Neithercut Game Bird Management Plan

1. Neithercut Game Bird Management Plan Stephanie Kay Mallard Sara Trubac Ruffed Grouse Holly Mester Wild Turkey Chad Khodl Ring-necked Pheasant Bio 541 Wildlife Biology and Management Fall 2009 Dr. Thomas Gehring

2. Ring-necked Pheasant Phasianuscolchicus http://bna.birds.cornell.edu

3. Description • The ring-necked Pheasant is thought of as one of the most popular non-migratory game birds throughout the central United States. • Adult males range from 60-70 cm long and weight from 0.9- 3.0 kg • Females are usually 50-60 cm long and weigh between 0.5-1.1 kg • The adult male can be characterized by olive crown that often bordered at sides by white eyebrows and feathers on side of the head. The pheasants have a purple head with a red circle around their eyes, with a white ring around their neck. • The adult female is mottled brown; with a chestnut wash on its neck http://img.freebase.com

4. Ring-necked Pheasant The distribution of the pheasant is wide spread throughout a large portion of North America They range from southern British Columbia south to New Mexico, East to Maryland and into southern portion of Michigan. Nesting cover: Herbaceous ground cover, alfalfa, wheat, and dense grasslands. Brood-rearing cover: open vegetation, big and little bluestem, switchgrass, and indiangrass. Winter Cover: Dense herbaceous and woody vegetation, cattail marshes, and standing crop fields. Distribution Habitat http://bna.birds.cornell.edu

5. Ring-necked Pheasant Young feed off high protein insects which consist of grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, and moths In general pheasants feed off crop fields of corn, sorghum, oats, wheat, and barley. They also feed off insects and other seeds and berries. Food source http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu http://www.treehugger.com/sorghum-field.jpg

6. Ring-necked Pheasant Courtship displays take place during the spring. This is when males have and established territory. Females form harems In wild populations of pheasants it is not unusual to see one male mate with all members of a harem Females construct nests from available grasses, leaves, weed stalks Eggs are laid from late March to early August depending on environmental factors Typical clutch size is between 7-15 eggs Incubation lasts 23-28 days After broods are born they remain with their mother for 70-80 days Reproduction http://bna.birds.cornell.edu http://www.ngpc.state.ne.us/wildlife

7. Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos ) http://www.north-india.in/fauna/Birds/mallard.htm Description One of the most recognizable waterfowl species Males: Green head with a white neck ring Yellow bill with a black tip Gray body with a chestnut colored breast Metallic bluish-purple inner feathers that are bordered by white feathers Females: Dark brown head with a dark brown stripe running through the eye Mottled orange and brown bill Mottled brown body with a white tail Metallic bluish-purple inner feathers that are bordered by white feathers Males outside of breeding season: Similar to female Dimensions 91.4 cm wingspan 45.7 to 68.6 cm in length Up to 1.4 kg in weight

8. Mallard Habitat Breeding: Wetland areas that can have seasonal, semi-permanent, or permanent ponds, lakes and lagoons, rivers, or creeks with large amounts of floating, emergent and submerged vegetation for the bird to feed Migration: Dry agricultural fields, shallow marshes and oak dominated forested wetlands Location Breed as far north as Alaska and northern Canada during the summer Can be found year round throughout the continental U.S. Winter in south U.S.

9. Mallard Diet, Reproduction and Behavior Diet: Generalist and omnivorous Breeding season: forage in shallow wetlands, shoreline vegetation or the shallows of deeper wetlands in search of insects, which can include midge larvae, Diptera, dragonflies and caddisfly larvae, snails, freshwater shrimp, and terrestrial earthworms Migration and Winter: seeds from moist-soil plants, acorns, aquatic vegetation, and cereal crops, such as corn, rice, barley, and wheat Reproduction Monogamous Courtship begins in the fall Females prefer males that show high courtship activity and good plumage Pair is formed by midwinter During migration, pair will travel to females place of origin

10. Mallard Diet, Reproduction and Behavior Cont. Reproduction Once at nesting site, males will begin to search out and defend a territory Nest sites are usually within 150 m of a water source Females will make a shallow depression in the ground and cover the nest with nearby vegetation and down from their breast After the nest is created, the female will lay between 8-13 eggs The incubation period is approximately 27 to 28 days Ducklings are precocial http://www.lloydspitalnikphotos.com http://www.winterhavenfarm.us/2009_plant_list Behavior Go through a molting stage, which renders them temporarily flightless and usually last 2 to 3 weeks

11. Description Wild Turkey (Meleagrisgallopavo) • Male turkeys (toms or gobblers): • reddish-blue neck and head • hair-like appendage near the neck known as a beard • pointed and bony spur on the lower back of each leg • breast feathers that are tipped black. • Female turkeys (hens): • less multihued head, sparse feathering • sometimes have beards • lack spurs • light colored tipped breast feathers Flickr.com BNA.com Dimensions 127 to 153 cm wingspan 91 to 120 cm in length Weigh up to 11.5 kg

12. Medium density amount of turkey in Clare, Mi Wild Turkey gearthhacks.com BNA.com • Location • Southern Canada all the way south to Central Mexico • Inhabits 48 states of North America • Non-migratory • Habitat • Hardwood forests with ponderosa pine • Swamps • Mesquite grasslands • Dense shrubs and small trees • Scattered openings

13. tamaraj19.blogspot.com Wild Turkey botit.botany.wisc.edu Diet Adults: 10% insects and 90% plants Poults: mostly insects Seeds, greens, fruits, masts and agricultural crops are the primary food groups consumed soft-mast producing shrubs such as wild cherry, black gum and dogwood are important foods Choice foods for spring, late fall and winter include chufa, corn, dogwood, beechnuts, berries, pine seed, acorns and agricultural crops. Choice foods for summer and early fall are bahiagrass, blackberries, browntop millet, corn, peanuts, grain, soybeans, wheat, insects and seeds home.howstuffworks.com

14. Reproduction and Breeding Wild Turkey Male dominance polygyny Highly social and form rafters Sexually segregate in spring and summer Most active in late winter Males attract females with gobbling noise and strutting MDC.gov

15. Breeding Continued Hens make nests on ground with dead leaves and vegetation Clutch averages 11 eggs Incubation lasts between 25 and 29 days Poults hatch in late May and early June Poults are precocial and learn from hen Hens and poults leave nest in about two days and in order to forage and grow Poults learn to fly and roost in trees by two weeks Grow to adult size in 12-16 weeks Mature in one year Wild Turkey pbase.com teachnet.ie pbase.com bnl.gov

16. Ruffed GrouseBonasusumbellus ruffedgrousesociety.org animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu ehow.com

17. Ruffed GrouseCharacteristics Popular upland game species native to North America State bird of Pennsylvania Chionophiles: ‘Snow-loving,’ adapted for cold and snow Adults weigh 481.94-708.73 grams (17-25 ounces) Grey and red/brown color morphs: Grey inhabit northern areas while red/brown inhabit southern areas Grey Red/Brown wikipedia.org 10000birds.com

18. Ruffed GrouseCharacteristics traderscreek.com Male Ruffed Grouse: Territorial; drumming Larger Longer tail feather of 15 cm (5-7/8 in) Sometimes tail feather band is unbroken Copper-colored ruff and tail feather band twice as common in males (vs. black) 2-3 spots on rump feathers Female Ruffed Grouse: Nest and raise broods Smaller Shorter tail feather Broken tail feather band Black colored ruff and tail feather band more common 0-1 spots on rump feathers *Solitary species; generally no social groupings and no pair-bonds formed among breeding individuals

19. Ruffed GrouseRange • Found in 34 continental states and most Canadian provinces • -Eastern United States • -Portions of Rocky Mountains in the West • Range of tolerance extends from central Alaska to northern Georgia • Deciduous and coniferous forests, thrive in young aspen-dominated forests • -Aspen very important for shelter and food • -28% decline in aspen abundance since 1980 allaboutbirds.org • Uptreeid.com/history/facts.htm

20. Ruffed Grouse Range Quaking Aspen Range na.fs.fed.us na.fs.fed.us na.fs.fed.us

21. Ruffed GrouseDiet • Diet varies from berries, buds, leaves, fruits, and insects, to an occasional salamander, snake, or frog • Aspen older than 15 years of age provide year-round food: leaves, flower buds, catkins forest.mtu.edu www.biology-blog.com www.dnr.state.mi.us

22. Ruffed GrouseLife History media.wbng.com • Males defend the area surrounding their drumming log; 2.43-4.05 ha (6-10 acres) • Most drumming occurs during springtime to attract mates • Following mating, the hen seeks out a nesting site • Hollow depressions in leaf litter; base of a tree or tree stump, a log or brush pile may be suitable • 8-14 buff-colored eggs are laid over a span of two-weeks • Hen spends 24-26 days incubating eggs • Chicks weigh 14.17 grams (0.5 ounces) • Precocial • Thick brush and sapling cover necessary to protect brood from predators • Protein www.nbii.gov www.fishwild.vt.edu

23. Ruffed GrouseLife History • Young adults disperse at 16-18 weeks of age • Males travel 2.9-7.2 kilometers (1.8-4.5 miles) • Females travel 3 times further; 24 kilometers (15 miles) • Spend remainder of life in selected area • 10-year cycle among northern populations • Many proposals to explain why… • Great Lakes region cycles are likely related to invasion of Northern Goshawk and the Great Horned Owl from Canada • Peak expected 2010-2011 • Scale factor nww.usace.army.mil/corpsoutdoors/dwa/Photogallery/images

24. Ruffed GrouseCurrent Status Populations appear to be ‘stable’ in Canada and the western United States Populations appear to be declining in the eastern United States -The Delaware Wildlife Action Plan lists Ruffed Grouse as extirpated -Classified as a species of greatest conservation need: Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Vermont

25. Ruffed Grouse Hunting Ruffed grouse hunting Dec. 1, 2009 - Jan. 1, 2010 • Grouse season is open statewide • Limit of five per day, 10 in possession, in the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula • Limit of three per day, six in possession in southern Michigan www.grandrapidsguideservice.com

26. Management Goals and ObjectivesVegetation • Clear cut hardwoods 4.05 ha (10 acres) • Clear cut ¼ of each aspen stand Total of 0.5 ha (1.24 acres) • Remove autumn olive • Prescribed burn 2.0 ha (4.94 acres) http://www.hkconserve.com/hardwoodmgmt.php http://www.cedarcreek.umn.edu/conservation/burning/

27. Management Goals and ObjectivesVegetation • Prepare land for planting • Disking, mowing, fertilizing • Planting • Corn, native grasses, oats, chufa, ruffed grouse mix, pheasant mix, turkey mix

28. Management Goals and Objectives • Creating nest boxes • Managing wetlands • Stock pheasants http://www.nodakoutdoors.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=49167 http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/game/water/pheasant_workshop.htm

29. Management Goals and Objectives Survey and monitor Neithercut for progress: • Measuring tree height and width • Monitoring aspen regeneration • Shrub count estimates • Success of food plots • Repairing spring seeps and riparian areas as needed • Repairing nest boxes as needed • Population estimates

30. Management AreaNeithercut Woodland

31. Timeline Year 1 Summer 2010: Prescribe burning for turkey areas Monitor wetland area Autumn olive removal Fall 2010: Create food plots, in open areas, of turkey seed mix (oats, ryegrass and vetch) (2.47 ha each) Monitor wetland area Stock pheasants • Winter 2010: • Survey turkey body counts, observe current habitat conditions • Create 10 mallard nest box • Monitor wetland area • Acquire harvest survey for Clare, Co. to determine current population • Clearcut hardwoods for pheasant food plots • Begin stump removal • Spring 2010: • Implement thinning and cutting trees for turkey habitat • Place mallard nest boxes in wetland area • Monitor wetland area • Prepare soil and plant food plots • Evaluate current status (quality, age) of the four aspen stands within Neithercut *Management activities to continue as needed…

32. Budget