Southern Alberta. Antelope and pheasants?
 

Hello to all you guys from southern Alberta. How has this winter been on the antelope and pheasant populations? Just wondering.

I would be a bit worried about the antelope and pheasants but from what I see the Huns are holding their own. I see them dug in all over the place and some appear to be feeding.

I think that the antelope are smart enough to dig through the snow but I do not think most pheasants can find food without a food bin.

Outside of Okotoks the other day I saw a mule deer on her hind legs trying to get to some willow browse.

Pheasants close to cattle operations should be alright. Those in marginal habitat (there were lots after the last few mild winters) will be having a tough time.

x2
Seeing quite a few birds around the cattle feeding areas (domestic and commercial) but the antelope are going to be taking a beating. That last chinook that came through created enough ice on the surface that they will be playing hell trying to get through the crust to any feed below. We didnt get hit as hard as some in this area, but still about a foot of snow on the level.

The antelope and birds are doing fine we have very little snow and the winds blew all the snow into the coulees so the hill tops etc. are bare...the geese are pairing up and the gophers are out and it will be +15 by Monday...

Pheasants in our area have been hit hard by heavy snows , I see lots of road killed deads that have come out on highways to eat spilled grain on road edges . We have fed birds in 2 selffeeders all winter and lots of customers there , eagles and owls show up for lunch but nothing I can do about that .

GHO just feast on pheasants all day long!

Southern alberta antelope
 

Sorry for being a meathead, but what does GHO stand for?

I would imagine Great Horned Owl, very hard on pheasants, especially released birds.

Southern alberta
 

Thanks Piker, that sure make sense. We had one clean out a batch of kittens once. Every morning we were one cat short, then one morning I look out, and there he is with a kitten on the quonset roof.

owls
 

Have had three over the course of the winter(so far) move in on my pen of birds at the farm. They average around three birds a week out of my breeding stock. Worse thing is, they usually can only get the head through the netting, and then the rest of the bird falls to the ground. They seem to develop a taste for it.

Pheasants
 

We had a horrible winter in the sixties and the pheasants were getting clobbered by the hawks and owls. Those were the golden years of pheasant hunting (in my memory, anyways) and for a brief period the raptors were allowed to be shot.

Many years later some dude showed up at my taxidermist with a snow owl shot in that time frame. It was dried out and the Fish and Wildlife told the taxidermist it was legal. So the guy rehydrated it somehow and the mount came out great.

On the same topic, I was talking to a waterfowl guide from South Dakota who had more pheasants on his farm than I could even comprehend. He told me that the predators were not allowed. He probably just yelled loud at them.

I checked out a spot with wild pheasants only yesterday in Southern Alberta and saw a fair number. It is chinooking right now so I hope that they are over the worst..

Be safe, everyone .. :)

Roosters in town seem to be around in normal numbers. I'd have to assume the goats will take a hit however.