop stubble in their fields over winter.  This stubble provides vital food for pheasants during the winter and in many areas when paired with sufficient cover are the key factors preventing winter mortality.

During the 50s many states and provinces saw a boom in pheasant populations due to conservation and restoration programs put in place after the Dust Bowl.  But by the 80s intensive farming practices were causing severe pheasant population declines across the prairies and farm country.  Than in 1985 everything changed.  The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) was enacted by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).  In a nutshell what CRP did was remove marginal land from agricultural production and converted it into wildlife habitat and buffer zones.  Farmers were compensated each year for enrolling their land in CRP and many family farmers took pride in having some of their land put aside for wildlife.  The effects were almost immediate.  Waterfowl populations increased by 30% and upland game birds like pheasants, grey partridge, sharp tailed grouse and prairie chickens by more than 22%.  In 2007 alone 2.7 million roosters were harvested in South Dakota.  CRP provided the nesting and winter cover the pheasants needed and the proximity to agricultural land helped to ensure they had a food source.  This golden age for pheasants and pheasant hunters however did not last.  In 2008 most CRP contracts expired and many farmers especially those with ties to big agribusiness chose to return CRP acres to cropland.  Millions of acres of CRP returned to agriculture throughout the prairies and farm country.  And the pheasant populations responded by declining severely.  In North and South Dakota, the pheasant population declined by 2 million a 55% decrease.    All across the prairies and farm country pheasant populations plummeted.  In some areas of Kansas and Nebraska populations were no longer able to support themselves.  Artificial stocking seemed, too many the only way to keep the sport of pheasant hunting alive.  Stocked pheasants rarely survive long enough to breed.  Pheasants seem destined to disappear in many areas.  But in 2014 an old friend returned to farm country. 

The Upshot?  This year, the year of our lord 2014, CRP was reinstated with the USDA having a plan to enroll 2 million acres of habitat with a total goal of 26 million acres in CRP.  The USDA also set out with a plan to get as many farmers as possible to reenroll their old CRP acreage.  Groups like Pheasants Forever are incredibly vocal and vigilant in the restoration of habitat all across pheasant country.  History shows us that when habitat is restored the pheasants will return.  This will all boil down to individual farmers.  Will they care enough about pheasants to put aside some land for these beautiful birds?  Will they stop plowing their fields’ fence row to fence row?  And will they stop fall tilling of their fields leaving no food or cover for pheasants to sustain them during hard winters?  Time will only tell.

 

The wildlife and its habitat cannot speak for itself; so we must and we will

-Theodore Roosevelt 26^th President of the United States of America

 

Northern Bobwhite Quail

“I felt strange and somewhat rude as I walked in behind the point and honor �" I was a man walking into what was so much like a famous painting that I almost had to laugh. But, if you’re lucky, that’s what a lot of quail hunting is �" a series of lovely paintings that we walk into and out of all day long.”

-Gene Hill

            The iconic Bobwhite Quail with its distinct bobwhite call is on a slippery slope.  These beautiful little game birds are in serious trouble.  As this review is typed the Bobwhite has been classified as Near Threatened on the ICUN Red List.  Since the 1940s Bobwhites have declined by almost 65%.  Regions that once produced great numbers of quail now barely produce a single covey.  Of our native game birds none have suffered as much as the bobwhite quail.

            So what has caused this dramatic decline in quail?  Like the decline in pheasants, farmers are unfortunately to blame.  Bobwhites are highly dependent upon good quality habitat that meets certain criteria.  To prosper, bobwhites need larges of native grasses mixed with weeds, legumes, briars and woody thickets that are thick above but open underneath. The bobwhite prefers areas where half the ground is exposed and the remainder contains upright growth of herbaceous and woody vegetation.  In spring and summer, the bobwhite needs grassland, drainage ditches and roadside and pond edges for nesting, feeding and roosting cover. In summer and fall, it requires cropland for feeding, loafing, dusting and roosting. It depends on dense, brushy areas for food during fall and winter and for escape and roosting cover year round.  When the bobwhites range includes all these types of habitat than quail production will be very good.  The problem herein lies in the fact that these diverse types of habitat no longer really exist throughout the bobwhite’s range.  The movement to grow as many crops as possible on a piece of land has led to the widespread practice of farmers plowing their field’s fence to fence row.  This means that the brushy cover bobwhites require no longer exists.  And with intensive cattle grazing efforts it means that the grass cover and food required by quail is overgrazed.  This lack of habitat means that bobwhites will become highly susceptible to decimating factors such as predation, harsh weather, disease and accidents.  Predators and harsh weather take the biggest toll on bobwhites and other upland game birds.  When agricultural practices change to prevent these losses in habitat, than it is a guarantee that bobwhites will recover.  They just need the right habitat.  Groups like Quail Forever are becoming extremely vocal in restoring bobwhite habitat throughout its native range.  Quail like pheasants will recover when the habitat does.  And just like pheasant restoration, the restoration of the bobwhite quail will rely mainly on individual farmers and the advocacy of hunters and conservationists. 

 

The Upshot

 “Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children's children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance.”

-Theodore Roosevelt 26^th President of the United States of America

 

 

The decline of upland game birds is a continent wide issue.  This paper focused only on 3 species.  One that is stable, one that is declining but still somewhat stable and another that needs urgent help before it is too late.  These are not the only game birds suffering presently as this review was typed.  The provincial bird of Saskatchewan the sharp tailed grouse is declining across the Canadian and American prairies a victim of corporate agriculture.  The sage grouse, and the greater and lesser prairie chickens other denizens of our prairies are also feeling the cold pinch of modern agriculture.  The grey partridge and chukar two introduced game birds are still somewhat stable.  The chukar holds on in the mountains of the American west while the grey partridge can still be found with decreasing abundance on the prairies and farm country of Canada and the US.  Likewise in our forests the spruce grouse and the blue grouse are declining from a lack proper habitat.  Sustainable logging creates the early succession forest these birds require.  If conditions do not change soon we stand the chance of losing much of our game bird populations.

So what is being done and what can be done to prevent these declines in our game bird populations?  The woodlot owner can manage his forests in such a way as to encourage the growth of early succession forest which in turn will promote the production of ruffed grouse.  The farmer has more weighing on his shoulders than does the woodlot owner.  Not only does he feed the people, he also feeds and shelters many game bird species.  So what can he do to encourage game birds on his property?  Whether he lives in Mississippi or Saskatchewan the tactics he employs are nearly universal.  He must not plow his fields’ fence row to fence row.  He needs to leave strips or plots of land unplowed and seeded with wild grasses and brush.  This will provide nesting cover for the birds.  If he leaves a hedgerow of brush he will provide winter cover for game birds while at the same time discouraging avian predators.  And most importantly he must not plow his fields in the fall, leaving no food or cover to help the birds in harsh winters.  We must rid ourselves of a disease plagues America.  The feral cat.  These non native perfect killing machines do not belong here.  Wherever they go death follows.  None of our native predators are as hard on upland game bird nests and broods as are feral cats.  Feral cats must be exterminated in areas targeted for upland game bird restoration.  Canada and the US would be wise to exterminate all feral cats and educate the public about the dangers of allowing cats’ access to the outdoors.    The wildlife manager has the task of revitalizing the restoration of upland game bird habitat.  Today’s world see’s too much state and provincial conservation dollars being spent on big game restoration and very little on small game.  Meanwhile conservation groups such as Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever, The Ruffed Grouse Society just to name a few are working nonstop to restore, enhance and protect the habitat of upland game birds.  They know as well as the wildlife manager and the reader of this review, that when the habitat is restored the game birds will return. 

Another hurdle that must be faced is the acceptance of upland game bird hunting as a sustainable and healthy way of managing our wildlife populations by both neutral non hunters and the extremist animal rights/environmentalists groups.  But most important of all is the need for the continuing financial, moral and volunteer support of our hunting community.  No other group in North America contributes as much to wildlife conservation as they do.  Without them all of this would be for not.  For who loves the birds as much as the hunter?  Without their help we stand no chance at restoring our upland game birds. 

What does the future hold for our game birds?  Through the partnership of hunters, conservation groups farmers and landowners we can restore, protect and enhance the habitat that our birds need.  Quail, pheasants, grouse and partridge may just be birds.  But they are not just any birds.  They symbolize so much more.  Days afield with family friends, the unwavering loyalty and companionship of a good bird dog, quality time spent in the outdoors, the excitement of a flushing rooster, and last but still least birds in the bag.  It is time for everyone to work together to ensure that future generations will enjoy this privilege.  The task is a difficult one but not impossible.  We can restore the upland game birds of our continent.  It can be done.  This challenge will be met head on and we cannot falter until our goal is complete.  You have been shown the data, you have been shown the facts, where will you the reader of this paper stand on this issue?  Will the cackling of a wild rooster or the call of a bobwhite fade into the pages of history like the clouds of passenger pigeons that once darkened the sky?  We cannot deny our children and our children’s children these experiences.  Why?  Because these are more than just birds.  The time for the restoration of the upland game birds of North America is upon us.

I have congenital hunting fever and three sons. As little tots, they spent their time playing with my decoys and scouring vacant lots with wooden guns. I hope to leave them good health, an education, and possibly even a competence. But what are they going to do with these things if there be no more deer in the hills, and no more quail in the coverts? No more snipe whistling in the meadow, no more piping of widgeons and chattering of teal as darkness covers the marshes; no more whistling of swift wings when the morning star pales in the east? And when the dawn-wind stirs through the ancient cottonwoods and the gray light steals down from the hills over the old river sliding softly past its wide brown sandbars �" what if there be no more goose music?

-Aldo Leopold

          

Author's Note

Does it get my message off clear enough for those not actively interested in the topic so that they understand it