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February 18, 1988 - A Flurry of Pheasants in CutchoguePage 8A/The Suffolk Times /February 18, 1988 A Flurry of Pheasants in Cu'tchogue By PAUL STOUTENBURGH Last weekend must have been pheasant time here on Long Island because four different people called to tell me about pheasants around their feeders. How lucky they are to have this handsome big - game bird feeding where they can watch. The ring - necked pheasant is not a native bird but one introduced successfully into this country from China in the late 1800s. At times it would have to be reintro- duced because of severe winter weather, particularly when snow and ice covered the ground and prevented the birds from Focus on Nature feeding. It's during these trying days that pheasants often move into our backyards to scrounge whatever can be found. Cracked corn is their favorite but the common wild -bird food would not be snubbed during these hard times. When heavy snows persist pheasants are some- times seen in trees or walking along the tops of shrubs and low bushes in pursuit of winter berries and tender buds. Here they can survive for some time but not indefi- nitely. When frightened and forced to fly, the pheasant will sometimes travel for lim- ited distances, ending its flight usually in a long glide. It would prefer to run and hide in the grasses and thickets. Many a pheasant has gained its liberty when being hunted by following this tactic. Here's where dogs are especially important in flushing the birds out and up. I dare say if it weren't for hunting clubs, there would be few pheasants around at all. True, other organizations and some estates release pheasants but by and large it's the gun clubs with their hunters who are responsible for most of the birds we see. What happens is that when the birds are released, which is usually some time before the hunting season, they spread out and often drift into nonhunting areas where, if food is abundant, they survive and often reproduce. With less and less farming and more vacant scrub land left unfilled, the pheasant has a greater chance to breed and multiply. Nesting takes place on the ground where the well - camouflaged female broods her clutch of from seven to 24 olive -brown to pale blue -green eggs dur- ing the months of June and July. The young, like chickens, leave the nest al- most immediately and being beautifully camouflaged like the mother seem almost to dissolve into the earthy colors around. Pheasants Like Open Spaces And so mother and chicks take to the hedgerow, the scrubby field, or wherever there are seeds or insects to be found. Seldom do you find them in the deep forest. They are a bird of the open spaces. I've often seen the young in the wild and their movement is unbelievably fast. They run like tiny mice. Should you come upon a family usually the female will burst into the air with much commotion, her hope being that the intruder will fol- low her and forget the young. Of course, nine out of 10 times the ever -alert hen would have lured her brood away out of your path long before you came along. The cock pheasants will soon be start- ing to round up their harems. Being po- Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh RING - NECKED PHEASANT- -The pheasant is not a native bird but originally from China. The ones we see around our feeders are birds probably released by gun clubs that have strayed from their original release point. lygamists they acquire as many hens as possible and it is during this courtship time that the feathers really fly if another cock pheasant should come into his area. We all know about the cock fights of old when specially raised roosters were waged against each other. In some coun- tries the bloody battle is still pursued and oftentimes the battle can be devastating. I've seen this challenge in my own flock of chickens when there is more than one rooster. Just last year a good neighbor brought a bloody beaten -up rooster to our back door. It seems two of the roosters were playing king of the hen house and had battled their way over into Frank's backyard. I don't know for sure but it looked like the beaten -up one would have succumbed if it hadn't been for Frank's intervention. I put the sad - looking rooster into a pen and in a few days he recovered. Even so he still hangs around the edge of the flock but always keeping his distance from the "king." "Never give up" is his philosophy for he still hopes to get a chance to win over one of the hens. So if during the next month or so there's a cock�heasant aboutyou mkt hea ;hilrt call telling all "This is my territory" and warning any who enter they'll be chal- lenged. Other Game Birds Besides the ring - necked pheasant there are other game birds that might wander into your feeding area. Our feeder birds seem to get great joy in thrashing food around and therefore much of it falls to the ground. Naturally this feed on the ground will attract others. A good incentive to lure game birds is to mix cracked corn in with your bird seed. If you're lucky and you live somewhat away from it all, there's a good chance you might get quail to come to your feeder. There is no finer addition than a covey of these plump little birds to your backyard. Quail are native to our area but their abundance fluctuates with the severity of the winter weather just like the pheasant. Their familiar "bob- white" call is known to almost everyone. There are those who have the skill and patience and can call Mr. Bob White almost to their feet. Like the pheasants, they too nest on the ground in open farm land with hedgerows and weedy fields for they live off seeds c! :d insects of all sorts. The young are even smaller than baby pheasants and they are absolutely amazing to watch. They scurry around as quickly as the eye can follow and like the pheasant with their camou- flage they seem to dissolve in the land- scape. The ruffed grouse, the one we see in nature films beating its wings into a cres- cendo of whirling turbulent courtship, also lives on Long Island. Few people have ever seen it for it lives in the remotest areas of our island. Wherever you see pine barrens there's a good chance you might find them there. The last one I saw was a few years ago in the Town of Southamp- ton by the radar domes southeast of Riv- erhead. The habitat was pine barrens with its mixture of scrub oak and acorns, bear - berry, blueberry, etc. that provides their food supply. It would be a rare chance to have one of these birds ever stroll into a backyard for they are the seeker of the deep woods. So think a little bit about spreading some cracked corn about the base of your feeders if you live around open, over- grown fields for sooner or later you too might have a ring - necked pheasant or a covey of quail visit you.