Pheasant in Carroll County

steves1911 · Nov 18, 2014

I was out behind my house bowhunting this evening and for the first time since I was 15 I spotted a pheasant in the wild. I couldn't believe my eyes and tried to get a pic but she made it into some brush before I could get my phone out. We use to see them every now and again when I grew up In Keymar. I'm guessing this hen probably escaped from somewhere nearby and was raised in captivity but I hope I'm wrong.

iH8DemLibz · Nov 18, 2014

Yeah.

They bailed back in the early 80s for some reason.

One day they were there and the next day they were gone.

Sparks/Glencoe area.

Uncle Duke · Nov 18, 2014

Carroll and Frederick Counties used to be loaded with pheasant. I sure do miss those days! You almost need to visit the Smithsonian to find them now.

steves1911 · Nov 18, 2014

I'm off Bachman valley rd about a mile or so before it hits rt30. Hopefully I will see her again and maybe be able to take pics next time.

sykesville · Nov 18, 2014

shoo it down to rt 32 and I'll put it on the dinner table!

1time · Nov 18, 2014

I'd be surprised if it was actually wild. The few I've seen in the last twenty years were from game farms. A guy I knew spent several years raising them from chicks in flight pens without human contact and releasing them. They lasted for a couple of weeks every year.

I'm not sure why the population dropped. It seemed like it happened overnight.

Lou45 · Nov 18, 2014

The pheasant population in central Carroll County took a sharp decline in the mid to late eighties and by the early nineties they were all but gone.

foxtrapper · Nov 18, 2014

Anyone have a real answer why they all disappeared? I've heard a few different stories. Furidan pesticide was one, and another was the lack of trapping and rise in # of fox, coons, and possums. Skunks and weasels took a tumble too, at least where I was.

iH8DemLibz · Nov 18, 2014

foxtrapper said:
Anyone have a real answer why they all disappeared? I've heard a few different stories. Furidan pesticide was one, and another was the lack of trapping and rise in # of fox, coons, and possums. Skunks and weasels took a tumble too, at least where I was.

Don't fret, Fox

The Skunks and Weasels are alive and thriving in Annapolis and looking after us P (h) easants.

Uncle Duke · Nov 18, 2014

foxtrapper said:
Anyone have a real answer why they all disappeared? I've heard a few different stories. Furidan pesticide was one, and another was the lack of trapping and rise in # of fox, coons, and possums. Skunks and weasels took a tumble too, at least where I was.

They claim that the demise of the small family farm had as much to do with it as anything. Fields used to be smaller, and more numerous. Smaller fields were separated by hedgerows. Made for an abundance of prime nesting cover. Today you have larger agribusiness, more expansive fields, less standing crop and less year round cover. Whatever the reason, i sure do miss the times we used to have hunting these ring necks.

MDHunter · Nov 18, 2014

foxtrapper said:
Anyone have a real answer why they all disappeared? I've heard a few different stories. Furidan pesticide was one, and another was the lack of trapping and rise in # of fox, coons, and possums. Skunks and weasels took a tumble too, at least where I was.

What I heard was that the use of DDT to protect crops caused their shells to grow brittle and killed them off over time. Not sure if that's accurate or not, but it's what I heard.

I used to love hunting wild pheasants in Frederick county when I was a kid.

R1Peacock · Nov 18, 2014

I live off RT97 near Union Mills and have seen a few over the years. I saw one a few weeks ago just south of the PA line off Old Hanover Road. Few and far between now days - use to see turkey but haven't seen any in several years.

RP

BlackBart · Nov 18, 2014

Uncle Duke said:
Carroll and Frederick Counties used to be loaded with pheasant. I sure do miss those days! You almost need to visit the Smithsonian to find them now.

Yup, Hagerstown to Taneytown...... it was loaded with them. I shot one in the 70's as far south as AACO between Nursery Rd and the river while dove and rabbit hunting behind the old bowling alley. It must have been drunk and lost!

Marshmallow · Nov 19, 2014

I hate to be the downer. But it was more than likely a game farm bird that got away. As much as I would love to see pheasant here again, I just don't believe it.

DrCatt · Nov 19, 2014

From some of the research I looked into a while ago it seems like it was a little bit of everything, and it's across the country too. Habitat loss, ethanol boom, chemicals(?). It saddens me to know my kids may only see them in the Smithsonian.

kstone803 · Nov 19, 2014

My dad and uncle used to hunt them on the family farm outside Manchester back in the 70's. But they say the same thing, one day they just weren't there anymore. I still deer hunt up there and have never seen one (10+ years).

sxs · Nov 19, 2014

MDHunter said:
What I heard was that the use of DDT to protect crops caused their shells to grow brittle and killed them off over time. Not sure if that's accurate or not, but it's what I heard.

I used to love hunting wild pheasants in Frederick county when I was a kid.

DDT was banned from most use after the early 70's. Pheasant (and quail which were much more widespread) populations began crashing in the 80's. Farming practices and population increases in predators (including coyotes). A friend of mine is President of a chapter of the Sierra Club swears that an explosion in feral cat populations have decimated not only game birds, but numerous species of songbirds. I do know that I was involved in animal studies in various areas in the late 70 s and early 80's where we caught and euthanized many feral cats while perfoming wild population studies. Many moons ago (70's and 80's) when I hunted wild populations of pheasant in Taneytown, I had the thought many were migrating from PA where there were birds released into the wild. That doesn't explain, however, the wild populations I also hunted on a couple occasions in Western Howard County. Also, for quite a few years during the late 70's and early 80's I would see Ringnecks in the area around BWI especially along Dorsey Road. At least 8 or 10 times (probably more) I saw them within sight from Dorsey Rd over several years (FYI, I used to commute 2 to 3 days per week from home to UOM, College Park via Dorsey to 295)

Doctor_M · Nov 19, 2014

I had a hen nesting in my field about 4 years ago... that was the first I had seen in over 15 years. Haven't seen one since. Pheasant hunting was one of my favorite things to do. One of the tastiest critters God ever invented next to cow. Hope the population can return one day so that my kids can enjoy what I did.

sxs · Nov 19, 2014

kstone803 said:
My dad and uncle used to hunt them on the family farm outside Manchester back in the 70's. But they say the same thing, one day they just weren't there anymore. I still deer hunt up there and have never seen one (10+ years).

As late as early to mid-80's, we would hunt near Taneytown and, being without dogs, just kick the brush for them. Never took a whole lot of them, but often got a couple or occasionally, a few.

sxs · Nov 19, 2014

Doctor_M said:
I had a hen nesting in my field about 4 years ago... that was the first I had seen in over 15 years. Haven't seen one since. Pheasant hunting was one of my favorite things to do. One of the tastiest critters God ever invented next to cow. Hope the population can return one day so that my kids can enjoy what I did.

I'm with you on pheasants, Doc. I do still do a game farm hunt every couple years as that's the main bird hunting you can do these days. It's not too expensive to do now and then if you have a group of 3 or 4 to defray costs. Nothing like pheasants for fun and food. Similar thing goes for quail hunting. Besides, watching the dogs work is a joy to behold!

Pheasant in Carroll County

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