wildlife mismanagement

[Cerfur]

So this pheasent season is off to a disapointment. My favorite wma unfortunately has gone to sh*t. They burnt all the fields out.. The poster up says they were reclaiming the fields to encourage wildlife. They Killed off all the "exotic winter grasses".
These grasses were the grasses that were planted there years before for pheasent cover. Now there is almost no cover in the fields. So the coyotes are having a field day! I have been out 3 times. No birds for me. Last Saturday the intial push yeild two birds.. In the past 5 years any first push at sunrise on a Saturday would genrally yield about 8-10.

I assumed that they had not stocked the night before opening day so that was the problem..

I hunted on wensday no birds.. But its a week day I was alone that's not strange.. However I spoke with a friend of mine who really loves to hunt woodcock out there and often does very well he has not seen a single wood cock..

So this morning I go out again... The first push yielded one bird.. And only 3 birds were shot in the first hour that I saw... (genrally this number is about 10 minimum )
I did see pheasent tracks this morning (tire tracks from the stocking truck) so they did stock.

So my gripe is this they have truley screwed this place up! They said they were reclaiming it for natural wild life... Nobody has even seen a woodcock this year! And they mowed down all the cover so the coyotes I assume are eating all the birds before we get to them!

Just really frustrates me..

I also really wish they would allow coyote hunting on pheasent stocked wma after dark so maybe we can help the situation... Honestly we are just feeding the dogs!

So I belive this year I may try to get out to miles standish wma they also have quail I have never hunted them so it could be fun!

Anyone know the weekdays the stock standish? Aside from friday night of course!

 

[JAYNOSE79]

They have been screwing us over in NE Mass for quite some time now. I haven't pheasant hunted since 2005 because of them not stocking the birds. I did start again this year and bagged one on opening day but that was all that was there. Mass wild life sucks.

 

[Cerfur]

I actually have always been happy with masswildlife untill this year.. Last year they stocked 42,000 birds that's alot compaired to any of the other newengland states. When I lived in the western part of the state I was very happy with the stocking out there as well! They put trout in almost every place that is wet.. However I have never done any hunting in the northeast part of the state.. I hope the issues aren spreading! I got some second hand info that the two other spots I hunt pheasents are still doing well! But this one is 10 minutes from my place. I can hunt and be home intime for my wife to leave for work. Icant do that at the other spots :-(

 

[Catoperat]

So the coyotes are having a field day! Honestly we are just feeding the dogs!

More birds are lost to owls (when stocked at night). The coyotes just clean up the bodies. An owl will pluck and eat only the head and then move on to the next. I have done an informal study at a Central MA WMA and, on average, 10% of the birds are lost overnight. Of that 10% over 8% were owl kills. Several hunters and I (most there every day at sunrise) walked around and counted shots, flushes, and bodies. I'm sure we missed some (as it was informal), but the results (over several seasons) were interesting.

 

[Cerfur]

So its the owls that just eat the heads didn't know that! However the count of headless birds and just areas where you can tell a yote just tore it apart are everywhere this year vs years past.if its only 10% then they are stocking like 70 birds a night minimum and that's just in the fields I don't walk the woods much!

 

[Martlet]

So its the owls that just eat the heads didn't know that! However the count of headless birds and just areas where you can tell a yote just tore it apart are everywhere this year vs years past.if its only 10% then they are stocking like 70 birds a night minimum and that's just in the fields I don't walk the woods much!

I've known owls to take the heads off birds and rabbits, but they still eat the bodies.

 

[Cerfur]

Something leaves headless pheasents around I had herd it was yotes and hawks and now owls... I really don't care I should be the one taking the heads off the pheasants..

 

[pupchow]

A WMA that I frequent was hit hard by last year's October snowfall. My first visit this season, I was pleased to find the access is now cleared of trees & brush, a new bridge installed, and quite a bit of brush hogging done. Though, it would've been nice if the brush cutting was done earlier in the year, as it leaves a lot of nasty, paw damaging Punji sticks.

Overall, I'm happy with the Mass. DFW. Their web presence has steadily improved, and they are responsive to issues that I'm concerned with regarding hunting & fishing in this state. For the population density in this state, I think we have some excellent opportunities availalbe to us.

 

[Catoperat]

Though, it would've been nice if the brush cutting was done earlier in the year, as it leaves a lot of nasty, paw damaging Punji sticks.

Fish & Wildlife follows a guideline for mowing that helps protect ground-nesting birds (Turkey's especially). There is no habitat-maintenance mowing before July 16 of any given year.

As for the particular property you are talking about, give it a year and it will be great. As for pheasants, there will be more put there because of the better access. Oh, and don't step on the edge of the culvert, it's a little squishy still

 

[Catoperat]

Hey Catoperat, Stop carrying the water for the a**h***s at Westboro it is very unbecoming. SInce I have not bought a license to hunt in that shithole since 1996 (Moved in 2005, Retired from the Environmental Police Jan 2010) I talked to many hunters in the field and they told me that the pheasants that they are shooting are all feathers and little meat. They told me that they have seen this since Fakers and Wankers closed the game farms, and bought the birds from out of state, that the quality is gone.
Don't tell me that the game farms were too expensive to operate, That is a bullshit arguement set upon the stockholders (license buyers) by Wayne Mac Callum. It is just that the agency was still using 1950's farming methods and refused to upgrade the farms.

I never mentioned anything about the quality of the pheasants, just the number. I was not around when the State Game Farms were operating, so I cannot comment on the quality of those birds. I can say that the quality of the current birds varies. We get comments, both positive and negative on the quality and have therefore begun to monitor it.

As I am employed by the above mentioned and this is a public forum, I am not going to state my opinion on how the Agency is run. I personally do my absolute best on the particular projects that I work on. If I am going to put my name to it, then it has to be to the best of my ability, or why bother doing it. That being said, I have no control over the purchasing process or any quality control process of the pheasants.

There are a handful of Employees (myself included) who buy sporting licenses, partake in the sporting activities, and have a genuine interest in bettering the hunting and fishing experience in MA. I would prefer you didn't lump us in with the "Fakers and Wankers".

 

[MassMark]

Hey Catoperat, Stop carrying the water for the a**h***s at Westboro it is very unbecoming. SInce I have not bought a license to hunt in that shithole since 1996 (Moved in 2005, Retired from the Environmental Police Jan 2010) I talked to many hunters in the field and they told me that the pheasants that they are shooting are all feathers and little meat. They told me that they have seen this since Fakers and Wankers closed the game farms, and bought the birds from out of state, that the quality is gone.
Don't tell me that the game farms were too expensive to operate, That is a bullshit arguement set upon the stockholders (license buyers) by Wayne Mac Callum. It is just that the agency was still using 1950's farming methods and refused to upgrade the farms.

Folks should head to WMA...We stock hundreds of pheasants all over the Berkshires...We got them late from the state and they were big to begin with, so they snacked on baby food for quite some time, (a ton) until we switched them to regular feed. They all stayed healthy and happy and we're setting them free, as we do every year. These are the biggest pheasants I've ever seen - ever. crappy cell pic through the pen, but zoom in and you'll get the idea...They're practically turkeys...

 

[MassMark]

You are getting that, as the club is underwriting the raising of those birds on top of your license fees. Take a look of the birds that being released from the state stocking. Poultry loses weight very quickly, Yes, Pheasants are "Poultry", Those birds coming in from out of state spend is some cases over 24hrs(No water, no food) in those boxes before being stocked. So once again you are getting fed bullshit by the Fakers and Wankers.

Getting fed bullshit? Seriously man - we're not being 'fed' anything. We've been raising and releasing pheasants for decades...We have an idea of what we are doing. We do it as a public service to the hunting communities. You haven't the slightest idea of how our program operates, what it costs us, or what our stocking procedures are, so just take another sip off your beer and STFU...

 

[Cerfur]

Wow... Didn't mean to light a fire here.... Like I said until this year was quite happy with the stocking.. I am just disappointed that The noquchokewma is no longer what it used to be for any hunting..Catoperat if you actually work with Mass wildlife.. maybe the could adjust the time when they stock?.... Also they say they stock it twice a week I have never met anyone who has felt there was more then one stocking... Like i said for the most part I have always been very happy with the program untill this year. Feel free to shoot me a PM for anything as it appears there is a good deal of mudslinging going on! Maybe its deserved I really don"t know enough about it.. I do know I love to pheasant hunt and without the stocking program I wouldn't be able to. So i am happy it is there.. Just I guess upset with what i though was a really nice area has been changed in a way I disagree with.

 

[pcgod]

In talking to many hunters the complants seem to focus on 1. the birds are small, 2. they stock for the weekend on Friday afternoons. I almost always get 2 birds on Saturday. I know some of the fortunate retired folks know when and where they stock so these guys clean up. The state needs to stock at night and stagger when they are stocking.

Case in point: Last year my buddy had to burn some vacation time so took a week off for bird hunting. An older retired gentleman told him to go to a particular cover at about 1pm. When he got there, about 4 vehicles were already there and about 15 minutes later the stocking truck showed up. Everyone jumped out of their cars and proceeded in. As he put it, they must of been shooting them out of the stockers hands.

I can only hunt weekends and use a dog for that. I get my birds, sometimes in 10 minutes and other times I hunt all day and visit several covers. I also hunt woodcock and grouse that aren't on WMA's and did well this past weekend on all counts. While I do think the state could do better, I realize this is not their priority and am glad they haven't just done away with it.

 

[pupchow]

...
Case in point: Last year my buddy had to burn some vacation time so took a week off for bird hunting. An older retired gentleman told him to go to a particular cover at about 1pm. When he got there, about 4 vehicles were already there and about 15 minutes later the stocking truck showed up. Everyone jumped out of their cars and proceeded in. As he put it, they must of been shooting them out of the stockers hands.

I sometimes take half days off work, to get my dogs out on a weekday. There're certain vehicles I've come to recognize at a WMA I frequent. And any time they're there, there've been fresh birds planted. They must not be very good shots though, because I've see them parked there ALL season long? Probably some of the same guys that follow the trout stocking trucks.

 

[boilermaker]

The state needs to stock at night and stagger when they are stocking.

I believe they use to stock at night but did away with it because it required overtime for the drivers.

 

[Catoperat]

required overtime for the drivers.

I wish...

Night-stocking is still being done, at least in certain districts. Problem is this, pheasants do not fly at night. Where ever the birds are stocked they will remain until morning. Sitting ducks for night-predators and easy pickings for the first hunters and dogs through. Stocking late afternoons and right after legal sunset allows the birds to spread out, find cover, or roost.

Remember it is hunting, not shooting.

At this point, the larger properties are becoming saturated with birds. I almost always see at least one on the trails as I am coming and going.

 

[boilermaker]

I wish...

That was what I heard and it is nice to get the actual word. Thanks

 

[RadiCS]

Stay away from the welfare birds... lol I plan on going north and chasing the king of birds...

 

[Cerfur]

Stay away from the welfare birds... lol I plan on going north and chasing the king of birds...

Is that a budwiser bird....

Or a ruffled grouse....

Or an ostrich?

Or are you actually mitt romney and after big bird?

 

[RadiCS]

It's actually larry bird but don't tell him...

It's ruffed grouse.

 

[Mark from MA]

If you want the best bird hunting its best to become a member of a club that stocks

Heres my son on our opening day hunt.

 

[RadiCS]

Here's a couple of pics when I went to Maine last year... We just got my setter and he is learning to stay closer... He has some jets on him.