Ring-Necked Pheasant: Evaluation of Winter Survival, Habitat Use, and Current Research Methods of Nest Searching

Radio telemetry was used to monitor a population of male and female ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus; hereafter pheasant) in southwestern North Dakota to examine pheasant habitat selection. Study objectives were to: 1) determine preferred pheasant winter cover habitat; 2) develop management recommendations to increase pheasant abundance; 3) identify habitat use, survival, and dispersion differences between male and female pheasants; and 4) compare nest-searching techniques to determine most efficient research technique for finding pheasant nests. We captured 191 pheasants, assessed weekly survival using known-fate models in Program MARK and determined home ranges and habitat selection and preference using ArcGIS. We assessed three common methods of nest searching: intense ground searching, chain dragging, and telemetry. Averaging >2000 hectares, our home ranges estimates. Pheasant showed selection toward farmsteads with livestock, large wetlands, and CRP-type grasslands. Pheasant survival estimates for the winters of 2011 and 2012 were 91 and 84 percent, respectively.