# Freezing Rain...bad news for birds



## upland420 (Dec 27, 2004)

This may be the WORST type of weather for pheasants to endure. Any birds exposed to much of this will have their beaks and nostrils crusted over and many will die of suffocation as a result. Everything is frozen over and several inches of snow are predicted on TOP of the ice. Cant be good for any wildlife in terms of foraging for food. This is the kind of weather that can knock the population back to 'scarce' in parts of SE ND which have come back in recent years.


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## duxnbux (Feb 25, 2002)

Yeah...I think that this will be a tough one...


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## DJRooster (Nov 4, 2002)

As long as we get a thaw in the next couple of weeks it shouldn't be too bad but it is not the best way to start the winter.


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## Dick Monson (Aug 12, 2002)

They are in the lodged 'cats today for sure, but pretty good protection from the weather. No-till helps because there is bean stubble with pods on the fields and it's blowing hard enough to keep those fields open. Clocking winds at 40 +.


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## drjongy (Oct 13, 2003)

Freezing rain is the absolute worst for pheasants. I guess it was really bad from about halfway between Jamestown and Valley City all the way to the Eastern ND boarder. I talked to my Dad today in Jamestown and he remembers the freezing rain around '97 that wiped out about 90% of the Southeastern birds. He thought this storm was worse.

It's been great not having to drive way out West to go after pheasants, but it could be over after this winter. We've been really lucky the past several years with good winters...which is what you need for birds to survive in the SE portion of the state.


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## Scraper (Apr 1, 2002)

Pheasants Forever has free round bales of wheat that can be put out to help these birds find food.

If you are interested, pm me.

Don't just be another lazy hunter that has enough gumption to shoot birds, but not enough to go out and do something to make sure that they are there next year.

Get your buddies together and haul some bales out to your favorite honeyholes. The landowners will really appreciate the help in keeping these birds alive.


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## bjorn (Jul 23, 2005)

Your right guy's to be a little worried by the recent freezing rain. We have had some sun today and hopefully this will alleviate some of the ice buildup. I am afraid too many outdoorsman are just that, not true conservationist's. Habitat should remain the *"main"* concern of all hunters.
Make sure you join good organizations like Pheasants Forever, NWTF and join local sportsman clubs. Wildlife can and do survive if: YOU BUILD IT!!!


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## DeltaBoy (Mar 4, 2004)

I was thinking about wildlife and mother nature on my way back to Bismarck today... I had plenty of time to think since the roads had a solid inch of ice on them and it didn't look like it was going to melt anytime soon.

I did see a couple of nice roosters around Tower City! It was a neat, they were walking right along the frozen glazed grass and it looked like they were thinking about mother nature too.

Sure hope everything works out for the wildlife and those who don't have power...


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## burbach (Sep 29, 2005)

Does anyone have any input on how things look in the Milnor/Wyndmere area? Did the storm hit the birds pretty hard around there?

Thanks.


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## Rick Acker (Sep 26, 2002)

I was out in the Ellendale-Oakes-Verona-V.C. areas and NO dead birds...They seemed to make it from the ice storm. Far S.E. might be were the trouble is!


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## Scraper (Apr 1, 2002)

Good to hear Rick, thanks for the report


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## mnswd (Oct 13, 2005)

Rick -

We left late Sunday and it looked bad for the birds- were you out in the field?

I still have one more trip planned over x-mas and I was worried that I would find more dead birds that live birds.

Keep us posted!!!!!


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## Field Hunter (Mar 4, 2002)

The last couple of weeks most of the pheasants have been migrating to the Heavy cattail sloughs and have been leavng the larger sparser CRP fields. I would expect that most birds made it through the ice storm and that they will be able to find some food...hopefully....until the ice melts on the next series of sunny days. The lack of being able to get to the food will kill more than the ice storm did in the event the ice just never melts off the fields this year.


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## sioux1975 (Nov 30, 2005)

Rick, I was out there this past weekend between Ellendale and Forbes. It
was pretty nasty as we left Ellendale a bit after 4:00. Did you get out in the field after the storm? And you found plenty of birds? I would be extremely happy to find out that the majority of birds survived, but I've seen some extensive kill after storms that I didn't think measured up to what I drove back through that evening. I, too, had been planning a return around Christmas and the New Year, so hope it's not as bad as I feared.


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## Rick Acker (Sep 26, 2002)

I wasn't smart enough to leave Sunday, and yes we got stranded in God's country. Special thanks to the Autum Breeze Marriot for taking care of a couple of stupid Pheasant Hunters. I was concerned for the birds at first, but there were no dead birds to be found on Tuesday morning, except the ones I was shooting! However, the far S.E...Lidgerwood, Lisbon, etc, might be a different story!


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## DJRooster (Nov 4, 2002)

This storm will kill more birds by covering up the food and causing a little stress that will have a cumulative affect over the course of the winter if in fact it turns out to be a tougher winter. These storms are deadly in the spring when the cover has been beat down all winter and it is filled with snow and the birds have burned their fat reserves from lack of adequate cover and food over the course of a winter. I would doubt that this storm would kill a noticeable number of healthy birds. However some areas were hit a little worse than others but overall I think we are safe in the short term. We will see what the rest of the winter has to offer. I love this time of year because we have now seperated the "men" from the "boys!" I went out on a short walk after work and it didn't take long to break a sweat in the snow, and cattails. Must have seen about 100 birds and had three shots at three roosters and missed them all. This made the dog mad but the wife loved it as she doesn't want me to shoot any more of those pretty birds! I think I have picked up a bad habit of watching the bird instead of the bead at the end of my barrell. Oh well it sure was fun to get out. It is almost to the point where a capper would be a good strategy because they love to run but when you are by yourself you do what you have to do!!!


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## curty (Sep 18, 2003)

I did a 120 mile route today around Lidgerwood, I saw quite a few birds they were bunched up in groups of ten to twenty five. But like some others have said starvation may be a ploblem, we have a solid layer of 1 inch ice on everything here.


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## pointblankshot (Nov 2, 2005)

Drove from Ellendale down to Aberdeen and back up through Tuesday morning and saw many groups of 5-20 feeding in the fields. Looks like they survived the initial storm, hope they can find enough to eat.

DJ, I found myself standing there watching 'em too  . It's pretty cool when a pothole full of them busts loose. That sound has now replaced the sound of snow geese in my ears!


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## Doghollow (Nov 11, 2005)

I know this may be a touchy subject to pose, but as an avid pheasant hunter I wonder this myself: how much effect does dog and human pressure contribute to physical stress on birds already on the margin of survival?

No easy answer, I'm just posing the issue. Happy Holidays.


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## Rick Acker (Sep 26, 2002)

According to Pheasants Forever...The average life expectancy of a pheasant is 11 months. I hear what you are saying, but I think it has little effect overall on the population! Hawks, Coyotes and many other predators contribute to stress 24/7 365 days a year! Hunting does very little to effect the pheasant population!


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## WingedShooter7 (Oct 28, 2005)

already happened down here in SD but since no one cares to read my threads they dont care.....the birds are getting hit hard by this


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## DeltaBoy (Mar 4, 2004)

I noticed lots of birds north of Steele this past weekend...


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