Thanks, Mark and Scout!

[karcent]

Mark invited my son and I out for a day in the fields behind his beautiful pup Scout and my son got to take his first wild pheasant.
It was a great day and I just wanted to thank Mark for allowing us to join him!

[taurus92]

Pleasure was all mine. Although I am certainly sore and tired today from all that walking. Nice to actually see a few wild pheasant in Michigan.

We will have to get back out there again before the season is over!

Pup was all tired out for the evening too. Dang hyper mutt :)

[sprink]

Cool. Father and son and a boy (man) and his dog. Doesn't get any better than that.

[Maranatha]

You were very lucky, last I hear thre number are way down.

And its not from hunters, its all the homes being built.

[Ken P]

I grew up across the street from a corn field...they used to be everywhere...I remember feeding them in the front yard

[karcent]

Lots of reasons for declining pheasant numbers. Habitat is a big one. It has to do with the way farmers have changed the times and methods they use to tend their fields. Many nests are wiped out by machinery.

Very little trapping going on, so the predators (skunks, possum, ect) are rampant and we can throw in the red tailed hawks and a bumper crop of coyotes.

[taurus92]

habitat is definatly one of the big reasons. Fields are wiped out for sub divisions. Add in mature woodland growth that is not sutible for pheasant.

Now we did see a coyote pelt on our nice walk as well.

[sprink]

The predators are ruining a lot of hunting. Coyote's are out of control, and they do kill deer, turkey, pheasant, rabbit, fox etc.

Too many raccoons too. I had a self defense killing a couple years ago. Anyone else been followed/harassed by a coon at 10 or 11 AM? Rabies?

[Maranatha]

we trapped two racoons in my neighbors garage a few weeks ago, He wanted me to shoot them but I explained that I could not discharge a firearm within the city

[Ken P]

habitat is definatly one of the big reasons. Fields are wiped out for sub divisions. .

you re so right. The field is still a field right now, but it will be a 200 home development in the next year or so, they just ran the seweres and gas down the road, paved it, and ran new power poles too. The land has been sold and plans are under way...it's was a sad day when my bro told me that. We did a lot of goofing around in the field with the snowmobiles, dirt bikes, etc.