Our first birds

Took my year old GSP to the field and introduced her to her first pheasants, needless to say I'm a proud dad!!! She pointed and flushed all three like a pro and I did my job as well.. What an awesome feeling, like seeing ur kid take their first steps...

LAST EDITED ON Jan-15-15 AT 08:03PM (MST)[p]Congrats, Awesome birds, good lookin Pup!!

I can't even begin to add up all the boot miles i put in walking fields and ditches for pheasants without a dog thru my early years. Once i hunted them over a good pair of dogs though, i just knew i'd have a hard time going after them again, the way i had been doing it.

I used to have a "in" on some good rice fields to hunt West of the Yuba Buttes. That place slowly petered out in birds, haven't been down chasing them in over 10 years. Any reports on how the wild birds are doing in that area? Nothing that lives is prettier to me, than a seasoned wild Rooster!

Joey


"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"

Joey, unfortunately those days are a thing of the past, every once in awhile I see a wild bird here or there, so I have been hitting the clubs to at least get this pup to learn what to do and get a few birds... Next step is quail and maybe chuckers once she has matured some...

JR, thanks of the report. that's pretty much what i hear too but i'm away from that and the topic don't come up much.

OH, Certainly that dog deserves the work. It's a shame a guy can't get his dog into lots of good wild birds during the season like we used to...and then hunt the clubs for even more work but the main thing is, that's a good looking pup and she was born to hunt and she don't care about where, when, or anything other than them birds is wherever they are for her to hunt.lol Nice!

I been to a few Clubs and had plenty of fun myself. It don't really matter where when you get to see your dog get to do their thing...and then there are those pressure shots, gotta get that bird for the dog...

I don't know if i'll ever get another bird dog or not. My nice little home isn't really set up for one at all. They sure can be a joy!

Joey


"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"

I agree with everything Joey said! Good looking gun too. What is that? Is it even possible to miss with that gun?

Nice work JR. It looks like you're a great dog trainer.

Eel

It's written in the good Book that we'll never be asked to take more than we can. Sounds like a good plan, so bring it on!

Nice!

That's a good day right there jr. Seein all the hours of training come together just like u planned it. Lotta personal satisfaction in trainin a pup!

I just happened to read this on another site, speaking of wild pheasants in California. Ask the Warden. Interesting.

January 15, 2015

The decline in wild pheasant numbers is primarily a result of habitat loss and fragmentation. For pheasant populations to recover and thrive once again, more improved available habitat must be developed.

Question: Wild pheasants in the Sacramento Valley have been in steep decline for many years and very little effort, if any, is being made to help this once-abundant game bird make a comeback. Improved habitat conditions, a reduced season and lowered bag limits could help them recover. What was the Fish and Game Commission thinking when they raised the limit and extended the season to what it is today? (Wally S., Westlake)

Answer: One of the factors you mentioned was that improved habitat conditions could help, and that's true. The decline in wild pheasant population numbers is primarily a result of habitat loss and fragmentation. Pheasant populations are still plentiful in the larger Midwestern states, primarily because those states rely on private lands programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program funded by the Farm Bill. This program provides subsidies to landowners to fallow their land and grow grasses and other vegetation that make good wildlife habitat. These programs also provide habitat corridors between public and private lands that are critical for pheasants to move. In the Central Valley, rice and other crops have higher values than the crops grown in the mid-west and so the economic incentives for landowners in California to modify their farming practices to benefit wildlife habitat are not there.

According to CDFW Senior Upland Game Scientist Scott Gardner, the general pheasant hunting season was increased by three weeks about 10 years ago because CDFW knew that few people continued to hunt wild pheasants after the opening weekend and the first few weeks of the season. The scientific literature suggests that rooster-only harvest has little effect on population growth, so this increase was not expected to have any effect on pheasant population growth. CDFW is currently working with Pheasants Forever and United States Geological Survey scientists to study pheasant population dynamics and identify factors limiting their populations. If the data suggests that reductions in pheasant hunting are needed, CDFW will make those recommendations to the Fish and Game Commission.

However, pheasant populations will not come back to their former levels through reductions in hunting alone. In order for wild pheasant populations to recover and thrive again, more available improved habitat is a must. This means more quality grasslands and small shrub habitat to provide undisturbed areas for cover, feeding, nesting and brood-rearing, along with travel corridors between fields and other habitats to allow them access to move around.

Eel the shotgun is a beretta onyx 686, my first over and under and a sweet gun to shoot, as far as wild bird habitat, when I was growing up in this valley pheasant were numerous in all phases of habitat, and then water, farming techniques and an emphasis on more production along with protection of the red fox lead to a drastic decline in birds. The olive orchards I used to hunt that had Johnson grass in them and great cover for birds gave way to drip systems and barren landscapes under the trees.. Water conservation and regulations on rice burning and killing of the excess grasses in ditches eliminated all the nesting cover for big hatches.. I have a small orchard on my place and every once in awhile I see or hear a rooster cackle or see a hen or two running around. I won't hunt these birds so they can hopefully increase the population and to see them is a treat as well.. I guess I will support the local club to get my fix for now and hope one day the flush of a wild bird will once again be attainable is some areas of the valley to enjoy with my dog..

Joey


"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"

That too, lol

Second trip the pup did even better 4 for 4 on points , flush and retrieve..I'm a proud papa!!!!

LAST EDITED ON Jan-17-15 AT 07:05PM (MST)[p]Looks like she's got a handle on them ditch parrots!

Not trying to highjack the thread but the crap about habitat is garbage. There are thousands of acres of suitable habitat in this valley that no longer harbor a single pheasant. I have hunted fields in the north valley that look the same now as they did 20 yrs ago. The pheasants in those fields are now virtually non-existent. Fish and Game is either in denial or too stupid to acknowledge that there is another element in play leading to the decline. I don't have the answer but I have a couple theories. Farming pesticides/herbicides, mosquito abatement spraying, predation, competition with wild turkeys, etc. Because the pheasant is a non-native species, DFW would just as soon let it die off. It is not a priority for them. Tragic, IMO. They're even too stupid to recognize the millions of dollars lost in license and stamp sales. It used to be a sea of orange around the valley on the second weekend of Nov. Every ditch, check, field had hunters in it. Now, it's an anomaly to see someone out trying to hunt wild birds.

3 more today, now she has that down its working on point and hold..