Today's pheasant hunt...

[TPM]

Is that first pic typical of the terrain you hunted?

I ask because I always think of pheasant as being fencerow and brushy field birds. At least, they were where I grew up!

Yup Griz, that was the typical terrain we hunted. It was a first for me. I've always hunted pheasant in fields but being released birds I guess you can release them anywhere. They had plenty of cover in brush piles and there was a dense swamp edge where a lot of the scratch birds end up. It was a lot of fun and shooting pheasant in the woods does present a bit of and extra challenge. It was more like the grouse hunting we so enjoy up here.

What game farm did you go to? I wanted to go this year but when we were planning on going, something came up and we had to cancel. We want to go before it gets too late.

We were hunting at the Galt Sportsman Club. You can book hunts every Saturday from November to March. I know they are booked solid until the end of Decmber.

[Big John]

Well, that is a picture I like to see.
Excellent work there TPM.
Beautiful Birds and good eating as well.

John

[subneural]

Mmmm, here are the pheasant breasts just before they hit the pan: Stuffed with orange slices and sage leaves, wrapped in bacon!



They were finished off in a jus made of orange juice, red wine and balsamic vinegar.

[TPM]

Marc, looks delicious! One thing I love about upland bird hunting is the endless ways you can prepare them for the table.

[saxman]

Congrats on a fine day in the field or woods in this case.

[Sleeping Dog]

Although Pheasants Forever, OFAH, and OMNR are attempting to re-introduce wild pheasant to Southern Ontario results have not been stellar. At this time the only way to hunt pheasant here is to hunt pen raised birds.

Several conservation authorities like the GRCA (Grand River Conservation Authority) release birds on selected tracts of land under their authority (Conestoga Lake, Luther Marsh, etc.) but there is usually a modest fee to hunt these areas.

You can find a link to GRCA here: http://www.sooutdoors.ca/fishing.html

[subneural]

Good info Sleeping Dog. Just to share - Norfolk county also releases pheasants, funded by licenses. Info here: http://www.norfolkcounty.ca/index.php?o ... iew&id=385

[Mike P]

My Britt (gone for over 25 years now) was also named Rusty.

He was a fabulous bird dog and family pet.

Your pictures just brought back so many memories.

Thank you so much.

[ninepointer]

Very nice!!!! Reminds me of the good ol' days that I am too young to have experienced.

I used to dream of a self-sustaining population of pheasants on the Ontario landscape and I got involved in some work in that regard. Now I'm not so sure. There certainly was cause for optimism a few years ago when the MNR went ahead with its pilot project to introduce wild Saskatchewan birds in the Aylmer District. Official reports say the birds aren't faring well. Some people say the birds are doing better than we think, according to anecdotal information. The absence of abundant suitable habitat and no commitment from MNR to a pheasant strategy makes it hard to see how things might change.